Cole Baxter - The Doppelganger

THE Doppelganger is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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E mmeline Keller was doing her best to pack for the trip she was taking with her husband, Jeffrey, but it was proving to be a difficult task. Partly because she was constantly distracted by her thoughts, and partly because it was hard to do anything with him looming over her shoulder, second-guessing her every choice.

Do you really need all five bikinis?

Of course, she snapped. I dont want to be forced to sit in a wet one all day. Thats how you get sick.

He rolled his eyes at that. You never even go for a swim.

I do too. It was only that she preferred to sunbathe.

Although she was a redhead with fair skin and should avoid the sun like the plague, she didnt have to. Her genes had proved to be freaky like that, and she could sunbathe without turning crab red, like the rest of her family. She could put on a nice tan if she wanted to, and liked how her slightly darker skin made her green eyes pop, especially since her red hair always went a few shades lighter.

Jeffrey sighed and continued with his own packing.

Emmeline watched as he dumped two pairs of shorts and five shirts into his own suitcase, and she knew that meant he was halfway done. Unsurprisingly, she was right. After adding a pair of swim shorts, some flip-flops, and underwear, he started to close it. At times she envied the ability to pack lightly and not give a damn if it all matched.

Then again, it wasnt her fault she was a woman and needed more things. She couldnt wear the same outfit over and over during their trip.

Jeffrey wouldnt like that either. He chastised her for taking too long to pack for the trip, for bringing too many clothes, yet he was the one who loved to see her all dressed up. He was the one who praised her when she put in an effort to look her best. And she did that, for him. Sadly, when she pointed that out, he simply rolled his eyes and walked away.

Having a beautiful wife comes with a price, she wanted to say but held her tongue. She really didnt want to start another argument. She didnt have the energy to fight. The atmosphere was tense as it was, and she didnt want to add to it. Besides, they were going on a vacation, which should be a happy occasion. Will it be? she wondered. Looking at Jeffreys face, she wasnt sure.

We shall see.

Emmeline would do her best to make this a pleasurable trip, identify the rifts in their marriage and try to resolve them.

It was obvious something was wrong between them; she just didnt know what. It was hard to have an honest conversation with her husband when he acted like such a sourpuss all the time. He even had a perpetual frown on his face.

Maybe he reserves his smiles for someone else. She turned that thought away as soon as it entered her mind. Jeffrey would never cheat on her. Although, he had accused her of thinking of doing so many times in the past.

Emmeline was surprised that hed turned out to be such a jealous type. Jeffrey hadnt always been like that. When they first met, he had been so sweet, kind, and easygoing, always smiling. She was sure all those qualities were still in him. It was simply that she rarely saw that side anymore.

As of late, all they did was fight. It was like he was constantly looking for excuses to start an argument with her.

At times, the fights they had were truly idiotic, about idiotic things. Things she never imagined she would be arguing about. Jeffrey became extremely irritable, finding flaws in everything she said or did. He was always commenting on her behavior, disapproving of everything from her friends to her wardrobe choices.

It had become so bad that she couldnt even have a conversation with another person without him acting out. Especially men. That would guarantee a fight, where he would accuse her of wanting to sleep with another man. Which was ridiculous. She was very much in love with her husband despite all their difficulties.

Last night theyd argued because she was texting a friend, and Jeffrey thought it wasnt appropriate since it was almost midnight.

Appropriate? He acted like such a grandpa sometimes.

Whats so important you have to text him in the middle of the night? hed challenged, all riled up.

You know, we dont live in the eighteen hundreds and have to go down with the sun. Weve moved on, have electricity, so it really doesnt matter when I text, she replied, equally flustered.

She couldnt believe he was doing this to her. It was not that shed been texting a friend. It was that she was texting a male friend. The fact David was clearly gay went utterly unnoticed in Jeffreys mind. Though that was beside the point. She should be free to text whomever she wanted, whenever she wanted, without him getting angry.

It was hard to go to bed after such a stressful argument. Shed even wondered if she should go on this trip at all, and then felt guilty for having such thoughts in the first place. It was their anniversary trip; of course they should go, although to be perfectly honest, their situation was far from ideal.

They had been married for a year, and things were so tense between them that shed become too timid, reluctant to say anything at all to him for fear it would start a fight. That is no way of living, she reminded herself. But how to change anything?

Sighing, Emmeline pulled one bikini out of her suitcase, making sure he saw that. Maybe Jeffrey was right. Perhaps five was too many.

Besides, she would be surrounded by his family for the entirety of this trip, so there really was no one she needed to impress. She cringed at that.

What a joke.

Actually, that wasnt quite true, as she still felt like Jeffreys family hadnt fully accepted her. That meant she would definitely have to be on her best behavior and try to impress them and make them see Jeffrey hadnt made a mistake by marrying her.

Those were her fears. She didnt know one way or another what they all thought of her. Sure, they were very polite and nice, seemingly welcoming. Of course, that could just be an act, to not upset Jeffrey. Shed even signed a prenup, hoping that would ease their minds. She hadnt married Jeffrey for his money, but for his smoking good looks, she joked to herself.

All the same, she knew this trip would be challenging on so many levels. She needed to work on her marriage, in the presence of his family.

This is going to be fun, she tried to cheer herself up.

But she was exaggerating. His family were quite nice in comparison to others, hers included. They werent monsters; they were decent human beings, if a little strange. Jeffrey liked to describe them as eccentric, yet Emmeline would definitely use other adjectives.