Chapter 34
CASSANDRA
“Where in the world are you guys? We’ve been here for the past two minutes and I’m tired of waiting for you guys, so you had better hurry your ass up.” I yell into my phone, at Julian.
I hear her let out a sigh, and I can feel her rolling her eyes, “We’ll be there very soon Cassy, it’s just two minutes. Chill out.” She says.
“Just hurry up.” I frown, hanging up. Nick just looks at me from where he has just finished setting the picnic mat on the ground and has placed the basket on it, and starts to laugh, making my frown deepen, “What are you laughing at mister?”
He walks towards me where I am standing with an umbrella over my head, “Well, I’m laugh at how overbearing you’ve become since you got pregnant.” He says, leading me to the picnic mat.
The frown on my face disappears, and is replaced by a sad, worried face, with teary eyes, “You don’t love me any less, do you?” I croak, about to cry.
It’s been six months since I was told I’m pregnant, so now I’m eight months pregnant and boy is my stomach huge, and I know I’ve been a real pain in the ass during this period to Nick, Julian and Frank. Sometimes, I’d just start getting emotional for no reason, crying about nothing. I would also call Julian in the middle of the night because I feel like talking to her, which is most times just me ranting about how annoying boys can be and crying about how I miss my dad, and Frank has been my errand boy, since Nick and Julian are usually busy with work, and Frank can stay home since he doesn’t always have to be at his bar which is now a VIP bar. I know, my friends are just amazing people.
So, he most times babysits me, and he’s a very good and patient babysitter, except I’m the worst person to babysit because I’m pregnant. I can send him to buy and prepare different things and yet end up ordering pizza, eating a bag of chips or just losing my appetite. It’s been hard for him but he does it anyways.
Yes! I know I was mad at them, I already forgave them since they started being the good friends they are, and No! I’m not purposely frustrating their lives as revenge.
Nick and I aren’t married yet because I told him to postpone the wedding till after I give birth. We’re waiting for Julian and Frank to arrive at the park where we’re having the picnic I demanded to have. I know, I’m a real pain, but they just have to do it because they love me too much and I’m too special
“Of course not.” He says, hugging me, but not closely because of my stomach. “I still love you, even though I’d appreciate if you stop making all our lives a living hell.” He jokes, and we both laugh. Just as we’re having a good laugh, hugging in the park, I see my worst nightmare, with a gun aimed at Nick’s head, and a sick smile on her face. Victoria.
“Nick!” I scream as Victoria pulls the trigger, and without thinking, I flip us around so I’m in his spot to take the bullet. Just then, I hear Julian and Frank’s distant voice, and Nick’s hitched breathing. Two more bullets implant itself in my back, and I feel my vision darkening.
“Cassy! Cassy!” Nick cries as I fall in his arms, with blood all over my body. “Come on Cassy, don’t do this to me.”
“Cassy!” Julian cries, “Stay awake, okay? Frank has gone to get the car, you’ll be fine, I promise.”
“I feel tired…” I whisper, almost inaudibly, as my eyes start to flutter close.
“No! No! Cassy. Stay with me, okay? Look at me darling.” Nick cries, slapping my face lightly.
I smile weakly, “I love you…” and everything goes black.
NICHOLAS
Nicholas walks into the hospital, carrying his one-year daughter, Bianca, in his arm, as he walks towards the ward where Cassy is in, stopping whenever one of the nurses greeted his daughter or complimented her beauty. He has been coming to the hospital every day to see Cassy for the past one year with her so it was no surprise the nurses were now familiar with her. Sometimes, he’d leave her with one of the nurses, and after he is done visiting Cassy, he’d pick her up again.
After Cassy was rushed to the hospital after being shot, she was operated on to remove the bullets and the baby in her because she couldn’t give birth herself and the Baby could die if they didn’t remove her. The operations were successful in the aspect that they were both alive, but Cassy had fallen into a Coma since then and hadn’t responded to any of the treatments being admonished to her.
They had even called in specialists but they still couldn’t do anything about it, so all Nick does is to pray and hope. Julian and Frank were now engaged and would always come to see Cassy, to give her the daily update on their lives and how much they miss having her in it, and wouldn’t get married till she woke up. The culprit, Victoria still hasn’t been found, and the police are putting in extra effort in making sure they catch her.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
He enters Cassy’s ward and she’s still unconscious, and he feels like crying. She has so many needles attached to her body and an oxygen mask on her face. “Hey baby, I brought our daughter, Bianca.” He says, tears rolling down his eyes as he brought Bianca close to Cassy, but she still doesn’t move, “She’s now one-year-old today, and she has started walking, she’s a very fast learner.”
He starts to cry, “I really miss you. Just open your eyes, come back to us, your baby needs you.” He says, and just sits there with Bianca who was staring intently at him. He smiles. “Fine, I’ll take you to her.” He carries her to the office of her favorite doctor, the one in charge of Cassy.
“Good day sir.” The lady doctor says, smiling when she sees Bianca, “I see my young doctor is here to see me.” She says as Bianca walks to her, clapping and laughing.
She picks her up and looks at Nick with a serious expression on her face, “I’ve been checking up on your wife frequently, and I’m afraid to say this but you really should let her go, because she could be in a lot of pain right now and that’ll be the best course of action to take, for the both of you.”
Nick walks towards Cassy’s ward with the doctor following closely behind while carrying Bianca in her hands. This isn’t the first time he has been told this and he has already given it a lot of thought, but he still can’t bring himself to let he go.
“Isn’t there another way to go about this?” He asks despite knowing what she’s going to say.
She shakes her head, “I’m afraid there’s nothing else we can do to help her. If there was, we’d have done it by now, I’m so sorry sir Nicholas, but you just have to do it. I know it’s hard for you.”
Tears fall down his eyes, “Okay, I’m willing to let her go.” He manages to croak out, and sees her finger move slightly but he shrugs it off as his imagination.
He kisses Cassy on her head and collects Bianca from the doctor before leaving the ward. He is just about to enter his car when a van pulls up in front of his car, and three men run out and before he knows what is happening, he and his daughter are hurled into the van, and when he tries to fight back, someone hits the back of his head with the butt of a gun, and he passes out.
Nick wakes up to see himself tied tightly to a seat, and Bianca fast asleep in a cage. “Bianca!” He roars furiously, trying to break free from the chair but it doesn’t budge.
“Hope you had a good rest Nicholas Bennett.” A very familiar voice says from the shadow.
Nicholas face is filled with fury and hatred as he turns his head in the direction where the voice is coming from. “Victoria.” He growled dangerously, thrashing in his chair.
“Calm down, will you?” Victoria says, stepping into the light with a gun in her hand, “How’s Cassy? I heard she hasn’t been responding to treatments.” She cackled, making Nick’s blood boil.
“What are you going to do to my daughter and i?” He asks.
“Nothing much actually. I’m just gonna play with you for a while before I kill you, and I’ll sell your daughter. She’s pretty cute, just like her mother.” She replies casually.
“You bitch! Do not touch my daughter, else I’ll make sure you pay?”
Victoria laughs, “Do you mean before or after I kill you? And calm down, I’m not killing her or harming her, I’m just selling her. Boys!” She yells, her face emotionless as a group of four men run in, “Give him a taste of hell.”