• "Yes Mrs Smith, I'll make sure the adjustments are made to your necklace," Sylvia said tiredly into the phone. "Yes ma'am, shorten the chain by 2cm, yes. I'm afraid that I must be going, yes I'll remember, bye now." Sylvia gratefully hung the receiver back up on the hook. She took a deep breath and looked around her apartment. It was fairly small, with powder blue walls and grey carpets. She had always been her favourite colour, and now she had another reason to love it. Blue was the colour of her fiancé, Ben's, eyes. Her eyes settled on a photograph of them at the beach, the day they first met. He had been wearing a blue shirt that day. Even in a photograph it made his eyes even more striking.

    She remembered the day clearly, though it had been nearly five years ago. She had been walking down the beach, taking a break from her job - designing jewellery- when she tripped over a man who was looking for sea shells.
    "Oh my, I'm so sorry miss, I didn't know that I was in your way!" Ben said, helping her up.
    "Oh, no, I should have been watching where I was going," Sylvia said, brushing sand off her clothing as she made eye contact. She felt an instant connection as her brown eyes met his striking blue eyes.
    "Well, I guess you should have this as a token of my apology," he said as he handed her a beautiful conch shell. It was rose pink, with swirls of white and gold.
    "Oh, it's beautiful! No, I couldn't. It must have taken you ages to find it," she said.
    "Take it, I don't know anyone who deserves it more than you. After all, beautiful things should belong to beautiful women," he said in a warm tone.
    "Oh, I don't know about all of that, but if you insist," she said and took the shell. She felt an electric jolt as her hand brushed his.
    "Hey, do you have time for a cup of coffee?" he asked hopefully.
    "You're in luck. I happen to be on a break," she purred and hooked her arm through his.

    In that short hour that they had taken to have coffee, she had fallen head-over-heels in love. Their relationship had started that day, and so, she felt, had a new chapter in her life. Of course, she never suspected how that chapter would end.

    A few months later, after they had married, Ben started to get nervous. He would always come home late from work and when sh questioned him, he would get nervous and change the subject. When her stock of jewellery started to disappear, she got suspicious.

    “Honey, have you seen that ruby necklace I was working on?” Sylvia asked Ben.
    “No, why would I know where it is?” Ben asked nervously.
    “That’s it,” she murmured to herself, “I have to find out what’s going on.”

    The next morning…

    “Honey I have to go to work on Saturday,” Ben said.
    “Why?” Sylvia asked.
    “I don’t know,” Ben replied.

    So Sylvia resolved to follow Ben to where ever he was going. Of course, she never expected to find that her husband was part of a drug smuggling syndicate.

    “When is the shipment arriving?” a tall man in a trench coat and dark glasses growled.
    “I have it right here,” Ben said, looking around suspiciously before pulling a bag of white powder from his coat-pocket.
    “Give me the merchandise and I’ll give you your payment,” the man said menacingly.
    “I’m no fool, give me the money first,” Ben replied.

    Watching from her hidden vantage point in a pile of crates, Sylvia was shocked at what her husband was doing. She had been suspicious when he drove to an abandoned warehouse instead of his office, but she never suspected it was this bad. Suddenly, the crate that she was leaning on gave way, and she fell forward, landing a Ben’s feet.
    “Sylvia! What are you doing here?” Ben asked desperately, “Are you alright?”
    “I’m afraid we are going to have to take care of her now,” the man said.
    “No!” Ben cried. “She’s in over her head, please, let her go!” Ben pleaded.
    “she knows too much. It has to be done,” the man said sternly as he approached Sylvia.

    Sylvia got up and glared at her husband with tears in her eyes. Then the man took her by the throat and started to strangle her. With what she thought would be her last breath, Sylvia broke her relationship with Ben. Just as she was about to black out, the man released her and she fell, coughing and gasping, to the floor. As she tried to get her breath back, the man turned to Ben, took out a gun and shot him.
    “I’m sorry you had to see that miss,” the man said in a more civil voice.
    But the apology had fallen on deaf ears, as Sylvia had fainted shortly before.