FEW SECONDS BEFORE THE SHOT * * * Adira was trying so hard to meet up with Nikolai's pace. She was very anxious and wanted to talk to him before he'd get into the car. But it was more like he intentionally didn't want to speak with her as his pace was so quick and difficult to meet. "Nikolai!" She finally called, and thankfully, he halted - just beside his opened door. She took that as her cue, heaved a sigh of relief and ran after him. But her anxiety doubled when she was finally standing in front of him. Tho, he wasn't looking at her, his face was so cold, they frightened her and made her feel a little intimidated. "I..." She swallowed hard. "I need to talk to you about..." That was the moment the gunshot happened. It was so fast, came from almost nowhere. It echoed round like a thunderclap, shattering the tranquility that had been present just mommsts ago. Time seemed to slow down, and in that fraction of a second, everything around Nikolai blurred into obscurity, his focus honing in on a single, horrifying sight. His eyes were nowhere else but on Adira, watching as her face which had been filled with warmth, got replaced with shock and pain. Her lips parted open in a gasp, and her hand reflexively went up to the part of her body that had been shot - right there on her chest. She made to reach the floor, but Nikolai was quick enough to extend his hands and grab her just before the floor would. She fell into his arms. In her weakened state, she could see the discomfort and struggles Nikolai had to put up with to hold her. She knew how much he hated touching people, and right there, he was trying so hard not to push her away. The world around them had turned into a chaos, with people running around to see what had happened. His guards, who had been closeby, split themselves as one ran after the shooter, while the other shielded Nikolai from any further attack. Nikolai's eyes hksd nothing but pain as he stared into Adira's face, watching her eyes struggle to go to sleep. He noticed she was trying to say something, but couldn't, and at that moment, his skin prickled with fear. Swiftly, he whisked her up and hurried into the car, his eyes already rimmed with red. And even as he sat with at the backseat, he couldn't stop holding her. He knew he might possibly fall sick from keeping such contact with her, but at that moment, he didn't care. His driver and guard got into the car, and quickly, they started out the building. "Adira?" Nikolai called lowly, but her eyes had gone close in sleep.****†****†****† Jardine and Lancelot had just finished having dinner and she was trying to clear the table when her phone beeped with a message. She decided to ignore it and wait till she was done, and after a few minutes, and finally got the time to check the message. Her head spinned when she opened the content and discovered it was a picture of Lancelot seemingly on a date with... Adira? The napkin Jardine had in her hand dropped to the floor immediately as her breath hitched. The world around her seemed to shatter and she quickly found a place to sit to avoid tripping to the floor. "No..." She muttered in a wavering breath. She didn't want it to be true, she didn't want to believe it. She looked at the picturr again and a tear slipped her eye this time around. And in that moment, Adira's words came flashing back at her: 'The very thing you took from me, I'm here to make sure you lose it.' "No..." Jardine shook ner head. For the first time in her life, she felt betrayed. She sprang to her feet and took the stairs, dabbing the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Why would Lancelot do this to her? How dare be try to hurt her this way? She got into their bedroom and met him there, trying to take off his shirt. The pace at which she had walked in startled him and got his attention focused on her. "Jardine? Are you..." "What is this?" She held the phone to his face, her eyes shimmering with a mixture of rage and betrayal. "Tell me, Lancelot, what is this? 'Cause I really do not want to believe this is you and Adira having dinner together!" Lancelot's brows furrowed in confusion. How did she get hold of the picture? Who sent it to her? He began to wonder if Adira had purposefully taken the pictures to set him up. He was short of words.Jardine saw this and took down the phone. "I can't believe this," she muttered tearfully. "You told me you had a business meeting, and this was it?! You rejected my movie proposal just to be with her? Are you serious?" Frustrated, Lancelot dipped his fingers into his hair. "It's... It's not what you think." "Then, tell me what it is!" She half-yelled. "Do I really have a reason to be scared? Are you the kind of man that would crawl back to his ex-wife simply because she's richer? How could you do this to me, Lancelot?" Lancelot said nothing, he didn't know what to say. No explanation would be enough to convince her that it was a harmless date. Even as she wept, he didn't know how to comfort her. This made Jardine more disappointed in him. She sniffed and turned around to leave, but Lancelot went after her and grabbed her by the waist. "I'm sorry, okay? So sorry," he whispered into her ears. "Believe me, it was a harmless dinner. I was just trying to get her to give my company some considerations." Jardine wriggled her way out of his arms and turned to face him. "A secret dinner with your ex-wife can never be harmless. If you were certain, you should've told me, at least." With a final glare, she grabbed her car keys and stormed out of the room. ****†****† Nikolai sagged tiredly in the waiting chair, his head bowed low as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. The sounds of hushed conversations and the sterile smell of the hospital seemed distant and muffled to him as his focus was locked within, wrestling with the trauma he had just experienced. Even his hands trembled slightly, his head was a jumbled mess. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of the memories of holding Adira. He wasn't supposed to do that - hold her that close. But he just couldn't restrict himself. Although, his gloves had been on as usual, but the body contact was too close.He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying every escape route he could find in his head. Adira was in surgery and aside getting rid of his fear, he was also hoping she'd be fine. He couldn't afford to lose her. Never. It irked him more each time he recalled the feedback he had gotten from the securities at the party: "We're so sorry, sir, but the shooter got away." According to them,the shooter had been at the rooftop and fled as soon as he noticed them coming towards him. And in their words, they were doing everything they can to find him. Was he to believe them? If only he could get his hands on the shooter, even if it was just for a few seconds. He'd definitely scar his face for life. In a short while, he heard footsteps and lifted his gaze to see the doctor coming towards him.