THE MAFIA’S MISTAKEN BRIDE

Xavier’s POV

Blood is trailing on the floor where I shot Sebastian several times but he isn’t dead. There is a glint of amusement in his eyes which makes me feel mocked.

Anger surges through me as I try to raise my hand and shoot him again till those glints are no longer there and what remains is the cold expression of a dead man.

But my hands are stiff.

They aren’t moving.

Sebastian begins to laugh like a maniac. His voice rings a bell in my head, making adrenaline rush down my spine.

Still, I can’t move. I am transfixed to one spot.

I turn around and I see another version of Sebastian behind me. He is shot too but he is also laughing.

I became confused.

What the hell is happening?

When I look to the front, he is still there. I shake my head, wondering if this is just my imagination.

Sebastian ought to be dead. I promised to kill him. I promised Jasmine. I can’t let him get away with kidnapping her. I can’t let this repeat itself. He needs to die.

A surge of energy rushes through me and I let out a scream before forcefully peeling my legs off the ground and rushing towards him.

My body hits his body. With the force, I push him forward with my body until we get to the edge of the cliff.

Grinning at him because of the fear I see in his eyes, I push him off but he holds onto a tiny edge with one hand. I shake my head and stand with my hands akimbo before stamping my feet on his hand so he can let go.

He screams out in pain.

But instead of letting go and falling off like I want, he grabs my leg with the other hand and pulls me towards him.

Our screams echo around the empty cold place as we begin to fall.

Then darkness envelops me.

Within a minute, light begins to seep in and I flash my eyes open. The first thing that comes to my head is to find Sebastian. To see if he is dead or not.

If he isn’t, I need to kill him. If he is, then I need to find Jasmine.

But he is nowhere to be found. I don’t even know where I am.

The place is empty, quiet and cold. I shiver and turn around. Then I feel a touch. A warm touch that manages to warm through my entire body.

Still feeling the touch in my hand, I look down but no one is here.

What the hell is happening?

I squat down and hold my head in between my two hands.

Then I hear her voice.

That familiar soft voice that manages to bring joy to my heart. The same voice that does unimaginable things to my existence.

The voice belongs to the timid woman I promised to save with my life.

I look around but she isn’t here. She is nowhere to be found. Even though I can feel her. I can feel her presence. I can feel her breath.

The voice comes again. Throaty.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

Is she crying? Did Sebastian get to her again? Where the hell is Mathew and Ethan? Where is Andrew? What about Alex? One of them should save her till I find my way out of here.

If they don’t, I won’t hesitate to blow their brains off if anything happens to Jasmine.

“Xavier, please”, she mutters loudly now and I shoot to my feet instantly, spinning around.

What the hell is happening?

This is a cry for help. How can I get out of here and save her? Where is she? Where am I?

I feel the touch again then a drop of tear falls down my face and I scream in frustration before darkness sets in again.

My index finger moves.

And the voice comes again. This time louder than ever before.

“I won’t leave you, I promise. Just wake up already please”, she cries out holding onto my right hand.

When my right hand moves, she stops crying and her hold on the hand slackens. I move the hand again and a gasp leaves her mouth.

“Xavier?” she calls out softly, more like a question.

I want to open my eyes but it is quite painful. I move my two hands at the same time and she grips my right hand more tightly.

“Xavier?” There is excitement in her voice. “Alex call the doctor. Xavier is awake.”

She says that without leaving my hand. It makes a smile form on my smile as I slowly begin to open my eyelid and eventually, my eyes flash open to meet the intense gaze of a brown-eyed woman with straight white hair.

Her hair is disheveled but she still looks pretty. If there is anyone who looks pretty in a messy situation, then that person is Jasmine Cooper.

“Xavier?” she calls again. “Xavier?” She jumps up in excitement, letting go of my hand for a brief second before grabbing it again and wiping her tear-stained face with a hankie.

Suddenly, she slams her forehead to mine and begins to press kisses on every part of my face.

I wince.

“Are you ok?” she demands, rising with her flustered face.

I do not reply. I just continue to watch her.

Panic sets in. “Xavier, are you ok? Alex, where is the doctor?”

As though Alex was waiting for her to say something about the doctor, he rushes in with a man in a white coat.

Alex grabs Jasmine and I watch them go out.

Before the doctor can examine me, I find my voice. “I’m fine now, can you discharge me?”

“I need to check if everything is fine”, he doesn’t seem surprised by my words. He is the family doctor and he knows how much I hate hospitals. I can’t even remember the last time I came here.

When I don’t say a word, he quickly examines me. Letting go of his stethoscope, he nods at me before taking off every single tube attached to my body with the assistant of a nurse.

When he is done, I rise immediately as he goes out and Jasmine comes in.

“Xavier, are you ok?” she demands from me with a worried filled expression.

I nod and hold her outstretched hand. Pulling her back to the seat she was sitting on a while ago, we stare at each other.

I am thinking of what to say to break the silence. But she beats me to it with a sob.

“I am sorry”, I find myself saying without knowing exactly why I am apologizing out of the blue.

I know I am supposed to apologize for everything. Right from when we first met till now. I shouldn’t have made her so worried to the extent of crying so hard that I could hear while I was unconscious.

“You were in a coma”, she explains to me, flashing me a light smile and looking away quickly as she wipes her tears.

“I’m sorry”, I say again. This catches her attention and she brings her eyes to meet mine.

“Why are you apologizing?” she asks in confusion.

“For everything”, I utter firmly, hoping she will get the message. For mistaking her for someone else.

For kidnapping her and making her helpless.

For forcing her to the altar and making her my wife.

For finding her when she ran away and kidnapping her for the second time.

For all my cruel and harsh behavior towards her and for also deceiving her.

And finally for making her cry and worried about me.

Her eyes are red, puffy and swollen and I doubt if she has slept in a while. Tempted to ask her how long I have been in a coma, I open my mouth but she places a finger on it, shutting me up.

She stands up from the chair and embraces me firmly in a tight hug. We stay this way for more than a minute before she pulls away.

“Thank you for coming back, Xavier”, she murmurs, tears glistening in her eyes. “I love you.”

At the last statement, my heart stops beating for a second out of shock. Then it starts beating again.

But wildly and loudly.

I don’t know how to react to this sudden confession of love from a woman I forcefully made my wife. Just when I am thinking of what exactly to do to her to earn her forgiveness and let go of her finally so she can go back to her life in Chicago, she tells me she loves me.

“I love you, Xavier”, she repeats and begins to cry, bowing her head down.

Without thinking, I stand up to her height and hold her head between my two hands, wiping her tears with my thumb.

She doesn’t stop crying so I do the only thing that comes to my head.

I shut her up with a kiss on the lips which has me delving my tongue into her mouth to claim her as mine.