Chapter 97 Restless

Chapter 97 Restless
Jose and Ariadne, along with the other guards, had just arrived at the garden and witnessed the scene. Ariadne screamed as Crystal fired the shot for the second time. The guard assigned to Alex was the closest to Xander. He fired before Crystal could fire again, causing her gun to fall from her grasp. He went up to her, grabbed her, and pinned her down. Other guards went and held Crystal in place. Ariadne, on the other hand, dashed to Xander and held him as he collapsed on the ground.

"Daddy!" Alex cried.

"Xander... Look at me." Ariadne said frantically. In no time, her hand was completely covered in his blood.

Jose held Alex in his arms. 

"Take him somewhere safe." he ordered the guards, who took Alex inside the resort.

"Get the car ready. Quick. We need to get him to the hospital." Jose instructed the guards while keeping an eye out for any further threats.

The place was in chaos. Ariadne took Xander's head in her lap. Her entire attention was on him.

"I'm sorry. The birthday has been ruined." Xander said weakly, looking at her. His voice was barely audible.

"No, it's okay. You will be fine. Nothing will happen to you."

Jose sat beside them and began removing Xander's jacket and shirt. Ariadne kept his head in place. Jose was also terrified. It was evident the way his hands were shaking. But he was trying to do everything he could for his boss. 

"I tried to be a good father to them... but.."

"You're a good father. Stop talking." Ariadne cut him off.

However, he didn't stop. "They will have no problems. I've made certain of it." he added with difficulty before coughing up blood.

"Xander, please don't talk." Ariadne pleaded.

"No. Let me." 

He wanted to say everything that was on his mind because he didn't know if he would get another chance or not. He didn't know if he would live or die.

"Please forgive me for everything I've done to you... I love you, Aria... And I love our kids... I wish I could have another chance to show you how much I love you." 

As he spoke, his breathing became labored. But he continued.

"Mark is a good man. He will keep you happy. I want to see you and our kids hhhappy...al..ways." he fell unconscious.

"Xander." Ariadne screemed and looked at Jose.

"Shit." Jose's face had also gone white.

Another guard arrived and they lifted Xander. Ariadne stepped aside, allowing them to do their work. She covered her mouth and cried while watching them. They carried him to the car. Ariadne followed. She saw them secure him in the seat before wrapping his wound in a cloth. 

"We will meet in the hospital, Miss." Jose said to her before closing the door. The car drove away immediately.

Ariadne stood there, looking at the car. She had to take another car to get to the hospital.

She suddenly heard someone laugh. She looked for the source and found Crystal. She was laughing like a madwoman. She approached her.

"I hope he dies. If he couldn't be mine, he wouldn't be yours either." Crystal stated.

"I'll never let you two stay together... To live in a happy family... Even if you love each other... Even if you have children, you will be unable to live happily." She yelled.

Ariadne stared at her silently.

"Shut up." Toby's voice came, and Crystal fell silent. "Take her from here. The police is on their way." he ordered the guards. 

Then he turned to face Ariadne. "Aria, let's go." he said before heading towards a car.

Ariadne cast one last glance at Crystal before following Toby.

"Stay here until I give the next instructions." Toby said to a man. 

Their car drove away shortly after, heading towards the hospital. 

..... 

Inside the resort...

"Can you now tell us what happened?" William asked, his impatience evident.

They learned of Alex's disappearance. Then they heard gunshots. Immediately, all of them were taken to a safe room. The other guests were also escorted to a safe place.

Shortly after, the guards brought Alex safely into the room. He was too shocked to explain what had happened in the garden. They all consoled the traumatized child and didn't ask him anything. The guards were running around, while everyone was kept in the room. They had no idea what was happening out there. Everyone was concerned for Xander and Ariadne. 

"Mr. Blake has been shot by Crystal Miller. He has been taken to the hospital." a guard informed, lowering his head. 

"What?" 

Everyone gasped upon hearing the news. Silence fell, taking in the gravity of the situation.

"My god. How is he?" Mary asked.

"We don't know. There's no update yet."

"Where is Ariadne?" Aaron asked.

"She's fine. She has gone to the hospital with the others."

"Let's get to the hospital. What are we doing here?" William asked.

"Please wait for a moment, Sir. We're looking for any additional threats."

William sighed and remained quiet. Xander was already shot. No matter how worried they were, they couldn't put anyone else's life at risk. 

"Grandpa, are you okay?" Adrian asked.

"I'm fine." William assured him. 

..... 

Ariadne sat outside the OT. She had been sitting there frozen for almost an hour. Thousands of thoughts ran through her mind. Everything was fine just an hour ago, but it was all destroyed in an instant. She remembered Xander's words, and an image from their childhood flashed before her.

((FLASHBACK))

"Wow. It's really beautiful. Thank you, Xander." Ariadne said as she looked at the dollhouse.

Xander was helping her in building a dollhouse in their garden. After hours of hard work, it was finally finished.

Xander smiled at her. "After we grow up, I'll build a huge mansion for us. We will live there with our kids."

"Kids?" Ariadne asked, curious.

"Yes, we will have kids... Our own happy family. I'll take care of you all. But when I go to the office, you have to look after them." he stated seriously.

"Okay." Ariadne gave a nod, excitedly.

"How many kids will we have?" she asked after giving it some thought.

Xander thought for a moment before answering. "Maybe two... one girl and one boy. The girl will be like you and the boy will be like me." 

His eyes brightened as he declared.

"Wow... and we will teach them good things." 

"Ofcourse." 

Their conversation was interrupted when Crystal arrived.

"Hey.... What are you doing here?"

"Look, Crystal. We made this dollhouse. Isn't it beautiful?" Ariadne asked her.

"Yeah, it's beautiful." Crystal replied looking at the dollhouse before turning to face Ariadne. "Mommy has called you."

"Okay...Let's go." Ariadne and Xander went to the mansion.

Crystal stood alone in the garden. She clenched her jaw as she stared at the dollhouse. A devilish smirk appeared on her face.

The following morning, Ariadne came to the garden to play with her new dollhouse. However, she discovered the beautiful dollhouse in pieces. Someone had destroyed it. She was heartbroken and cried a lot. She later found out that Crystal was the one who had destroyed their dollhouse. 

((End of FLASHBACK))

"I want Xander, and I'll have him."

"He's my fiance."

"If he couldn't be mine, he wouldn't be yours either."

"I'll never let you two stay together... To live in a happy family... Even if you love each other... Even if you have children, you will be unable to live happily."

Ariadne clutched her head as Crystal's words rang in her mind. Tears streamed down her face.

"Miss Ariadne."

She opened her eyes when she felt a soft touch on her shoulder. She turned and saw Jose.

"I think you should clean yourself. Everyone is coming to the hospital. The kids will be terrified if they see you in this condition," he stated.

Ariadne looked at herself. There was blood on her hands, face and clothes.

She nodded and stood up. Jose showed her a room where she could clean herself.

"Do you want me to get a dress for you?"

"No." she replied.

She was in no mood to change her dress. She would only clean the blood from her body as much as she could.

She resumed her place after cleaning the blood from her body. The operation was still going on. She was feeling restless. It was becoming suffocating to wait any longer.

"Mommy." She turned to the corridors when she heard them.

Adrian and Autumn ran towards her. Behind them was Tiara, who was holding Alex in her arms. Mary, William, and Aaron were also there.

She hugged the kids. Tiara came and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her support. But everyone was terrified. It was evident in their faces. Even the kids were silent.

"What's the update?" William asked Jose.

Jose shook his head. "No update yet."

William pressed his lips together and looked at the OT. Ariadne approached him.

"Grandpa." she hugged William.

"Are you okay?" he asked. 

"Yes, Grandpa. But Xander..." she burst into tears. 

"He will be fine." William said firmly. 

He said it to himself more than to Ariadne. He was the patriarch of the family. He needed to stay strong. And he tried his best.

"How is this happened? Who is behind this?" he asked. 

"It's Gloria. She took Alex in the garden." Jose informed. 

William narrowed his eyes. "That means the one behind this attack is..." 

"Zidane." Ariadne said, clenching her jaw.

She was furious when she learned that Gloria was the one who lured Alex into the garden. She had trusted her, but she betrayed her. Xander was right about her.

The signal light above the operating theater switched from red to green, indicating the operation had concluded. After a while, the doctor emerged from the OT. They approached him.

"The operation was successful, but he's not out of danger completely. We'll need to monitor him closely for the next 24 hours." he said. 

"Okay. Thank you doctor." Jose said.