The Ultimate Betrayal: A Cold and Elegant Revenge
They spent thirty-five years togetheralmost half a lifetime. James and Emily. It had all begun like something from a classic romancedancing in the rain, talking until dawn, dreaming together of a house with a garden. Emily was petite, quiet, but with a spine of steel. James was ambitious, his eyes always alight with restless energy, forever chasing something more.
They endured it allpoverty, debts, moving cities, grief. When James built his business from the ground up, it was Emily who held everything togetherhome, children, bills, illnesses. When success finally came, bringing comfort and security, James fell in love. With the new secretary, tall and leggy, who laughed at his jokes and lingered just a second too long when she touched his arm.
He made his decision quickly. He hired expensive lawyers to keep the housethe one theyd built brick by brick, renovated together, where Emily had planted roses and stitched cushions. The home that had once been their shared dream.
The court awarded the house to James. Emily had two months to leave. But she was gone in two days. No tears, no drama. Silent. She packed her bags, called the removals. And as a parting gift, she scattered crumbs of cooked fishin the curtains, under the windowsills, inside the vents. Leftovers from the farewell dinner shed made for herself, alone at the empty table.
Jamess new love moved into the “dream home” days later. Everything seemed perfectlight, space, a fireplace, a balcony. But within twenty-four hours, a putrid stench seeped into the walls. Nothing could mask itnot cleaning, not incense, not renovations.
The smell grew worse. They scrubbed floors, replaced carpets, threw open windows. Bought air purifiers. Useless. Friends stopped visiting. No one could stand the stench.
James tried to sell. But rumours spread through the neighbourhood. Buyers fled within minutes. Estate agents refused to help. The house had become cursed.
The couple took out a hefty loan for a new place. The money ran dry. Until Emily called:
*”How are things, James?”*
*”Awful,”* he admitted, defeated. *”The house wont sell. Were ruined.”*
*”How odd,”* she replied smoothly. *”You know, I do miss that house. Would you sell it to me? For say, 10% of the price?”*
James nearly wept with relief. He agreed on the spot. Ten percent? A small price to rid himself of the nightmare.
The next day, Emily arrived with a solicitor. Papers were signed in minutes. The couple left for their new home. She stepped inside the empty house, took a deep breathand smiled for the first time in years.
But the story wasnt over.
The couple had taken everything from the old housefurniture, curtains, even the curtain rods! Especially the curtain rods. James wouldnt leave a single thing for his ex-wife. Hed unscrewed them himself. And with them, hed carried away the source of the smell.
In their new home, the stench appeared the very next morning.
Emily had known it would. And she never called again.
Now, in her own house, she enjoys silence, clean walls, and roses in bloom. While James lives with a self-inflicted curse. For betrayal. For pride. For forgetting who had stood by him when he had nothing.
