Flash Marriage: In His Eyes-Chapter 323: Haunted

–Ines–

I visited my old room. Yes, the one I once shared with my husband. I was already dead to him. But soon enough, I plan to return the favor.

After everything he did—ruining my daughters. He ruined them when he took my bitch of a half-sister as his mistress. He even brought their illegitimate child into this house, parading it like some grotesque trophy. But he was fooled.

Carrie isn’t even his blood.

That stupid asshole.

I locked the door and walked toward the relics of my childhood. My things. My children’s gifts. My mother made sure everything here remained untouched after my "death." Preserved like a mausoleum.

I hurt my mother the most.

I was her only treasure. But what I did... I had to do it. It was the only way to protect them.

I willingly stepped into something that could destroy our entire family.

I sat on my bed beneath the four posters carved from hardwood narra. My fingers reached for my tablet. Through the cameras in the hallway, I watched Gregory pacing in front of Laura’s door.

He looked restless.

Curious.

Afraid.

He probably noticed the faint light seeping from beneath my door.

I watched him approach it. He knocked before slowly pushing it open.

"Who is inside?" His voice was commanding.

But I simply watched him.

"Dad?" Laura called from the hallway.

"Laura," Gregory said, glancing at her before looking back at the door. "Someone is inside your mom’s room."

"No one is there."

"The lights are on."

"Grandmama probably went there earlier. She always does."

Gregory hesitated.

I love that moment.

That fragile crack in a man’s certainty.

I love watching the anxiety bloom across his face. I love the way his skin pales when fear begins whispering to his bones.

"Dad, come on. It’s already after midnight," Laura said gently. "Go to sleep, okay?"

Gregory stared at the door once more before looking back at Laura.

Defeated.

He retreated down the hall toward another wing of the mansion.

Once he left, Laura approached the door and knocked.

I stood and quietly turned the doorknob.

She stepped inside and hugged me.

I closed the door behind her, wrapping my arms around her as I kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Mommy."

"Good night, birthday girl."

I kissed her cheeks before letting her go. She returned to her room while I locked the door again, leaving the dim light on.

My mother had prepared everything for me.

Clothes. The soaps and lotions I always used. Even the small things—the mundane rituals of a life I supposedly no longer lived.

I took my time.

Gregory was familiar with my scent. I was counting on that.

From the camera inside his room, I watched him drink the wine I had prepared for him.

A little something extra in the bottle.

A drug designed to loosen the hinges of sanity.

Temporarily.

I watched him pour another glass.

Meanwhile, I went through my usual routine in the bath. I dried my hair and brushed it neatly afterward.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, I paused.

My daughters once said I didn’t look the way they expected.

My skin still carried the same youth it had years ago.

Gregory would surely be terrified.

Seeing me exactly as I was.

Unchanged.

Like a ghost that refused to age.

I put on my old dress—a long one, fine silk with sleeves that flowed like quiet shadows.

Then I checked on him again.

He had made it to his bed, wearing nothing but boxers. Slowly, he drifted into sleep.

Perfect.

I had already made sure the halls were cleared. No one wandered the mansion at this hour.

I walked downstairs without my disguise.

Then I crossed into the other wing.

His wing.

I entered his room silently and approached the bed. I looked down at his face.

His stupid face.

Yes, he was handsome.

But beauty means nothing when the mind beneath it rots.

His eyes opened.

They met mine.

He gasped.

Then he screamed.

I tilted my head slightly, my expression perfectly blank. It always frightens them more when you look... calm.

"Ines!" he shouted, scrambling backward until he fell off the bed.

"You killed our daughter," I said calmly.

"No! I didn’t! Ines, please forgive me!"

He dropped to his knees, his eyes squeezed shut.

Pathetic.

I stepped quietly back toward the door just as the maid—who had been waiting for this moment—entered the room.

I slipped behind the door, hidden, satisfied with the performance.

"Forgive me! Ines!" he cried.

"S–Sir..." the maid called nervously.

I imagined him scrambling up, looking around wildly.

Looking for a ghost.

I left the hall.

Gregory was probably terrified out of his mind by now.

I bet he nearly pissed his pants.

When I returned to my room, Livana was standing outside her door with her arms crossed.

"It seems you had fun scaring Gregory," she said with a smirk.

Yes.

She no longer called him Dad.

"I did. Good night, my love."

I kissed her forehead. She smiled.

I returned to my room, double-locking the door behind me before turning off the lights.

Then I reached for the tablet again.

Another butler had entered Gregory’s room, trying to calm him down.

But Gregory was still screaming.

Still pointing at the corner of the room.

There was nothing there.

I chuckled softly and shook my head.

I love this idea.

My Livana truly thinks like me.

–Carrie–

I woke up from a very bad—very bad—dream. Livana choked me to death.

But when I woke up, there were no marks on my neck. I was already in my room, medicine placed neatly on the bedside table like some thoughtful little offering.

I reached for my head.

God, it hurts so bad. And I only drank a little.

I headed out of the bedroom, stumbling slightly, but I managed to make my way to Livana’s room. I knocked quickly.

The door didn’t open.

Then a woman appeared on the other side of it.

I froze the moment I saw her face behind that veil.

She looks like Livana.

But she also... isn’t Livana.

"What do you need?" Her voice was cold, yet it didn’t sound like Livana at all.

"Livana?" I called.

"Oh, everyone calls me Livana?" She giggled, her voice suddenly jolly. "I think Damon married me because I looked like her."

She sounded bubbly.

"Step-mama!" Sky rushed out from Laura’s bedroom and raised his arms toward her.

Step-mama?

So they have him calling her Step-mama now?

She bent down and carried Sky effortlessly.

"We’ll be heading downstairs."

She sounded like Livana.

But why doesn’t her voice sound like her at the same time?

It’s confusing.

I pressed my fingers to my temple and watched as she walked away with Sky.

What the hell is going on?

I still feel very dizzy.

Groggily, I went back to my room.

I grabbed my phone and called Tyrona. She answered after a few rings.

"Ty, it’s me. I told you last night about this stepmother. She really looks like Livana, but she doesn’t sound like her... and she doesn’t quite look like her either."

"Hmm. So, in short—she looks like Livana?" Tyrona asked.

"Exactly." Fuck, my head hurts. "I need to sleep more. My head is aching so much."

I glanced at the medicine on the bedside table.

"I’ll call you later."

It’s probably for the headache...

but I didn’t hesitate to take it.

–Gregory–

Last night, I couldn’t sleep. I had hallucinations. I already called my psychiatrist. Yes, I needed to call him about the rare episode that happened last night. But this time, I was calm.

I watched as this curvy maid took care of the twins and even Sky. Then there was this woman—tall, almost the same height as my daughter, Livana.

She wore fancy clothes. Sky called her Step-mama. So she probably isn’t Livana... but she looks so much like her.

Damon is insane. He married someone who resembles his dead wife so much. I don’t even understand why Reagan and Olivia, Livana’s grandparents, are letting this woman stay in the mansion. Damon was all over her—hugging her from behind, kissing her cheeks.

I squeezed my eyes shut. My head ached a little. Lack of sleep.

But last night was indeed a mess.

The maid and the butler who passed by were too worried. They said that no one had been in my room.

But I know for sure that I saw Ines. It looked so real. She sounded so real.

Ugh. It’s all in my head.

Guilt.

Indeed. She’s right. I killed our daughter. Livana. It’s my fault.

I let my second wife kill Livana just to steal that company. I let her try to assassinate Livana all over again.

Why didn’t I ever try to stop Casey? I was head over heels for her. I let her manipulate me.

Then I watched the maid making pancakes. It smelled like the ones Ines used to cook in the morning for our girls.

I kind of miss it.