Aaron's Pov

"I love you. Wake up", before, I was shy to say the three words, and she was eager to hear. Now, that I was saying it in a loop, she wasn't even conscious to hear. Her body was frozen, so I tried rubbing her hands, her arms, her cheeks, in order to generate some amount of heat. She didn't respond at all. Her eyes were closed and her serene face looked ethereal even in that position.

I placed my head on her heart, in order to hear her heartbeats. I took charge of her wrist to calculate her heart rate. Her heart rate was low, very low, approximately 60 beats per minute. I was enraged by James's act. I looked at him angrily. That moment, I rushed towards him and caught him by his collars and shoved him against the wall. "Ow", he instinctively screamed.

After punching him in his stomach, I tried strangling his neck with my hands. He tried pushing me away, but my anger and aggression proved out to be my strength. "Don't you dare", he finally succeeded in his attempt to push me away from him.

"I'll kill you with my bare hands. Bastard" I cursed as I stepped closer to him. I kicked him hard on his thighs so that he won't be allowed to walk any further. "Why did you did this with my girl? I'll show you the consequences now", I punched him on his nose which made it bleed. On finally gaining my sense back, I turned away, in Amanda's direction.

I removed my phone and tried calling for an ambulance but I was stopped. "All she has is 10 minutes", he grinned wiping the blood from his sleeve which traveled through his chin.

"What are you telling?" I questioned because I was confused. What did 10 minutes mean? If what he was saying was truth then I had to hurry. The thought itself broke my heart into pieces. A tear escaped my eyes, when I looked at her. I wanted to save her, even if it took replacing my life with hers. She deserved to live, to stay. I never realized how much I loved her until today. Love existed, it definitely did. She made me believe in it.

"I intoxicated her with a drug. A drug whose poison is so strong that within minutes it spreads within one's body, there's no medicine for that drug. And even if there is, the doctors will at least require an hour or two, to conclude the drug's actual name"

"So....? What do you actually intend to say. Stop beating around the bush", I cut him off. My Amanda had no time. I couldn't tea-talk with him.

"Just like a virus has an antivirus. I have a medicine for this deadly drug, and, it's right there", he pointed towards the table, which consisted of three glass bottles. Each had a different name. I sprinted towards the table and grabbed all the bottles in my hands and rushed towards the bed again. I was confused, and I had no clue that which bottle's consumption would make her alright. Each bottle looked alike, and the only thing which differed were the name tags.

I read the ingredients of each bottle but they were extra scientific and technical. "Don't even, brother. The more you see, the more you get confuse. Maybe you can try ini mini mino mo. Remember old times?" James started walking towards me "You can try any bottle on her. If it's the right bottle then she survives and if it isn't then her ticket to hell would be a bit sooner than" he looked at his wristwatch and continued "8 minutes"

"What do you want?" I straightforwardly questioned.

"Sign these papers and I'll guide you towards the right bottle", he gathered the papers from the bed's secret drawer and propelled them towards me. I grasped the papers from his hand along with the pen. I didn't have any time to read because the stake was high already.

I cornered my eyes and looked at him "How can I trust you? What if you don't provide me with the medicine even after inscription of my signature?" with James, I always had trust issues.

He turned his direction, and removed a whole new bottle from the drawer. "This one's the cure. Why would I lie if you're ready to handover everything to me? That's what I've always wanted, remember?" he looked at his wristwatch again "And, yes, 6 minutes to go", he laughed showing off his teeth. His laughter echoed in the room.

"Fine", I quickly signed the papers. These papers were everything what James always wanted, plus, Amanda didn't have much time. It would be a shame if I even had to think twice when it came to choosing between Amanda and the wealth. She was the one I treasured more than anything else in this world. I could always earn back money, but I couldn't afford to lose her forever. No wealth in this world was equal to Amanda's value in my life "Give me the medicine", I screamed on top of my lungs. My voice broke in between because of crying. My throat was parched, and my cheeks were wet due to continuous weeping.

"Only in exchange of those papers", James replied. I quickly uplifted myself and walked steadily in James's direction. When we bridged the gap between us, I exchanged the papers with the medicine. I, with all my speed, opened the cap of the bottle and emptied the whole of it in Amanda's mouth whilst parting her lips with my fingers.

I waited for a reaction but there was none. Amanda didn't even open her eyes. Her heart rate was yet the same. Did James just fool me? "Why is she not waking up?" I frowned looking at him. I clenched my fist and controlled my anger. "Tell me, why is she not waking up?" I questioned again because he didn't answer my previous question.

"I so wish that she never wakes up, but, ignoring that fact, I did pass the right medicine", he looked at the bottle carefully and continued "Maybe her body is weak and isn't reacting to the treatment. Maybe", he surrendered his hands in the air. That moment, I wanted to stab him with a knife in chest because I wanted him to feel the pain I was feeling right now. It was even worse than that. I rubbed the back of her hands with my fingers.

After covering her body with the blanket, I planted a small kiss on her forehead. Her body wasn't responding yet. My hopes were too low, and so were my expectations that she'd survive. A tear rolled through my eyes and rested on her cheek. I quickly wiped it with my palms. "I knew she was weak. She wanted to save you and she did. Remember, forever is a lie and even Romeo had to die", he examined the papers with a smiling face "But, oops, in your case, the Juliet had to die".

James was definitely testing my patience. I tried my best to avoid him. I didn't want to indulge myself into any fight. I wanted to stay with Amanda and help her fight. I wasn't going to let her give up on herself, on us. She had to live, and if not, then she wasn't allowed to leave alone. She had to take me and James along with her. Oh yes, James deserved a deadly punishment too.

I didn't want to live in a world without her. I laced my fingers with her again, and waited patiently for her to make a move. I practised optimism, because I didn't want to think anything negative. "Wake up Amanda. Please", I screeched. "I'm not going to let go off you. You hear me? Wake up. I'm yet your boss and it's my order. I swear if you don't wake up this minute, then, I promise that you'll be the waitress of every upcoming party, which I'll host in future"

I looked at her, in her direction, when I heard a small cough. I smiled, and my eyes watered, out of happiness. "Oh, my Lord", I planted my forehead on hers, and heard her breathe. That rhythm was the best I've ever heard till date. Her view satiated my eyes, and soothed it. A tear rolled through her eyes, as she faced me. She smiled stretching her lips. I quickly wiped her wet face with my palms, and shushed her whilst placing my pointer finger on her lips when she was about to speak.

She half-smiled so I removed my finger. "Mr. Reynolds", she didn't call me Aaron. She parted her lips in order to speak, but though she was fine, her face clearly showed the pain she was going through. I went closer to her so that she didn't have to speak out loud. "I'm not going to work as a waitress", she softly whispered in my ears. Her lips touched my ear-lobe. I smiled and gazed at her. So, this entire moment, she could hear me, though she wasn't in a condition to speak. Or at least she heard some part of what I said.

"Enough of drama, I spare you guys. I'll allow you to have your happy ending, since I've got mine", he flaunted the papers in the air, and tried exiting the room along with it.

"Not so soon, gentleman", a group of policemen marched inside the room with a pistol in each one's hand. James was alarmed so he tried running towards the opposite direction, but, unfortunately was stopped when a cop kicked him on his back, which resulted in his fall on the floor.

James looked at me, with a disgruntled face. "I trusted you, but, you're going to pay for it", he smirked, and instinctively picked up a flower vase and threw it in Amanda's direction. I couldn't think of a smarter move, so I came in between. The glass's vase broke as soon as it encountered my skin. A few pieces of glass were registered in my right shoulder, and also on the areas, including the right cheeks, and the right side of my forehead. As a result, it bled. Amanda tried uplifting herself as soon as she noticed the blood. She was yet unconscious, but she was recovering slowly.

"Bastard", I cursed him loud out of pain. I was glad that I came in between, because the pain was too much. I wasn't sure that Amanda could bear it, realizing the condition she was in. My head hurt, and so did my body. There were yet small pieces of glass on my body, which needed to be removed because I was in agony.

"You're okay?" she questioned, as she tried removing one of the pieces of glass from my forehead.

"If you are, then, yes I am", to be honest, the pain was too much but it felt less after facing her.

"Damn", James tried picking up another vase but this time, his hands were locked by a group of officers. They handcuffed him, though he tried to escape. "I yet have the papers signed under my name", he evilly smirked.

I shrugged and replied "Why are you so sure about it?" I questioned him, so he double checked the signature "What's wrong with it?" his facial expressions clearly showed that how annoyed he actually was.

"Does that signature consist of an underline? And, don't you think that the R from Reynolds is kind of different? Maybe, it's forged. I can prove that in court since it doesn't matches with my original signature", I gestured a thumbs up and fake smiled whilst looking at him.

Even in my worst time, I am Aaron Reynolds. If he's bad then I clearly am worse. I watched them exit the room, so I turned in Amanda's direction. By now, she was sitting on the bed with crossed legs. I tried ignoring her, because what she did was wrong. She shouldn't have been alone to this lethal place. She held the blanket tightly, and it almost surfaced till her chin because she was yet in the see through bikini.

"I'm sorry. He blackmailed me, okay? I couldn't afford to put your life in danger", she looked in my eyes and continued "I love you", I kept silent and didn't reply her even for once "Please speak. Please forgive me. I'm sorry, okay? I do realize that I'm one big fool"

"No, you don't realize my condition when you were on the bed with no life in your body. You don't realize, do you? I wasn't even sure that you'll wake up. I was scared, scared till death. It felt like every nerve in my body was electrified with sadness. For a moment, I felt like giving up on my life too. Because, for once, after my mother, I actually found someone I loved and who loved me back. You don't realize anything, do you?" I ranted. I couldn't control but wipe the tear which traveled from her eyes, to her cheeks.

"Forgive me", she pushed her body closer to mine. Our foreheads touched, and so did our noses. I didn't pull away. Though I was mad at her, but I had no guts to apart myself from her. I knew how it felt, a while back and I was sure of never letting her go away from me again.

"Forgive me", she softly asked for forgiveness once again, and slowly came an inch closer, making our lips touch.

"Why do you think I'll forgive you?" I questioned looking at her, straight in her eyes.

Without speaking another time, she crashed her lips on mine. I, at first softly kissed her with closed mouth, but, then opened it slightly when she started kissing me aggressively, so I rested my hands on her back and bridged the gap between our bodies. "... And you're forgiven'", I sighed and slightly smiled.

She distanced her lips away, in a while, and I didn't force my desire to kiss her again because I knew that she was yet unstable and she needed to be taken to the hospital as soon as possible. She, with her bare hands, tried cleaning the wound and the blood which was drying on my skin. She made various noises while removing the glasses. It felt like she was the one who was in pain. "Hey. It's okay. I'll be okay", I planted a small kiss on her forehead. I cupped her cheeks, and kissed her on her forehead again.

Her eyes beamed as she smiled. She rested her head on my chest, and curled her hands around my back, and hugged me as tight as she could. That moment felt like everything. My incomplete life was now complete and it was no "illusion".

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Hey guys, this note is going to be long. Cope with me.

First of all, I'm beyond words that I finally completed my story. To be honest after 10th chapter, I had no clue what I'd do with it because I wanted to avoid the clichè things which included, involving any third person, misunderstandings and etc. I wanted my story to be different, though it maybe similar to some stories here. But the similarity wont be much.

Secondly, initially, no one really read the book. I was discouraged to write. Even now, it doesn't have as many reads but I'm satisfied with the assertive comments I get.

I'm beyond grateful to my readers who have encouraged me, supported me, and boosted my confidence. I'm helpful to the ones who've pinpointed my mistake and also to the ones who've posted negative comments.

I'm also aware of the fact that my English contains a lot of errors, and also that isn't very poetic and descriptive. (I never studied literature. I'm a business student) and I will definitely correct the parts or rewrite them, because when I read some of it, I'm like did i even write it? 😂 because I've learnt a lot whilst writing. And reading the initial chaps makes me wonder about how stupidly written they actually were. That's why I'm going to edit it from the start. Thank you for coping with me.

I hope, my words weren't that boring because I know that they were boring. Again, thank you for reading it.

I'll post an epilogue soon. It won't be what you'll expect. You can always guess and comment what you guess.

Don't be a silent reader. At least let me know who you are through the last chap. Your comment makes me so happy and I read each one of them, I swear.

Also, don't give up on your illusions. They may seem unrealistic but at least some of them would come true. Don't give up. Keep dreaming. Keep having illusions.

Instagram : Aafrynn
Much love,
Aafryn❤