Soon, the gun was shot.
Tristen felt a bolt of nothing running through his body, leaving it as fast as it had entered. He opened his eyes in surprise, checking for any bullets inside him. He raised his head to find Juggy bleeding through his chest.
He slowly stumbled to the side, clearing Tristen's view of the person who shot the weapon. Lavender stood there boldly, holding the revolver in both of her hands. She had known the reason why Tristen had asked her to save a bullet.
Tristen felt himself lose his mind, when he saw his girl committing a crime. She had an intention to kill, not to injure. It was in her eyes. Her red eyes.
"This... does not end... with me...." Juggy mumbled, suddenly shooting his revolver at Lavender. The bullet flew in a blink of an eye and hit her in her stomach. "NOO!" Tristen screeched at the sight, his voice completely distorted.
Lavender widened her eyes in shock, not because she was hit, but because the baby inside was. Tears rolled down her eyes at the thought of an innocent life dying, without even stepping out in the world. A life that had nothing to do with anything going in the world. "No..." She whispered, touching her tummy.
Juggy raised his gun at her again, aiming for her death.
A bullet striked through his brain, making him fall on the ground. Tristen was kneeling beside Brendon as he used his gun to kill him. Brendon was conscious, but not enough to move.
Tristen stood up and shot all the bullets inside his skull, giving multiple headshots to make sure Juggy never got up again. Upon emptying the entire handgun, he released the magazine and pulled out a fresh one from his pocket to insert it inside the gun.
Making his way towards Juggy, he shot all of the fresh bullets, making sure that he would never get up. All shot in the brain.
"Tristen...." Brendon managed to speak, bringing Tristen out of his anger. Upon turning to Bredon, he simply pointed into Lavender's direction. Tristen followed his gaze and realized that he had completely forgotten about his wife, while devoured by anger.
"Lavender!" He ran towards her, holding her in his arms as he kneeled down. "No, not again, Lavender please, not this time." He patted her cheeks to wake her up. Luckily, she was still in her senses. "The baby.... is dead." She whispered, before shutting her eyes. "No, stay with me!" He howled like a lone wolf in the darkest night of the year.
"We can make it to the hospital! Come on!" He said, picking her up in his arms. "It'll be too late." She mumbled. "SHUT UP LAVENDER! I DARE YOU TO SAY THAT TO ME AGAIN!" His voice distorted itself, while he ran to his car.
"Tristen... I don't think my fate's with me this time." Lavender said while laying in the backseat. "CAN'T YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME ONCE?" He snapped, angered by her pessimism. "But we've already lost a life. An innocent life. Do you think I'm responsible? I can never be a responsible mother." Her voice trembled, as tears rolled down her eyes.
"Lavender why.... Why're you..." Tristen broke into tears of his own, stepping on the gas to accelerate the speed. He did not know what to say. He knew he was responsible for the death of his child. And hearing Lavender talk about responsibility made him go nuts.
"It's not you, Lav. You are the best mother in this world. And the best wife anyone could ever get. I could never be the best husband, or the best father for you, or for Jane." He sniffled, taking a sharp turn.
"It was a girl?" Lavender felt a lump in her throat. She had imagined her future with her child; things she would do if it were a boy, and the things she would do if it were a girl. She had imagined more on the latter scenario. She just knew the way she would raise her girl; taking her out every Saturday afternoon as a Mother-Daughter day, dining out with them both every Sunday night, and the amount of fun and recreational activities she would do with her were endless.
"Granna told me about it. She also asked me to keep it a secret from you, saying that you wouldn't want to know the sex." He replied. "She was right." Lavender cried even more. "Thanks for telling me before we lay her down." She broke down mentally.
After a moment of silence where Lavender lied still, a million thoughts running her mind. "Baby?" She chose to spoke. "Yeah? What's wrong?" Tristen felt startled by her sudden sweet talk. "After I'm gone, don't waste your life. Don't spend your life in regret, fall in love again. No one deserves to not feel loved." She smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"LAVENDER!" He yelled in anger. "Just don't marry Cady, I will haunt you forever." She spoke in a whisper like voice, feeling that her body was giving up on her.
"I will kill myself if you die. Stop saying these unforgivable words. I swear to god Lavender, had you not been my wife I'd have shown you how cold I could get when someone disobeys me." He gritted his teeth, feeling tears welling up in his eyes.
"I never disobeyed you." Lavender still decided to argue. "See, you're doing it while you're saying this. Fucking... God... Why don't you just listen? Is it that hard?" He smacked his lips. "I just don't want to surprise you by passing away suddenly." She smiled.
"For God's sake, Lavender. Talk about something else."
"I feel tired. I'll just sleep for a while."
"I DARE YOU TO DO THAT! DON'T YOU EVEN FUCKING DARE CLOSE YOUR EYES. I'M SERIOUS LAVENDER, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF..."
"Fine, I won't." She sighed heavily.
After that, it was a short ride to the hospital, where Tristen kept Lavender talking and did not allow her to fall asleep. He did not want to take any chances. He knew how dangerously close she was to dying or falling into a coma. The moment they reached Bilsburg Central Hospital, Tristen carried her out in his arms, leaving the car open.
"My wife has been shot! She is pregnant!" He yelled at the top of his voice in the hospital. Nurses soon came in with a stretcher where he laid her, while a few doctors approached the scenario.
After that, surgeons were called in and the operation room was marked red. Tristen sat down outside the room on the provided bench. He weeped to himself placing his elbows on his thighs while he hid his face in his palms.
Hours had passed by. Would she be live? Would the baby be okay? Would he have to make a choice between choosing Lavender and the baby? The baby who hasn't even been born? A thousand thoughts were running through his mind. He wished he could just give up and die.
"Mr. Killings?" A voice said, standing right in front of Tristen. He looked up at the man showing him his ID. "We are from the Investigation team. I would like to get your statement recorded upon this matter. This seems like a case of attempted murder." The man said. "I'm not in a correct state to be giving my statement. I hope you understand." Tristen calmly said, knowing that he would burst out in tears any moment. "My wife is still inside, and I do not know what has happened to our child."
"Your wife, you say?" The officer asked, pulling out his notepad to note it down. "Wife-to-be. We were supposed to get married in a few months." He explained. The officer looked at him closely for a moment, and sighed. He put the notepad back, deciding to let it slide. "We understand. But we will come back tomorrow. This is a matter of urgency. I hope you understand." He said, before walking away with his team.
Tristen could not hold himself from crying. He loved Lavender very much. In fact, he would go ahead and confess that he loved her more than their unborn girl child. He had failed to protect her. And he blamed himself entirely for it.
The flashbacks of her coming to his rescue kept on playing. How bold it was of her to come back and save him, even when he had specifically advised her to run away. He had been saved by the very person he was meant to protect.
How ironic.
He realized that he was completely exhausted and dehydrated. Getting a small water bottle from the vending machine, he drank from it like it was alcohol. His eyes started to shut themselves, slowly making him doze off.
Soon, the entire world had turned black, and Tristen had fallen asleep.
* * *
"Mr. Killings?" A gentle touch woke him up. Tristen opened his eyes to find the surgeon along with the other nurses standing in front of him. "We managed to removed the bullet from her stomach." He said, delivering the good news first. "The baby was critically injured. From what we can tell, it was to do with the manner your wife must have fell down. We did the best we could. We can only say that your wife, thankfully, has managed to survive." The surgeon explained.
Tristen felt the world slip from beneath his feet. Their child, first child, was dead. What was he going to tell Lavender when she would notice her tiny tummy bulge gone? How would he console her? He wondered how he was supposed to process the situation.
"She will be soon shifted into a private ward. The nurses will come with some papers that you will have to sign. I will get going now." The doctor added, starting to leave.
"C-Can I see her?" Tristen stood up. "Yes, sure. She woke up a while ago." The surgeon replied before he left him alone. He rushed towards the door, putting his fingers on the doorknob. He stopped, gaining his composure before he could face her. Lavender would not want him to be in a condition worse than her.
Taking a deep breath, he entered the room.
There she was, lying on the operation bed with tubes and pipes and what not connected to her body. Tristen was furious to find so many things attached to her as if she was dying. Her eyes were shut, unaware of someone's presence in the room.
"What the hell did they do to you? They're acting as if they diagnosed you with cancer or something." He huffed, taking a seat beside her. "Language, Tristen." Lavender sighed, gently opening her eyes. "It's their job. I'm fine now." She turned her head to face him.
"I don't like this sight of you. It hurts me so much to see you here in this manner." He held her hand and kissed the back of her palm. "I'm so sorry, Lav. I failed to protect you." He cried, touching his forehead to her hand.
"No, I protected you this time. Else, it's always the other way around." She smiled. "I'll never forget it even in my old days, the way you saved me. I love you so much. I'm so grateful that you fought this. You're so brave." He praised, planting multiple kisses on her hand. "Come on, we both know you're being cheesy." Lavender joked, even in her critical condition.
"No, I'm serious this time." He caressed her head. "I'm giving up every illegal shit that I own. The ones I have a license for, I'm going to start using it for legal purposes. No more drugs, no more deals, no more killings. Except for you and me, Mrs. Killings." He smiled, leaning closer towards her.
"Awh, that was a clever one. And don't forget our little Killings. I've always wondered how you got this last name, but I love it. Sounds so classy and royal." Lavender giggled, unaware of the death of her baby. Tristen could only pitifully stare at her in grief. "Oh, did they perform sonography or something? Did you get to see our baby?" She asked curiously.
"Lavender..." He put a palm on her cheek, a tear rolling out of his eye. "What's wrong? Is our baby alright?" Her smile wiped itself out. "They tried, love. But they could not... I'm so sorry, Lavender." He confessed, instead of hiding it from her.
"Jane is.... Dead?" Her lip quivered. "Yes." He admitted sadly. "Oh my god..." She mumbled, tears forming in her own eyes. "Oh my... god..." She whispered, turning her head the other way. "Lavender I-" Tristen started.
"Tristen, don't. It's alright." She stopped him from making things even worse for her. "I had been expecting it, so it doesn't hurt me that much. Just prayed that my expectations were wrong." She sniffled. "My love..." He broke out into tears and so did Lavender.
"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." Tristen cried. "Our fault. Whatever it is, we both have an equal share of responsibility. Don't blame yourself." Her voice trembled. "I'll... try not to.... Blame myself either." She lost control and sobbed profusely.
That was it. Juggy was dead. Tristen had killed him. Lavender was safe. Her parents were safe. But, at what cost?
John had brought in Lavender's parents so that they could meet her daughter. They were devastated. So much that they were ready to file a lawsuit against Tristen. Obviously, on the pleas of Lavender along with some of her emotional threats, they decided to keep their quiet. But they hated Tristen for what he had done to their daughter and their grandchild. More than they hated him for finding out about his real identity. It was not that much of a heartache for him because he never cared for what people thought about. It would have been hurtful if Lavender had put the blame on him, which he was already doing to himself from the start.
After a week, Granna was in the hospital; in Lavender's private ward to meet her. She cried with her, showering her with her own love and consolations. Lavender was more comfortable crying in front of Granna than her own parents, because she knew that Granna would never judge her.
She had a neutral point of view, given that she was from a mafia background herself. But she was as heartbroken as Lavender, because she saw her no less than her own granddaughter. She made sure to look after her since her parents would not visit the hospital anymore. Granna sponged her body despite the whines of Tristen to be the one to do that, but Granna shooed him away.
Days later, Bates came to greet her, despite his own injuries. Yes, he was covered in plasters, but he could walk. He took the entire advantage of being admitted into the same hospital. He was followed by Brendon and Cady, as well as Claire and Jim. And obviously, Granna was there too.
"I knew it. I knew it from the start. From the way this man used to behave and talk..." Jim snapped his fingers at Tristen.
"Wait, so you're saying that this man was a mafia all this time?" Claire gasped. "Claire, please be a little understanding." Brendon cooed. "And you too? You never told me like Tristen told Lavender." She argued.
"That's what she's upset about?" Lavender scoffed, sitting upright with Tristen by her side. "Sadly, yes." He said, as they both turned their heads to each other and silently laughed.
"I think we're missing out on the fact that they are all mafia." Jim shook his head. "You lied. You hid it all from me, Brendon. You said that you loved me." Claire cried. "I-It's true! I do!" Brendon gulped hard. "Then why didn't you tell me?" She sniffled.
"I had a lot on my shoulders, and it was not very easy to let anyone know." He coughed, leaning closer. "My boss would have killed me." He whispered before pulling back. "Lav, you did not have to go through this alone! I feel so bad that I might die." Claire cried, throwing her arms around Lavender.
"I'm surprised that you guys did not react the way I thought you would." Lavender chuckled awkwardly. "Oh come on, Lav. You know how it is these days. Everyone knows at least one person who does things the wrong way." Jim scoffed. "Does that mean, you too?" Lavender asked.
"Who do you think stopped news articles about our authors' rumours from spreading? Who helped us remove the ban on one of our author's grotesque books?" He said, making Lavender drop her jaw. "Unbelievable." She rolled her eyes.
"You did not tell me this, Claire?" Lavender asked. "He told me not to. There are so many things we have had people do for us because we could not solve things the straight way." Claire shrugged.
Lavender looked at Tristen who simply shrugged his shoulders. "It's hard to find people who do legal businesses these days." He sighed, patting her head. "Hey, that doesn't mean what you did to our Lavender was right." Jim snapped.
"Absolutely!" Claire joined in.
"I wasn't the one! I saved her from the real threat!" Tristen said, taking offence. "He was your friend, wasn't he?" Claire argued. "So? I did manage to show him his place." He backfired, standing up offensively. He walked over to Claire and others to continue his argument better.
Lavender watched the way everyone was making a huge chaos, about the wrong thing, however. "Let them be. How's your health? Are you healing?" Granna asked, sitting down beside Lavender. "Mmh. Much better." She smiled. "And what about... down there?" She whispered in her ear. "Ah, that... Sort of okay. A little painful." Lavender whispered back. "I'm slowly getting over it all. I still cannot move on from Jane. But I'd like to think that she is in a better place." She sighed heavily.
"You're strong, you know that? Stronger than your husband." Granna said. "Yeah, I know." Lavender yawned. "I'm serious, silly girl." Granna flicked her forehead gently. "It might be painful to get injured, go through all kinds of pain, mental or physical. But nothing can compare to the pain of a mother who lost her unborn child. And the way you're able to get a hold on yourself, is inspiring. You're really a brave woman, Lavender. Not to mention you saved your husband, that dumbass." She scoffed.
It made Lavender giggle, as she turned her head only for her eyes to fall over Tristen's curvy man butt. Dumbass, she recalled Granna's words and laughed out loud. "I can picture you both in Rome or Malta, wherever you're going, in a few months." Granna sighed. "Oh, yeah. We're sorry about the wedding." Lavender pouted.
"Nope, not at all. It's your moment. You both matter the most in it, not us." Granna shook her hand. "We could have had it right here, but then we had a little change of plan, that's all. We wanted to be alone." Lavender took Granna's hand.
"I understand. Getting married here and not having your parents attend it sounds devastating. I got you." She winked. "You're the best, Granna." Lavender smiled, hugging her from the side.
They both continued to watch and laugh at the argument that had broken out between Tristen and the rest who had found out about his real identity.
"We won't let you marry our Lavender, Mr. Mafia." Jim declared. "Just because you're not invited?" Bates scoffed. "Bates, I'm going to deal with you later. Don't forget that your goblin novel is yet to be published." Jim threatened. "Geez, okay boomer." Bates rolled his eyes. "Ay! Whom are you calling a boomer?" He snapped.
"Yeah, right, Bates. Jim's not a boomer, he's a bomber because he always ruins everyone's moods!" Brendon added, making everyone laugh. "YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING ASSISTANT! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Jim yelled. "It's for me to decide whether or not he's good." Tristen coldly said, towering over Jim with his tall self.
Claire held Tristen's shoulder and spun him around like a wheel. "YOU'RE A TRAITOR!" She snapped. "Brendon, handle your woman. Teach her what she's limited to." Tristen angrily snapped at Brendon. "Sweetie, how about we have a talk outside?" He awkwardly put an arm around her to take her outside. Tristen retraced his steps towards Lavender, sitting beside her. "NO! AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING A WOMAN?" Claire barked. "He's going to cut from my pay, we won't be able to go on our secret trip." Brendon whispered, before dragging her outside.
"I'M WATCHING YOU TRISTEN!" Claire threatened, before walking out of the room. "Wow. She's really testing me. I'm going to forget that you're my wife's assistant. COME HERE YOU-" He angrily snapped, starting to get up before Lavender held his hand.
"Baby, let it be. You know I love you, right?" She giggled. "But your assistant is way too nosy!" He complained.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Claire barged in.
"YOU'RE NOSY!" Tristen stood up.
"You're getting on my nerves, Mr. Killings."
"Yeah, I'll show you what it means to get on someone's nerves."