“Margaret.”
“No, thank you.”
His face changed.
It wasn’t dramatic. He didn’t shout or threaten me.
His smile simply disappeared, revealing a man I had never met before.
“You need to drink it,” he said quietly.
The words sent a chill through me.
“Why?”
He stared at me for a second longer.
Then he set the mug down.
“Because I made it for you.”
He walked out of the kitchen.
I waited until I heard his footsteps on the stairs before pouring the tea down the sink.
That night, I pretended to be asleep when he came to bed.
Around two in the morning, I heard his phone vibrate.
Daniel got up and went into the hallway.
I could hear his voice through the partly closed bedroom door.
“She’s getting suspicious.”
Silence.
“No. I can’t keep increasing it.”
Another pause.
Then he said something that made my stomach tighten.
“If she collapses before Friday, the entire arrangement falls apart.”
