PRESENT

Richard Black couldn’t help himself in going back to their memories. Because this is what he did every single night in the last four years, reminiscing his past. He lived each and every moment again. He was never helpless but in this matter he was crippled.

The way their bodies swayed with each other ,his finger filling the gaps between hers. It looked as if they were made for each other. He saw the same love in her eyes which he has seen in the past. Just as he was going to do something stupid like kissing her , Leah tapped his shoulder.

“Baby, I think its my turn. Miss. Wesley if you could stand back ,its time for my and fiancé dance.”

“Of course he is all yours.”

Amara was never the one to support violence but the anger she felt when Leah barged in claiming Ric as hers was definitely violent. She knew that all she had was this night to know the truth. And she can’t waste more time. Her plan was to get Ric jealous and then force the truth out of him. But destiny had other plans.

Richard was the mafia king. He had many enemies who waited for him to make a single mistake. All they wanted was an opportunity to knock him out. In the haze of his emotions he gave them the perfect one. He was out in a public place which had massive media coverage without any security. It was just him, Noah , Leah and two body guards.

A man dressed in Black tuxedo had been monitoring Ric’s move since the beginning of the party. His eyes was calm yet stormy. He was on a call informing everything to the person at the other side.

“Boss, my eyes are on the target. I have a perfect shot.”

“Are you sure Maverick?”

“Yes. Direct shot at his heart. He’ll drop dead in ten seconds.”

“Wait for the gala to end . As soon as the other guests start moving out, Go for the shot.”

“Yes boss.”

Amara was a minute away from her plan. Half of the guests have already left the venue. Other half mingling with the left ones. The timing was perfect for her game. As she went to Nick to start her plan , she saw a man dressed in black tux pointing a gun at someone. Frighteningly she narrowed her gaze at the direction of the gun. Her heart leapt out of it when she saw that the person at the other end of the gun was none other than her Richard.

Before she could think of any rational steps, the man released the trigger.

Amara did the only thing that came in her mind at the moment. She jumped before Ric taking the bullet meant for him.

Before Ric could comprehend, his guards and Noah had already started firing the bullets at the culprit. Ric couldn’t believe the sight in front of his eyes. His butterfly lie in front of him in her pool of blood. He came back to senses in few seconds. Carrying Amara in his arms he ran to take a cover. Removing his shirt, he pressed it against the bullet wounds to stop the excessive bleeding. His hands were painted red with her blood.

There were more than ten men in the hall that were shooting at them. Thankfully Amara's parent had already left the venue . The sound of gunshots can be heard from two streets away. People had already called the emergency department. Ric took her in his arms, while his men gave him cover. They reached their car soon and fled the scene before the police could arrive.

The awful silence in the car was scary. Nobody in the car knew why their boss had carried the hostess with him but Noah. But they do know that this was the silence before a raging storm.

“Noah, call Dr. Martin and tell him to prepare the operation theater before we reach there. Tell hi mits a bullet wound below the heart.”

“Yes boss.”

“Leah, call my mother and ask her to prepare the room next to mine. Everything there should be in royal blue color.”

“ Umm… yeah .I’ll call her.”

“DRIVE FASTER OR SO HELP ME GOD I’LL KILL YOU.”

“Ric, he is going as fast as he can.”

“Leah not now.”

“Noah inform the cook that anything containing in the kitchen that have peanut should be in the dustbin.”

“Why are you taking so much trouble for her baby, the paramedics would have arrived their sooner. We should’ve left her there.”

“SHE FUCKING TOOK A BULLET MEANT FOR ME. AND YOU ARE ASKING ME WHY? LEAH IF YOU FUCKING UTTER A SINGLE WORD I’M GONNA THROW YOU OUT OF THE CAR. DO YOU GET IT?”

Leah nodded at his words. She had thousands questions but she also wanted to be in the car. Noah was already fearing the outcome if god forbid anything happened to Amara.

As soon as they reached the clan's main house, Ric rushed her inside with all the force he could muster. Amara was laid on the bed as the doctor started all the procedures.

“Dr. Martin, I suggest you to make her healthy as soon as you can if you love your life.”

“Ric, son you should move out of the room. I’m not blind I can see you are emotionally attached to the patient. It’ll distract me from doing my work.”

Ric looked at the old man’s face who had been serving the gang since his father’s time. He nodded and moved out of the operation room. Noah stood there waiting for him.

“She’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“Call a meeting. I want each and every member of our gang present here in ten minutes. If my enemies think they could’ve hurt me, then they need to learn a lesson.”

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

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Life was such a fragile thing as delicate and as beautiful as a butterfly, as ephemeral as a sunset. Death is peaceful. Death is quiet, silent. It is calming.

-- Anonymous