Ellie's world was cracking apart piece by piece.
Ben's words still echoed in her head.
"We were going to get married."
The confession had gutted her. But it wasn't just what he had said. It was how he had said it. The hesitation. The guilt.
Like he had been hiding it.
Like he had been hiding more.
"Tell her everything, Ben," Victoria whispered, her voice curling around the room like poison. "Or should I?"
Ellie's breath hitched. "What else is there?"
Ben's eyes snapped to hers. "Ellie, I—"
"Oh, don't make her beg, sweetheart," Victoria purred. "You owe her that much, don't you?"
Ben swallowed hard, his body tense. "Victoria—"
"TELL HER!"
The walls shuddered. The lamps flickered.
Ben flinched—but this time, Ellie saw something in his eyes that made her blood run cold.
Fear.
Not of Victoria.
Of the truth.
Ellie took a step back, her pulse racing. "Ben."
He clenched his fists. "I was never going to tell you."
Her heart stopped. "Tell me what?"
Ben's face contorted with guilt. "That Victoria was never really gone."
The words slammed into Ellie like a punch to the gut.
"Excuse me?"
"You think she just came back out of nowhere?" Ben's voice was raw. "She's been here, Ellie. She's always been here."
Ellie staggered. "What—"
Victoria laughed, cold and mocking. "Oh, he never told you about the letters, did he?"
Ellie froze. "Letters?"
"Or the dreams?" Victoria's voice purred now. "The messages?"
Ellie's chest tightened. "Ben—"
"It wasn't supposed to be like this!" Ben snapped, his voice wrecked. "I thought I was going crazy! She was dead, Ellie! But she never left! She was always... with me! Whispering, calling me, showing up in my dreams. I thought if I ignored her, she'd fade—"
"But you didn't ignore me, did you, love?" Victoria's voice dripped with satisfaction.
Ellie's stomach plummeted. "Oh my God."
Victoria giggled. "*Oh, darling, you should have seen the things he told me at night. The things he felt."
Ellie turned to Ben, shaking. "You answered her?"
His hands shook. "Ellie—"
"You talked to her?" Her voice cracked. "While we were together?"
Ben's silence was deafening.
And that's when she knew.
"You never let her go."
"It wasn't like that!" Ben ran a hand through his hair, frantic. "I didn't choose this, Ellie! She was there! Everywhere! Every time I tried to move on, she'd pull me back!"
Victoria hummed, smug "And he let me."
Ellie felt the betrayal like a knife twisting in her gut. "You let her haunt you?"
"I didn't mean to!" Ben's voice cracked. "I thought I was losing my mind! But then—then I started to feel her more."
"Oh, yes," Victoria cooed. "Tell her how you felt me, Ben."
Ellie's pulse pounded. "Ben."
He turned away.
Victoria smirked. "He liked it, Ellie. Even when he was with you."
Ellie staggered. "Stop."
"Oh, but I'm just getting started."
The air shimmered. The shadows deepened.
And Ellie knew—
This wasn't just about the past anymore.
Ben had been living a double life.
One foot in the real world.
And one still wrapped in Victoria's cold, undead embrace.