"You were the only child and with all the showy appearances, you had to do a fancy funeral, because that's what your perfect friends said you should do. So you did. It was the talk of the town funeral, but in return, it got people talking. About what, you may ask? Destiny. You had all this money in the back stock, but you couldn't fight or give Destiny's death 1/4 of the time and money spent like you had your parents? Some would say, 'Oh, it's because they were FAMILY,' but you'd been with Destiny for a few years and people saw how in love and loyal she was to you while you were partying the night away with hoes who didn't care about you but loved the extra money and extravagant lifestyle you offered them."
With a sigh, Cole carried on.
"The talk continued to spread around town, and while that was happening, you realized how broke you were. Come time to pay for the 50,000-dollar funeral you'd hosted, and you had no money in the bank accounts. No money for food or rent. So, what did you have to do? Ask your friends for their help. The first two weeks, they didn't mind, giving you a few thousands to pay off the remaining funeral costs you had after taking a bank loan yourself. Even though you only had some money left that you'd eventually have to return to your 'friends,' you considered yourself okay and that in this time of need your fiancé would help."
Cole chuckled and shook his head. "What a fool you were. All the money you were giving your fiancé for all the 'extra' things she did for you, was going into ONE of her many saving accounts that she reserved for her… what do they call it now? Sugar daddies? The moment she realized your career was going downhill, she ditched you and then you were alone with a bank loan you couldn't pay off. Your friends were already unreachable, but they made sure the bank knew of the money you owed them and that just added to the negative signs in your bank account."
"You decided that you could go back to Destiny's kind family and request for that hush-hush money. I guess it made sense since you were desperate. To your shocking surprise, they were also broke."
What?!
"Seeing as they went on with the "lie" that Destiny was their cousin's daughter, all the charity money was donated to reopen the investigation of Destiny's death. They had wasted the money they had gotten from you, thinking they would have gotten what was being collected from the charity, and they had been hiding from Destiny that they, too, were about to go bankrupt due to their very addicting gambling habits. None of the people in town knew about it, seeing as they hid it so well, but in the end, those habits led them to be homeless."
Cole squeezed my hand and his eyes met mine to check in as to whether I was okay. Once I gave him a reassuring nod, he continued.
"Who was the creator of that charity campaign, you may be wondering? Ah… Josh. He was now homeless and was suffocating with guilt. He knew Destiny was alive when he'd hung up on her, and the guilt was eating him alive. He decided to make the campaign and confessed to the news that he had lied because he'd been blackmailed… by you."
This has to be a joke. Or from some type of horror movie.
"I didn't blackmail him!" Phillip snapped.
"Oh I know, but it sure was a believable lie, wasn't it?" Cole replied and shrugged.
"The news of that came out, about what? Three days ago? The case was reopened and due to the pressure from the public for answers, the burnt residence was under investigation in a day, and what did they discover? No remains. Not even a bone. They did, however, encounter a cat, who was identified as Destiny's pet."
I gasped, and tears began to pool in my eyes. "Snix?"
Rainbow peered up at me, and I looked down and lowered my head to press against hers. "You're still mine. You aren't going anywhere," I whispered.
"Meow." She purred and snuggled her head against my forehead, and I turned my focus to the conversation, noticing Cole's eyes were on me for a moment.
"Her pet, Snix, was holding an interesting piece of paper in her mouth. It was a business card. YOUR business card. Why would Destiny's cat have your business card? Yes, Destiny was your fiancé, but she had her own business card for her position at the publishing company. Ah, I know. It's because you dropped it when you passed by that evening."
WHAT?! No. He didn't come by. I would have known… I came home and snuggled up with Snix, and after a good cry, fell asleep. I would have heard him… I think.
I glanced at Phillip as he bit his lip, and my stomach dropped as I realized the truth. He… no…
I squeezed Cole's hand as tightly as I could, trying my best not to have a full breakdown right there and then, and he squeezed it back. He knew as well as I that he had to finish revealing the rest.
"You came by and knew that no one but Destiny was home. You thought of a number of ways to finish her off. You didn't want her to ruin the one chance you had at the vision you were so obsessed with. You couldn't shoot her or kill her with a pillow. You had to do it in a way where no one would really question it. An accidental fire sounded perfect."
Phillip was pale now, and he lowered himself to the bed and put his hands through his hair.
"I… didn't mean to! It just happened. I lit a match and dropped it in the living room. That stupid cat tried to kill me! It clung to my coat, but I took it off, knowing it would burn to ash anyways. I ran away in time before anyone could see me."
"You didn't mean to, but if I gave you a chance to restart… you'd do it again."
My heart stopped, and Phillip raised his head to stare into Cole's eyes. "If it meant I'd get a chance to do everything differently, then yes. I would have started that fire… or I'd do something different. Take her out and maybe hire some guys. I don't know. I would have made it so I could escape, take my money, and ditch everyone. Not one person reached my standards. I'd just go away and find people who would."
Cole frowned and sighed. "Your biggest flaw, Phillip, wasn't anyone but yourself."
Phillip let out a rough exhale and stood up, the anger from before coming back as he glared at Cole. "Just give me my wish! I told you I was the reason Destiny died! People know now! They finished the investigation, and it's all over the news. That damn cat somehow managed to grab the damn remaining half of the match I'd used, and they were able to identify me! The police will be here any moment. That's why I wished for you back. It's been 90 days! My trial is over. I want out!"
"No," Cole whispered.
He glanced back to meet my eyes and he lowered them to our joined hands. I knew from his look he needed both his hands to do what he wanted, and I slowly nodded.
Letting go of my hand, he walked up to Phillip and smiled. "What if I told you Destiny was alive?"
"What?! She… She's alive?!" Phillip asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"Ya. She's doing pretty well," Cole replied.
Phillip pressed his hands onto Cole's chest, and I stared in disgust at the glimpse of hope in his eyes. "Tell her to come back?! She can prove that I didn't kill her. Well… I originally had the intention to, but I'll apologize? I'll give her whatever she wants to prove I'm innocent. I can wish for her to come here and prove my innocence! Then I'll get that Josh guy for his stupid actions and be free. I'll be able to have that campaign money!"
Cole chuckled then, his shoulders moving up and down. His chuckle turned to a laugh and he had to lift his hand to wipe the tears that formed in his eyes from his laughter. The sound wasn't the heartwarming kind. It held a level of evilness to it, and I could see why his title was Vengeance.
"She'll be staying exactly where she is," Cole announced.
"WHY?!" Phillip exclaimed. "I can go to jail for LIFE! You'll ruin my whole life if you don't bring her here to fess up!"
"Fess up? And what exactly did Destiny do?" Cole's voice was cold, and Phillip seemed to reconsider what he'd said.
"I mean..."
"As you had fun with your boys and told the world you were mourning the death of your ex-fiancé, Destiny was in a hotel room watching the news of her death that was thrown under the rug. She was forgotten about in a couple of days, and not one person car
ed. Her life went from everything being perfect in her eyes, to her being non-existent. But YOUR whole life will be ruined after you contributed to her fake death, are the reason why your perfect parents are dead, that Destiny's adopted parents are homeless, and to add to the list, the reason why Josh is dead."
I simply blinked and tried to remember to breathe as I held Rainbow tightly to my chest.
"Dead? I… I didn't contribute to that!" Phillip argued.
"Oh, but you did. See, Josh had a really rare health condition that, without his meds, made every part of his body hurt. He couldn't touch the campaign money, and he'd run out of his medication after he'd confessed what he'd done. The pain was so severe that he couldn't take it anymore. He decided it would be best to do the same thing he'd found out you'd done to Destiny. Frame you with his death."
My mind was officially blown away by the news and Phillip fell to his knees in shock. "No..."
"Yes. The police will be here in about five minutes, and you will be arrested not only for the death of Destiny Alexa but also the death of Josh Hollow, who'd revealed the truth of what you had done."
"No. You… you have to save me! I wish for it to stop! Tell Destiny to come here and bail me out! I don't deserve to fucking rot in jail! I'm innocent!"
Cole sighed and shook his head. "You had a woman who loved you wholeheartedly. She worked her ass off even though she knew what you were doing behind closed doors. She ignored the signs and the mocking comments people must have been saying around the office. She endured all the bullying her coworkers did thanks to the lies you spread around bars and clubs. Destiny wasn't the problem, Phillip. You were. She could have been the perfect wife, the perfect mother to raise your children, and the perfect woman who'd stay by your side through thick and thin. But your standards polluted your mind and you lost the one thing that was perfect in your life."
Cole turned around and walked to my side, and as he turned back he lifted his hand for me to hold. I placed my trembling hand in his, and he held it firmly as he whispered. "The reason your wish was granted, was to make you see the wrong in your perfect vision. If you had seen that… well, I would have let Destiny reverse it all for you."
I looked at Cole who turned his head to meet my eyes. Those jewels were filled with passion and admiration, two things I hadn't seen in my own fiancé’s eyes in years.
"But I won't. She doesn't deserve to waste a drop of energy on scum like you."
"No! Grant my wish! Please! I beg you. I'll beg Destiny too! I'll apologize! Reverse it! Reve-"
"POLICE! PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"
We looked to the door where a flood of men in black rushed in, pointing their handguns at Phillip who trembled on the floor in his robe.
"Phillip Scott! You're under arrest for the murders of Destiny Alexa and Josh Hollow. Anything you say will be..."
Cole tugged at my hand then and, with a blink of an eye, we were standing outside of our car that was a block down from the ten police cars surrounding the entrance of the home. I didn't have anything to say. No words to grasp the situation.
"Why don't we take a break and go somewhere calm to digest what just happened?" Cole offered. His voice was full of compassion and was soft to my ears that felt like they were pounding.
With a nod, I turned to face him and walked into his arms. He wrapped his free hand around me. "That's an example of the price someone can pay for their wish to come true."
"Meow."
I stared quietly at the calm water of the lake that was near the place I'd once called home. My eyes focused on the smooth surface that looked perfectly untouched under the moonlight.
Even though Rainbow was doing her hardest to grab my attention and comfort me, I couldn't stop staring. I couldn't stop repeating what had just happened in my head over and over again.
"Destiny."
I didn't move. It was more like my body wouldn't move right now. I felt so pathetic, and I was unsure if I could get out of this mindset. How do you accept the fact that the person you were ready to share your life with, didn't love you because you weren't perfect in their eyes? I was so imperfect to the point I deserved to die to maintain the wish he'd desperately asked for.
How can I love again? After giving everything I had in hopes of pleasing the man I loved, the family I thought loved me in return, and the people I worked around all day and night, I felt as if I had nothing else to give.
Who would love me now? I wasn't perfect. I never thought of myself in that sense. I knew my curves weren't for everyone. I knew I didn't fit in because I was a mixed race. I knew that to the majority of my coworkers, I was considered a workaholic who cared about impressing my boss and only pushed hard to help the company be the best it could be.
All for what?
The world forgot about me. They traded rumors and spoke behind closed doors, but no one stood up wholeheartedly to help find out what really happened. The truth came out only because it benefited someone else's situation.
Everyone around me would have kept quiet otherwise. That was the hardest part. To acknowledge that everyone would have been fine with my murder and would have allowed it to slip under the rug.
My poor Snix must have thought I'd come back home and had brought over whatever she'd thought would be useful. A key piece of evidence that allowed my ex-fiancé to now be charged with 'murder.'
Everything that happened within these last two weeks had happened because of one wish. A selfish wish that a Jinn was okay with granting.
I couldn't deny that I had come to despise Marc. Even if it was his job, he could have seen the consequences such a wish would result in and yet, he let it be.
Thanks to him, I had suffered those seven days, and now, as I sat with Rainbow in my lap, it felt like the wound I thought was healing had been ripped open and was bleeding out.
I knew there was good to the situation. I could see that.
If it weren’t for all of this, I wouldn't have met the guys. Wouldn't have been able to experience such kindness from Luke, Jeremiah, Owen, and Cole. I wouldn't have found a mother who truly loved me with all my imperfections or Cedrick who showed such love and protectiveness a father would show his own child.
I wouldn't have found out about my ex-family being on the verge of bankruptcy. Knowing me, I would have helped them any way I could, and even supported them financially, thinking that was what family did when things were rough.
I would have never found out how Phillip felt about me. About our relationship. I never knew he was spreading lies and rumors about me across town, but I guess I was too oblivious to care. I thought he loved me, but that was all it was. Fabricated love that, even with the transparent signs, I had continued to fall for so that I wouldn't end up alone.
"Destiny."
"Meow?"
What now? What am I supposed to do? I can't go back. Not with how everything has turned out. I'm officially dead…
Thanks to Phillip's wish, my existence to the world was erased. If one person's wish could affect so many individuals, did I want to be a part of that world? To have the power and control to ruin someone’s or a group of people's lives because of the chain reaction one person's wish could create.
Was I ready to tackle it? I'd have to jump right into it if I did accept this new life.
And if I didn't decide to be a Jinn, I'd forget everything. Forget the kindness these four Jinns had shown me. Forget everything I'd just discovered.
I'd be back to where I was, but instead, it would be 90 days later, and everything would be fucked up. I'd enter a world where I technically didn't exist, and I'd leave the one place I'd felt like I belonged.
Not feel… I did belong here. This is my home… but am I ready?
"Destiny."
I flinched at the rather loud voice and turned my head to my left to see that Cole's face was inches from mine. My eyes grew wide before I glanced down to his lips. When did he get so close?
"Meow." I hadn't realized Rainbow wasn't in my lap an
ymore but in Cole's hand and right next to my face, until she reached out and gently patted my nose with her paw. She did it a few times before she sat back and stared at me with blue eyes that were wide and full of sadness.
"Cole… Rainbow."
"I know you need space, but I was getting worried when you stopped responding," Cole admitted.
"Sorry, I was..." I trailed off and lowered my head.
"You were thinking about what happened," Cole finished.
I nodded and lifted my knees to my chest. I wrapped my arms around my legs and placed my head on top of my knees, my eyes returning to the calm water before us.
"Cole, I don't know what the fuck to do." I choked, realizing I was fucking screwed.
I felt like I was on a ticking clock and had to choose between the left path and the right path. Both paths could lead to shitty endings, but I had no time to decide on which one would be the right choice in the long run.
Cole sat down next to me and Rainbow hopped out of his hand and onto my shoulder. She snuggled herself between my shoulder and neck and began to purr quietly to help me calm down.
I started to cry, my shoulder moving up and down with my ongoing sobs.
"How am I supposed to do this? To have the power of granting wishes that could potentially mean fucking someone over for the sake of my own redemption? Marc didn't need to grant that wish. No, he SHOULDN'T have granted it. And yet he did! Now, look! Him granting Phillip's wish is exactly why I'm here. What if I wasn't a Jinn, Cole? What would I have done? Stayed in the hotel until my heart stopped beating? I'd have nowhere to go. No family to turn to. No one cared… and that's what hurts!"
I turned my head to show him a glimpse of my heartbreak as my tear-filled eyes locked onto his.
"No one gave a shit. They talked and pondered about how I could have possibly died, but everyone moved on. No one had the guts to take the step and say, 'Hey! This isn't right.' That's the group of people I surrounded myself with every day. The people I went above and beyond to try and please while sacrificing my own happiness! I'd get only 2 hours of sleep for these people. I'd skip meals, barely drink water, and run to the fucking toilet just to make ends meet. Jeez, I fucked up my apparent relationship because I cared more about helping the company he invested in instead of working on my ugly body image and shedding some pounds by doing the opposite and building muscle."
Wish For Me (Destiny Jinn Series Book 1) Page 13