PLEASE NOTE THERE WOULD SHIFT IN POVs FOR THIS CHAPTER.

MADELINE's POV

It was late in the evening when I was going my way back home. I usually wrap up before sunset, but today was an overtime. Rex still did not contact me. I am always the kind of person who likes to keep herself engaged in work. It helps me keep my mind away from all those things that gives me anxiety.

Also, maybe I am overthinking. Maybe, he is just caught up in some work and failing to find a proper time to call back. But, at the same time, I am failing to waive off the bad feeling. Something seemed off.

As, the pushed the keys inside the lock of the main door. A notification flashed over my screen.

"Get ready in 10, I'll pick you up."

It was Rex. All my worries washed off in a snap. I was right, maybe he was caught into something and now he is trying to make up for it.

I hastily opened the door and rushed through the house until I was completely ready. 

After exactly 10 mins, the car honked outside the house. He is here.

I did a last scan through my reflection and made my way out of the house. I could feel myself squeaking internally thinking about his reaction after he meets me after a whole damn week.

But, as I got inside the car, I realized I was wrong. He did not even bother looking at me. His face was devoid of the typical warmth. It was dead.

I kept staring at him, with a hope to atleast get a smile. But, nothing happened. He was looking dead towards the street in front of him. 

"Rex!" I decided to clear out the bubble of awkwardness, "Things good?"

Without deviating his eyes, he replied in a low tone, "Hm!". It was more like a forced reply.

I decided not to pry in further. I settled myself over the seat and buckled my seatbelt, while I could feel him, looking at me from the corner of his eyes.

As, I settled myself in. He turned on the ignition and the car raced out of the place, leaving me baffled and freaked out in my place. The car did not slow down any minute. It was as if he was pouring out all his subsided anger into the car or maybe it was me.

After a twenty minutes ride, the car screeched and halted near an open space. The distance in normal speed would have been forty five minutes but we covered it in twenty. As, the car stopped, I could feel my head spinning and as if my heart was about to pop out in my hand.

"Let's go." he said in a composed tone while he unbuckled his seat belt. This calm scared me. But, I know, he is nowhere near that person. At this moment, all my confusions turned out true. There was definitely something off with him. It was clear in his eyes, that he was hurting.

As, he made his way out of the car, I stopped him.

His shoulders tensed up for a split second but calmed down immediately. 

"What was that?" I asked.

This time he looked at me straight in the eye and my breath hitched. His look was void. Devoid of the love with which he used to look at me. I failed to recognize the eyes, I fell in love with.

"You scared of speed?" he scoffed.

I can't believe he was asking me this question. I wanted to jerk him and scream at him in an attempt to pull him out of whichever rabbit hole he was trapped in.

Instead, I composed myself and asked, "I know something is going on. Rex, I was shit scared."

He rolled his eyes and moved out of the car. His indifference pushed me more to the egde. While he made his way towards my side of the door, I kept yelling out, without letting any word get filtered,

"You ran away without an explanation. You stopped receiving my calls. You did not even bother seeing my messages. How busy were you that you did not even spare a minute to type that you were fine? That you are f*cking alive?

He opened the door on the passenger side and silently looked up at me. "So you care?"

His words had a hint of mocking in it. My anger was shooting up my head and my eyes were getting blurred in tears.

"The hell was that supposed to mean?" my voice was choked and quivering, "I am not up for a joke. I am serious."

I walked out of the car and as he shuffled his eyes through mine, the sternness in his countenance faltered. But not long did it take for him to collect himself back inside the mask.

"Wait a minute!" I pulled up my guts to let out my biggest fear, "Did I even mean anything to you? Or was I just a fling...or a vice."

Jackson's POV;

When I looked up at her, her eyes were glittery, and her body tensed up, teeming with frustration. As, she kept looking at me, her eyes holding a number of complaints, I found myself, loosing in her. I know I am powerless, when her hazel eyes meets mine. That was the main reason, I avoided looking at her.

Even, after a ton of hatred filled inside me, the bigger part of me, was still hypnotized by this woman. Even though I wanted to keep the distance, I realized myself walking closer to her. I wanted to console her. I wanted to cool down the frustration she was having in herself. I wanted to take her into my arms, and take away all her worries. I wanted to tell her, what she is to me.

But, at the same time, I wanted to explain, who she messed up, with. She needs to pay for everything she has done. But, I had the guts for none. All the strength, I have collected to end this story, melted down, as she stood before me. I cupped her cheek, and suddenly her eyes softened. A stream of tear, dampened my hands, and my heart stopped beating. I know, it's not right to let my guard down, but the more I tried to hate her,the more I was getting drawn towards her

"I promised you once, that I would tell you everything."

She nodded.

"I loved you."

She winced. Her reactions making me question everything. I was failing to believe that she- so pure by heart can be involved in killing someone. But, evidences speak louder than words and I can't doubt my men. I pointed my finger towards the horizon, showing the colors of dusk, beautifully blended to form the dark sky. A dark sky, glittering with new, tiny, early shining stars.

As she turned her face, towards the horizon, the shield of sadness wore out of her face, and her lips curved into an innocent smile, similar to a kid. I found myself captivated by the glow in her face. She wiped her tears with both her hands and looked up at me before she took steps towards the open ground, drawn by the beauty of the place. As, she walked away from my eyes, reality washed over me. She is here with me, because I have to kill her. She dared to mess up with me, and the guilty of the same, don't have the privilege to survive . I know, I have entangled myself into an emotional bond and as she dies today, Rex will die with her. I will never be myself anymore. Suddenly, she turned her heel back towards me as she realized she was standing alone.

"REX, come here."

Today, she receives death for who she is, but, keeping aside everything, if ever, she loved me genuinely, she owes an apology.

"I am sorry."

The little smile that formed in her face faded and a confusion creeped up.

"I loved you, Maddie. I really did."

MADELINE'S POV

An unexplained fear took over me. His words weren't normal. The eyes which were dead, now started to reflect raw emotions of Pain and Hatred. Where did I possibly go wrong?

"Why am I here?"

"You'll know it, sooner."

Just then, a convoy of six shiny black range rovers, became visible in the streets, as they took a sharp turn to enter the empty ground and stood right behind Jackson, within a fixed horizontal queue. As, the bright headlights glowed from behind Jackson, he seemed like a shadow of a fighter waiting to make his first move. This picture of him, was absolutely a contrast to the person named Rex. My hands started to get sweaty and my legs were shaking. I pressed my palm to the fabric of my dress in an attempt to keep myself standing still. Soon, men and women in grey suits, jumped out of the cars, lined up behind Jackson, pointing their guns at me.

I shifted my gaze towards Rex. He was revolting none. People were waiting to kill me and he was standing there, waiting for the next.

Jackson put one of his hands in his pocket and spoke, "Do you remember, that I promised to tell you everything? I expected a better situation, for this."

He pulled out his gun and pointed at me. My heart dropped to my stomach. He is with them.

"But, no situation can be better than this for a traitor. No?"

I could see the world surrounding me, getting shattered, as I realized, that the person, I loved, was pointing a gun, at me. I accept that I lied to him. I hid a major part of me from him. But, at least I expected a better situation, in which things get revealed. I regret, hiding it from him, because maybe now that he knows about me, he unfortunately knows just the half of it. I was helpless, yet again. I am trained to stand near a gun point fearlessly, but here I was losing the senses on my feet. I was scared. Not because maybe I will die today. But, because the last thing I will see as I die, is the offense and hatred in his eyes.

Just then, his thundering voice broke through the silence, "Still confused, who we are? Well we are your opponent,in the game you are playing. Unfortunate, that you knew about us, when we already gave a check and a mate. I am the leader of Hawks. The king of the darkness, sitting within Valencia. I. Am Jackson Claros."

I froze at the utter of his words. I was standing powerless, at the gunpoint of the Hawks, and the person, whom I loved, is leader of a merciless gang. No one but a sore killer. Is it?

The biggest question still remained,

"Where is Rex?" I demanded

"Are you seriously searching for someone, who never existed?"

I could almost feel, the ground below me, cracking. I suddenly started to feel a twirl in my stomach. I was frustrated. Not over him, but over my fate. Why? Why again? I dared to dream big, but is this a punishment I get for falling in love, yet again?

I started to question every decision, I took till now. I was unable to process the fact, that the name, that became a major part of my life, was no one, but a game. Everything, seemed to have come to an end. My days, my memories, my dreams, myself. Suddenly, the world around me, started to get blurred. I know I should have tried to save myself, or to counter, but I won't. This is it. What happens in a couple of minutes, will be my decision as well.

Jackson, still pointing his gun, raised up, one of his hands, in the air and all the guns were lowered.

Jackson's POV;

I hated myself for doing it, and will keep hating myself. But, I hate myself the most, because, I have trusted the wrong person. I hate myself, because I let my emotions put my men's life in stake. But, I loved her way much, to let her go or to see her in pain. As, badly I wanted to kill her, Some stupid part of me, still wanted her to try to escape. A stupid part of me waited for her, to at least assure me, that it wasn't her. She did none. Here, I was standing there holding the gun, at her, when there was a conflicting war within me. She was looking at me, with teary eyes. I was able to sense it well, she has already submitted. As if, waiting for me, to hit the trigger. And, with every passing millisecond, I was stepping back, mentally. I don't hold the strength to kill her, however a witch she is. With every passing time, my hands were turning weak and my target was deviating. I was about to kill the love of my life. This was what the situation demanded, and I was a slave to it.

I have to do it.

I pulled up my guts, and hit the trigger. The bullet raced through the dark, and pierced through her skin, and everything blurred out, as blood drops scattered over her skin. All that was visible before my eyes was my ideal world and my sanity, getting perished before my eyes. I was never felt, so useless, before. A last drop of tear, which probably held the last drop of strength in her, streamed down her cheek, before her eyelids gave up and she collapses on the ground.

"Leave me alone, for a while."

I could feel Jereff walking towards me and place his hand over my shoulder. Maybe, to console me. But none of his words could have effected me then.

"Go back, Jeff."

Without another word, he parted away and soon the cars left the place, leaving me alone with the unconscious woman. Someone, who I once called mine.

I could feel the rage burning within me. I was in rage, for being captive to the fateful situation. I was angry, at my helplessness. I was angry, because I had no way to escape. I made commitments, and I had to break one, to fulfill the other. I just shot the killer of my best man, and my love came to an abrupt end. I looked up at the sky, and the stars that she loved seemed to pity me and my misery. Suddenly, I couldn't feel my legs anymore. I was unable to feel myself anymore, as I slumped down on my knees. If only, I had more time, to fix things. But, I am never assigned a second chance to correct my mistakes. I screamed at the top of my voice. I wanted, all of me to end up, with the scream. If not that, I wanted the whole world to get destroyed, me being the reason. I screamed again, and again and again, as it echoed through the isolation. No one to listen to me. No one to console me. No one to soothe me. Not even my shadow. Not even her.