**Betrayal Beyond Repair: A Cold and Elegant Revenge**
They spent thirty-five years together. Nearly half a lifetime. James and Eleanor. It had all begun like something from an old romance noveldancing in the rain, talking until dawn, dreaming of a house with a garden. Eleanor was petite, quiet, delicate, but with a spine of steel. James, ambitious, eyes full of fire, always chasing more.
They endured poverty, debt, moving cities, grief. When James built his business from nothing, it was Eleanor who held everything togetherhome, children, bills, illnesses. When success finally came, bringing comfort and stability, James fell in love. With his new secretary, long-legged, who laughed at his jokes and lingered just a moment too long when she touched his arm.
He made his decision swiftly. He hired expensive solicitors to keep the housethe one built brick by brick, renovated by their own hands, where Eleanor had planted rose bushes and embroidered cushions. The home that had once been their shared dream.
The court awarded the house to James. Eleanor had two months to leave. But she was gone in two days. No tears, no theatrics. Silent. She packed her bags, called the movers. And as her farewell, she scattered crumbs of boiled codbehind the curtains, under the windowsills, inside the air vents. Leftovers from the goodbye dinner she had prepared for herself, alone at the empty table.
Jamess new love moved into the “dream house” days later. To her, everything seemed perfect: the light, the space, the fireplace, the balcony. But within twenty-four hours, a putrid stench seeped into the walls. Nothing could erase itnot scrubbing, not air fresheners, not renovations.
The smell worsened. They washed floors, replaced carpets, kept windows open. Bought purifiers. Useless. Friends stopped visiting. No one could stand the reek.
James tried to sell. But rumours spread through the neighbourhood. Buyers fled after ten minutes. Estate agents refused to help. The house had become cursed.
The couple took out a heavy loan for a new place. The money drained away. Until Eleanor called:
*”How are things, James?”*
*”Awful,”* he admitted, broken. *”The house wont sell. Were ruined.”*
*”How strange,”* she replied, serene. *”You know, I do miss that house. Would you sell it to me? For say, 10% of the value?”*
James nearly wept with relief. He agreed instantly. Ten percent? A small price to rid himself of the nightmare.
The next day, Eleanor arrived with a notary. Papers were signed in minutes. The couple left for their new home. She stepped into the empty house, took a deep breathand smiled for the first time in years.
But the story didnt end there.
The couple took everything from the old housefurniture, curtains, even the curtain rods! Especially the rods. James wouldnt leave a single thing for his ex-wife. He dismantled them himself. And with them, he carried the source of the smell.
The stench appeared in their new home by morning.
Eleanor had known it would. And she never called again.
Now, in her own home, she enjoys silence, clean walls, and roses in bloom. While James lives in a self-inflicted curse. For betrayal. For pride. For forgetting who stood by him when he had nothing.
