CHASE

My forhead was throbbing painfully, as I strode into the mansion. It was due to lack of sleep and the torture that I was inflicting on myself, for the last 9 days. The news of Axel's disappearance spread like wildfire and smaller gangs from Albania and Luxemborg were causing too much trouble.

Those fuckers had the audacity to refuse me. As if they had a choice. If I stopped investing in their casino chains, they would suffer a huge loss. The Albania syndicate were very powerful and cunning, but I knew the exact strings that were needed to be pulled.

It was only after I threatened them to go on war, they concured with me to let things be as it was.

After sitting on a meeting with the Capos of Bulgaria and Moldova and their Consiglieres, things had seemed to settle down a little. They were the most loyal and supportive Underbosses of mine, and I knew they would suport my each and every decision.

Slumping down on my chair, I heaved out a tired breath and I pinched the bridge of my nose with the thumb and my middle finger.

"God damn it!" I screamed out in frustration and told the guard outside my door to call for a maid. I badly needed a black coffee.

Within a mintue, a knock sounded out in the room and I told Lily to prepare me a strong black coffee.

She nodded and was just about to walk out, when she turned towards me and asked with her eyes down, "Sir, shall I tell Sarah ma'am that you are back?"

My eyebrows furrowed in vexation. It had been 2 weeks we didn't have lunch together. I was barey getting enough time to spend with her due to the pressure I was facing, because of her father's deeds.

"Don't."

She bowed her head, and walked out of the room.

Clenching my jaw, I groaned out a huff. This was definitely not a good time to see Sarah. I would surely snap at her if she did anyhing annoying rather than finding it adorable. A tight knot was forming in my chest and I tried to breath it out.

My eyes fell on the liquor cabinet and I strode upto it for. Snatching a scotch bottle, I opened it's lid and gulped it down voraciously . The burning in my throat gave me something else too focus on, other than the images of Sarah in my head.

Within a few seconds, Lily walked in and handed me the coffee cup. While she was walking out I ordered her to call Ares.

"Sir, he is out." She funneled with her apron.

My eyebrows furrowed quizzically. "What do you mean, out?"

"He and Diana has gone out on a date."

The fuck! Ares had taken Diana on a date!? What was he thinking? My jaw clenched in annoyance at him. I needed to have a word with Ares. Diana was still not ready for another relationship after how Draven left her. Another made man wasn't good for her.

"Leave." I rasped and Lily hurriedly left the room.

I poured a generous amount of scotch in my coffee mug, and the smell thrilled me. Coffee with scotch was always a better duo.

I was peacefully having my drink when the door slammed open and a figure barged in. My eyes shot up and my anger surged through my brain as soon as I saw who it was.

Andrew was standing there, his hand crossed over his chest and his eyes boring into me sceptically.

I groaned out in irritation, and rubbed my face.

"What the fuck do you want now?" I snapped.

"I want to talk with you, regarding something," he said in an indifferent tone. I threw him a blank and nonchalant look. I was not at all interested to talk to him, about anything.

"Spit it out and leave."  I took a sip of my coffee, and this thing was really helping in soothing my nerves.

Andrew's face twisted into a disapproved scowl and he strode upto me. I stood up as soon as he was near me, not wanting to look up at him.

"What?" I asked, one of my eyebrows raised up in arrogance.

"What do you think about Sarah?"

As soon as I heard her name from his mouth, my annoyance intensified at his words and I got right into his face. "You are no one to demand that from me. Get the fuck out of my room, before I break every bone in your body," I whispered in a dark but calm voice.

Ferocious rage and the hunger to kill was boobling up into me. Andrew's eyes shone with challenge and he didn't move an inch.

"You need to face this now Chase. You have been hiding your feelings for long enough."

I whirled around and clenched my jaw, grabbing the edge of my table. My knuckles turned white due to the grip I had, but the strong need to smash Andrew's face on the table didn't subdue.

"Loving someone doesn't make you weak Chase, it's the best feeling ever, trust me. Nothing can be better than the warmth into your heart and the overwhelming sensation in your nerves whenever you see that person." Andrew tried to coax me to speak out my resolve.

Love? I didnt know what love was. It was a forgeign feeling for me, somehting alien and strange. I had never loved anyone in my life, not even aunt Alexis, who was my closest family member.

But when it came to Sarah, I wasnt exactly completely oblivious. Ofcourse I was undeniably attracted at her, but that wasn't the only thing I felt for her. I adored her, and I had got emotionally attached with her. My heart and stomach filled up with warmth whenever I looked at her. These was all queering for me.

I wasn't a good man, far from it. Bloodshed and violence had been my entire life. But the little peace I had in my life, it was only because of Sarah.

If this was love, then maybe I was in love with her. The only thing I knew was that, I would never let her go. She belong with me, beside me.

"Tell me Chase! Do you love her!? Andrew's irritating voice broke my daze and I gave him an annoyed scowl.

"Fuck off from here. I am not answering you anything," I snarled.

"You have to. You need to give a clear signal to her. She had suffered enough here," Andrew yelled out.

Was she suffering here? Sarah wasn't happy being with me? If that was the case, then she would look for ways to leave me as soon as the baby comes. I couldn't allow that!

"Tell me Chase!"

My brain was clogging, and the images in front of me started getting blurry. My eyes zoomed at the scotch glass that was lying empty on my table. I bared my teeth, and clenched my jaw, trying my best not to ram my fist into Andrew's countenance.

"Tell me Chase, do you love Sarah!?"

My nostrils flared at his audacity. How dare was he demamded this!? I wasn't sure whether I loved her or not, cause I didn't know wat love was. But nothing could change the fact that Sarah my was life, the beats of my heart, the oxygen to my every breath I took and my solace.

But I wouldn't give Andrew the satisfaction of knowing that he had won somehow. He always wanted me to give love a chance, and the arrogant bastard in me would never admit it to him, that his life long wish was coming true.

"Answer me you coward!"

That was the last string of my patience. He crossed his line, as soon as he uttered that word.

"Sarah is just a fucking surrogate!" My voice boomed in the entire room, and it was followed with a deadly silent.

No, she wasn't, she was my solace, my light in darkness. I didn't mean to utter that word, but admitting to Andrew that Sarah meant the world to me, was far worse than death.

Smack!

My face snapped to right, and my daze broke. My cheek stinked with its's impact. My eyes were buldging out of my sockets. I was utterly baffled at what just happened. Gritting my teeth, my hand curled up in a first.

My eyes darted up with a ferocious rage to punch Andrew's face, when my fist stilled in air. His eyes were narrowed and he was looking down at me, disappointment glaring back at me.

"You are a disappointment," he whispered and shook his head.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and my anger subsided out of blue. I hated his words. People respected me, admired me, loathed me, were afraid of me, but disappointed; that never happened.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. He heaved a sigh.

"I should have known what kind of bastard you are, before feeding Sarah those lies," Andrew mumbleled and attempted to walk out of the room. But my ears perked up anxiously and I blocked his path.

"What did you say to Sarah?" I asked, narrowing my eyes down, glaring at him. The rage was still lurking underneath my calm demeanour .One wrong move, and I would break his jaw bone.

"You don't need to know that now. Clearly she means nothing to you, than just a surrogate," Andrew snarled. What the fuck was his problem?

"Don't try to get too cozy with her, if there is nothing between you two. She had already got a wrong impression about your relationship with her. I don't want you to hurt her anymore," Andrew's voice was laced with protectiveness.

Sarah surely had a way to sweep into everyone's heart. But Andrew's last words caught my attention.

"What do you mean wrong impressions?" I growled. He knew something about Sarah, which I didn't, and this wasn't acceptable at all.

Andrew narrowed down his eyes and pushed himself right into my face. "Just keep this professional if you have no intentions to stay with her. She is already deep into this. It would take her a lot of time to move on from you. The girl is naive and kind hearted. I would not allow you to manipulate her anymore."

Why the fuck will she move on!?

"Why the fuck are you taking about!? Speak clearly!" I roared out in pure wrath and Andrew's face twisted into a angry scowl.

"Are you so fucking blind that you can't even see that girl loves you!"

The words stilled in my ears and my surrounding zoned out. My eyes widened in shape of saucers and I literally felt the ground vanishing from beneath my feat.

Love? Sarah loves me!? Did I hear correct?

Keeping my face blank, I stalked out of the room leaving a     Andrew behind.

Descending down the stairs with a thundering speed, I walked towards the basement. My jaw was clenched and my fist was itching to release the anger that was slowly penting up.

I stalked my way through the narrow hallways and slammed open the door of the beasment. The shrill cries of a bastwrd was resonating in the sound proof room as soon as I stepped in.

Antonio was sitting in a chair, interrogating one of his subordinates from Italy, who was one of the betrayers. He was captured yesterday.

As soon as Antonio saw he, he tried to stand up but I shook my head. He wasn't healed up completely, and he still needed crutches.

"Leave, everyone," I roared and all the other guards cleared the room. The ferocious rage and seething was making its way out of my body and I needed something, anything to release it.

She loves you. Andrew's words were ringing in my ears

No! I refuse to believe this.

"He is all yours boss," Antonio said and moved back with his crutches.

The man started shivering as soon as he saw me.  He knew who I was. I exhaled shallow breaths and landed my knuckles straight and hard on his jaw. Blood splattered out of his mouth.

"Why the fuck did you betray me!?" I snarled out and twisted his fingers. He painful screams echoed in the room, but it wasn't enough.

Taking the gun out of my holster I shot both his knee caps and shoulder. He wailed out in pure agony, but his cries were still not enough for me.

Grabbing his jaw roughly, I started baming his face. Everything else zoned iut for me except the wrath that was surging through me. I wanted to main, kill and torture. Fire blazed through every particle in my body.

"Boss! Stop! He is dead," Ares screamed out and clamped my hands trying to stop me.

I roared out and pushed him off. How dare he!

"Fuck off Ares." My thundering voice echoed in the entire room. I turned back to unleash my monster on that bastard, when I saw his lifeless eyes staring back at me. Blood was pouring down his open mouth and his head was twisted. I had broken his neck.

Letting out a growl I ran my hand through my hair, and grasped it tightly. Sarah's images were running in my head and I wanted to avoid her  and forget about her, for the time being.

No, she didn't love me. Love was a weakness I couldn't afford in my life. This would ruin her, I couldn't allow that. I gritted my teeth in rage.

Why the fuck does she love me? Can't she see what kind of a monster I am?

"Boss," Antonio called out and I snapped open my eyes. He was giving me an uneasy look, and Ares was telling the guards to take care of the corpse.

Giving the dead man a lost look, I sauntered out of the basement. This was not going to work. The raw hunger to destroy everything in my path was still lurking underneath me and there was too much darkness on the surface. I couldn't face anybody now.

Coming to the forest I let my feet direct me. I wanted some free time. The cottage came into my line of vision, and without giving it a second though I strode into it, and ascended up the stairs to the studio.

Papers and colors were scattered all around the table. I sweeped everything away, and grabbed a fresh canvas. I hadn't done this in weeks.

Taking the graphite pencil, in between my fingers and let it do it work on the canvas. Everything else zoned out for me, except the pencil in my hand and the sketch that was beginning to take it's form.

I let my anger out, in the sketch. Running the pencil in different angles, I gave it a perfect form and shaded the required places. The raw ferocious anger slowly started dissipating, as I let my fingers do the wonder.

I finished the image with my signature at the lower right corner, and gave it a final look. My chest swelled with an unknown emotion, and my stomach fluttered.

What the fuck is this!? Did my stomach just flutter?

A strange warmth ran through my veins and I peered back at the picture again. This was wonderful. I eagerly grabbed the paper, and ran down the stairs, coming out of the cottage.

I need to see Sarah, now!

The night had fallen and the mansion was silent, except the guards that were doing their daily duty. I hurriedly walked upto my room and opened the door, eager to show Sarah the sketch I made. I was sure she must had fallen asleep by now, but I wanted to show her this.

But as soon as I opened the door, my breath hitched in my throat. The room was deadly silent, and empty.

What the hell? Where is she.

Quickly walking out of our room, I opened the door of the adjoining room which previously belonged to Sarah. And as soon as I opened the door, I saw her, standing in front of the window. 

"Sarah?"

*******

SARAH

The morning breeze sweeped into the room, and my room blared with the sound of the alarm clock. My eyes shot open, and I shut it down. Taking a deep breath, I sat up and ran my hands through my hair. I needed to take a bath.

My eyes fell on Mr. Cuddles who was resting beside me on the bed. His belly portion was still damped and I rubbed my face to clear the tear strains.

No! I will not waste a single second on this.

I climbed down the bed, with great difficulty and did my morning business in the wash room. My cheeks were pale, my eyes bloodshot and haunted. Shaking my head,I came out of the washroom waring a bathroab and saw Melissa siting on the bed. She was trying to repair the  crumbeled paper by flattening it on the bed and running her hands on it again and again.

"What the heck are you doing?" I snapped and walked upto her, snatching the paper from her hand. She gasped and stood up instantly.

I looked down at the paper. It was a pencil sketch of me carrying a baby in my arms. A painful lump formed in my throat and I tried to swallow it down.

Why did you do this Chase? Why did you crush my hope and broke my heart?

The picture shook in my hand, and I, unable to contain the anger in me anymor,e tore it apart. This meant nothing to me!

"Sarah!" Melissa exclaimed.

But I was far away from the point of listening. My teeth grinded against each other and I grabbed a pillow and threw it on the floor.

"Calm down Sarah, please. This isn't good for the baby," Melissa said and tried to stop me but I sharply glared at her.

"You all are fucking same. You just care about the baby. No one here care about me. Fuck him, and fuck you all. Get out of my room Melissa. Right. Fucking. Now!" I stabbed my finger in her chest and roared. Her face was twisted in a sympathetic look and she shook her head, trying to say something.

"Get out!" I roared and she scambered away.

I sanked down on the floor and my tear gates flooded open.

Why Chase, why? Why the fuck did you break me?

<<~~~~~~~~~~~~∆~~~~~~~~~~~~>>
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