Darien Caruso

Raymond reached forward and grabbed a fistful of my hair. He was about to bang my head into the wall when I swiftly locked his arm. I swept him off his feet and landed on my knees beside him, pinning his arms to the floor.

I knew Ray had a soft spot for Tiara. That was the last resort left for me to tackle him now.

"But you don't love Tiara. You were ready to kill her."

"Yes, and that's because of you! Now I have no choice but to kill her too! She's not the Tiara I loved anymore." He shoved me away and the two of us jumped back onto our feet again.

"So what if she's not? She doesn't deserve death! Have you forgotten how much she cared for you? At least you had someone like her who cared for you like a mother, a sister as well as a friend in your childhood! How can you have the heart to even think of killing her, Ray?"

"You made me lose her and live all these years without her. Now, I want you to feel the pain of losing her and die."

As he stepped towards Tiara, I lifted him by the collar against the wall. "You won't be able to harm her more than this as long as I'm alive. I won't let you. You have done enough and your last chance is over."

"Last chance? Who are you to give me a last chance, huh?"

"I believed in you as you were my brother but your last chance is over. The ten minutes I had requested to the people outside this room has passed. Your time is up."

Raymond frowned and stepped a little nearer to the bed, where Tiara still appeared unconscious.

I stepped back when I saw the door to the room opening at the precise moment, through the corner of my eyes. Perfect timing. Thanks, Narissa.

A few police officers entered the room, followed by Narissa.

"Mr. Raymond Caruso, you are under arrest for the storage and distribution of illicit drugs. The appropriate reliable evidence has been provided by your former employee, Ms. Narissa Eliza."

One second, the police officer had been speaking; a few seconds later, I was lying on the floor, holding my shoulder, where blood was gushing out of a gunshot wound.

A lot had happened too quickly in those few seconds.

Raymond first shove the oxygen mask off Tiara's face. As he raised his hand towards his coat, Tiara's right hand reached out and grabbed his wrist. He tried to shake her hand off his wrist but her grip was firm. Not allowing her grip to slow him down, he drew a gun from the inside of his coat and fired straight at me before raising the gun to the side of his head.

The police officers were swift in seizing Raymond's gun and locking his arms before he shot himself.

Tia... she needs the oxygen mask! Why isn't anyone tending to her? I tried to stagger towards her; she was struggling to breathe; her chest was heaving up and down with her irregular breathing.

I stopped in my tracks as a searing pain shot through my shoulder. I remembered Isma's warning to me, to ensure that I never lost too much blood at any time as it would be a danger to my life after the past accident that almost killed me. I held my shoulder, trying to suppress the pain if only I could.

"Dan!" Narissa rushed to my side, seeing the blood soaking my clothes all the way down from my shoulder.

"Narissa, please save her."

"Dan-" Narissa started to speak when I interrupted her, "Save my Tia!"

Narissa stared at me, taken aback for a moment, before turning away. She hurried to Tiara and placed the oxygen mask back into place on her face. Narissa called a nurse to check on Tiara before standing near the bed with her back towards me.

My heart skipped a beat as I noticed Tiara's hold on Raymond's wrist was still intact. Her eyes were closed; she had appeared unconscious all the while. Had she been aware of everything that had happened?

The police officer tried to remove Tiara's hand from Raymond's wrist but her grip tightened.

I was used to bearing pain and the pain in my shoulder was nothing compared to what I have bore till now. I was more worried about Tiara. My Tia....

"Wait," I gasped before scrambling over to Tiara's side. "Let him go, Tia. He has to go. Let him come back if and when he realizes his mistakes and repents his misdeeds." As I held her hand, I felt her grip on Raymond's wrist loosen. "He won't let us, himself or anyone live if you stop him now. He has to go; let him go." I spoke while peeling her fingers off his wrist and caressing her frail hand in mine.

She held my hand tight. I squeezed her hand gently to reassure her that I was by her side.

The police officers left with Raymond while I was seated on the floor, next to the bed where Tiara lay, holding her hand in silence. I didn't even raise my eyes from her hand to look at Ray, before he was dragged away. I just couldn't.

***

"Wait, don't move just yet." Isma's voice was the next thing I heard.

Was she talking to me? I blinked before realizing that I was lying on a hard bed. "Tia...."

"You can go see her in a few minutes. Provided you don't move now. If you move, I won't let you get up from this bed for a week."

I smiled before relaxing into the bed. "She's fine, right?"

"Hmm."

"How did I reach here? I was sitting next to her bed."

"You lost enough blood to pass out. Won't you ever think or care about yourself? Do you know how much blood you lost? Didn't you even realize the pain?"

"It's nothing, Isma, compared to what I've been through before."

"Like I don't know that? Even I've seen your old scars and the injuries you had two years ago."

"Hmm... the past, it was better forgotten but Tiara, I can't bear to forget her." I paused. "Can I get up now?"

"Yeah."

I hauled myself out of the bed. Isma placed her hand on my shoulder before speaking.

"Darien, Tiara is in a bad state. A bullet to the forehead usually results in death on the spot in 95% of the cases. But no patient can come out of this agony unscathed. Tiara is still alive but it may take weeks or months for us doctors to be able to determine the extent of any permanent damage.

She received medical attention on time and the doctors were able to remove the dead tissue and clear the area to relieve the imminent swelling. Otherwise, it would have led to fatal consequences. So now, there is still a chance she might recover, although never with complete psychological and physical health. I know this will be difficult for you to hear after all that you have faced. Unfortunately, this is the sad truth."

There was a long sullen silence between us as my mind processed the facts Isma had delivered.

"At least she's alive." I sighed before walking out of the room. My shoulder, where I had been shot, felt numb.

Narissa was waiting outside the room, with her back towards me again.

She turned to face me with a smile but bit her lip to maintain her composure. "I'll send you the divorce papers."

"Narissa?"

"Your life, your soul, the only reason for your existence, Tia. Yes, you said it aloud when you remembered your past. I am not her and I can never be her. You aren't my Daniel either, but I loved you believing that you were him. I know it'll be difficult for me to move on. But I will, because I know you can never love me more than you love Tiara."

I lowered my gaze to the floor. She spoke the truth; I could not deny.

"Thanks a lot, Darien. Even though you don't love me, you ensured that I wouldn't be in trouble for working at the pub before and helping out in doing what I shouldn't have. I am grateful to you for that."

"Don't mention it, Narissa. I'm glad you stopped going to the pub after our marriage. If you had continued then, even you would have had to face a punishment today. But you are a good person. You have been gifted with a beautiful voice and laudable talent. How could you let your deeds tarnish your fine soul? Don't let your past affect you anymore. Forget the past now and begin your life afresh."

Narissa smiled. "I will." She turned to go.

As my gaze shifted to the ICU room, Narissa turned back and took a few steps towards me. She wrapped her arms around me for a moment before breaking away and leaving the hospital without turning back even once.

I felt awkward and looked around for a moment to find Isma standing nearby.

"I'm sorry, Darien. I should have told Mom and Dad that you're not our Daniel. At least when they refused to accept all the other excuses I tried saying to stop yours and Narissa's wedding. All this wouldn't have happened then. This is all my-"

Before Isma could finish speaking, I interposed. "Your goodwill. Believe me, you have done what no daughter, sister or doctor would do. You saved an unknown stranger's life on the expense of your brother's identity. You are the best sister and the best doctor I have ever known; you are an inspiration, Isma."

Isma frowned a bit but remained silent.

"I know this will be difficult for Mom and Dad now. I can't go back home and act like I'm their son anymore. I have Tiara and Mila, my family. I'm sorry, Isma, I hope you'll be able to tell them the truth about my identity, causing them the least grief possible."

"She already told us." Dad walked into my view with Mom, Rina and Mila. Mila ran towards me and hugged me.

I froze. The Sorrens family were not my own family but they were the family I had grown to love, over the few years I had spent with them.

"I always wondered why the accident turned my son into a modest dutiful man. But now I came to know that you're not my son. You could have chosen to reject our advices, you could have chosen to be ignorant of us but you didn't. You won our hearts more than our own son did. We would never be able to forget you, Darien."

Dad's words struck straight at my heart. The care I had yearned from my own father was what I heard in the voice of the father who was not mine.

"You will always be our son to us. I know you said you have another family now. Tiara and Mila. Even Tiara is like our daughter to us and Mila like our grandchild. You are always welcome to our house, Darien. We will wait for the moments we can spend with you and your family. We hope you would come to spend time with us whenever you miss your family." There were tears in my eyes, hearing the words Mom spoke.

"Mom, where will we go leaving you all? You are our family. We will surely come home when we can." What I had never been able to embrace in my past, the family I never had, were standing before me now. They were the real family worth treasuring, my heart told me.

Mom, Dad and Rina had a glimpse at Tiara, who was lying still on the bed in the ICU room, before turning to leave.

"You're not my brother, and you've become so serious now. I don't have anyone to irritate anymore. No one will irritate me too. Life will become so boring." Rina sighed.

I smiled. "Even if I don't return home for any other reason, I'll come. To irritate you."

Rina watched me in a mixture of disbelief and joy before she left with Mom and Dad. Isma disappeared into the doctor's room.

At last, I was left with Mila, alone. I scooped her up with one arm, without giving any strain to the shoulder, where I had been shot.

"Daddy, where's Mommy? I have so much to tell Mommy! Daddy called me baby again! Daddy loves me! Mommy know, Mommy very happy!" chirped Mila.

I smiled for a moment before walking towards the ICU room. I gestured towards Tiara before explaining to my baby, "Baby, when you were sick, your Mommy used to look after you, no? Now, Mommy is sick, the doctor will look after her. Mommy is very sick so Mommy will take time to get better, alright? Until Mommy gets better, Daddy will look after you and take care of everything for you. Anything you need, you can ask Daddy, okay baby?"

"Okay, Daddy!" sang Mila, before wrapping her arms around my neck and giving me a tight hug.

I smiled before lowering her to the floor and signalling her to remain silent as we stepped into the ICU room.

Tiara lay on the bed, as still as ever. The slight movement in her chest, showing the beating of her heart, was the only sign of her life. I knelt down beside her and took her cold hands in mine. I kissed her hands before caressing them.

"I vowed to live for you and our baby, Tia. The reason I am alive today is for you and our baby. I will live. For you and our Mila, Tia. When you recognized me, I wasn't in the state to embrace you. Today, when I recognized you, you aren't in the state to embrace me. I will wait for the seconds when I will finally feel the warmth of life in your fingertips and see the hint of a smile in your face."

I will wait for those precious blissful seconds....

A/N: Please vote and comment..
Hope you like this chapter.. :)

What do you think of this story and each of the characters now? Who do you like or dislike?

This is the LAST chapter of this book.. Hope you enjoyed reading this story..

Which was your favourite chapter or part in this story?

Who was your favourite character or characters in this story?

There might be an epilogue coming up soon.. :)