Wish For Me (Destiny Jinn Series Book 1) by Yumoyori Wilson (12)

Walking into the familiar doorway ignited all the memories I'd experienced with Phillip.

I remembered all the good times where we laughed and smiled, hugged and kissed. The memories where we were truly in love with one another, or at least, that was what I'd thought. Those good memories lead to the bad ones. The lonely nights, the arguments, the questions that surfaced over and over again, but I acted like I didn't see them.

I’d ignored the signs of his decline, from the drinking to the soft scent of smoke that lingered on his wrinkled business suit. I'd ignored the hints of perfume I smelled on his dress shirts, or the smudge of lipstick on the collar of his shirts that I readied for laundry.

I knew for a long time that our relationship was on the downward slope to the end of the line, but I ignored for the sake of loneliness. I didn't want to be alone, and yet, that was what I was already experiencing.

Lonely nights with Snix. Crazy nights at the office, busting my ass on papers while wondering what Phillip was doing. Who he was seeing. I didn't want to acknowledge that I would soon be single because it meant my love was a one-sided tragedy. 

Phillip would move on to the next girl, and I would be left with my self-pity and worth, drowning my sorrows in work since I had no best friend or group of buddies to do the "let's get over him" party.

He'd make a laughing stock of me, and that was something I was desperately trying to avoid. But in the end, that's exactly what he did, but I guess the laughs turned into fake cries at my sudden "death."

Rainbow dropped down to the carpeted floor and began inspecting the place out of her own curiosity, but I stood there with my head low, staring at the dark red carpet beneath my feet. 

I’m scared. 

Scared of facing the approaching truth. Phillip could have wished for anything, but what if his wish had something to do with me?

Was I a bad girlfriend? Did I not love him enough? I didn't want to face my fears because it could have revealed one of my personal flaws. Not good enough is just one of them.

Cole's feet were in my line of sight, and I noticed that he'd changed into his Jinn outfit. My eyes trailed upward, taking in his navy-blue silk pants that were a little bigger than his built muscular legs.

They had gold anklet ties that made the pants tight at the ends and baggy in the middle. He was shirtless and all muscle. He wore gold bracelets and had similar markings like I had that were currently glowing a light gold. His navy-blue hair was left loose, resting to his shoulders, but it gave me a glimpse of his ear that sported three gold earrings.

His galaxy eyes stared at me, and he didn't hide his concern. "Destiny."

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"I know." He reached out for my hands, and I didn't hesitate to put mine in his as I took a few slow breaths to calm my beating heart.

"You'll be okay. Just need to follow me."

I was going to agree, but I blurted something else. "Can I hold your hand?"

It was a stupid question, and I felt absolutely childish for asking him, but I felt that if I let go now, I'd run out and never return. 

If he holds my hand, I can't run away.

He let go of my left hand but kept my right in his warm left one. "Sure."

Sighing in relief, I whispered, "Thank you."

He simply nodded and turned towards the stairs that lead to the upstairs. "He's up there. Let's begin."

We made our way up and turned left down the hall towards Phillip's bedroom. Before we reached the door, a loud shattering sound caused me to flinch and Cole to stop in his tracks.

"I wished, again and again for that damn ass genie and he's not here! He needs to fix this! He did all of this."

The anger in Phillip's voice told me he was really upset but also drunk. I'd seen that raging alcoholic side to him so many times that I didn't need to be in front of him to know he'd been drinking one too many drinks.

Cole squeezed my hand, and I smiled, sensing he was giving me a bit of comfort with the simple gesture. He took a step forward and opened the door, revealing the trashed-up bedroom that was nothing like I'd remembered.

There were clothes and broken items everywhere. The dresser that held his expensive clothing and watches was in shambles with those same watches he once cherished littering the floor.

I was glad we were technically invisible because the glass shards that were scattered across the floor would have poked into our feet or injured poor Rainbow who passed by and entered the messy room.

When my gaze landed on Phillip, I couldn't help but gasp. He looked absolutely horrible. His hair was standing up in all angles, and I could see a few bald spots. He'd grown out his beard, but it was uneven and had crumbs of something he'd eaten who knows when.

He'd definitely lost weight, his usual fitted clothes were loose on his body, and from the smell that drifted to us, it didn't seem like he'd showered in a while.

If only you could get past the alcohol and rotten food scents.

His rage-filled eyes landed on us, narrowing on Cole who remained calm and collective. 

"Who the fuck are you?! Where's that asshole genie who said everything would be swell and fucking magical?!" 

"I don't know who granted your wish. They would have told you their name." Cole shrugged, not even bothered by Phillip's rude greeting.

"Marc! The sleazebag who said everything would be perfect!"

I had to stop myself from groaning, wondering why the hell Marc would be summoned to grant Phillip's wish. Has to be something with seduction. What could he have wanted?

In our relationship, sex definitely wasn't an issue. I could take more than a few rounds and still get up and fix us a treat before he'd go to work. With how crazy our lives had gotten the last couple of months, along with his absence, I could see why he might have wished for something along the lines of needing Marc's help.

"He refused to come back. He said his duty was done. He did exactly what you wanted."

"He didn't say it would end up like this! Everything is ruined!" Phillip snapped.

I watched him closely as he walked past the chaos to the nightstand where a bottle of whiskey sat with a very overused cup with stains all over it.

I cringed at the sight that made me want to vomit, and Rainbow walked over to my feet and looked disgusted. "Meow."

I leaned down and outstretched my free hand for her to jump into it. Rising back up, I held her to my chest while I squeezed Cole's hand. As much as I'd hated him for what he had done to me, I never would have wished this lifestyle for him.

Phillip gulped down the glass of whiskey he'd poured for himself, slamming the glass to the nightstand, which added yet another crack to it. I was impressed that it hadn't shattered from the impact.

"Reverse my wish! That shit of a genie didn't do it right!"

"You didn't ask for a trial."

"Excuse me?!" Phillip snapped back.

I took a step forward to stand right next to Cole. "Ask for a trial?" I whispered. Not like Phillip could even hear me, but I still kept my voice somewhat low.

"If the individual states three times that they're confident in their wish, there's no trial period. We still come by when the 90 days are up, but it's only to tell them that this was what they wished for and there's no going back. Cruel, but needed for them to understand that this is their new predicament and the ultimate consequence of wishing. Some are happy endings, while others aren't," Cole explained before answering Phillip's question.

"From my knowledge of your interaction with Marc, he asked you three times what your wish was and each time you said?" Cole drawled out and Phillip clenched his fist.

"I said I wanted a perfect life! That meant me having the perfect family, friends, job, AND fiancé!"

That hit me in the feels, my heart clenching at his words.

"Elaborate. I have no idea your reasoning for wishing for something so boring as a perfect life," Cole pointed out.

"I deserved better! I'm rich and own a bunch of businesses. Everything should have been perfect from the start. But no! My family was barely there for me, always talking shit about how the business was handed down to me. So what if it was? Does that make it less of a pain in my ass? My friends were all dicks who only rubbed in how much richer they were compared to me, and their businesses grew in proportion while my investments in that publication company continued to dive! The job itself wasn't like my friends' who could be on their yachts in swimming trunks, answering phone calls, and ordering people around, versus ME, who'd actually have to go into work in the morning and supervise shit so that people wouldn't fuck up! Not like that stopped them from screwing things up."

I tensed up, knowing that he'd reveal what was wrong with me. With our relationship that didn't meet his perfect standards.

"And your fiancé?" Cole asked. "She wasn't fitting your perfect needs?"

"UGH! She wasn't enough! You know how many times I got mocked because of her. She wasn't like my other mates who had the amazing model girlfriends. She was curvy and had to dye her hair pink because she liked it! Before, she'd always be around and comfort me when I needed it. Then it was about work and helping the company go up bullshit."

I tried to pull my hand out of Cole’s, but he squeezed it tightly. "From the records I’ve seen, she worked for the place you invested in. That's a job you offered her. Why would that be an issue? Also, if you had so many issues with her curves or the color of her hair, why didn't you say so?"

"IT'S HER DUTY TO KNOW! She should have fucking asked me. That's what fiancé’s and girlfriends do! Whenever my dad had any issues, what did my mom do? She asked him and did everything in her power to fix it. She should have known her pink hair would catch attention in our small town. She knew people would talk and hate how she'd try to stand out. She should have lost weight for me too! Sure, her curves are nice to look at in the bedroom, but not in public where all my other friends had girlfriends you could take an Instagram photo of and look like they were in Vogue magazine! She should have known our town standards and tried to fit in. She knew my position and how my appearance affected everything. Instead, she'd work long ass hours and I'd have to go elsewhere to even have sex!"

Rainbow nudged her head against my chest, and I let my tears fall as I listened to his hurtful words. Me. Me. Me.

I was the one in the wrong? Not him. He cheated on me. He really actually cheated on me... 

"You wanted her to change for you, but you didn't see anything wrong with your behavior." Cole's words weren't stated as a question but pure facts as he nodded his head slowly.

"What was wrong with MY behavior. I'M RICH. I can do whatever I want. I should be allowed to do whatever I want."

"I guess that includes treating the people you 'love' poorly? That meant discarding your fiancé because she worked hard to help the company you invested in. It meant talking poorly about the woman you claimed you loved and cheating on her with the person you assumed was your perfect fit? Interesting," Cole replied.

Phillip charged right up to him and poked his finger into Cole's chest. "YOU won't stand here and judge me! FIX IT! This is your stupid partner's, or whatever, fault! Everything is fucked up because of him. He didn't do anything right."

Cole took a step forward, and just the glimpse of the side of his face made me gulp in fear. Phillip moved back, his eyes filled with worry as he bit his lip.

"Last time I checked, YOU are in need of MY help. You don't own me, and not a single penny of the remaining fortune you have left can afford my help."

"This is your guys' fault! You promised perfection! Not THIS!" Phillip shouted, lifting his hands up to emphasize the chaos that surrounded him.

"You did this to yourself. You wished for a perfect life. You wanted to have a perfect family, friends, job, and fiancé. You got that." Cole took a deep breath and continued. "The day your wish came true, you decided the first thing to do was flaunt your new fiancé at your workplace that you had just changed from investing in to OWNING it. You then broke up with your previous girlfriend in front of everyone to disgrace her and make it seem like you deserve the best and she'd hindered you from such success. She went home, taking in what had happened, and you told Josh that you guys would have a meeting the next day to discuss things, but he should call your ex, Destiny, and inform her that she'd been replaced and wouldn't need to return the next day for work."

I stared at Phillip in shock as he gritted his teeth, looking impatient as he listened to Cole recap everything.

"You then proceeded to a family dinner with your new family, before heading out at night to your new yacht with all your friends and their perfect girlfriends, and you partied the night away. In the morning, you were greeted with the 'best sex of your life' and couldn't help comment on how amazing your new life was."

Again, I wanted to run away, to leave this place and not listen to any more of what Cole was trying to say, but he held my hand tightly, so tight it almost hurt. He wasn't going to let me run away, and though a part of me was still grateful, I felt horrible.

What will his opinion of me be now? He won’t want to mentor me. I'm far from perfect. I failed my ex-fiancé… I failed the only job that I'd worked so hard for, trying to be the best employee and please everyone… I'd failed.

"But that's when things started to go wrong, isn’t it?" Cole used his free hand to run through his hair before he continued. "You got the call that Destiny had died in a house fire. You didn't feel pity or even shed a tear, but you had to do the ex-fiancé thing and comment RIP on her Facebook and show up at her speedy funeral. Why was that? Ah, you'd realized that after you posted on her wall, people began to think you were the cause of her death because of the sudden breakup and the introduction of your perfect NEW fiancé. She must have killed herself and maybe the house fire was on you?"

Cole laughed then, and the sound was eerie and mocking as he focused on Phillip who trembled with anger.

"You were scared that in less than a day, the woman who didn't meet your standards of perfect was going to fuck everything up for you. So, you paid a huge amount to hush the police up and poof. The investigation of her death was labeled accidental, her funeral went forward, and everyone minded their own business. Of course, her parents had acted their part, knowing they could later bribe you. You paid them to continue to be hush-hush about their speculations of whether the fire was caused by you or not, and a month after Destiny's death, everything seemed back to normal."

Cole began to pace around the room, tugging me along as he continued to speak.

"That was until you had to have that meeting with Josh. You'd delayed it with the excuse of getting over Destiny's death and whatnot, but it was because you'd be the bringer of bad news and tell him he was out of a job."

I gawked at the news, feeling shocked that the Josh I'd talk to on the phone a month later was getting fired.

"He was furious, saying he devoted his life to this publishing company and rambled on about him being homeless if it was taken from him. You didn't care, of course, and the next day Josh Publishing was yours. However, because of your lack of business dynamics and your family business simply being 'handed down' to you, the publishing company began to sink. Your workers didn't know how to manage the workload because they had relied on Destiny to do all of it. From the organizing, articles, information gathering, news interviews, and the actual publishing part, she'd essentially done it all as a worker and not in the boss position. Josh knew he'd really fucked up letting her go, but she was dead. Of course, she was because he'd lied to the police and said she was. Another month went by, and Josh Publishing filed for bankruptcy."

I was speechless, and my head moved to see Phillip's conflicted eyes; hints of fear and regret showed in his expression while he watched Cole continue to pace around.

"At this point, two months have passed, and you think it couldn't get any worse. Oh, but it does." Cole stopped pacing and looked at Phillip. 

"You realized you were running out of money. In fact, you were LOSING money. Why? Well, your perfect NEW family wasn't the family members who worked hard and knew how to keep the revenue going from the three family businesses. All they knew was flaunting their new Gucci bags and looking good on the outside. They hid their spending habits indoors or their other problems with drugs and alcohol. In the end, you soon got a call that your parents had died in an accident due to drinking and driving."

Cole took a deep breath, and I thought he'd show an ounce of pity, but he didn't. Instead, he smiled.

"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 cared. 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."