“So I should just leave her to the wolves without trying to put her to rest?”
She clenched the steering wheel tight, and gritted her teeth. It was admirable of him to want to do the right thing. Normally she’d commend him. Right now, however, her give-a-fuck seemed to be broken.
“Forgive me if I’m not sympathetic.”
“I’m not asking you to be, Juni. I understand why there’s no love lost between you. I’d feel the same way if I were you. But I have to make sure I can live with myself after it’s all said and done.”
She snorted and bit back a retort as she turned her attention back to the road. The last thing she wanted to do was say words in anger she couldn’t take back.
Chapter Thirteen
Oliver had never been so glad to leave a car in his life. He knew he was sending mixed signals, but at this point he should be given a pass for the serious mind fuck throwing him off balance. The inches that separated them felt like miles as they made their way up the walkway to Madeline’s house. It was a completely different scenario from the last time. The irony didn’t escape him. He stood behind Juni as she rang the doorbell, with his hands in his pants pocket. He rocked back on his heel when Madeline opened the door.
“Come in, my children. I see things have changed since you were here last.”
She ushered them into her house, and they made a beeline for the room she’d seen them in previously. They sat at the table and she spoke.
“You’ve figured out who the ghost was,” Madeline said.
“It’s my wife,” Oliver said.
“Tell me everything,” she said.
Twenty minutes later Oliver sat beside Juni, drained and quiet. No matter how many times he told
this story, it would never get easier.
“Normally when you’re being haunted by a ghost, it’s attached to a certain object. You destroy the object, and they lose their grip on this plane. In your case, that’s not possible.”
“It’s my heart,” Juni said.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Does that mean there’s nothing we can do?” Oliver asked.
“You have to convince her it’s time to let go.”
“I’ll start making out my will now,” Juni said.
“That’s not funny!”
“I’m not laughing. She’s held on to you for two years, and you couldn’t even see her. Now that she has a body just ripe for the picking, why would she leave?”
“Because that’s not who she is.”
She snorted. “I think you mean, that’s not who she was.”
“Even with all the things she’s done, some of the old Hannah exists. I’ve seen glimpses of it. I just need to reach her,” he said.
“Right, because you’re not biased.”
The bitterness in her voice caught him off guard.
“I’d think you’d be happy there’s still something left to save.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, and clenched her jaw as she lapsed back into silence.
“This is exactly what she wants,” Madeline said. “She feeds off anger and resentment. It’s her sole purpose in life now to push the two of you away from each other as she worms in and plants seeds of doubt and mistrust. If you continue this way, she’s already won.”