It’s an early Friday evening, the sun slowly setting over Victory, and everything looks perfect. Lawns are trimmed. Wives are laughing at the community pool. Children are playing in the backyards. You’re inside our house, humming in the kitchen while dinner cooks. It's another day in paradise.

But not to me. No. Everything is slowly starting to unravel, and I can feel it.

For years, everything ran perfectly. The Victory Project was working exactly how it was planned. Every morning, I’d watch you in the sunlit kitchen, happily buttering toast and cracking eggs, so blissfully unaware of the operations that kept your world alive. You were safe here. I made sure of it. I gave you peace. You may not know about the facade, but it's for your own good. For our own good.

You no longer stress over your day job. We don't have anything keeping us apart. We have dinner and get togethers with friends once a week, community parties once a month minimum. You're happy, we're in love, and nothing could come between us anymore.

Then she arrived.

Stella.

Two weeks ago, Frank introduced her to us. Said she was from headquarters, that she's helping with internal operations, just coming in to make sure things are running smoothly. But I knew the second I saw her that something was off. Sharp eyes, attitude, asks too many questions. I've seen her grill the other wives, and now she's been targeting you. She talks to you like she’s here to drag you back to some cold, empty world where we no longer live in this perfect bubble.

I can't let that happen.

I can play the loving husband better than anyone. I’ve spent years perfecting it. The gentle smile. The soft hand at your back. The tone of voice that keeps you still, calm, trusting. When you look at me, you see safety. You don’t see the desperation hiding behind my eyes. You don’t see what I’ve done to keep you here. But Stella does.

She’s watching you, slipping little seeds of doubt into your mind when I’m not there.

“Doesn’t this feel strange?” “Don’t you ever wonder?”

You’ve started to look out the window longer than you used to. Started to hesitate before responding to me. She’s feeding you little pieces of the truth, trying to wake you up. You can’t wake up. Not after all I’ve done to keep you asleep.

Quite frankly, every time I see her near you I have to fight the urge to just put my hands around her throat.

But I can’t. Not yet. If I scare her off too soon, she’ll take you with her, and that's the last thing I need.

So I keep up the regular routine, with just enough added charm to keep you from suspecting anything. I come home with flowers. I compliment your dresses. I wrap my arm around your shoulders when we walk through the neighborhood. And at night, when you sleep beside me, I study your face in the dark and remind myself that this is all for you. Everything I’ve done, every sacrifice, every lie. It’s because I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you to that gray, lifeless place we came from.

Tomorrow, she’s supposed to come by for dinner. You invited her. You said it would be nice to have company. I smiled, of course, and told you it was a wonderful idea. You didn’t notice how tight my hand got around my glass, how my mind started racing with a plan.

She’ll sit at our dining table, smiling like she didn't come here with some sort of plot. You’ll sit beside me, laughing at everything she says. I’ll play the perfect husband. Gentle, affectionate, calm. And when the evening comes to a close, I'll offer to escort her outside alone...and I’ll make my move.

I didn’t come this far to lose you to some stranger who thinks she’s a hero.

I brought you here. I saved you from the chaos. Here, you have peace. Here, you have me. Here, we have each other.

And if Stella tries to take that away, if she tries to take you away, then I’ll do what I have to.

Even if it means she never leaves Victory.

I whistle lightly as I approach you in the kitchen, my arms wrapping around your waist from behind. "Missed you today, sweetheart. How was your day?"