Haunting-Adeline

Gigi seems to be curled in on herself, hunched and small as she holds a
glass of wine. Her smile is strained, while the mystery man stands next to
her, looking down at her with a pinched brow and a frown. At this point,
she was already in fear for her life.
But from the man in the pictures, or someone else?
Next, I pick up the weathered le er. It’s addressed to Gigi.
My Genevieve,
It pains me to write this le er. I sit here and I mourn. For what could
have been. For what could s ll be but yet you refuse to see.
I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you, Genevieve. I’ve loved you
though you have married another. And now that I know you have given
yourself to a different man—a man that’s not me, my love s ll persists.
I’ve waited so long for you already, and now yet another has come
between us. Has stopped me from taking you as mine.
Why do you insist on doing this to me? To us?
It plagues me. Keeps me from sleeping at night. The only thing I can think
of doing is cu ng you from my life to end this misery. For good.
Sincerely,
Your true love
“What the fuck did I just read?” I ask in a strained whisper. Daya reads
over my shoulder, and when I look back at her, her wide eyes are on me,
alight with confusion and concern.
“That sounded ominous. Threatening,” she says, her green eyes glancing
at the le er like it’s a curse wri en on paper.
I nod distractedly, se ng down the note and sor ng through the
pictures again. Looking for clues on who this man might be.
But there are none.
“He looks so familiar,” I murmur, studying another picture. They look to
be at a party of some sort. The image is in black and white, so I can’t tell
the color of the dress, only that it’s a dark shade. Jewels decorate the ends
of her sleeves and around the collar of the dress. And of course, I don’t
need the picture to be in color to know she’s wearing her red lips ck.