The sky was grey again. Spring in this town never promised sunshine, but today the dullness felt heavier as if the clouds above mirrored the fog in Isabella's chest.
She stood in the middle of the kitchen, coffee in hand, as the memory returned like a whisper. No trigger. No warning. Just a sudden shift in the air, and then she was thirteen again.
---
"You need to listen, Bella."
Nikko's voice echoed in her mind, low and rushed. They had been in the greenhouse, the one he helped her build when she turned eleven. It had always been their sanctuary.
He had crouched down beside her, tugging a folded note from his jacket.
"If something ever happens to me... don't trust them. Not blindly."
"What are you talking about?" she'd asked, her heart fluttering with a nervousness she hadn't understood at the time.
"There are things you don't know. I wanted to tell you sooner, but if they find this... promise me you'll keep it hidden. They can't find it."
His eyes had held something she couldn't name then—something more than fear. Grief. Determination. Love.
But she never got to ask him what it meant.
Because three weeks later, Nikko was dead.
The memory disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. But this time, it didn't leave her cold.
It left her burning.
---
She set the coffee down, fingers trembling. Maybe she had buried that memory too deep—too afraid of what it might mean. But now, as she stood in a house full of people who had unknowingly become her guardians, she felt the pull of it all over again.
Did he leave her something?
If so, it would be back home. Buried beneath vines, locked in some drawer, hidden in a box her parents never found.
Or maybe...
Maybe it was here.
She felt her stomach twist. Her instinct told her someone was looking for it. Maybe they had always been.
Across town, Ashton stood outside the flower shop waiting to walk Isabella home. He had told himself it was just a gesture. Something casual.
But he hadn't stopped checking over his shoulder every few minutes.
The man had been there again yesterday. The same one from the cafe. The one with the too-perfect stillness. The same blank expression like he was waiting for a signal.
Hudson had spotted him twice. Cameron once.
And now Ashton.
When Isabella stepped out of the shop, smiling with tired eyes, Ashton fell into stride beside her.
"You good?" he asked casually.
She nodded. "Yeah, just a long shift."
He didn't push it. Not yet.
But as they walked, he glanced across the street.
There he was. Leaning against the same lamppost. Pretending to scroll through a phone. Watching.
Ashton narrowed his eyes.
Isabella noticed his shift in energy. "What is it?"
He quickly looked away. "Nothing. Just thought I saw someone I knew."
YOU ARE READING
Fermented Desires
Fantasy***For Mature Audience. MATURE THEMES & LANGUAGE*** Isabella Vinoir was supposed to be the perfect heiress-obedient, untouched, and married to a man she didn't love. Instead, she ran. Now she's rebuilding her life in a new town, sharing a house wit...
