Wrong

A violent rainstorm keeps roaring louder as it continues to spread rapidly like a heavy winter night in a hostile rampage through the busy cities in downtown Los Angeles, California.

What happens next, a terrible explosion of some kind is heard in the kitchen of an upscale luxury studio apartment lives an attractive middle-aged man in his thirties named Stephen is rushing to turn off his expensive Crate and Barrel Fellow Stagg Black Kettle teapot from the stove.

He finds it hard to rest lately and believes a hot cup of chamomile tea might just do the trick. Still, a mysterious whistle of the pounding current of air keeps getting even more restless such as a turbine-like locomotive racing against time to deliver a precious cargo on the other side of town.

Simultaneously the storm makes a howling sound, a werewolf cries out at the shimmering moonlight to warn its prey. Now the raindrops are repeatedly hitting the balcony to the point of no return. Stephen sips his hot chamomile tea as he listens to all the mayhem happening outside at the same time.

Finally, he stands up, stretches, hears, the sound of his custom-made Essex Westminster Chime Faux Wood Pendulum wall clock going tick-tock away into the silhouette of the night.

Stephen is suffering from flickering nightmares due to a woman named Vivian, who is dying of breast cancer. He feels defenseless because his lover will die soon.

Stephen says, “My conscious is starting to get the best of me. Somehow I can’t seem to get Vivian out of my mind. No matter what I say or do she haunts my innermost thoughts. I feel nothing only hollowness inside of me, especially when I walk outside to catch the morning sunrise outside my balcony. I never thought a woman could ever replace the one thing I live for which is the money of course.”

He contemplates accepting the truth of a woman who expresses her love unconditionally for him.

And in return, she only asks for his company.

In a way, Stephen was doing just fine before he met Vivian at The Ivy restaurant in Beverly Hills last summer. The restaurant is by a breathtaking shoreline in Santa Monica. Its atmosphere is beautiful with all kinds of lovely flowers everywhere for guests to admire. The perfect environment for young lovers to be romantic as they gaze into each other's eyes with thoughts of endless love.

At the time Stephen had been sitting alone in the bar after dinner.

Enjoying the usual straight Grey Goose Vodka right out of the bottle, shot after shot, till he became filthy drunk.

Vivian was observing him from a distance.

She gradually approaches him, wearing a low-cut reveal red tight long evening dress; it accentuates her gorgeous body like a shiny hourglass figure.

Stephen gasped, trying his very best to seduce her with his signature charm. Vivian flirt back and joined him drinking, laughing, hugging, kissing, till the long hours of the night.

Afterward they soon we’re lovers.

Night after night, she was turned on immediately by the way he knew exactly how to touch every part of her body, especially the way a man should.

You see, Stephen was not your typical lawyer working at a prestigious law firm in Beverly Hills. No sir, he had a dark secret.

A successful businessman man by day, but at nightfall a male escort. A lady’s man with a compulsive habit of being greedy when it came to money. For Stephen all that matters was money. He didn’t care how he got it, No, no all that he cared about was having access to it, at whatever cost.

That’s right!

Money was his first love interest and nothing, I mean nothing else can ever come between him and his bank account.

In fact, Stephen preferred the company of money to a woman. He gets off, touching each large bill with his fingertips as he gently rubs them back and forth each night before going to bed. He goes as far, as sleeping in a king-size bed, covered with Egyptian silk sheets from head to toe. Sadly enough, he really doesn’t know exactly when his ugly obsession started.

Stephen thinks it was because as an only child his parents would spoil him rotten. From being the only boy in school is has a yacht to breeding horses on his very own private ranch.

And yet, no amount of money was enough to realize, all he ever needed was love.

Not until he met Vivian did his life change for him spontaneously.

By now, Stephen can’t help but feel exhausted as his mind goes back and forth on what to do with Vivian.

All he thinks about lately is what she told him the last time they were together at her place.

She said, “Please, I beg of you to end my life. I cannot go on living like this any longer.”

Once a lovely, attractive woman who was slim and beautiful with long shiny black hair and gorgeous ocean blue eyes. Now is unrecognizable due to chemotherapy. She even refuses to bathe or eat. More so Vivian has fallen into a deep pool of depression to the point of no return. Although she unconditionally is without a doubt very much in love with Stephen, her male companion.

Sadly once she became ill, he started to lose interest in her but did not want to end the relationship. Stephen was no fool. He knew she had changed her last will in testament to his name. Nevertheless, he continues to work as a lawyer, while the rest of his time is devoted to Vivian. He promised to stay by her side till the very end.

During all this time, little does know Stephen is willing to grant her last dying wish by taking her life when she least expects it. Yet again, he contemplates all night being extremely frustrated as he thinks when it will be the right opportunity to end her life because she wants to. Suddenly a veiled thought crosses his mind.

”The best thing to do is just kill her not because she is asking me to but honestly for her money,” Stephen said.

He takes a deep breath then continues, “She never did anything wrong to me. She just wanted to be loved, but I couldn’t return her love. Truthfully, I think I don’t know how.” Stephen whispers.

There’s no use, Stephen will stop at nothing in accomplishing the task of murder. He goes as far as trying to defend his madness in focusing on how to actually do the horrible deed.

He’s about to snap!

Stephen argues, “I can’t stand this situation anymore! I have no choice but to kill her because these evil demons inside my head are raging out of control.”

Desperation can make anyone be capable of just about anything. In this case, Stephen felt there was no escape, as time kept running out of time.

Stephen screams, “I have to find the right moment to do it. The other problem where will I dispose of the body?”

As he thinks about it, Vivian interrupts him from upstairs to ask for help. She is calling to him from the master bedroom, while he remains downstairs in the den thinking about his despicable plan.

Vivian asked, “My love, can you do me a favor?”

She folds her hands, waiting for him to reply.

Stephen annoyed, "What is it now?”

He bites his tongue trying not to lose control.

Vivian asks, “Do you know where my glasses are?”

She quietly sobs to herself.

Stephen responds, “No…”

He sighs to calm down.

Vivian speaks, “I need your help dear.”

She tries so hard not to get depressed.

Stephen replies, “Why should I bother? Besides you never listen to me anymore.”

Vivian bewildered, “I can’t seem to remember where I put them.”

Out of the blue, she feels disoriented.

Stephen yells, “That’s not my problem Vivian!”

He becomes irritated all over again.

Vivian cries, “My love you promised me.”

Tears sharply flow down her pale face.

Stephen laughs, “You should have taken a bath as I told you to.”

Vivian smiles, “I promise to take a bath if you help me, dear.”

Vivian wipes her face clean, next stands by the bedroom door being patient for him to say something. After a while she noticed him coming up the stairs towards her.

In a split second, she moves quickly, goes to her bed, then sits down trying not to get him angrier with her.

Stephen agrees to help Vivian to avoid getting upset, but also to clear his mind of the disturbing thoughts of wanting to murder her for the moment. He walks into the bedroom to undress her as she looks at him, with a colorless of exhaustion in her eyes. Vivian wraps her fragile arms around his neck so he can carry her to the bathtub. She gradually tries to catch her breath with a sigh of relief. But then she is taken back by a familiar smell of fresh jasmine flowers that recognizes too well.

Stephen may give the impression of being a self-center bastard!

Just the same he knows what makes Vivian happy. She begins to weep uncontrollably because she knows Stephen does love her in his own certain way.

Right after work, went to buy her flowers. It was going to be a surprise if she promise to take a bath. Soon they both go inside the bathroom, he gently sits her on a Deauville backless bar stool seat cushion chair. Stephen had it specially made in Singapore for her to be comfortable. It was a stunning perfect round stool chair covered in her favorite color pink made with the finest pure silk.

Stephen runs the warm luke water in the tub; while Vivian waits, she keeps smelling the jasmine flowers in the vase.

Vivian talks, "My love, you do love me!"

Stephen smirks forcing a smile and replies, "Yes, dearest of course I do. Now you promise to be a good girl and go inside the bathtub."

Vivian jumps in all by herself full of energy, while Stephen continues to run the warm luke water at room temperature. He was doing alright until the gruesome thought came back into his mind.

He says, "Maybe I should drown her. Yes, of course! I can say it was an accident besides these things happen all the time."

Meanwhile, in Vivian's bedroom her iPhone 13 rings inside her Louis Vuitton clutch, but it goes directly to her voicemail.

The message states, "Hello Vivian, This is Dr. Peterson calling from Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. I have great news! Your breast cancer has gone into remission. Please return my call when you get a chance, have a wonderful day."

Stephen reacts fast enough to turn off the water, which almost overflows in the bathtub. He leans over and takes her hand. With the other, he touches her face.

Vivian whispers, "My love, it's alright let me go."

Stephen cries out, "No, no get out! Honey please!"

Vivian ignores him as she submerges further down into the water. She looks like a mermaid in the dark forbidden blue sea.

For a brief moment, Stephen is completely numb from his head down to his toes. He allows Vivian to go deeper and deeper into the water. The eerie pitch-black thoughts were finally taking over his mind. Negative realization starts to set in, then out of nowhere, Stephen reacts. He goes inside the bathtub immediately carrying out Vivian's lifeless body. He wastes no time and performs CPR over and over again to revive her. It's no use, she is unresponsive. Stephen gives up, crawls out of the bathroom floor in tears.

He says, "I completely understood how she felt, but I thought she was wrong to ask of it. I did love her after all this time and never told her."

Somehow he finds the strength to reach for his iPhone 13 on Vivian's dresser when he hears a loud coughing sound. Stephen rushes into the bathroom to find Vivian breathing again. He cries seeing her beautiful smile. Next, he tells her not to move while he dials 911 for emergency assistance. The operator comforts him as an ambulance is on its way. He hurries to cover her entire body, with bath towels. Then he does the unthinkable for the first time, in a very long time he holds her in his arms.

Vivian speaks, "My love, I was wrong to doubt you."

They embrace kissing each other passionately waiting for the ambulance to arrive.