Chapter 1

It is 6:00 AM. Time to get up and make breakfast for the grumpy house owner. Tiffany is busy preparing food in the kitchen, slicing the vegetables to fry them. Pours water in the kettle at max and completes everything before the water boils. Her husband comes out of his bedroom, all dressed up neatly in his dark grey suit, and sits down in his chair, waiting for the breakfast. Tiffany places the boards on the table and also sits down. She made fried veggies with hard-boiled eggs and mashed sweet potatoes mixed with creme fresh. Mark stares at his board with objection displayed on his face before he shoves the board away from him. 'You have been lodging here for a week now you call this a breakfast? Eat it yourself.' He grabs some cherry tomatoes and leaves the house. Pops one sweet cherry tomato inside his mouth and washes it away. Once Mark left the house, Tiffany drops her head inside her palms and signs out loud. No time to sit and be discouraged. She gets up and brings the boards to the kitchen counter to put the food in an airtight box. That is a waste of food to throw it out, so she plans to take it to school with her.

She hops on her bike and cycles to school. It only takes 4 minutes to get to school, which is pleasing. She passes by the school gate to go into the bicycle storage area. All the students walk one by one through the school gate going up to their classroom. Tiffany went into the teacher room to place the airtight box in the fridge. Her first class is Physical Education outdoor with the second graders. Favourably, it is a sunny day. Not to warm nor to damp.

Mark unlocks his car to take his place in the driver seat. He takes out his phone for a quick call. 'Did you complete the assignment I gave you?' And cut the conversation before he drives off. The roads are empty on Fridays. The fewer people, the more beneficial it is. Mark arrives at his reserved workplace. He plops down on his chair and logs in on his laptop. Ready to operate as an average office worker. Wich is just a cover for his original profession that only a handful knows of.

Tiffany tosses the ball to one of the boys. He catches it and passes it to another. 'It's been a week now, the teacher looks fatigued. I wonder why?' States one of the naughty boys out loud. Gazing at each other and grinning in a lewd tone. 'Quit being a simple-minded pervert. She seems depressed after she was exposed to being married to that attractive man.' Points one of the girls. Tiffany did not hear them. She is occupied in thinking of what to do once he arrives home. Should she just go to sleep or go to her friend's house? None of the things she has come up with will work out. Unfortunately, she cannot find another available empty apartment near the school.

Tiffany is 24 years old and one of the PE teachers at a high school for sport and gymnastics. It is a pretty well know famous school. It is her second year of teaching at this school. Everyone likes her teaching style very well. She is also the most comfortable teacher to talk to. With a hight of 1,72 meter and the tallest female teacher. Light brown wavy hair and brown mixed with green eyes, slim athletic physique. Her so-called husband, Mark, is 1,89 meters. Jet-black straight hair with matching dark eyes. And for his body. She has never seen it. But it looks well-build, even with clothes on. That is all she knows about him.

The school bell rings. The sign that school has ended for today, and it is time to go home. The teachers pack up their stuff, cleaned their desk before heading out. Tiffany decides to go for a walk along the riverside, instead of going back to that unfamiliar house. She wanders for about 20 minutes, looking for an empty spot to sit down. The riverside today is full of couples and pet owners walking with their dogs. And Tiffany is being accompanied by her bike. Yey for her. Just 5 minutes passed by, and a stranger swiftly sits down next to her. 'Hi. Do you mind if I accompany you for the rest of this lovely evening?' He has a deep voice and tired-looking eyes. Tiffany guessed that the man is 35, maybe 37 years old. He did not sound like a crazy man, so she bows her head. 'Seems like you are troubled by a problem? Am I correct?' Claims the man. Tiffany responds without looking at the man. 'Something like that, yeah.'

'You look like a nice girl. And young. Being so down at a young age is not a good thing. Is it a boy problem?'

'Something like that. Husband.'

The man arches his eyebrows in surprise. 'A husband. Does he treat you bad? Or is it you know that thingy. Violence?' The man points at her bandage. 'If it is so, just toss him out. No man deserves a second chance. One is always bound to repeat the same mistake over and over again.'

Her phone is vibrating. It is her friend calling. The man next to her gets up and waves at her before he leaves. Tiffany receives the call. 'Are you free tonight?' It is Nathalie. Tiffany, not wanting to go home, said yes. 'Alright. Come to my house so we can have a drink.'

Nathalie opens the door. Tiffany has some snacks with her. 'So, how is it going with your lovely husband?' She is making fun of Tiffany. 'We are doing great. We experience unique love every day.' With sarcasm in her voice.

'But, tell me again how you got yourself in this messed-up situation? So, I can have a good laughter. I'm so bored these days. It's killing me.'

'You see everything as one big joke, do you?'

'I'm appreciating my life, sister. Don't be a party-pooper. Come on. Tell me. Tell me, hurry up!'

------

The school had set up a big competition day among the classes, and the winners will be rewarded with all-you-can-eat BBQ. Tiffany's homeroom class did win most of the competitions and claimed the first place with a victory. She brought them to a good family BBQ restaurant near the school. That night they were having fun. Tiffany got up to go to the restroom. She had consumed too much. Once she was coming back from the toilet, she heard a shriek coming from the backside of the restaurant. There was a loathsome stench combined with iron. The light grey tiles were covered in the blood of a man, who was resting against the wall. The female employee had noticed the corps first. Tiffany observed the back door and saw a handprint in blood. Whoever it is, must have run away through there. She quickly walks through the corridor and opens the door. There was a long alley, and it was dark outside. But she did not know that a famous Youtuber was following her since the corpse was found.

'We are standing in a dark alley. Kris, turn on the night view so that the viewers can see better.' Said the voice behind her. Tiffany looked at them in confusion. 'This is not some entertainment night here for you two boys. Get out and stop filming.' She was mad at how lax the two boys are, thinking this all is one big game. Then she heard a sound and followed it. It was a dark silhouette standing in front of her. The man was standing with his back towards her. Looking further, she saw another man standing facing the one who has his back turned to her. The over-excited Youtuber could not get it on tape, just what Tiffany saw in the last moment. The man looks at Tiffany and hides a thing in his inside pocket. It looks like a gun. Tiffany guessed it was a gun with a silencer attached to it. Now, looking carefully at the man with his back turned. He has a kitchen knife in his right hand. The blood leaks down his knife and drips on the ground, leaving stains everywhere. He is wobbling back and forth and cannot stand up straight. He must have drunken way too much. Tiffany, for a moment, forgot about the gun the other man was holding and charged at the drunkard. The Youtubers saw the blood-covered kitchen knife and yelled at the man, just when Tiffany began to come closer. The drunkard turned around, swinging the kitchen knife. Tiffany dodged it on time but slipped on some dirt that was spilled on the ground. The drunkard grabbed her wrist with luck and pulled her in. She now has the kitchen knife pressed against her throat. He poked her, and small drops of blood leaked out, sliding down her nape. She is in pain because the man pushes deeper every time, he loses his balance. His grip is pretty sturdy. Tiffany was afraid to do anything reckless that would end up getting her killed.

'Oww dayum, man. He got the lady. Hey, dude. Save her.' The lousy Youtuber yelled at the other man. The man was furious at the boys, but the worst part is that a civilian is in danger. He signed while grabbing an empty bottle from the ground.

'Leave, or else, I'll kill your lady.' Yelled the drunkard.

'Aw, shit. Is that your wife? You got to be really fast, man. This does not look like a joke.'

The man swung the empty glass bottle towards the wall behind the drunkard, which made him lose his balance. The man sprinted towards the two and pulled Tiffany behind him. She grasped with one of her hands for his coat and caught it to prevent her from crashing on the dirty ground. The man pushed the drunkard against the wall and made him groan in pain. He let go of the knife.

'Yeah. You got that man. Plus, he saved his wife. Who is this guy? He was damn fast. Kris, did you get in on cam?' Kris nodded his head. 'Yes, I did, man. It was sick. Awesome move.'

'Stop filming.' Came out of his mouth. It was threatening and scary. The boys felt a chill from the way he sounded and hide the camera.

'It's gone, sir. Just like the two of us.' They both ran away from the scene.

Tiffany's clothes were now drenched under her own blood. Pressing her hand against her throat did not make any difference. The blood kept streaming down. She felt lightheaded and leaned against the wall for support. Slowly slide down and sat on the cold ground. The mysterious man grabbed the drunkard by his head and slammed him into the wall. He let the passed-out man fall down on the floor.

'Are you okay?' Said the man without looking her way. Tiffany did not answer, which made him turn around to look at her. The smell of blood was getting heavy. The man had an irritating and disturbing facade while looking down on her. 'Tsk. What a troublesome lousy woman you are. Can't fight and charges at an armed man. Can you breathe?'

Tiffany nodded her head.

'If you have difficulties with breathing, let me know.' He pulled out his phone and dialled the police. He squats in front of Tiffany while taking off his jacket. Pressed it on the open wound, helping her stop the bleeding.

Not long after that, the police arrived at the scene. The ambulance was for Tiffany. The paramedic team came to get her out of the alley and brought her to the ambulance. The nurse cleaned her wound and covered her throat with a bandage. Fortunately, it was not life treating, but she still had to go to the hospital. She suffered from too much blood loss.

The mysterious man was talking to the police as a witness. Once he was finished, he came over to where Tiffany was resting. He leaned in and whispered in her left ear. 'Don't you dare to speak about the gun! I know you saw me hiding it.' With that said, he left her behind.

----