Darkness. Nothingness. Everything is still and silent. My flickering soul is the only essence around.

"" That calm but firm voice resonates throughout my entire being, but I feel no fear. I don't get the opportunity to say anything before I feel my essence being sucked back into my physical body.

Gasping, my eyes open and hot fiery pain has me struggling to catch my breath. I hear voices all around me, but I can only focus on the pain.

Through all of that intense, burning pain, I suddenly feel an injection of something cool, then I fall unconcious.

This time when I wake up, my entire body is no longer on fire. I'm able to collect myself and wonder what the hell happened.

With that thought, my memory floods in and everything that happened flashes through my mind.

The beach, our wedding, me getting shot, Ellie's horrified face, then nothing. Oh shit-

"ELLIE!" I abruptly sit up, ignoring the stabbing pain, and call out for my wife. Grave thoughts race through my head, and as I try to stand the physical pain is nothing compared to the emotional pain as I wonder if she's dead.

I'm in some kind of bedroom and as I'm trying to force myself to get through this door, it bursts open. We collide and then I'm sprawled out on the ground. I feel my skin opening, making the fiery pain come back.

"Doc, we need you in here!" I look up to see Niall over me, looking worried.

"Ellie?"

"Harry you were shot seven times and-"

"Where's Ellie?!"

▪︎▪︎▪︎

I surface from my reoccurring nightmarish memory, breathing hard and sweating. Sitting up abruptly, I wipe my eyes harshly as if that would wipe away the bad memory. I sit on the edge of my bed for a moment, letting reality sink in and the past slip away.

I hear rustling in the kitchen and soon the smell of blueberries permeates the air. Sighing, I get up, pull on a pair of sweatpants, and walk towards the kitchen.

A lean figure is standing in front of the stove. Her ice blond hair is up in a bun and she's wearing a diamond studded apron with nothing else but pink panties.

Smirking, I come up behind her, wrapping my arms around her tiny waist. "Good morning Wyn." I place a kiss on the side of her neck. Her body lights up at the feel of me and she arches her back into my morning erection. "Morning Babe. Surprise, I cooked you breakfast!" I kiss her lips briefly before backing up and letting her finish cooking. "Aw babe, you are so sweet. Thank you." She winks and goes back to flipping the slightly burnt pancakes.

While she's doing that, I get out the orange juice and the silverware. After I set the table, she puts pancakes on the plate straight from the hot pan. I go to sit down but she stops me. "Babe, I want to properly say good morning to you."

"What-" Wynter crashes her lips onto mine and jumps on me. I grab her ass as she kisses me deeply and rubs herself up against me. I squeeze her pert ass with one hand and slip the other up under her apron to fondle her boobs. She moans into my mouth and rubs against me faster.

I detach from her and put her down. "Although I'm really enjoying myself, we have to stop babe." Wynter pouts but nods. "Alright, let's eat before the food gets cold?"

As we settle in I think about how well she's keeping her word. When we first met, I told her that I didn't want to have sex until we've been dating for a long time. I wanted it to be special.

I dig into my scrumptious looking plate. Wyn is looking at me for a reaction, and I give her a thumbs up. She rolls her eyes. "Babe, I know it doesn't taste good okay? I just tried it and it literally tastes like burnt blueberries." I smile at her and feel my dimples pop up. "It tastes good to me because you made it. I really appreciate this babe." Wynter laughs and snatches up her plate, and then mine.

"Let's go out to eat!" She calls over her shoulder as she dumps the plates and puts them in the dishwasher.

I come up behind her, twirl her around and plant a soft kiss on her lips. "Sure Babe, let's go to that place you like with the gold plates." Her blue eyes light up. "Really?! Oh my gosh, okay let me go home and change and I'll meet you there!"

"Alright babe." She gives me one more chaste kiss, throws on her trenchcoat and is out the door.

I wait a couple of minutes before I go over and lock the door behind her. I slowly walk towards my bedroom and close that door behind me, also locking it. When I am one hundred percent sure that I'm alone, I let out a deep breath, and break character.

I don't know how long I can keep this up.

Everything about that vain airhead bitch is just wrong. She puts on a good act, but it's not as good as mine. I see right through Wynter's bullshit. I see her to the core and it is evil. It shows sometimes in how she treats the people she thinks are beneath her.

The only thing that Wynter likes about me is my money and my dick. For now she is content with just my money, but who knows for how long. That bullshit excuse will only be able to hold up for so long.

I hate her. I've hated her since the day she disrespected Ellie. My hands are itching to wrap themselves around her neck, but I still need her. The moment she has fulfilled her purpose, that will be her last day on this earth.

I brush my teeth vigorously, trying to get the metallic taste of her venom out of my mouth. Guilt claws away inside of me, but I shove it down. I know what I'm physically doing, but it mentally sickens me. Having to touch her fake boobs and ass is not something that I truly enjoy. I know that and yet, I still feel disgusted with myself.

Once I'm cleaned up, I dress in a black turtleneck and denim jeans, paired with black wing tipped boots. I put on a couple gold chains a few rings.

I sit on my messy bed and sigh. I know that I'm going out in public with that bitch, so I have no other choice to do what I'm about to do.

I take out my second phone and power it up. I unlock it with my thumbprint and a face scan. The homescreen pops up, showing me only two apps. I click the one I want and wait for it to come up.

I feel relief as I see that Ellie is wearing it today. I study the map closely and see that she is at the house. Hopefully she doesn't go out, but if she does I will be alerted. The place that Wynter and I are going to is kind of on the outskirts of town so, I doubt she'll be there.

But that's what I thought last time.

After that day and after finding out Ellie had our daughter early because of that, because of me and because of that bitch, I vowed that something like that would never happen again. So I did what I said I would never do.

I began tracking her.

I had hoped that she would continue to wear the Python necklace I got her, and luckily she did. I had a locator placed inside, along with the tiny knife. I didn't turn it on until that terrible day at the cafe. It's the only way to keep her and our daughters safe. Hopefully she never takes it off.

I get my apple watch and line it up with my second phone. Once I have the app on the watch, I power down the phone and place it back in its hidden spot. If she comes anywhere close to where we are, I will be alerted of it.

The app was specifically made for this. My advanced tech guy, Tyler, created it for me and put it on my devices. I pay Tyler not to ask questions although, when he introduced the app to me, I know he had a million.

I groan when I get a text on my main phone from Wynter.

𝑻𝒐: 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒆💗

To: Babe💗

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎: 𝑾𝒚𝒏

From: Wyn

𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒆! 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑! 𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅?

Babe! I need ur help! Pink or Gold?

*𝑾𝒚𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔*

*Wyn has sent two attachments*

I open the attachments and roll my eyes at what I'm seeing. We're literally going to a fucking restaurant to eat breakfast, not a club. I try to pick the one with the most class, but it's not easy.

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎: 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒆💗

From: Babe💗

𝑻𝒐: 𝑾𝒚𝒏

To: Wyn

𝑫𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝑾𝒚𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖! 𝑼𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆, 𝑰'𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 🥵

Damn Wyn, they both look so sexy on you! Ugh if I absolutely have to choose, I'd say the Gold one 🥵

She only sends back a bunch of emojis as a response and I want to bash my head in.

Knowing something that will calm me down, I pull up the picture of my baby girl. Adira. I took it when I first saw her, and I couldn't believe how beautiful and tiny she was. I felt bad for going against Ellie's wishes, but at this point nothing cam be worse than what has already been done. I just couldn't stay away from our daughter. I know that after spending some time with Wynter today, I'm going to have to go visit her again. She is one of the only things that reminds me why I'm doing this.

I look at ths picture a bit longer before putting it away and getting ready to go. I steel myself and prepare to get back into the character's mindset. This is the only way that I can assure that Wynter believes every word that comes out of my mouth. The character I am playing is but a simple one, but vitality important. A man who is extremely attracted to Wynter, who loves to dote and spend money on her. One who wants a serious relationship with her but can be mysterious at times. She also thinks that I inherited my money from my deceased father who was the vp of some random company. Wynter is not interested in details, so I know she would never look into it. She could care less where I get the money from as long as I spend it on her.

I walk through my apartment, wishing I could just stay in here.

Before I leave, I press a button on my watch. "Activate." I barely hear the cameras turning on, clicking in place.

I have my reasons.

I lock up and am on my way.

I live in the penthouse of an apartment building, but I have no neighbors. The residents that lived in this building, I bought them out. It pays to have the entire building to yourself with what I'm doing. Civilians only get in the way and I'd hate for an innocent to get caught up in my shit.

Outside, the sun feels good on my skin but the air is crisp with a bite to it. I pull on my leather jacket and black sunglasses.

I don't own a car, but I do own a motorcycle. It's easier for me, plus Wynter hates them so she never asks me for a ride. A win win if you ask me.

I start up and take off. I wear no helmet as I love to feel the wind through my hair. Sounds dumb, but I'm not concerned about safety.

I reach the restaurant in no time and I park my bike at the front. I can already see Wynter inside, her dress causing a lot of stares and whispers.

As soon as I enter the restaurant, Wynter's tinny voice pierces the air. "Babe! Over here!" I saunter over to the table and plant a kiss on her lips. "Hey Wyn, you look beautiful babe." She grins and shimmies in her seat. "I know! Sit, sit, I ordered your favorite!" I sit across from her and showcase a teasing smirk. "Blueberry pancakes?" She rolls her cerulean eyes. "No Babe, I ordered the classic English breakfast." My eyebrows draw together. "What?" "You know, the beans and toast thing! It's your favorite because you're British, duh!"

My character breaks for a split second as I imagine plunging the dinner knife into her neck.

Instead, I give her an academy award winning smile. "Wow, that is so sweet babe. Thank you."

We make small talk, which is basically just Wynter telling me about her recent shopping conquests, until a waitress approaches. "Good Morning, my name is Colette.What would you like to drink?"

Wynter's eyes turn into shards of ice blue glass. "I've already ordered our food, why are you just now asking about our drinks like an idiot?"

The waitress blinks once but doesn't waiver. "Miss you told me to come back once your fiance got here-"

My eyebrows raise slightly and Wynter's face turns a shade of pink. "I never said anything of the sort! So you're calling me a liar? How dare you?! I could buy this entire restaurant, burn it down, and still have more money than you!" The young girl rolls her eyes and looks like she's about to put Wynter in her place.

Before anything else can happen, a short balding man in a suit rushes over. "What seems to be the problem, miss?"

Wynter huffs and crosses her arms. "This stupid waitress was rude and called me a liar! I demand for her to be fired!" The girl's cool demeanor drops, and she starts to look panicked. That expression intensifies when the manager says, "Done. Colette, get your things and go."

"But-"

"Now!"

Wynter has a smug smile on her face as the girl leaves with her head hung down.

I've just been sitting back and watching this play out, but I feel horrible for the defenseless girl. The only thing she did wrong was get assigned to this table.

See what I mean about who Wynter truly is? Trust me, this is only the top layer of her true self.

The manager gives us complimentary champagne and tells us that our food will be out soon. Wynter smirks and holds up her glass. "To us." Ignoring everything that just happened, I smirk back as if I enjoy it. "To us." We clink our glasses and take sips of the fine liquor.

"So, how is it going with your cousins? Are they still pissing you off?"

Wynter's eyes narrow and she frowns. "Yes they are! I'm only around them when my mother forces me to be, and yet they still manage to irritate me."

"Why don't you like them?"

She rolls her eyes. "If you met them, trust me, you would understand. We have nothing in common and I'm more attractive than they are. Plus they participate in the things that my uncle does and it speaks of their character." It feels like my ears prick up like a dog and I start listening attentively.

"Oh?"

"Yeah I mean, why get your hands dirty if you could get someone else to do it for you? That's why I should be his heir, not them." As soon as the words are said, Wynter's eyes bulge a little and she covers her mouth. "Oopsie, I've said too much." She giggles and sips more champagne.

Trying to put her at ease, I change the topic.

We begin to talk of random things, but my mind is whirling at this confirming information.

So far I've only had my suspicions that Wynter was related to who I'm really trying to get to. The stupid girl just confirmed it to me. I'll play dumb, for now, but I understood her terminology and what she was saying without actually saying it.

Hopefully I'll never meet Wynter's cousins, as they're most likely just as horrible as she is.

After a few more minutes of meaningless conversation, our food comes out. Wynter wasn't kidding when she said she ordered an English breakfast. Some of these things I haven't seen since I was a child. It makes me feel a weird combination of nostalgia and sadness.

As we eat, I find that I actually enjoy everything. Except for the beans. I've hated beans ever since my sister, Gemma, threw them up all over me when she had the flu one time.

"So.. do you like it?" I look up to find Wynter slyly watching me eat. I grin at her. "I absolutely love it Babe. Thanks again."

She smiles and her foot brushes mine underneath the table. "Babe, I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Oh? What is it, Wyn?"

She bites her fake plump lip and tucks her hair behind her ear. "Well, Uncle Mickey is having a really huge party in a couple of months. It's going to be a ball, and everyone has to dress extremely fancy. It's a little bit of a business meeting for my uncle, but mainly it's for fun. ...I wanted to invite you and introduce you to my mother. Would you like to be my date?"

I almost choke on a sausage link. Swallowing the food, I think of how to respond. However I respond, I have to be very careful. I can't seem too overeager, even though I'm practically exploding with joy. This is what I've been waiting for.

"Wow Wyn. I'd love to come, and I'd be honored to meet your mother." Wynter claps her hands together and squeals in that high pitch of hers.

"Yay! I'll text mother right now and let her know you're coming!" She pills out her bubblegum pink iPhone and types away. I go back to eating and try to control myself.

"Fuck!" Startled, I drop my fork and look up. Wynter is frowning at her phone. "Babe, mother needs me. My aunt is out with my useless cousin, so I'm the only one that can help her. I got to go." She pouts, but I pick up her hand and place a kiss upon it.

"That's okay babe, text me okay?"

A smile reanimates her face, and leaving behind a cloud of chanel perfume, she's gone.

I breathe out slowly, but I make sure not to alter my personality too much. You never know who could be watching.

I finish up my food, pay the ridiculous bill, and leave. Usually I would leave a tip, but I know the fired waitress wouldn't see a penny of it. I leave quickly, not wanting to be in this place for another minute.

Outside, I'm getting my keys ready when I see movement in my peripheral vision. I look up and see our waitress walking down the sidewalk, away from me. I hastily pull out my wallet and go after her. I don't want anyone from the restaurant to see me, so I follow her for a little bit until we're well away from the place.

"Hey! Colette?"