warning ⚠️; 18+ content, longer chapter ahead! Blood, violence, self-defense, death!

Oh wow, it's been exactly a month since I last updated this story, I'm sorry!

A MONTH HAD ALREADY passed since they got the keys to the house, and Nola couldn't have been happier with their decision. Even though the house had blown their budget, it had been an investment for the future. Besides, this was their forever home, so it was worth saving up to pay off the bank loan.

Most of the rooms were already finished. They had done the bedroom first so they could all sleep in their new home. And if they were both honest, they enjoyed having Ruby with them every night, simply to enjoy the time they had left with her alone to the fullest until the baby would need their attention, too.

In addition to the living room, the kitchen had also been arranged. Thanks to Gemma's, Ginny's, and her mom's help, the cupboards were full with food, there was more than enough dishes, and everything was lovingly decorated.

They had taken care of Henry's room, the name they had chosen for their son, when Ruby had gone on a little trip with Ginny, Bobby and Nola's mom for three days last week.

Why they chose Henry as the name for their son was pretty simple. Happy and Nola, and Ruby too, loved the name. It was unique, yet not too unique and weird, just like Ruby's name. Besides, Happy's grandfather's name had been Henry, which was another reason for their decision to choose it.

Last but not least, they had to finish another room: Ruby's. And it was pure chaos. Furniture was stacked at the side of the room, the floor was covered with plastic wrap, and the windows hadn't been cleaned yet. But the little family was having fun doing this together.

Nola's smile widened as Ruby excitedly jumped up and down, a paintbrush in her hand. Here and there, a pink drop of paint fell onto the plastic-covered wooden floor.

"Hey, you gotta be careful, bug", Happy grunted softly as he looked down at the girl. "Otherwise, we'll soon run out of paint for your room."

But Ruby just giggled as she clung to his leg, casually swinging the brush over the already half-pink wall. "Don't be silly, daddy, there's still plenty of paint!"

Happy bit back a laugh, his eyebrows raised as he looked down at his daughter. "Can you tell me where you get that attitude from, young lady? Certainly not from me."

"Hey, don't look at me like", Nola scoffed as Happy's amused gaze fell on her, her hand already firmly planted on her hip and the paintbrush in her hand pointing at Happy. "You thought Gemma would be a good choice of a babysitter when Ginny isn't available."

With a grin, she brushed the brush against his arm a few times, his muscles now covered in pink blotches. "So don't wonder where she gets that attitude from, not just from me."

"We play dirty, huh?", which was more of a statement than a question, Happy's grin growing as Nola already ducked as he approached with the paint roller. "What are you afraid of? I bet pink looks good on you."

"No, go away", the blonde squeaked, shielding her face with her arms as Happy came closer. Nevertheless, he rolled the paint roller over the blue overall she was wearing, at which she snorted a laugh. "Hey, that was new!"

"If you got a big mouth, you gotta to live with the consequences", he chuckled, not yet done with her. When she lowered her arms, ready to protest, he wiped the brush he had snatched from Ruby's hand against her cheek and only then stepped back with a grin. "Like I thought, pink looks good on you."

Of course, the paints were non-toxic, so that pregnant women, or the child, wouldn't suffer any harm from inhalation or skin contact. Since it had been important to Nola to design the kid's rooms together, he had spent extra money to buy safe wall paints.

"Ew, Hap! You're such an idiot", the blonde pouted but had to laugh anyway. With a shake of her head, she rubbed the paint off her face with her forearm. "Better be careful with what you're doin', or I'll make you sleep on the couch."

"Not even five years married and you're already making me sleep on the couch", the SAA muttered as he turned back to the wall, grinning to himself. "Guess I hit the jackpot."

Ruby, who was still clinging to Happy's leg simply because she enjoyed it, threw her head back theatrically. "When's the baby finally coming? His room is already finished!"

"You just have to be a little more patient", Nola said lovingly, then smiled when she felt some movement in her stomach. "Come here, your brother's awake."

Not only did Ruby drop her paintbrush and run excitedly toward her mom, but Happy also stepped closer and shot his wife a slight grin. "Did he let you sleep last night?"

His hand came to rest on Nola's bump just a few inches above Ruby's, patiently waiting until he too felt his son's movements. And as always, he couldn't be more proud.

"He did", Nola hummed, supporting her back a little by placing both hands against her lower back. "I don't think I've slept as well as I did last night in ages."

"That's good", Happy grunted as he gently rubbed his thumb into her stomach, hating that the fabric was in the way. "It would be good if it stays like this; you've looked way too exhausted the last few days."

"I'm fine, baby, really", Nola assured him softly before stealing a quick kiss from his lips. "But..I can't wait until I can move the way I want again."

"I slept well too", Ruby chirped casually, just to be part of the conversation, before pressing her ear against Nola's stomach. "I can't hear anything, mommy!"

Happy and Nola exchanged an amused glance before the SAA crouched down and tickled Ruby's belly. "Your brother can't do much in there, you know? And he still has to learn to talk. You can help him with that when he's older."

The three-year-old listened attentively and nodded eagerly, her curls, which sat in a short ponytail on top of her head, bouncing up and down. "I wanna help! But first I wanna play with him."

"You can, but you have to be careful with him at first", Happy winked, caressing Ruby's cheek before standing up again. "You're gonna help me finish painting your wall now? Otherwise we'll never finish."

"Noooo! We have to finish, daddy", the girl exclaimed in horror, immediately grabbing her paintbrush again. "I wanna play here later!"

"Oh, then we'd better hurry", Nola remarked amusedly, dipping her brush into the pink paint again.

With a genuine smile, the blonde watched the father/daughter duo painting the wall together as a team, with Happy, of course, doing most of the work. Such moments always reminded her of how close she was to her own dad and how great that had been; and she absolutely loved that Ruby had an amazing father, too.

For two weeks now, Happy had also been officially registered as Ruby's father, which had been a huge relief for everyone involved.

That alone made them richer than any money ever could.

ᅳ

JUST BEFORE IT WAS TIME for Ruby to go to bed, Nola made the bed in her daughter's new room and cleaned everything up while the girl was still playing with her dolls in Happy's and Nola's bedroom.

Happy had to leave again after dinner because there was an impromptu club meeting. Of course, Nola was worried, but she still wanted to focus on getting Ruby to bed soon so she could clean up the kitchen so Happy and her could enjoy a movie later.

Because of the children's songs coming from the radio in the bedroom and Ruby's childlike voice as she played, Nola didn't notice anything that happened outside. Only when she threw some stuffed animals into a toy box did she flinch when she heard a clinking sound.

"Babe?", she called through the house as she strolled out of Ruby's room. No answer. "Happy? Rat?"

With Alden still running around free, Happy still made sure to send a prospect or another member to keep and eye on Nola while he was goneᅳ and today it was Rat who was supposed to keep watch outside the house until Happy returned.

A queasy feeling gathered in the pit of Nola's stomach as Ruby ran out of the bedroom, already in her pink pajamas. Nola picked her up as the three-year-old tugged at her leggings and ran a hand over her daughter's curls.

"Is daddy back yet?", the girl asked, rubbing her tired eyes, her hands clenched into tiny fists. "I miss him."

Nola smiled away her nervousness as she carried Ruby into her room and sat her down on her new bed. "Not yet, sweetie, but I'll call him, okay? You just have to do me a favor and stay here in your room, all right?"

Even though she shouldn't, Nola had to search for her phone to call Happy or Rat, so she had no chance but to leave the room.

Ruby seemed to notice that Nola was getting more nervous, simply because her mother kept looking around. "Are you okay, mommy?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, just looking for my phone", she cooed softly before placing a kiss on Ruby's forehead. "I'll be right back."

The three-year-old nodded hesitantly, and Nola's heart ached to have to leave her sitting here aloneᅳ but she still couldn't shake the feeling that she should call Happy.

Nola closed the door behind her, as quietly as possible, and looked around the hallway. She knew her phone was still downstairs in the kitchen, and she cursed herself for it. Because she was so nervous, the blonde also forgot that Happy had at least three burner phones scattered around the house.

What she didn't forget, however, was the gun hidden in a closet in the upstairs hallway, high enough so Ruby couldn't reach it. Nola quietly opened the closet door and got on her tiptoes, groping for the gun and sinking back to her feet with a labored exhale.

And there it was again. Another clang. This was definitely no coincidence. It almost seemed as if someone was trying to draw attention to themselvesᅳ and that scared the shit out of her. No thief was stupid enough to break into a brightly lit house; there was only one person she could think of.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, the gun clutched firmly in her hand while the other rested protectively on her stomach. Since she wasn't wearing socks, her footsteps could probably be heard from a distance, which was quite a disadvantage.

When she reached the bottom floor, Nola headed toward the kitchen, her breath shallow and her lungs hitching as she saw the shards of two broken glasses on the floor. It was quiet, only the radio from upstairs was still playing, which gave the whole moment a rather eerie atmosphere.

"Happy? Rat?" Her voice trailed off, finally breaking into a nervous croak.

She knew it wasn't either of them; her gut feeling never betrayed her. But there was no one else here.

Her throat went dry, her breathing quickened as she turned around to scan the rest of the ground floor. It was already dark outside, but the house was lit enough to see everything. Right now, she felt like she'd landed in a bad horror movie, and it probably wasn't every day that you saw a pregnant woman with a gun walking through her house.

On top of that, she had to keep her eyes on the stairs, if only to prevent anyone from getting close to Ruby.

But when the radio suddenly went silent, the blood in her veins froze. Someone was already upstairs. Wasting no time, Nola ran back up the stairs, the gun still firmly in her hand as she was tripping over her own feet several times.

Her eyes were already filled with pure horror when she saw Ruby standing in the doorway to her room, the little girl whimpering. "Ruby, go back to your room!"

Nola slid onto her knees and immediately pulled the three-year-old into her arms when she realized how scared her daughter was.

"Mommy!" Ruby's deafening shrieks and the way she clung to her would probably always be etched in Nola's memory, haunting her in her dreams.

The former Munson woman quickly swept around, reflexively pushing Ruby behind her before looking up into the face of her ex-husband, the usually evil grin on his lips, a calmness in his gait that gave her goosebumps.

"Both of my girls in one place, I guess I got lucky, huh?" The mockery in his booming voice dropped as he crouched down in front of Nola, one arm resting loosely on his knee while his other hand came to cup her cheek. "Oh come on, don't be so scared, darling. I'm just here to take what's mine."

Fear gripped Nola, squeezing her airway, squeezing her lungs. She wanted to scream, to call for help, but she couldn't. With tears burning in her eyes, she stared right back at Alden. Every punch, every humiliation, every insult that ever came from him weighed down on her, suffocating her.

"Why can't you just leave us alone?", she asked in a whisper, feeling completely helpless until she remembered she was the one with a gun. "You don't deserve to be here..here with us, with Ruby."

The mocking grin only grew, and Alden's eyebrows rose. "Now we're getting a little dramatic, don't you think, Nola? Iᅳ"

Alden paused, lifting his hands slowly as he felt the cool material of the Glock 19 under his chin. For the first time in his life, he felt a hint of nervousness, but on the other hand, he was sure Nola would be too chicken to pull the trigger.

"Ruby, baby, go to your room", Nola commanded, her cold gaze still aimed at Alden. "And close the door!"

The urgency in her mother's tone showed Ruby how serious the situation was. Completely overwhelmed by the fear she felt, the three-year-old hesitated while the adults stared at each other. She also knew that what her mother was holding was dangerous, but that the man was even more dangerous.

"Ruby, now!" Nola demanded, much more sternly, as she still felt Ruby's presence behind her. But at her renewed command, Ruby disappeared into her room and closed the door behind her. "Good job, baby, just stay where you are, okay?"

"Okay, mommy", the three-year-old cried out, the heart-wrenching sounds shattering Nola's heart.

Alden couldn't help it, the sarcasm practically dripping from his tongue at his next words. "You know a door won't stop me from getting to my daughter, right?"

"No, but a bullet in your skull will", the blonde spat disgustedly, eyeing the man before her with  pure disgust until she noticed the blood on his hands. Her eyes grew wide, a sob catching in her throat. "What did you do to Rat?"

"Oh please, we both know you're incapable of killing me or anyone", Alden argued with a roll of his eyes before snorting in amusement. "Rat? That's his name? Shit, I thought Happy sounded funny already, but this? This is a complete joke."

Nola's nostrils flared, her grip on the gun tightening. "What did you do to him?"

"Ah, don't worry, he'll be back on his feet in a few hours", Alden winked as he shifted to his knees and tilted his head mockingly. "Are you gonna shoot me now or do I have to do it myself?"

Nola nodded slowly, realizing she had no other choiceᅳ and nodded again, realizing she could end everything right here and now.

"Yeah that's my plan", she answered calmly, inner peace settling in as she realized she had the upper hand. With a small, tired smile, she looked up at him, his head still slightly above hers. "I fuckin' hate you, Alden, from the bottom of my heartᅳ and Ruby will always remember you as a bad person."

Alden shifted, sniffing aggressively as her words hit him, and in one swift motion, twisted her wrist. He quickly grabbed the gun and slid it across the floor and out of reach before lunging at Nola, pinning her to the ground beneath him, between his legs.

The mockery in his gaze was gone, any amusement, to be exact, replaced by a cold, menacing gleam in his eyes she knew too well. As she struggled beneath him, he slapped her across the face hard, growling in frustration when she kept fighting.

"You think you're so strong, huh? Have you forgotten the years with me? Don't think I've changed, bitch", he spat, trying to tame her arms. Only when he landed another slap to her face, this time backhanding her, he managed to pin her wrists above her head. "So you really want to have it this way, huh?! Fine."

Already slightly out of breath from the little tussle, Alden shook his head, a menacing laugh falling from his lips as he sat back up and balled his hand into a fist, which shortly afterward connected with Nola's nose, the sick crack echoing through the hallway, followed by a painful yelp.

"Yeah, I thought so", Alden snorted bitterly as Nola began to try and pull away from him, but his body weight was significantly greater than hers. In fact, he could crush her if he wanted to. "You're going to do what I tell you if you want you and Ruby to get out of this alive, okay?"

"Fuck you", Nola choked out as the blood kept gushing out of her nose, the crimson fluid covering half her face. "I'd rather die than do what you tell me!"

"Oh darling." With a sigh, Alden stood up, and before Nola could seize her chance to escape and reach for the gun, he grabbed a fistful of her blonde, tousled hair and dragged her across the floor towards the bathroom. "You really should know by now that I'm not someone you want to mess with."

"Alden, stop!" Sniffling and sobbing, Nola struggled to her feet, but that didn't stop Alden from dragging her behind him like a piece of dirt, the tension on her scalp becoming unbearable. "You finally have to leave us alone! Please just let us go!"

Once in the bathroom, he slammed the blonde against the dark green tile wall, her chin so tight in his grip that he was about to break it. "Shut your damn mouth, Nola!"

A tingling sensation crept across her skin, sharp and cold, her pulse hard and fast in her throat as Alden's face came closer until it hovered right in front of hers, a humorless laugh brushing against her lips. This was it, this could be the end of her.

"Oh, don't cry", he cooed softly as he let his other hand rest beside her head, the scent of his perfume filling her nostrils. "I'll take good care of Ruby, don't worry. You, on the other hand, don't interest me anymore, not since you're carrying someone else's bastard", he sneered in disgust.

"Not a bastard, and you're not going anywhere with Ruby", Nola spat, her words so full of rage that she literally spat in Alden's face. "You're not her father, never will be. And Happy is going to kill you for this, and he's going to enjoy it."

A jolt of jealousy shot up Alden's spine, and he couldn't see anything but a threat in Nola and Happy anymore. His jaw clenched in anger, his lips curling inward as the expression in his eyes became inhuman.

"Too bad you won't be here to witness all of this", he croaked dryly against her lips, and the cold, pure calm in his tone was all Nola needed to know he meant it.

The realization that she wasn't getting out of here alive set in, until she reached a point where she felt nothing but concern for her daughter and Happy. "Don't hurt them, please Alden. That's all I want..don't hurt them."

As the tears streamed down her cheeks, her body now limply wedged between his and the wall, she placed a hand on her stomach, heaving a sob. For so long, she thought she was safe from him, until now.

She hadn't felt as powerless, weak, and helpless as she did now since leaving Alden.

No, she couldn't just give up now. Not only her life was in danger, but also that of her son and Ruby, maybe even Happy's.

"Oh, you're almost making me cry", Alden's words dripped with sarcasm again as he slowly stepped back and studied the mess in front of him, grinning slightly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to hurt both of them just to get revenge for what you did to me."

The rage-filled outburst didn't take long, and just as Alden was about to swing again, his hand already clenched into a fist, Nola shot aside, grabbed the scissors she'd spotted out of the corner of her eye on the small shelve above the sink, and without hesitation, rammed them into the side of Alden's neck.

"You bitch!" Alden's eyes doubled in size, his hand hastily grasping the towel as blood sprayed past the scissors, spurting from his body like a fountain. "You're not getting away with this!"

"If I die, it'll only be if you die with me", she screamed hysterically, all her anger at him bubbling out. "And I'm gonna watch you die first, you sick freak!"

At an opportune moment, she pulled the scissors from his neck, causing an even worse carnage than before. The blood spurted in all directions. Against the mirror, the tiles, the sink, until Alden finally pressed the towel against the open woundᅳ but even that soaked up the red liquid within seconds.

Legs trembling and eyes wide, Nola stumbled back until she felt the door in her back, the adrenaline rush so strong that everything in her head started to spin. Then, on top of that, the sight of all the blood made her feel sick.

Alden had already reached a point where he couldn't speak anymore, his throat already filled with blood, slowly threatening to choke on itᅳ and it was her fault. She wasn't a cold-blooded killer. Fuck.

The ground beneath her feet began to shift, and as Alden stumbled forward and held onto her, trying to pull her down with him, the image in front of her blurred. No, she couldn't pass out right now; after all, she had to take care of Ruby and call Happy.

Alden's gaze met hers again, the life slowly draining from his eyes as he sank to the ground, the gurgling in his throat becoming increasingly stuttering, and then he managed to pull her down with him, both of them now lying face to face, Nola barely able to keep her eyes open.

The dying man summoned his last strength, his hand, bloodstained and ice-cold, reaching for her chin. No words left his lips, even though he tried. Instead, his eyes slowly rolled into the back of his head, his whole body convulsing as he slowly and painfully choked on the blood in his throat and lungs.

And Nola, her breathing shallower than ever, blinked several times, her body frozen in shock as the adrenaline slowly subsided. Disgusted and with the last of her strength, she pushed his hand away from her face, the metallic taste in her mouth and the strong smell a disgusting mixture.

"Burn in hell, you piece of shit", she spat weakly, and all she heard before the dizziness became too much was Ruby calling out for her, and then everything around her went black.

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