Mariana liked to see his smirk. It carried a mix of arrogance and charm that never failed to draw her in. She cuddled close, her fingers lightly trailing down his chest, and whispered against his ear, her voice low and teasing. "If you look this good in the morning, you're going to force me to fuck you."
Travis turned towards her, eyebrows raised in playful surprise. "Let's do that later," he said, a smirk creeping back. "I need to get my money back first."
"What money?" she asked, slipping out of bed and heading to the kitchen with the dishes. The loose shirt she wore swayed with her steps, giving him fleeting glimpses of her bare legs. Travis followed, leaning against the counter as she started rinsing the plates.
"Well, before I got arrested, I invested most of my money into n different companies. Depending on how they performed, I could either be insanely rich right now… or dead broke," he explained, his tone casual but tinged with frustration.
Mariana glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, so how do you plan on getting it?"
"That's where the problem is," Travis admitted, running a hand through his hair. "Unless you erased all records of me being in jail, there's no way I'm getting any of that money back."
"That's what I did, though," she said nonchalantly, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Her words left him momentarily stunned before he crossed the kitchen in two quick strides and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss.
The intensity of it caught her off guard, her body stiffening for a brief second before melting into his embrace. His hands cupped her face as their lips moved together, his gratitude spilling into the kiss. When he pulled back, his grin stretched wide, his brown eyes shining with genuine affection.
"You're really a gift from God," he said earnestly, his voice thick with emotion.
Her cheeks turned pink, and she looked down with a shy smile. "Well, that's what a wife is supposed to be, right?" she murmured, meeting his gaze with an expression so soft and full of love it made his chest ache.
It was clear to anyone—even Travis, with his usual obliviousness—that Mariana was utterly in love with him.
He held her gaze for a moment longer, wondering what he'd done to deserve someone like her in his life. Whatever it was, he silently vowed not to take her for granted.
Finally, he stepped back, his smirk returning as his mind switched gears.
' Now it's time to get back at them,' he thought, his determination flaring to life.
Here's your scene with richer details and emotional layering, while keeping everything you wrote intact and just building on it:
After a simple breakfast of eggs and toast—courtesy of Mariana magically pulling together the bare scraps they had—Travis sat hunched over the small, chipped table, determination hardening in his chest.
He needed to learn everything about them—the people who had abandoned him seven years ago like yesterday's trash.
Most of them had turned thirty already, some had cushy jobs, a few even married with smiling Instagram-perfect families... but that wasn't the information he wanted. No, he needed the dirt—the ugly, hidden truths they kept locked behind their curated lives.
Travis knew better than to believe any of them were innocent snowflakes. The fact that they'd thrown him under the bus so coldly all but confirmed it. If they were capable of sacrificing him for their gain, then it only made sense that skeletons were rattling around in their closets.
The problem was finding it.
He spent hours digging through Reddit threads, obscure blogs, shady gossip forums, and any local news archives he could hack his way into without drawing attention. His fingers flew over the old laptop Mariana had conjured up for him—a battered but functional machine that hummed and clicked with every keystroke.
Bit by bit, the pieces started coming together.
He found rumors of shady business dealings. Unconfirmed accusations of harassment. Tax issues. Rumours of Secret Onlyfuns accounts. DUI arrests that were quietly swept under the rug. Cheating scandals tucked behind locked Twitter accounts. Nothing explosive on its own—but Travis didn't need a bomb. He needed leverage.
By the time the sun dipped lower in the sky, painting the apartment in dull gold, Travis leaned back in his chair, satisfied.
' Alright, ' he thought, cracking his knuckles, ' I should get my money back now.'
He stood and stretched, his muscles stiff. Walking over to the small closet by the door, he pulled it open to find two neatly folded outfits hanging inside—a simple hoodie and jeans combo, along with a casual jacket.
As he was inspecting them, he heard soft footsteps.
Mariana appeared, leaning lazily against the doorframe, her silver hair spilling over her shoulders like liquid silk. Her mischievous grin immediately softened the edge of his focus.
"I got you that," she said, nodding to the clothes. "I don't think it would be smart to walk around in that." She pointed at the crumpled prison uniform lying by the bed.
Travis gave a tired chuckle. "Yeah, I guess that would grab me some attention. Thanks, by the way."
He grabbed the clothes and casually stripped off his old outfit, slipping into the fresh set. Mariana watched with a coy smirk but said nothing, her eyes lingering a little longer than necessary.
As he pulled the hoodie over his head, Mariana pushed off the doorframe and walked toward him, her bare feet padding softly across the floor.
"Please come back with some dinner," she said sweetly, her voice dropping into that dangerous, pleading tone that made his chest flutter. "We barely have anything to cook."
Travis paused, giving her a side glance. "Can't you use your powers and, I don't know, make food?"
Mariana giggled—a pure, girlish sound that felt both genuine and teasing. "I can," she said, stepping closer, "but I want to feel like a normal couple, just for a little while. So please..." She tilted her head adorably, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
He smiled in defeat, shaking his head.
"Alright. I'll do that."
Impulsively, he leaned forward to kiss her forehead, but before he could pull away, Mariana grabbed the front of his hoodie, yanked him down, and captured his lips with hers.
The kiss exploded between them—hot, messy, and charged with unspoken promises. Her lips moved hungrily against his, and Travis found himself responding, hands gripping her waist without thinking. The world blurred until there was nothing but the feel of her, the taste of her.
When they finally broke apart, a thin string of saliva clung between them before snapping.
Mariana's cheeks were flushed, her breathing uneven. She grinned wickedly. "Hurry up," she whispered, "I don't think I can handle it if you're away for too long."
Travis smirked, his heart hammering against his ribs. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, his voice rougher than he intended, as he turned toward the door.
The moment he stepped outside, Travis rubbed his face with both hands, trying to cool down.' Fuck, ' he thought, the ghost of her lips still burning on his.
Shoving the distraction aside, he got to work. He reopened his old bank account, sighing in relief when he managed to recover his ID without too much hassle. It was almost surreal how easy some parts of his new life had become with Mariana's quiet backing.
Once he retrieved his bank card, he made a beeline for the nearest grocery store.
Inside the bright, sterile aisles, he moved quickly, throwing essentials into the cart: pasta, rice, canned goods, a few treats he thought Mariana might like.
His mind wasn't entirely on the shopping though. He kept thinking about the next step: getting his revenge.
On his way back home, arms full of grocery bags, Travis found himself waiting at a red light. Across the street, a convoy of sleek, high-end cars rolled to a smooth stop.
Curious, he squinted through the crowd.
Inside one of the lead cars, he caught a glimpse of golden-blonde hair through the tinted window. He stiffened, the air seeming to thicken around him.
No fucking way...
The woman turned her head slightly, and even from this distance, he recognized her.
' Lyra.'
The name hit him like a blow to the chest.
Memories flooded in—of her laughing at his mistakes, of her whispering humiliations behind his back, of her constant undermining while he struggled to keep his footing in Alpha Omega.
She had been one of the worst. Smiling sweetly to his face and stabbing him the moment he turned away. Amara had been his only solace back then—and even that turned into another betrayal.
Rage boiled up inside him, hot and ugly.
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to breathe, forcing himself to walk away. Not now. Not here.
But as he walked back toward the apartment, a slow, savage smile crept onto his face.
' Alright , I'm ready,' he thought, his blood thrumming with a dangerous anticipation.
TO BE CONTINUED