Chapter 43, First kiss

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This is for the best. Marigold finally gets a chance to have a normal life. I don't have to force her into marriage. This is for the best. I will be okay.

That's what I keep telling myself while standing next to Jane on the balcony of the ballroom. It's supposed to make me calm. Make me feel like I made the right choice. Unfortunately, all I feel is that emptiness in my very soul.

Jane walks down to the ballroom and we all follow her. I take out my maroon handkerchief and wrap it around my knuckles. I swear to God I will punch Jane in the face if she disrespects Marigold one more time.

We meet Marigold, Bowmen and Lynch in the ballroom. Stupid. That's what they are. They're stupid if they think they can break a pledge. I just want to yell at them to get out. Any gang, no matter that it's Sterling, any gang would surely kill them on the spot.

When Jane proposes to Kill Marigold, I feel my nails dig into my own hands as I clench my fists.

This is bigger than just you. You have to marry Jane, because in order to make the world better, you have to go bigger. Stop the South's plans. Put a bloody leash on Jane while you're at it before she can kill too many people.

To save the world, you have to sacrifice Marigold.

When men go up to grab Marigold, I feel a sense of pride as she kicks their asses. That's my Marigold. That's the girl I wish I could have.

With a cheap shot, Jane steps forward and punches Marigold in the jaw.

I let out a low growl and imagine crushing Jane's head in my hands. "Control your daughter," I order Taminn. Sterling's leader turns around and shrugs at me. He's testing his daughter. Seeing what she can do.

I stay exactly where I am - using every last bit of restraint that I have left as Marigold gets punched and brought to her knees by four other men. Four. It takes four men to hold her down. She's a fighter. And if the roles were reversed, I'd let her loose to destroy every single one of these people. I make a note to memorize the faces behind the masks of the men holding Amber down. I'll make sure to have them in my basement before the end of the week. I think I'd really enjoy removing their faces from their heads.

Jane points a gun at Marigold.

I nearly lose it right here.

Are you going to let that bitch kill Marigold?

If I kill Jane, Sterling wouldn't have a daughter for me to marry. The North couldn't merge with them. I'm sure as hell not marrying Taminn over here. But if I let Jane live, Marigold is at risk... Save the world or save Marigold? Both will turn me into a monster. The question is, which monster is worse...

Maybe I can just wound Jane enough to let her back the fuck off.

I unwrap the maroon handkerchief from my fist and let it hang from my hand. I look over and Paul nods at the signal. Nessa and Daniel are quick to follow my giant friend to the back. I glance up and Jack's on the balcony with his phone. I let the handkerchief swing back and forth in my grip. Jack nods at the signal and disappears.

I look back over at what Jane's doing. Lynch, the poor kid, holds a gun in his shaky grip. There's no way he can actually shoot Bowmen.

Impatient, I wait for my inner-gang to execute the plan. I look back up and Paul is on the balcony. He shows me a thumbs up. Any moment now. Any moment this madness will be stopped.

"Mercy! I'd show Mercy!" Marigold cries.

Paul starts counting down. 3... 2...

" And that's why you could never have been a gang leader," Jane says before without warning, shoots Lynch in the head.

There's only a second where everyone in the crowd lets out a collective gasp before the lights are cut off. Panic erupts and screams are let out at the sudden darkness. The only light available comes from the few synthetic candles at the walls. A loud shot goes off and Jane falls to the floor - her shoulder bleeding out.

I look up in alarm at the balcony. Through the dimly lit room, I watch Paul shake his head in confusion. That wasn't our shot...

"The South!" Jane yells out, "Every person to kill a southerner gets fifty grant!"

Everyone starts running around, but I walk straight for Jane on the floor. I refuse to look at Lynch's limp body on the floor. In one swift movement, I pick Jane up by her throat and growl at her. "What the fuck was that? You just killed a fifteen-year-old!" I grip her throat tighter - her feet kicking in the air.

"You kill me and you die," Jane croaks out while scratching and clawing at my arm.

"You think I care about my own life?" I ask.

"Of course not," Jane coughs - blood coming out of her mouth. "You care about this precious world. Don't you?"

I drop Jane and she falls down hard before clutching her throat and looking back up at me with narrowed eyes. "You don't think I did my research? Poor orphan Xavier only wants to make the world a better place. I'll give it to you, you're nearly as good at acting as I am. Pretending to be this merciless gang leader when in reality you want to be some hero. Kill me or break off the engagement and you'll see how Sterling can set this world on fire," Jane threatens.

Marrying Jane is the absolute last thing I want to do. But... Sterling is the only one that can stop the South's plan. It takes a monster to kill another monster.

Gunshots echo through the room - mixed with screams and people trying to escape. It's an orchestra of chaos and death and everything I don't want this world to be. The flickering synthetic candles paint the scene in a violent color.

"When we get married, and you do something like this again, I will make your death slow," I growl at Jane before turning away.

Amber is on the floor. Exactly where those men left her. She's shaking and can't stop looking at Lynch bleeding out a few feet away. I rush over to her in a heartbeat.

"Leave her!" I hear Jane snarl from where she's on the floor.

"Get out of here before the South kills you," I shout back. Slowly, I turn to look over my shoulder. Jane visibly cringes at the look I hand her. "And don't ever tell me what to do," I order.

Taminn quickly runs to his daughter with a few men blocking them. He picks her up and they try fleeing through the maze of people.

I look back at Marigold and grab her shoulders. "Snap out of it, Marigold. You have to get up," I tell her. She doesn't meet my eyes. In the reflection of her own eyes, is the very moment Lynch got shot. She shakes even more. "You have to move now! You have to live!" I yell at her over the gunfire and screams.

"She killed him... She killed him..." Marigold repeats over and over.

"Yes, she killed him. Her day will come, but for now, you have to come back to me. Help me get you out of here," I beg.

"What's the point?" she cries. It breaks my soul to see her like this. To see this strong, beautiful woman crumble in a million little pieces.

"The point is that Lynch can't die for nothing. Fight, Marigold. Fight for him. Fight for the world. Fight for the life you deserve. Just fight," I urge.

Nessa runs over - out of breath. "The South," she pants, "They locked the doors. We're all trapped in 'ere."

Amber is still shaking.

"Find a window we can break," I order my second in command and she's off.

I look back at Marigold. This broken woman with horror in her eyes. Whispering and whimpering over and over that Lynch is dead. I can't bring the kid back. I wish I could. I'd give anything to have the poor guy alive and this fighter still whole.

Without even thinking, I kiss Marigold.

The choice is so sudden that I don't even comprehend it myself. Marigold shakes the first few seconds. But then, I can feel the surprise course through her. My lips burn where we're connected. That burn spreads and before long consumes my whole body. Takes over every nerve and instinct I have. The desire to never stop kissing her is all I can feel.

I pictured our first kiss over and over and damn, do I wish the circumstances were different. Somewhere safe and warm. Not in the middle of chaos and death.

Marigold stops shaking and miraculously, I manage to pull back. Her eyes are big- eyebrows raised and lips parted. The horror has disappeared from her eyes for now.

"We'll get through this," I whisper to her and wrap that maroon handkerchief around her wrist. "Now let the darkness do the rest," I add - losing myself in the dark oceans in her eyes.

There's a change in Marigold as she stands up. Takes a breath and nods at me. "What do we do?" she asks. There she is. That fighter. It still amazes me how through everything, she can still push on. Still survive. That's the kind of leader the world deserves.

"Let's get out of here for starters," I suggest before taking her hand and leading her out of the ballroom. People are running around. The quick flash of gunfire all around. I head for the buffet tables and start throwing the food around.

"What are you doing?" Marigold asks.

"Looking for my present," I answer and flip over a plate of cheese. Just as expected, a silver gun waits for more. Thank God Clarence did as I asked. Then again, he did owe me a lot of money.

"How did you know that would be there?" Amber asks surprised.

"I asked for it to be there. Clarence has been in my debt for a while. To get Trojan out of that debt, he had a gun waiting for me," I answer and take the gun in my hand. I look back at Marigold with a sheepish smile. "I kind of pictured this scene to go a little differently," I tell her before ripping off the front skirt of her dress - making the dress reveal almost more than just her legs.

"What the hell are you doing!" she yells out.

"Give me your shoe," I ask.

"You're crazy!"

"Just give me your shoe," I sigh.

Reluctantly, Marigold removes her heel and hand it to me. I press at the bottom and the sole of the heel gets removed. The silver bullets inside fall into my palm. I count them before loading my gun and gesturing for Marigold's other shoe.

"You snuck bullets in here through my heels?" Marigold asks in disbelief.

"Yes," I answer truthfully and remove the bullets from her other heel as well.

"That's why it was so heavy! You sneaky little-"

"Hey, hey, I wasn't just going to pass up the opportunity when you asked for an outfit. Who's going to scan someone's bloody shoes? It was perfect. You use me, I use you. That's how a relationship works, Marigold," I chuckle and put her shoes back onto her feet for her.

"Xavier Jilten. The relationship expert. Use your partner. Manipulate your partner. Rip her dress. And make sure she's a psycho when you marry her," Marigold grumbles - referring to my engagement to Jane.

"Marigold, don't pretend to be all that sane yourself. You've got just as many loose screws in that head of yours," I laugh back.

"Yeah, Xavy, you're even worse than me and that says a lot," Marigold laughs. She suddenly stops and darkness shadows the oceans in her eyes again. "I shouldn't laugh... Lynch is dead... Everything's falling apart," she whispers.

I come back up and look her deep in the eye. "That's the perfect reason to laugh. We're insane, remember? The only way we can function is to laugh through pain. We'd be the wrong kind of insane if we handled death and loss like regular people. We'd break. And kings and queens don't break," I tell her.

"But I'm not a queen anymore... I'm nothing," Marigold breathes.

"I might be engaged to a psychopath. Our paths might part really soon. But you, Marigold, will always be a queen to me," I tell her.

I read the million words in her eyes, but the moment gets ruined when a Southerner runs up to me with his gun. I duck - missing a bullet, and quickly come back up to tackle him. I rain punches down onto his face. His nose breaking first - followed by blood splattering onto me as he coughs up his own teeth. Eww, he's a bleeder. He's ruining a perfectly good suit.

Out of nowhere, another man jumps onto me and elbows my back. I grit my teeth at the sharp pain and try pushing him off. The man weighs more than what is required to be healthy and has me pressed to the old wooden floor. He has a knife in his hand and aims it at my eye. "This is for Death Bones. You captured our leader because he owed you some money," the man spits.

"Death Bones," I laugh out, "I couldn't stop laughing at that name. I was practically rolling around while skinning your leader alive."

The man sees pure red hatred and lifts his knife to bring down onto my face. Right before he can take out my eye, he suddenly looks up in surprise and pain and falls off of me. He's still alive, but probably can't move. I get back up, note the fork in his neck and smile back at Marigold. "You're a work of art," I tell her.

Marigold curtsies before seeing something behind me and grabbing a knife from the buffet table to throw. I duck in time and look back to see a knife planted into the new attacker's hand. His gun clatters to the floor right before he does. "Let's get out of here," I suggest to Marigold. She nods and I grab her hand one more time to run for it.

"Xav!" I hear Nessa call out. I spin around and my inner gang comes running to me. "There's a back door!" she yells.

"Let's leave this shit-excuse of a party. It's getting boring," I tell my inner gang.

Paul leads the charge - anybody even attempting to run at us gets trampled by my silent friend. For the few that come from the side, Daniel has a platter to knock them out with. The only person not fighting is Nessa, my second in command only has to send out looks and people are running away from us. Jack's also here, making sure to keep up.

Right before we get to the kitchen that leads to the back doors, Jaacobah comes crashing into us. "Don't go in there! There's an explosion waiting outside of that back door," he warns.

I eye the Southern scum. "You can't be trusted," I growl.

"I trust him," Marigold says. We all turn to her like she's mad. "Is there another way?" she asks.

"Yes," Jaacobah says out of breath.

We let him lead the way through the palace-like maze of a mansion. People are running and crashing into each other all around. The gunshots only get worse. What can go wrong with all the gangs of the country under one roof? What can possibly happen when two of those gangs want each other killed?

We're still running when out of the blue, my body jerks to the side. I continue running like nothing happened - nobody minding my brief hesitation.

Nobody minding the red that starts staining my shirt.

Heyo goldies!

Hope this chapter was a bit better than the last one. You're probably wondering what's happening to other characters like Sean and the twins and Myra and all those. Well, you'll find out in chapter 44!

Who understands why Xavier has to marry Jane.

Who thinks he's a dumb cunt.

Who melted at the kiss-scene?

~ Holly Shmit

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