A month back

His obsession with Rose grew leaps and bounds. He always wanted her to be his. Although he knew Angel was her mentor and orientationally homosexual, he still felt jealous. Rose was not meant for anyone else. She was his to claim.

The phone chime made him happy. After several attempts, he was able to hack into 'Apptraction.' He was happy when Rose joined in too. His group of loyal messengers had been compensated well for every news on her. Some would only tell him what time she went to shower or what she ate; they still got paid. It was an easy buck for them. The highest payment went to the messenger who delivered the news of her contemplation to join the app.

He wanted to make it look legitimate as if fate really intervened. Knowing Rose, once she got to know him, she would love him. He was sure. He had worked with people to hack the system in his favor. Rose had clicked onto the infamous button setting the wheels in motion. All he had to do was wait for the app to send him the notification and like clockwork it did. He was elated.

*You have been matched with Rose Matthew.*

He walked back and forth upon seeing her image, even kissing the screen. He wanted to meet her but at the right time. Over years he'd heard how girls didn't like desperate guys. He was a nerd to know the rejection. It was his turn to play cool although it killed him on the inside.

*Your destiny's awaits. You are matched to meet her up. Press YES if you can travel today and NO if need rescheduling.*

The phone chimed. He was elated beyond measure. The woman of his dreams had accepted his invitation. Finger hovered as mind contemplated which button to click. He sighed before looking at her photo hanging from the ceiling. He smiled at her.

"Soon enough baby... Soon enough.."

He whispered and felt as if she nodded back. He decided their fate by clicking on 'Reschedule.'

The next notification had time and place. He knew her travel schedule better than her own assistants. Punching in the number, he made a date for two weeks later. He knew she would be desperate. So he reentered the number to five days later. Five days he had to survive before seeing her.

He tosses his phone aside and rolled a tissue in his hand before sliding it inside his pant. Today and for the next five days, Rose would be satisfied like this, he thought.

The next morning his phone buzzed like a bee. Answering it, he tossed himself off the bed. The nervous voice spoke to him slowly.

"Gabriel is here."

The words pierced through his ears. His perfect brother had once again tried to destroy what he loved the most.

Tossing the phone onto the wall, he picked up his laptop. His moves were of a jungle cat, ready for hunt. Swiftly he moved between tabs coming in and out of dark web. He saw an old photo of him and Gabriel on the side of the table. Pulling it up, he tore himself away.

The algorithm logs floated away in front of him, he was searching for a reason.

Why would Gabriel be with Rose? They never talked, never hooked up. If his informants were telling the truth, she was obsessed with Gabriel but never really acted on it.

He was glad to be sharing the face with the righteous brother of his although all other ties were severed.

Before he could think of anything else, he spotted the error. The algorithm also took into consideration, face among other attributes. He had written the perfect answers to the question about his soul mate; Rose.

What he forgot to hack was his brother's profile into deletion. It never even occurred to him about the possibility of a competition.

He was the lone wolf, completely secluded from his surroundings and family. It was to such an extent that he forgot about his carbon copy. And while James played catch, making Rose wait for five days, Gabriel jumped at the opportunity.

James's life was over at this point. Every day there were news about them or another one of their shoots. He still collected all her photos. Rubbing himself over her photo made him feel happy. But it was all short lived. While James waited for the shoot to be over, the impossible happened.

The pair of lovebirds announced their relationship to the world. Gabriel even got down on one knee for her.

Shutting the drawer in his desk, James locked the ring with it inside. He too had plans, but a glitch in the matrix screwed everything.

Still obsessed, he hatched plans for days to come. The happy couple were blissfully unaware of the impending doom. Two weeks later when Gabriel had to leave, James followed. His attention was diverted towards his own brother now.

Gabriel never saw it coming.

One fateful night, an accident erupted during the shoot. Although that night, Gabriel drew his last breath, James embodied him forever.

His plan was foolproof again. The face left little to suspicion. His fingerprints were destroyed deliberately in the fire to ensure no trace could be tracked. The plastic surgeon was also instructed to do as needed. With a family held at gunpoint, he obeyed.

The combination of lies and science made it believable for the world to see the new improved Gabriel. Faking an amnesia, he stayed away from Rose as she got accustomed to the new surroundings. He wanted her to forget the important features of Gabriel. Two weeks was a short duration for a person to remember every aspect of another.

James ensured his team supported her with all evidence to show his slow recovery and delayed shooting.

Now all that was left was to wait. Like clockwork, the desperate bird thrashed in her cage asking for Gabriel. Angel come to bring him back. James was elated. This was the first time he would be meeting her, touching her.

But when he saw her, he knew the difference. Rose was not his anymore. She carried the abomination of his brother inside. She thought of hiding it till his recovery but James was quick to learn. He knew if she was harmed ever so slightly, not just his family, the entire country would be on his hunt.

So he devised another plan. He wasn't able to forgive Rose for letting herself be with Gabriel. She should have known better than to submit to his perfect brother who is dead now. She was about to be punished for a crime she wasn't even aware of; breaking his heart.

The change in his behavior was quick to fall into her notice. She told her friend and family. He was expecting it. But what was unexpected was a relative.

Aunty Claire was another glitch he overlooked. When she stumbled into the mansion upon Rose's request, little did he knew that she would be able to recognize him apart from his dead brother. Although, she was taken care of, she left an evidence on the phone for Rose to find.

He played it to his advantage. He entered Claire's apartment with evidence to prove of violence. Then he went back to his place and carefully orchestrated the place to collect all evidence of Rose's presence.

By the time, she'd arrived, he was long gone. The mansion too was decked up to resemble a crime scene. He loved her but was unable to forgive her. Since he knew her life wouldn't be the same after this night, he left her some money for her time after prison. Lastly, the final piece of the symphony was set in. The call to the police.

By the time everyone arrived, Claire's and James's crime scene pointed to one person.

Rose.

She was arrested for double abduction and murder while he floated away into the unknown. Gabriel's philanthropic work churned alot of donations, all of which now sat happily in an offshore account. James used it all to his advantage.

James followed every step of her prison journey. He even sent reporters to inquire about her wellbeing. She did fine, but her reputation was marred. The beauty that she was would never be his. But he ensured she wouldn't be anyone else's either.

The obsession which he carried since the day he first saw her photo boiled over again when he watched her interview. Cradling her baby bump, she seemed happy. He wasn't. She should have been a broken soul by now. Half a year in imprisonment would do that to anyone.

But her face showed determination. Although she was acquitted for the lack of evidence, the media would always associate her with the murder. She would be the next O.J.Simpson and she wasn't O.J. to bounce back again.

James fell back on his couch, rekindling the fireplace with a remote. Siberia was colder than usual. As he drifted away with a hand inside his pant, he smiled at the photo which smiled back at him.

Rose would always be the untouched woman for him. She would always be in his dreams. The woman carrying Gabriel's child wasn't his anymore. She rose from a person to becoming his figment of imagination.

The Perfect Woman.

//// ////

Author's notes

Dearies

Hope you like this chapter. The mystery finally solved. Is this what you expected too?

Do vote and comment if you liked this chapter.

The next one would be the epilogue. What do you think happened?

Happy reading

Love

S