Jade lied in her bed, hearing the rain gently splashing against the windows. She stared at the ceiling, hearing a small snore next to her. She turned her head to see her fiancé sleeping, his face dug into the plush, hypoallergenic, whitest of white pillow. She found it ridiculous that he'd demand stupid things like white sheets, white pillows, whiter than white. But that was probably because he had the authority to make those demands; he was after all one of the richest men under 30 in America. Jade never believed herself to be that lucky to land one of the richest men in America as her husband. They had been together for about 4 years; just 3 years after Jade ran away from Hogwarts and England.
She struggled when she arrived in America. For a year, she tried living in England but decided it was best if she just moved to another country to meet different people. Right after that year, Jade flew to New York and tried to handle an odd job. Trying to fit in as a muggle and not meeting any wizards had made it harder for Jade. Many jobs required that she have her college degree and Jade didn't have that. She struggled quite a bit and life was hard during that time. Jade took up on a job at a book store and coffee shop, working long hours and regretting not having finished her year at Hogwarts. She could have been working somewhere comfortably. She regretting throwing the rest of her life away in Hogwarts and if she was given a chance to do everything over again, she would. She needed a second chance. That second chance never came, but another opportunity knocked.
One night, while she was closing up, a man approached her, in a dire need of 16 steaming cups of coffees for his boss. Jade apologized, telling him that she was already closed but seeing the urgency in his eyes, that his job was at stake, Jade felt bad for the man and opened her shop back up again. She made him his 16 cups of coffee and offered to help him take it to wherever he was going. He was very grateful for her help. They sped off to a very fancy hotel and moved quickly, almost knocking down the coffee. While waiting on the elevator, he had introduced himself as Gillian, personal assistant to one of the most famous designers in the world.
"Nessie Stewart." Gillian told her. He asked Jade not to say anything and try not to bring any attention to herself because people of class would be presented there. Jade merely scowled at him and entered an oval room.
There, a middle-aged woman with hair like corn silk sat there elegantly, her thin frameless designer glasses perched elegantly on her nose. She spoke with a slow but fierce voice, commanding the attention of all 15 people, sitting in an oval shaped table. Jade stood there as Gillian placed the coffee down, next to Nessie Stewart who went on speaking as if he didn't exist. Jade looked over the woman and almost jumped when she swore she looked her dead in the eye. Jade went to go back to Gillian who walked a little too fast towards her.
A man pushed his chair back to re-adjust himself, tripping Gillian, who knocked down the cups of coffee into the air. Jade had to think quickly. She quickly shot a spell to bring the coffee back from falling, into her arms. It was as if someone had pushed the rewind button, one moment the coffee was flying into the air, ready to fall on everyone, next moment, it was going back into the cups, back into the trays that Jade was holding.
Jade let out a loud sigh and felt all eyes were on her. She looked around nervously and saw Nessie Stewart standing on her feet, tucking something back into her pocket. Gillian looked horrified and at the same time, in awe.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
Jade blushed deeply and set the tray down. She quickly left the room before the Ministry was going to hunt her down and send her to Azkaban for the use of magic in front of muggles. As Jade left, there was a voice that stopped her. Jade felt her legs go numb and she stopped, hearing the swift clicks of heels coming her way.
"What is your name?" drawled a cool voice. Jade turned around slowly to see Nessie Stewart standing in front of her, her eyes intense, looking into Jade's eyes as if she was reading her.
"Jade…Patrice…Harper." Jade answered slowly.
The woman was utterly terrifying, yet there was this vulnerability that Jade detected immediately.
"Are you a witch?" Nessie Stewart breathed.
Jade's eyes widened and she went to leave but Nessie reached into her pocket and pulled out Jade's wand. "I see." Nessie said twirling the wand around.
"Give that back." Jade said, holding out her hand.
"You and I should have a little chat. Shall we?" Nessie asked, handing Jade's wand back to her.
Jade complied, not knowing why. The woman seemed hypnotic, sending Jade into a dreamlike state, complying to her every word. Nessie Stewart was delighted to meet a witch, because she was one too herself. Jade couldn't overcome that shock. She actually met one of her kind in New York! Nessie expressed her relief of finding someone that shared the same life as her and was worried that she wouldn't be able to find a witch or wizard that she could relate to. Nessie and Jade quickly became friends and to Jade's benefit, Nessie offered Jade a modeling job. Jade agreed.
Up until 2 years of modeling, Jade had learned everything there was to know about fashion and maintaining herself. Nessie had transformed Jade into something that Jade herself couldn't believe. Under Nessie's care, who had become a mother figure in Jade's eyes, Nessie had nurtured Jade and kept a firm grip on her, up until she had met Mr. Daniel Mitz.
The charming 26 year old had introduced himself at a party that Nessie threw for her successful clothing line and invited the richest and most stuck up people. Jade tried ignoring Daniel for a while, but he was determined to have her attention and actually did. Jade was still recovering from getting over Draco and refused to meet Daniel again, until she realized that she was never going to have Draco again. Nessie even explained to her that there was no way Draco was ever going to be remotely interested, especially after all those years. His child was probably his main priority along with Ginny and Merlin knows how many other kids they had. They were probably married and very happy, so Jade gave Daniel a shot. Daniel made Jade happy enough to live. Throughout the 4 years, Daniel had been nothing but kind, patient and generous to her.
Jade looked at Daniel and touched his cheek softly. Her fingers traveled to his eyelids and she scooted closer to him, feeling the warmth of his body against hers. The first couple of months had been intense for the two of them, but things quickly slowed down. He always worked and Jade tried to spend every moment there was available for him. He never mentioned that they spent time apart and Jade was quite relieved about that. She didn't want to be so dramatic about anything but they hardly had arguments, which frustrated Jade. She liked a good fight.
Being with Daniel had changed much of her personality as well. Jade had to completely stop smoking and drinking all together. She had to keep a leash on her tongue. 'Ladies shouldn't cuss like a horse.' Daniel's favorite to use whenever Jade lashed out and started to curse fluently. She tried a lot to refine herself, but as time moved on, Jade was a lot more controlled, much like a lady.
Jade wrapped her leg around Daniel's waist and bit his earlobe, seeing him wake up. He moaned and reached for his Blackberry, but Jade stopped him.
"Look at me and stop checking your messages for once." Jade said. She bent down and kissed his jaw, but she felt him turn over and take the Blackberry anyway.
"You know I can't neglect my work." He said, starting to type away, sitting up so his back rested against the headboard. Jade lied there, tracing his hip with her finger.
"So you neglect me?" Jade asked. She looked up and saw him shake his head, rolling his eyes.
"If I neglected you, I wouldn't have been here in the first place." He said.
"I understand, but can't you just talk to me? I like talking to you." Jade said.
"Let's talk." He said in a flat voice, his eyes not leaving his device.
Then there were flaws about him. The sensitivity chip that was built in everyone's body, apparently, he never received it. He was particularly blunt about everything, not caring what other people thought about him. He was direct and head on, that's what made him a good businessman, not a good partner.
"Forget it." Jade muttered, sliding off the bed. She walked over and grabbed her black silk robe from the floor. She walked out of the room to make herself a cup of coffee she could enjoy in the living room with her cigarette. She knew Daniel hated her smoking a cigarette. If he ever knew that she used to smoke marijuana, he'd have a heart attack. Nessie made her quit. Jade sat on the sofa and pulled a cigarette from the drawer next to her. She took a lighter and went to light it but Daniel quickly snatched it from her and stubbed it.
"Didn't I tell you not to smoke? It's bad for your health." He said sitting next to her.
"Who cares about my health? I don't mind if anything happens to me." Jade said, looking straight ahead, not meeting his eyes. She felt the disappointment in Daniel.
"I care about your health Jade. You know, I wish you wouldn't say some of the things you say. It's very hurtful that you think no one cares." Daniel said. He got up and left to the other room, making Jade sigh and mentally kick herself. Great, she fucked things up again.