Chapter 197
The driver probably sensed the looming threat of death following the car, so he ignored the bumps in the road and stepped on the gas pedal to speed away.
Finally arriving at their destination, the driver slammed on the brakes, causing Vivian to be pushed forward by inertia, hitting her head on the passenger seat, causing a sharp pain that made her see stars.
Dizzy from the impact, Vivian was roughly dragged out of the car by Bryson.
“Let go of me!” Vivian stumbled and bumped along the way, sporting bruises in several places, feeling exhausted and in pain. “Where are you taking me?”
Vivian’s voice trailed off as she watched the soldiers emerging from various mounds and trees, their distinct Russian faces signaling trouble.
Instinctively taking a step back, she was forcefully pushed forward by Bryson, stumbling and falling to the ground.
Vivian, ignoring the pain, turned angrily to Bryson. “You are indeed a traitor.”
“Remember, Vivian, this is my final lesson to you,” Bryson paid no heed to Vivian’s anger. “There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.”
“Alajos is a common enemy of Andre and me. Andre provides me with soldiers and weapons to help me seize power in Houston, and I will kill Alajos for him. It’s a fair trade.”
Bryson abandoned Vivian to Mark, saying, “Alajos has no credibility with me. He wouldn’t come alone to face death; he might bring along all his allies.”
“That’s for sure.” Mark never doubted this, and unlike Joseph, he was smarter in that he never underestimated his enemies. “This is Houston after all.” Even if they were confident in having enough strength to oust Alajos, they still chose to cooperate with Andre to remain on amicable terms.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
Bryson instructed Mark to ambush Alajos’ allies, while the rest of them continued hiding behind their respective covers.
Listening to Bryson’s plan, Vivian pondered on how to warn Alajos about Bryson’s schemes when suddenly a loud engine roared closer, followed by a black object flying in a parabolic trajectory towards a hiding spot. The powerful explosion raised a cloud of dust, accompanied by screams.
As Alajos stepped out of the car, Vivian’s eyes lit up. She was about to warn him of the ambush when Bryson slapped her head aside, “Shut up, Vivian, or I won’t mind putting the gun in your mouth!”
“Bryson! You dare!” Alajos stepped forward, pointing the gun at Bryson. “Let her go!”
“I’m just teaching my daughter a lesson, teaching her to know what it means to speak appropriate words in appropriate circumstances.” Bryson innocently shrugged, warmly welcoming Alajos’ arrival as his soldiers aimed their guns at Alajos in unison.
“Let Vivian go; she has nothing to do with all this,” Alajos ignored the menacing guns pointed at him, attempting to negotiate with Bryson. “Let her leave, I promise she’s just a weak woman, her presence won’t affect you in any way.”
“Oh, is that so? She’s my daughter. Why would I harm her?” Bryson held the gun against Vivian’s head, revealing his entire plan. “You are not fit to be a Capo, Alajos. When you fall in love, when your gun cannot aim at your wife captured by the enemy, you’ve lost the chance to be a qualified Capo. But there are others who can replace you.”
“Are you talking about Joseph?” Alajos sneered.
“Of course, Joseph is the most eligible to replace you, but you ruined everything!” Bryson grew more agitated, pressing his gun against Vivian’s head as she reluctantly leaned it to the side. “You killed Joseph, ruined all my plans, and you will pay the price.”
Furiously pushing Vivian to the ground, Bryson’s gun clicked as if realizing his intentions, causing Vivian to instinctively close her eyes.
“Bang!”
A gunshot rang out, blanking Vivian’s mind for a moment.
Was she going to die? Was she going to leave this world forever, leaving Alajos, leaving her daughter? It wasn’t until this moment that Vivian realized how reluctant she was.
She didn’t want to die; she was still so young, only nineteen years old.
But the gunshot lingered for a long time, and the pain did not come. Following the first shot, there was a second, then a third, causing Vivian’s body to tremble amidst the continuous gunfire. Wanting to raise her head to see what was happening, she was forcefully pushed back down, a voice telling her, “Stay down!”
Vivian obediently stayed put, until a force pulled her up by the arm, revealing Noah as her savior.
“Why is it you?” she asked.
“Hey, girl, is this how you talk to your savior?” Noah joked, half-dragging her out of the scene of the battle under the cover of his comrades.
The support car parked by the roadside, Noah opened the door and forced her inside. Vivian resisted, reluctant to enter. “Where’s Alajos? My father… Bryson?”
“I can’t control that; my mission is to get you out safely.” Noah pushed her into the car, then forcefully shut the door. “Off you go, girl.”
With the door locked, the driver stepped on the gas, leaving behind the relentless gunfire.
Vivian’s memories of that day were faint. Her thoughts were still caught up in the chaos of entering and exiting the car, her body now out of the dangerous area, racing back to the safety of the villa.
Later, she learned that her father was shot dead by Noah, Mark was killed in a trap on the way back, and the Russians hired by Bryson, prioritizing their own interests, scattered and were annihilated by Alajos and Simpson at the foot of the mountain.
“Do you hate Noah?” For some reason, Vivian always felt that Noah was helping Alajos, waiting for the moment to kill Bryson with his own hands.
“I don’t hate him.” Noah answered Vivian’s question one day, long after. “Killing him was just to fulfill the obsession of the older generation.” Noah’s father was just a foster child of the Davis family, with a lowly status. When old Davis and Charlie chose Noah as the successor of ET, they had only one requirement-to kill Bryson and avenge Mrs. Tasneem.
In reality, old Davis and Charlie had long since discovered that Mrs. Tasneem was already in dire straits, but they couldn’t find justice for her. Thus, they tasked Noah with protecting her child and seeking an opportunity for revenge.
The dark clouds hanging over the city of Houston dissipated silently with Bryson’s death. Vilem was wheeled into the operating room for yet another round of recovery procedures.
…
One month later, the wound on Alajos’ grazed by a stray bullet began to scab, and the annoying bandage was finally removed. He changed into a neatly ironed suit, wore the tie Vivian had carefully chosen for him, and meticulously styled his thick hair in front of the mirror.
Vivian dressed Dhanna in her new clothes, dialing the third reminder.
“We should leave, Alajos,” Vivian called out to Alajos in the bathroom. “The wedding car is almost at Shelley’s house, we can’t be late to the church after the bride, that would be impolite.”
“No need to rush, we have time,” Alajos buttoned his cuff, put on his suit jacket, and walked over to kiss Vivian. “You look beautiful today.”
“Don’t mess up my lipstick,” Vivian playfully tapped him and teased, “Is the bride beautiful today?”
“Of course. My wife is the most beautiful,” Alajos confirmed.
Blushing, Vivian smiled coyly, “I love hearing that.”
“I can say it to you forever.” Alajos held her chin, lowering his head to share a deep kiss with her.
Vivian’s voice was muffled, emitting ambiguous moans, “Dhanna is watching.”
“She should know; her parents are very much in love.”
“You still haven’t told me what happened… mm…”
“Say you love me.” Alajos’ tongue teased in her mouth.
Gasping, Vivian uttered, “I love you, Alajos.”
“I love you too.”
Forever.