Lethal Lust

epilogue.

Jess thought she'd never find another boyfriend, let alone have another ring on her finger.

Yet, here she was five years later engaged to be married. His name was Raffaello, an Italian entrepreneur he'd first introduced himself as. They'd met at a business socializing event in Atlanta, where Jess had eventually decided to move to, in order to build her new life. She'd had a rocky start but she was still armed with her fathers' money and so she quickly adjusted to this new life.

Her and Raffaello had hit it off right away, things had moved fast. Too fast, his family had said. You barely know the girl, they'd said. But nonetheless, now only seven months after they'd first begun dating, he'd placed a ring on her finger.

Jess had been ecstatic she'd practically screamed 'yes' from the restaurants' balcony; the location Raffaello had chosen to propose. But later on, that night, after they'd returned to Raffaello's apartment, and he laid beside her steadily sleeping, Jess laid awake, thinking. As she did most nights.

After everything that had happened, she'd become an almost nocturnal creature. Never being able to get a moments' shut-eye until five a.m struck. She felt Raffaello's arms wrap around her waist, as he leaned closer towards her.

"You not asleep, yet?"

"I'm not tired." She responded quietly, sitting up and perching herself at the edge of the bed.

"You're thinking about them, again, aren't you?" He asked, the tiredness manifesting itself in his thickly-accented voice.

"How can I not? Even when I'm miles away, they're always going to be here." She tapped against her left temple.

"What they did to you...what she did to you, it fucking makes my blood boil just to think about it. You should've gone to the police, you should've told them everything, she should be rotting in a prison cell right now, not roaming around, enjoying her life knowing that she ruined yours!"

"You don't get it, Raf, I'm scared of her. She murdered Elijah right in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do anything about it. She's dangerous." Jess lied, she wasn't proud of the words that were sprouting out of her mouth, but she couldn't stop them anymore.

The first time she'd told the lie had been after dinner with Raffaello's parents, she'd known they were wary of her and so that same night, she'd told him her sob story, how her best friend had taken the love of her life away from her, how she'd been responsible for her miscarriage and how Kylie had shot Elijah in front of her eyes and had threatened her to keep quiet.

She'd seen the emotion in Raffaello's eyes when she'd told him, she'd seen him melt. Guys loved a typical damsel-in-distress and so she became one for him.

And now, every time an argument would emerge, Jess would cry and Raffaello would melt all over again.

"I know baby, I know. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that. I'm going to spend the rest of my life protecting you and putting a smile on your face, I promise. You deserve the world, Jessica." He brought his lips to hers gently as he spoke.

Jess allowed herself to nuzzle back into his side as she smirked to herself. She tenderly touched Raffaello's chiselled jaw as he fell back to sleep. She knew he was a keeper and now, she would stop at nothing to make sure the truth never caught up with her.

---------------------------------------------------

"Elijah, come downstairs!"

"No! I'm not going." He moaned in return.

"Please? Not even for me?" Kylie finally climbed the staircase and kneeled down to meet the young boy's eye-level as she jokingly pleaded with him.