Chapter 2

That afternoon, I was looking for an old photo album.

Ethan had mentioned wanting to see pictures from our honeymoon, a silly, sentimental mood he' d been in.

His old high school things were packed in a box in the attic, stuff he' d brought from his parents' place when we first got married.

"It might be in there," I muttered to myself, carefully climbing the attic stairs.

The box was dusty.

Inside, beneath yearbooks and old jerseys, was a worn, black notebook.

Not a photo album.

Curiosity, a small, unwelcome prickle, made me open it.

Ethan' s handwriting, but younger, more forceful.

The first page hit me like a physical blow.

"I' m back. I remember everything. Ashley King. Chloe. The torment."

My breath caught.

I read on, my hands shaking.

It was a journal.

But not from this life.

It detailed his "rebirth," his memories of a previous timeline.

The timeline from the "Lakeside High" novels.

A timeline where Ashley King, the body I inhabited, had made Chloe' s life hell.

His words burned into my brain.

"I have to protect Chloe. Ashley can' t be trusted. She' ll hurt her again."

"Marrying her is the only way. I can keep an eye on her. Neutralize the threat."

His undying love for Chloe filled every page.

Chloe, Chloe, Chloe.

His true love.

The reason he was with me.

Ten years.

Our marriage, his kindness, his love – a performance.

A calculated, decade-long act to monitor the "evil Ashley."

My perfect life shattered.

The air in the attic felt thick, suffocating.

I sank to the floor, the journal falling from my numb fingers.

The baby kicked, a small, innocent movement against the turmoil inside me.

My husband didn't love me.

He loved my best friend.

And he thought I was a monster.