Natalie || Bruno Mars

Chapter 29

Persey's POV

The sound of a gunshot left hanging in the air, then silence filled the environment like a thick blanket wrapped around us. I remembered the shooting range at the back of the mansion where I used to train myself in shooting. I knew I can shoot a target as well as James or Andrew can. But I wasn't in the shooting range right now. I was in the middle of doing something I knew I would regret for the rest of my life. And when I heard it – the quick sound of death – my heart felt like it was stabbed and I wondered if I even pulled the trigger.

Bewilderment, as well as astonishment clearly drawn on my face as my eyes dropped to the gun I was holding. Still, my hands were uncontrollably trembling, and my arms stretched forward. I found myself breathing – more like panting – as if I just ran a mile, and beads of sweat dripping down my temple and the sides of my face.

My eyes then gazed back at where I had them on before. I felt my heart flipped at the sight of him. It was as if God heard my mourning and somehow put a cracked opening in the sky where light poured down like hope pinching my heart, and under it was Bruno.

Bruised. Bleeding. Struggling. Breathing. And alive.

But how? The words seemed to be stuck in my head and cannot be spoken. I breathed a sigh of slight relief, the fast beating of my heart suddenly slowing down like the dying engine of a car. But it still hurt. Slowly, and as if involuntarily, my hands fell on my sides and the gun dropped and clattered on the ground, its sound cutting through the silence. For a second, I thought I would hear James yelling at me, but I heard no one.

Every one of James men looked as puzzled and surprised as I was. I watched as they dropped their hands but still held their weapons. It was stupid to assume that they were already surrendering, I thought. I thought maybe James had said something to them which I didn't hear, summoning them to drop their guns. But that was impossible. So impossible.

 With my eyebrows pulled together, I turned around to see James. His eyes were dark... and lifeless, as his knees started buckling. I heard myself gasped, as I saw blood on where his heart was. I saw Andrew as well. In an unexpected surprise, my hand flew to my opened mouth. Andrew was still standing, his right arm around Ali's neck, his other arm left stretching forward, and the gun in his hand was pointed towards James who was now lifelessly lying on the ground. How...?

In that moment, I can see now why everyone looked baffled. I didn't know whether to scream in relief and happiness, or to grieve for my dead husband. My mouth was still half-opened, my knees felt like jelly, and as I stared at my hands, they were trembling more violently than before. "James," I heard myself cried softly.

The faint sound of sirens broke the silence. It was getting louder and louder giving us the sign that someone must've called the police and now, they were fast approaching. My eyes shifted to Andrew who just removed his arm from Ali and dropped his hand on his side. He didn't look troubled unlike the others who were now in the state of panic. Instead, Andrew looked as if he was expecting this to happen, like he had planned all this without James knowing. He didn't even thought of using Ali as a human shield against the police.

In no time, cops started appearing from the metal door. They asked everyone to drop their weapons and no one argued. I watched as the cops started hand-cuffing them including Andrew. He met my gaze and then smiled at me, his famous charming smile. And I thought, This was James' faithful servant... and also his murderer. How did that happen? Why did he do that?

My heart sank to my stomach at the thought of Andrew going to jail. But he didn't seem to be bothered by it. Isn't it that I'm supposed to be thrown to jail too for what I did to Bruno? I thought.

"Persey, are you alright?" I heard a familiar voice said. I turned to see Cree still with the same damaged and crumpled clothes. Her eyes clearly showed that she spent the whole night crying too. "I called them. The police," she informed but my mind seemed to be wandering. I wasn't interested in talking to someone right now. Then I stared at my dead husband.

Somehow, there was a part of me that wanted to cry over the death of James Edwards. Somehow, he was still my husband, and I was his wife, now widowed wife. And somehow, in those five years I've spent with him, I've learned to love him.

I was kind of sad that I didn't even get the chance to thank him. I mean, without him I'd probably starved to death, and my dad would be gone. I was sad that I didn't even get the chance to say those three words to him even if it he's only going to hear a lie. I just wanted him to know that I owe him a lot, and that I was sorry for being such an unfaithful wife.

I loved him, I knew. But I love this guy more, more than anything in the world. This guy whom I met one night at a restaurant. Whom I once hurt but never gave up on me.

"Persey," I heard his dry and husky voice calling my name. My gaze quickly met his. He was being half-carried by Ali as he stood there, a meter away from me. His lips curved into a smile, and in my eyes he was still handsome and perfect even with a bruised face.

For a moment, I felt like my environment was invisible again and the only thing I saw was him. I took a step forward but when my foot hit the ground, something in my stomach felt like it twisted causing me pain. It didn't feel like the butterfly sensation you get when you're in love or when you're nervous. It was something else. Something that physically hurt. I ignored the sudden pang of pain and continued on walking, reaching out to Bruno. But I never got to reach even the tip of his finger when my world started whirling like a carousel ride and my vision blurring. I felt my body cold and my head light. The next thing I knew was I was lying on the cold ground now. And despite the blurriness of my vision, I saw Bruno's figure above me. He held my head up and started yelling at my face but I couldn't catch his words. I can't breathe.

"Blood!" At the last minute of my consciousness, I heard Bruno's scream. I followed his gaze and saw blood dripping down my thighs.

Then blackness enveloped me.

Author's Note: Hate to say this but Natalie's coming to an end. I want to thank you guys in advance for supporting this fanfic. Thank you so much. You don't know how much it means to me. xx Hope you enjoyed this one. Comment? Vote?

PS: Some of you are right about their predictions.

AND GUYS THIS ISN'T THE LAST CHAPTER YET. JUST MAKING IT CLEAR. :)