No strings attached |(UNDER REVISION)

Chapter 42- Hold my hand

A gun gleamed in his grip.

The air in the room turned suffocating as he took slow, deliberate steps forward.

"What the hell did you just do?" His voice was eerily quiet, which only made it more terrifying.

I forced myself to stand tall, hiding the fear racing through me. "Nothing," I lied.

Adrian's eyes flickered to my phone. In a flash, he lunged-grabbing my wrist so tightly I cried out. My phone clattered to the floor, and his fingers wrapped around my jaw, forcing me to look at him.

"You just don't learn, do you?" he growled. His other hand lifted, pressing the gun against my ribs.

Cold. Heavy. Deadly.

I swallowed hard, my heart hammering against my chest.

"You really think she can save you?" Adrian whispered, his lips curling into a twisted smirk. "She can't. No one can."

His finger hovered over the trigger.

And I knew-this was it.

If I didn't find a way out... I would never see Mikha again.

Tears streamed down my face as I gasped for breath, the cold barrel of the gun pressing against my ribs.

"Adrian, please," I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper. "You don't have to do this."

His grip on my jaw tightened as he leaned in, his dark eyes burning with madness. "I'd rather see you dead than let you belong to someone else."

Panic surged through me. "No-"

A deafening BANG rang through the room.

Pain exploded in my body. A sharp, searing agony spread through my side, knocking the air out of my lungs. My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the floor, my vision swimming with black spots.

I felt the warmth of my own blood pooling beneath me, soaking into my clothes. My body trembled violently, my breaths coming in short, ragged gasps.

No... not like this...

Just as my vision began to fade, a sound broke through the haze of pain.

A child's cry.

"Aurora?" My mind barely registered the small, terrified voice.

The desperate, heart-wrenching sobs of my daughter.

I wanted to reach for her. To tell her it was okay.

But my body wouldn't move.

Everything was slipping away.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

MIKHA'S POV

I was drowning in paperwork, buried under contracts and reports, when my phone vibrated beside me. Absentmindedly, I reached for it, expecting just another email or a reminder.

Then I saw the name on the screen.

Aiah.

My breath caught.

My fingers hesitated before opening the message.

Mikha,

If you ever cared about me, please listen-stay away. Don't look for me. Don't come near me. Adrian knows, and he won't stop until he gets what he wants. And if you try to save me... I know he'll come for you.
Please, Mikha. Take care of yourself. Live your life. Be happy, even if it's without me. I don't want you caught in this.
I love you. I always have. But this is goodbye.