Page 143 of Gamble with Me
He was a terrible father, and just the thought of the possibility that he would ever have a chance to influence her life somehow sent me on a rampage. She didn’t need him. She found a loving and caring replacement in Zyon, who acted like her dad naturally without yelling, scolding, or punishing her for the things she couldn’t change. Zyon was the support she needed, the rock she could rest on, the man she could count on. Chester was just a painful memory that would hopefully fade over time.
But the protector in me didn’t want to leave anything to chance. I wished to start the new life with a clean slate, but it wasn’t possible with Chester alive.
Hastily turning around and trying to find something to finish Chester off with, I caught a glimpse of a gun on the metal table with instruments. I didn’t think clearly. I was in a trance, only focused on ending this nightmare, and killing the monster seemed like a good idea.
Zyon towered over Chester, not paying attention to me, so I had the perfect opportunity to execute my plan. With a few strides, I stood at the desk and picked up the heavy semi-automatic black gun. Swiftly veering around, I pointed it at Chester, ready to pull the trigger.
He instantly noticed me, but his sickening smile didn’t vanish—just the opposite. It grew broader with every torturous second I aimed at him.
“You don’t have the courage for it, doll,” Chester snickered. Zyon snapped his head toward me, his eyes widening in surprise.
“Valeria?” he whispered, raising his arms in a surrendering gesture. “Put the gun down.”
“No,” I shouted, my voice sounding screechy and painful. I almost didn’t recognize it. “I want him gone!”
“Okay,” Zyon immediately agreed, ignoring Chester’s chuckling. “I promise I’ll take care of it. Just put that gun down, please.”
“Ooh,” Chester whined, making me wince. “You’re so pathetic, Valeria.” He knelt, his gaze fixed on me, when he raised his eyebrows, provoking me. “You would never kill me.”
I took a quick step closer, holding the gun barely two inches from his forehead. My dad had a revolver at home. I knew how to use it, but I hesitated. It wasn’t as easy as I thought to take someone’s life, yet I was still sure it was the best thing to do. He would never return.
“C’mon, Valeria,” Zyon’s gentle voice cut through the fog that hazed my brain, but I was too far away.
“Kill me, Valeria,” Chester chanted as if he wanted to put a spell on me to end his misery. “Prove that you’re strong enough to avenge yourself.”
“Don’t do it, mon cœur.” The voice of reason sounded like the soothing melody that kept me alive for the past few months. “The real punishment is to let him live.”
The tears burned my eyes as I stared at Chester’s repulsive face. Blood dripped from his mouth. His left cheekbone was purple, and his probing gaze speared my eyes, looking straight into my soul. He had to feel how much I loathed him. He had to see it. The hatred floated around me like a stench I couldn’t wash away. It fed on my emotions, growing to enormous proportions.
“Do it, baby doll,” Chester whispered, pulling invisible strings he attached to me years ago. He wanted to manipulate me to do his bidding like he did our entire marriage. “Kill me, or I will come back, and when I get my hands on you—”
A deafening gunshot resonated through the open space, making me almost jump out of my skin. For a moment, I thought I instinctively pulled the trigger to silence the maniac, but it wasn’t me who fired. It was Zyon.
The golden gun in his hand shone against his black leather glove, and a thin trail of smoke came from the barrel. His eyes were fixed upfront, and I slowly turned to look at Chester, setting my gaze on him just in time to see him fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes. His lifeless body collided with the dirty floor with a thud that punctured my ears like an arrow. My eyes broadened when the puddle of fresh blood, quickly spreading, appeared under him.
Now, you are reminded of your place.The thought crossed my mind, but I wasn’t able to voice it. I was frozen in shock, gaping at the half of Chester’s head that was missing. His empty eyes stared at the ceiling, lips twisted in a snarl. Zyon cut him off in the middle of a sentence that would never be finished. He slashed the thin thread of Chester’s life, silencing him forever. It was exactly what I wanted, but seeing the disaster that one gunshot had caused, I didn’t know how to react.
“Valeria.” A kind voice penetrated the fog that muddied my brain and vision, yet I wasn’t able to tear my eyes from the dead body at my feet. “Valeria.”
A massive body blocked my sight, and I raised my head to look at the man who owned my heart. But I didn’t see him clearly. His face was blurred because of my tears.
“We need to leave,” Zyon said, cupping my cheeks. I blinked, not entirely understanding his words. We couldn’t leave Chester there. The police would find him.
“He’s dead,” I whispered, pointing behind Zyon.
“Yes,” he confirmed, gently turning me away from the corpse. “And we are leaving.”
“But…” I sauntered on my jelly legs, my knees buckling under my weight. My whole body trembled. “Wait, Zyon.” I stopped, bumping into his chest. “He’s dead.”
“Walk, Valeria,” Zyon commanded, grasping my arms and pushing me outside.
The moment the cold night air attacked my face, I woke up from my daze, realizing the nightmare was over. I had seen it through my own eyes. The naked body twisted in a weird angle with half of the skull missing was the end of the abuser, who deserved nothing less. It was the final act of the drama my marriage had become. The climax I waited for.
Peace enveloped me like a transparent veil, and I inhaled a deep, steady breath. I quivered like a leaf, but at the same time, I finally felt free, like a boulder that gnawed me was lifted from my chest. I should have been horrified, but all I experienced was pure happiness coursing through my veins. I couldn’t fight the wide smile that split my face when I spread my arms and raised my eyes toward the sky. He was gone. Chester was dead.
“Mon cœur.” Zyon touched my shoulder, disturbing my moment of satisfaction. “We should go. Malin will take care of the rest.”
Erasing the distance between us, I cupped his cheeks, stood on my tiptoes, and kissed him. He tensed, evidently taken aback, but reacted immediately and reciprocated the attention. My tongue slid inside his delicious mouth, savoring him like it was our last second on earth.
