ɪɴᴄᴏɴᴠᴇɴɪᴇɴᴛ ꜰʟᴀᴍᴇ

001.

ｖｏｔｅ ＋ ｃｏｍｍｅｎｔ

Selena was the only thing that plagued his mind at this moment. She might just be the only woman in this lifetime to ever affect him in this way. They tried anything and everything to keep Aubrey away from her. Those nearest to him knew that seeing her like this wouldn't do him any good. Seeing her like this, knowing that he was the one to drive her to this, utterly crushed him. Aubrey couldn't bear the weight of the guilt and regret that consumed him once he found out. Seeing the woman that he'd loved so fiercely and desperately for so long unconscious on a hospital bed destroyed him. The constant beeping of the machines connected to her body and the respirator flowing oxygen in and out of her lungs were the only indications that she was still alive.

As he gently grasped her motionless, warm hand, Aubrey couldn't help but feel the immense overflow of pure disappointment wash over him. The pain in his heart grew with each passing moment as he realized the irreversible damage he had caused to their marriage. Worst of all, he didn't remember what he had said to her when he was drunk out of his mind. Of course, he was told by Chubb's and Lilianna, but he didn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. All the bitter words he said to her in his drunken rage the night before. Every word now weighed heavily on his heart and soul like a ton of cinder bricks.

Aubrey sat by her bedside, lifting Selena's hand to his lips, his brown eyes blinded by his tears as they focused on her motionless face. "Please," his voice wavered, "don't leave me, not like this baby." He said it with a sorrowful heart.

OB, Chubbs, and Aubrey's cousin Ryan, who escorted a not-so-stable Aubrey to London, watched on silently from the other side of the hospital room, as they were praying for the best. Once they found out what had happened, they all knew there were no conversations to be held with Aubrey about seeing his wife. The entire flight over to London from Toronto, they watched as he nursed on the harshest liquor that he could find on the plane, preparing for the worst. If only they knew that the worst was yet to come.

Benjamin stood silently in the other corner of Selena's room, still emotionally hardened by the events that he and his sister Hanna had endured the night prior. Unlike his sister Hanna, the last thing that Benjamin needed was for Aubrey, of all people, to be here. If it weren't for his sister reaching out to Liliana, they wouldn't have been here.

The mere presence of Aubrey enraged him. The woman he has only ever worshiped almost died in his arms, and if she didn't make it through the night, he'd have another reason to put an end to her so called husband. "You need to leave." Benjamin gritted his teeth, stepping away from his corner, and stood at the foot of Selena's hospital bed.

"I'm not leaving until she opens her eyes or takes her last breath." Aubrey said, not moving an inch from his seat besides her bed, continuing to hold onto his wife's hand. Benjamin yanked his gun from his waist, cocking it back and pointing it directly at Aubrey.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation," Benjamin growled, his finger on the trigger. "If she doesn't survive, neither will you."

Chubbs quickly stepped into action, pulling his gun and pointing it in Benjamin's direction. After the last encounter, Aubrey and his men made it a point to take the proper precautions when it involved Benjamin. The white boy was crazier than Aubrey anticipated, but Benjamin had yet to realize that Aubrey was equally as mad as him. Benjamin grinned darkly over at Chubbs, his eyes gleaming with a twisted sense of excitement. "You think you scare me? " he sneered, his grip tightening on the trigger, still aimed in Aubrey's direction. "You have no idea what I'm capable of." Benjamin said his eyes locked back on Aubrey. Aubrey, however, remained eerily calm, a chilling smile spreading across his face. Little did Benjamin know that this was just the beginning of their deadly game.