Promises

A scream tore out of my mouth while the love of my life was on the ground, clutching his chest. Even when his features were tensed, his determined hard eyes never left mine.

Pushing at Monet's shoulder with as much force as I could gather, I somehow managed to break free from his grip and got off the chopper. But his fingers were soon to wrap around my wrist.

A fury flashed through Adrian's blue eyes. Getting a hold on his gun, he tried to get up on his feet again. The veins of his neck stood out as he did so.

Glancing back to Adrian, Monet raised his gun for the second time. Ready to shoot again.

My heart lurched in my chest, eyes widened in horror.

"No! Don't!"

But my desperate shout went ignored as his finger curled around the trigger.

"No!"

As he was about to pull the trigger, a hand wrapped around his wrist before it pushed Monet's hand upwards. The deafening sound of the gunshot echoed across the ambience again. But this time, the bullet missed Adrian with a narrow point.

A sob wrecked through me. As if something inside me got saved from dying by the narrow point.

Monet's gaze fell on Tim, shock flashed across them. His nostrils flared with rage.

"Tim! You traitor! What the hell are you doing?"

"Sofia, go!" said Tim, giving a harsh kick in Monet's gut. And the bastard doubled over with pain, the gun slipped from his grasp in the process.

And without wasting a second, not thinking about Tim's sudden change of mind, I ran towards Adrian.

"Adrian!" I wrapped my arms around his form. "Oh my God! You- you're bleeding! What do I do now? What..." Choked sobs burst out of my mouth, my throat tightening painfully as uncontrollable tears blurred my vision. "Why didn't you just go! W-why? Look- look what happened!"

Even in this state, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. Electric blue eyes roamed over my features desperately, as if I was going to disappear at any moment.

A shaky breath left him.

"Love, shh! It's okay. I-I'm alright," he whispered, pressing his forehead against mine.

"You're not! Y-you are bleeding! I told you to go! Why didn't you listen!" I hissed, slightly pressing my hand the area of his wound, attempting to stop the blood even though I knew it wasn't gonna help. And I feared at the same time that I would hurt him more If I pressed too tightly. "I won't let anything happen to you! Nothing will happen to you!"

I glanced at his wound. My own clothes got soaked by his blood. My heart clenched painfully as fear and panic settled in once again. But this time, it was so intense. It felt like someone was ripping my heart out of my body.

Desperately, I looked around in the hope of finding some help. But there was no one.

"Let's go! Get up, y-you need a doctor!" I tried to pull him up.

But he shook his head. His sharp jaw clenched as his steely eyes set onto something behind me.

Or should I say someone?

A grunt of pain made me look back.

Monet had Tim pinned beneath him while Tim tried to get his revolver out of his pocket. Blood trickled down his temple, while Monet seemed still untouched.

But before Tim could get his gun out, Monet swiftly took a hold onto it. A gasp left my lips as he pulled the trigger at Tim.

"Tim!"

While Tim clutched the area right beneath his shoulder and slumped on the ground, Monet moved away and rushed inside the chopper.

Adrian's form tensed against me.

"Go, go, go!" Monet's urgent voice demanded the pilot as he settled on the seat.

Then his eyes moved back to Adrian. With the chopper slowly getting off the ground, a smirk of triumph etched at the corner of his lips.

Untangling my arms from around him, Adrian stood up on his feet. Even the pain all over his features didn't stop him from doing so.

"Adrian, no! Stop!"

I caught his arm, but with soft hands, he removed my grip. Dark flaming eyes were set on James. His form shook with rage.

Monet's triumph challenged him. And Adrian Larsen never showed his back to a challenge.

Tightening his grip around the gun, he took an unsteady step forward.

"Adrian, no! He will shoot!" Crying out, I tried to hold him back. But he jerked my hand away again, pulling me behind him.

The sound of footsteps soon reached my ears, our names were being called behind us. But my gaze was set on the scene before me.

Adrian's hand rose in the air.

Pressing his lips tight, Monet pointed his gun at Adrian again. My insides jolted as he pulled the trigger.

But nothing came out.

With eyes narrowed, he tried again. But still, nothing.

He ran out of bullets.

The realization hit me. He only shot Adrian with his gun, and another one that got missed thanks to Tim. He wouldn't have run out of bullets if he had his gun with him. The one he had was Tim's. His one still lay on the ground.

When he realized the fact, a fear flashed across his harsh features. A panic crossed over his aged green eyes that I never thought was possible.

Even James Monet was scared of death.

As his eyes met Adrian's again, a sinister smirk tugged at the edge of Adrian's lips. With blood oozing out of his wound, that smirk sent a shiver down my spine.

His finger curled around the trigger.

"No!" With hasty hands, Monet started to search for something in his pockets. "Faster pilot! Move the damn chopper!"

My eyes widened.

Remote! The remote was still with him!

He was quite high from the ground at that moment. If he tapped the button now, we all would die.

And just as he looked up to meet Adrian's eyes, before I could open my mouth, another noise of gunshot rang across the place. The bullet that left Adrian's gun directly hit the engine of the helicopter.

"Watch out!" Someone screamed in the background.

Monet's wide eyes was the last thing I saw before the chopper burst with a deafening noise. The hefty wave of heat of the blast threw us to the ground. A gasp left my mouth.

Once the heat was gone, I slowly sat up. A numbness spread across my body. A choked cough left my mouth into the dirt and smoke.

And the first thing that came into my mind once the shock wavered a little, was my Adrian.

My eyes darted to the place he stood earlier, only to find him lying on the ground, immobile.

Blood ran cold in my veins.

"Adrian!" Pushing myself off the ground, I crawled towards him.

Placing his head on my lap, I shook him desperately.

"Adrian? Baby, open your eyes!" My hands shook as my heart palpitated down my chest in fear. "Adrian! Talk to me, damn it! Please, open your eyes!"

But those blue eyes didn't meet mine. They remained ominously closed. Something clenched in my chest, my throat tightened.

"Adrian! Look at me! Look, I'm here. H-he is gone. Please, talk to me!" A sob broke through me.

No, no, no! He couldn't leave me like that! Not now! Not ever! Not until I was alive!

"Adrian, please! Open your eyes and talk to me!"

Someone pressed onto his wound to stop more blood from draining, shouts and orders were being thrown in the background. But it seemed so distant to me as my eyes glued onto the person my heart beats for.

And then I saw something.

A movement of his eyelids.

"Adrian?" I clutched him closer to my chest. More tears fell. "Hey, hey, open your eyes. Are you alright, baby? See, I'm here with you. I won't let anything happen to you! J-just stay with me!"

Parting his lips slightly, he whispered something out. But I couldn't make out his words.

"W-what? I don't…"

When fingers tugged me closer to him, I pressed out foreheads together. Distant noise of the ambulance rang across the background as he whispered again.

"I kept my promise. H-he is gone, forever. Y-you are free now," he uttered. But his fingers then curled around on the side of my waist. Electric blue eyes met mine, the intensity in them made my heart leap. "But not from me."

Was the last thing I heard before he went limp in my arms.

***

My legs danced in a restless rhythm against the tiled floor, hands shook even if I clutched them tightly together beneath my chin. And the tears that I didn't care to wipe were relentless.

It's been hours. Hours since they took him inside the OR. Hours since the love of my life lay in there fighting with death, and I couldn't even do anything to help him. All I could do was wait and pray for the doctors to come out and tell me that my Adrian was fine. That nothing happened to him.

But I knew better. He had lost a lot of blood for him to be okay.

But still, I desperately prayed for him to be okay. Prayed to God to bring him back into my arms. Because if something happened to him, I wouldn't be able to live.

Nervousness and an ominous fear lingered in my stomach making me restless.

What if something goes wrong inside...

No, no! Nothing will happen to him! He will be fine. He will come back to me. He has to. He has a lot of promises to fulfill.

Promises he made to me every time we made love, promises he made when he was on his knees asking me to be his for the rest of our lives.

My heart clenched, ripping another silent sob out of my mouth as memories of that night came alive before my eyes when he proposed to me.

My lips brushed against the ring on my finger, a whimper left me.

Please be okay. Please...

A pair of warm arms pulled me into their warmth, placing my head on their shoulder.

"He will be okay, honey. I'm sure he will be fine. Don't worry," Mom whispered, rubbing my back soothingly.

My gaze snapped to the OR room's door as the doctor walked out.

Jumping up, I rushed to him. Everyone else gathered around me as well.

"How is he? How is my Adrian? I-is he alright?"

At my sudden questions, the startled doctor took a step back.

"Sorry, Miss? But may I ask you who you are to the patient?"

My fingers touched the diamond ring on my finger, my heart ached. "I- I'm his fiance."

A hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed.

The doctor's mouth formed into an 'O' as a sympathy took place on his aged face.

"She asked you a question! How is my son?" Sinister demanded, taking a threatening step towards the doctor.

An unease flashed across his eyes at Sinister's tone. But then clearing his throat, he opened his mouth.

"He is out of danger now."

A shaky sigh of relief escaped me. My lips trembled as a smile broke out on my face.

As if someone has given me my life back. A hefty pressure lifted off my chest.

He was fine. My Adrian was fine…

A tear rolled down my cheek.

"But..."

When the doctor opened his mouth for the second time, my smile soon slipped from my lips. Dominic and Max were instantly at my side, worry laced on their faces matching the others.

"We aren't sure when he is going to regain consciousness," said the doctor.

"What do you mean by you don't know when he is going to wake up? You- you're the doctor, right? You should know everything!" Fear rattled deep in my gut.

Max wrapped his arm around me.

"I understand your feelings, dear. But doctors can't do everything. The bullet had hit him just above his heart and he lost a lot of blood. It was sheer luck that he survived. Though the operation was successful and he's out of danger now, we can't tell when he is gonna wake up. It can take hours, or even days," he explained. "You can say, he has gone into a temporary coma."

My heart dropped in my stomach.

"C-coma?"

As my knees gave up, Max held me firm in his arms. Laura rushed to my side. Lilly broke into a sob in Sinister's arms who had moisture in his electric blue eyes.

"My son will be alright, right?" he asked, emotions were heavy in his tone.

"Yes, don't worry. It's a temporary thing. Maybe it can take some time. But he is gonna wake up. Just pray for it to happen soon." A small smile touched the doctor's face before he disappeared around the corner.

Harsh breaths started to come out of me. It felt like the walls were closing in on me. My fingers clutched Max's arms in a vice-like grip.

"Sofia? Hey! It's alright. You heard what the doctor said, right? He will be fine. It can take some time, but he will soon wake up. Don't panic!" Pulling me in his chest, he ran his hand on my back. But I pushed him away, turning to the door.

"I-i need to see him. I…" Black dots appeared at the corner of my vision. My knees were giving up. A pressure on my chest made me gasp. "A-adrian…"

Distant sound of my name being called echoed in my ears. Sweat broke out on my skin as I grabbed the door knob.

I needed to see him. I needed to touch him.

But before I could open the door and get a glimpse of my love, my legs gave up as darkness consumed my vision.