Raymond Caruso

Aghast, I stared at her. She lay motionless on the ground. Blood was flowing out of the gunshot wound in her forehead.

No way! This can't be true. She can't die. She's my Tiara; I can't live without her. She's my life; I'll go mad if anything happens to her!

My eyes shifted from her to the man standing before her like a rock. Darien. His face was contorted with anguish as he stared down at her on the ground. Was this the man she left me for? Look at him, she's dying and he doesn't even care!

No, Tiara! You can't die! I won't let you die!

My mind was blur. I didn't know what I was doing. I just wanted to save her; that's all I knew.

I scooped her frail body into my arms and started heading towards my car.

As I approached my car, Narissa ran up to me, distraught. She was saying something but nothing she said registered in my mind. My Tiara in my arms was the only thing flooding my mind.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" I hollered as Narissa tried to stop me.

"Please don't kill her, sir! Let me take her to the hospital. Please sir," Narissa insisted.

I flung her away with my left arm before carrying Tiara into my car and driving to the hospital. I didn't care to turn back and check if Narissa was fine. My Tiara was all that mattered to me!

As I rushed her to the nearest hospital, I almost collided into a few cars along the way with my rash driving and impatience to get Tiara to the hospital.

At last, I reached the hospital and carried Tiara in.

I saw a pregnant woman lying on a stretcher, crying and writhing in pain. I grabbed the woman's arm and dragged her off the stretcher before laying Tiara on it. A loud thud and a scream echoed as the pregnant woman fell to the floor behind me.

"Where's the doctor?" I demanded to the scared nurses who were standing around.

"Sir, please, you have to wait. This is an emergency delivery. We'll tend to you as soon as we can," a nurse tried to explain to me.

I turned to face her furiously and grabbed a fistful of her hair as I ordered, "You will treat my Tiara first! I don't care about that woman or her delivery! My Tiara is dying and you will treat her or I will make you a dying patient in this same hospital, do you understand?"

"Please wait, sir. I'll call a doctor," another timid nurse cried before running out of my sight.

Within a moment, I heard a man's voice. "What is going on here?"

I turned to see a doctor approaching me.

"Doctor, you have to save my Tiara or else-" Before I could finish speaking, the doctor interposed, "Look here, sir. This is a hospital. We have some rules here and you have to follow the procedures. A nurse will give you the form. Please fill it up and we'll tend to you as soon as we can."

I grabbed the doctor's collar and pinned him to the wall, demanding, "Won't you save my Tiara first? If anything happens to her, I'll see that you, this hospital and every single soul here will face their end today."

The doctor struggled to breathe as I was almost strangling him.

"Sir, please calm down or we'll have to call the police!" A second doctor appeared.

"Will you call the police? Fine, call the police! Let them come! All they will see will be a destroyed hospital and dead bodies!" I retorted, grabbing the second doctor's collar as well.

"Sir, please, we'll treat your wife!" A nurse cried from behind.

I let go of the doctors and turned to the nurse who had just spoken. She was shivering in fear. "You better save her!"

As the nurses and doctors hurried Tiara away to be treated, I stepped back. "Your wife!" The nurse's words replayed in my mind. Yes, that was who my Tiara was meant to be! She was meant to be my wife! But no, she chose that rock-hearted man, my so-called brother, over me! And look what he did! He didn't care about her! He would have let her die! Now, my Tiara will realize! What a big mistake she made choosing him that day! She will realize it now.

Now, no one can take my Tiara away from me again. I won't let anyone take her away and I mean it! She will be mine. Forever and ever again. Just like how I got rid of her parents, I will kill anyone and everyone who might come in our way. That is final!

As I sank into a seat outside the operation theater, my mind was still reeling in shock. That bullet should have gone straight through his heart! Why did Tiara have to step in between to save him? I wish I could pump the rest of the bullets in my gun into him. Darien deserves death! My Tiara doesn't! What wrong has my Tiara done? She loved him; that was her one and only mistake!

Why hadn't she left everyone and come with me that day? Our lives would have been perfect without this Darien or her parents or any intruders. I recalled our conversation the first day I had asked her to come with me to San Diego. It was just a week after she had completed her degree and returned home.

Tiara was braiding her hair in front of the mirror. I crept into her room without her parents noticing.

I seated myself on the bed and watched her beautiful reflection in the mirror. Oh my, I can never understand how she can be so flawless in beauty and character.

"Tiara, you are really beautiful."

Tiara turned around, astonished to see me. "Hey, Rats." She raised her eyebrow in surprise and walked over to me.

"Don't call me Rats, please! It's embarrassing! Won't you ever stop calling me that?"

Tiara looked around the room, perhaps to check if there was anyone else around. "So what? There's no one else here, right? Why do you feel embarrassed when it's just me?"

"Tiara, I'm not a child anymore!"

"Yup, I know. But whenever I look at you, I remember the little child who used to call me Meowmeow. You know you were so cute then!"

"Am I not cute now?"

"Of course you are. But you only look cute when you smile. You're looking so serious now that I miss my cute smiling little Rats."

I broke into a smile.

"Aww, look at that, my cutie Rats."

"Tiara, will you do something for me?" I looked up at her with beseeching eyes.

Tiara frowned and cupped my face in her hands. "What a question, dear? Of course I would! I've always told you that you can think of me like your mommy, sister, friend and everything you'll ever need. Then why do you hesitate to tell me what you want me to do for you? Tell me, what is it?"

"Come with me to San Diego."

"San Diego? Why?"

"We'll be happy there. I promise I'll look after you very well."

"But why do you want to go there, Rats? We're happy here, right? You know Father loves his job here and would never want to leave this place."

"Yeah! Your only problem is your parents, right? What if they aren't around here? Then will you come with me?"

Tiara stepped back in shock. "Rats! What nonsense are you saying? Since when have you started thinking like this? This is wrong! Where did you get such thoughts from?"

Silence.

"Look Rats, I don't like this. You can ask me for anything, any help; I'll do it for you only if I feel it's right. I don't know where you got such horrible thoughts from but I don't like it at all. People say, our thoughts become our actions. I want you to get rid of these thoughts right away or else I'll stop talking to you."

Tiara turned to walk away with a slight frown.

I stopped her and held her hands in mine, pleading, "Tiara, please! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't talk like this again, I promise. But please don't stop talking to me! Please, Tiara, please."

"Okay." Tiara's voice was toneless. She had a slight frown still on her forehead as she watched me.

"You won't stop talking to me, will you, Tiara?"

"You know I can't live without talking to you. You are important to me too, Rats." Tiara placed one hand on my cheek as she spoke with the usual warmth in her voice again.

"But I want you, Tiara. I just want you. I want your love and care. No one has loved or cared for me like you have. There isn't a pure soul like you in this world. Hidden intentions, exploitation and what not; it's a bad world outside, you know! And finally, I'm a bad guy too now!" I pushed her hand away and strode out of the room. I couldn't face her though all I wanted to do was cling to her.

"Rats, what are you saying? You're not a bad person! Who told you that? You're my Rats." Tiara was following me and calling out to me.

I just continued walking briskly out of her house and into the lane outside. Her parents were inside the house. I wanted to go somewhere else, where there would be no one.

I wanted her to come with me.
I wanted to melt into her arms.
I wanted to pour my heart out to her.

I could hear her still calling out to me as she followed me out of the house, trying to catch up with me.

"Tiara!" Her mother called from inside the house.

No! Don't listen to her! Follow me, Tiara. I want you!

I continued walking a few steps before turning back to check. There was no one there. She had left me to attend to her mother.

It hurt me; her family was more important to her than I was. Her parents dislike me; they will never let me have my Tiara. I will kill them someday; I will kill anyone who tries to tear me and my Tiara apart.

To be continued...

A/N: Please vote and comment..
This chapter was quite difficult to write.. Hope you liked it.. :)