Who really killed Wanda Day! - Wedding Bells (DAY! Series Book 2)

Chapter 24 - Two To Torture, Two To Tango, And Two Threats

Wanda and Colin had just settled into their spacious new house, a palace fit for a royal couple and their two little heirs. They were madly in love, living life to the fullest, and still couldn't get enough of each other. They loved the activities - those in the basement, and those in the bedroom.

As they lay side by side, sweaty, breathless, and satisfied, Wanda felt a twinge of unease. For weeks now, a persistent thought had been nagging at the back of her mind, and she knew she needed to have a heart-to-heart with her husband before it threatened to unravel the very fabric of their blissful existence.

"Colin?" she asked.

"Yes, baby?"

Wanda took a deep breath and turned to face her husband, her expression serious. "What do we do in case of an emergency? When... When shit gets real?" She paused, her brow furrowed with concern. "I can't stop thinking about it - What if the authorities catch wind of what we've been up to in the basement?"

Colin gazed at Wanda, his eyes filled with profound love and adoration. "I love you, Wanda. I love you more than myself. You and our children, you are worth more than my life could ever be," he whispered. "And when the time should come, I'll take all the blame."

"What?" she asked, horrified.

"Baby, I will take the fall. I'll deny your involvement completely. You'll say you had no idea about my activities. The kids need you, Wanda. They need their mother."

Wanda's eyes widened with alarm as Colin's words sank in. She shook her head vehemently, rolling onto her side and half-draping herself over her husband's body. "No, no, no, I won't let you do that!"

"Yes, my love, you will," he said, his hands gently cupping her face. "I love you, and I will always love you, just like our children. And this is the only solution. The two of us will never both go to jail. But it won't come to that, baby. We are safe. We have our rules, YOUR rules, and they work. We've been so careful, so discreet. As long as we stick to the plan, we have nothing to worry about."

"But what if someone breaks the community from within?"

Colin shook his head firmly, a reassuring smile spreading across his face. "No, baby, no one is that stupid."

Wanda let out a slow, measured breath, her eyes searching her husband's face. Deep down, she knew he was right - no one in their right mind would willingly jeopardize everything they had built, risking a lifetime behind bars. The words hadn't completely quelled the lingering worry within her, but faced with the unwavering love and conviction in Colin's gaze, Wanda decided to let it go, for now. "You're right," she whispered, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Colin gently brushed her wild curls behind her ear, his hands coming to rest on the sides of her head. Suddenly, he flipped them around, now lying on top of her, his thumb caressing her cheek. "Don't worry, baby." He leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her lips. "No one, really NO ONE, is THAT stupid."

*****

For Colin, the world seemed to grind to a halt. Time itself appeared to slow to a crawl as if someone had pressed the pause button on reality. He could hear the faint, dull murmur of his own blinking, a metronome-like rhythm amidst the frozen chaos around him.

His gaze darted across the crowd, taking in the absurd tableau unfolding before him. There was Chris, mid-bite, his hand suspended in the air like a modern art sculpture. Next to him, Willow's head whipped around, her expression a comical mask of horror.

Almost identical scenes played out at other tables. Belle opened her mouth, about to speak to her husband, but then her gaze snapped to her father instead. Colin spotted Anna, Jesse, and Artyom, their faces etched with the same stunned disbelief. Suzie stood up so quickly that her chair nearly toppled over, while Douglas' wife took a few bewildered steps backward, her head tilted in a quizzical gesture. Marcus clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide as he witnessed Karl still roaring, and THAT brought Colin back into reality.