Page 132 of Stronger Than Fate

“That won’t happen. I have everything under control,” she responded with great confidence, but I noticed that Niky’s sobs were upsetting her even more, and her hands were trembling so much that the gun was moving uncontrollably.

“Let’s do something—let Niky go. She’s very nervous, and you don’t want anything to happen to your future sister-in-law, right? Henry will be upset with you if you scare her like this.”

“Nooo,” said Niky between sobs.

I squeezed her hand to keep her quiet; at the very least, I had to make sure Niky wouldn’t get hurt. I couldn’t falter—I had to stay alert and calm, even though I was trembling from head to toe and making a huge effort not to cry.

“Why are you crying?” she asked Niky.

“She’s afraid of guns, better put it away,” I tried to convince her.

Sol let out a laugh that startled both of us.

“Better leave, Niky. If you cry about this, I don’t want to think about how you’ll react later,” she said, smiling. “And don’t forget that I’m looking after you, tell Henry I’m taking care of you as if you were my sister. Well, actually we will be sisters.” And she widened her smile.

“Go,” I said immediately.

“Nooo,” she refused, sobbing.

“Go and get help,” I whispered to convince her. “Take care and... tell Henry and my brothers that I love them.”

“Nooo”

“Please, go,” I begged, because I felt I was already weakening and tears were running down my cheeks.

“Leave now, Niky, I can’t waste any more time!” Sol shouted.

Niky reluctantly let go of me and went to her car. I could see she could barely walk because of how much her body was trembling. She had a hard time starting her car, and when she did, she pulled out so badly that she scraped several parked cars.

“It’s just us now, like in the old days,” she said and came closer.

I heard a noise, and when I looked over Sol’s shoulder, I saw four people who looked like police officers or security guards. One of them put a finger to his lips to indicate that I shouldn’t say anything. I tried not to show any emotion or surprise and to keep talking to distract her and give them time to disarm her.

“Sol, let’s talk like before and solve whatever is bothering you. If you tell me that Henry loves you, I promise I’ll never see him again in my life.”

“And you think I’ll believe you? Do you think I’m that stupid?” she said and began to back away.

“You can believe me. If you want, I’ll move to another country, I’ll do whatever you ask.”

“You never did anything I told you to do. You think you know everything.”

At that moment there was a noise, and Sol looked behind her. A police officer lunged at her and grabbed her from behind, but she struggled without letting go of the gun. I heard a blast and saw horror reflected in the officer’s face. I managed to see Sol being thrown to the ground as two other officers ran toward me. I felt a sharp pain and a force pushing me backward, making me lose my balance and fall to the floor. I could only hear distant voices and screams, but they were unfamiliar voices. Although I didn’t want to close my eyes, exhaustion overcame me and I closed them with one final thought: Henry.

I felt a voice speaking to me, but it was distant, and no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t respond. At first, I didn’t understand what it was saying, but I knew that voice was important to me. I concentrated on that voice, wanting to understand what it was saying.

“Come back to me, my love, I beg you. I can’t go on if you’re not with me. I can’t... I can’t...”

Why did he sound so distressed? He was suffering. Who was he? Why did I feel this need to hug him, comfort him, and love him? That voice, that voice... Henry! That voice was his, but why was he crying? I needed to help him. The effort I made to move was too much, and darkness took over me again as silence surrounded me.

Once again I heard that voice, I couldn't understand anything, but that voice was calling me continuously and I tried to respond, but I couldn't.

“I love you, my Dalina. Wake up, please. I need you with me.”

Was he talking to me? And why couldn't I answer him? I started to get impatient and made another great effort to wake up. Henry kept talking to me and I could hear him more and more clearly, but I also began to hear other voices.

“Come back to me. I can't stand another minute seeing you like this. Come back to me, I beg you, or take me with you wherever you are. But don't leave me alone...” Henry said.

“You need to calm down, Henry. You should go eat something,” said another familiar voice, and I immediately knew it was Bastian.