Caged By Him

Chapter 88

Aurora's POV:

After hearing those words, I feel my heart twinge then shatter. A bundle of nerves forms itself in my throat and I am unable to speak.

"He-" Elijah continues. "He was murdered during the mission and his body's been identified." His voice defeated and toned down by Dianne's loud crying.

He pauses, clenching his jaw and looking back at me with empty eyes, before continuing."He was badly maimed to the point where he was unrecognizable. But the test confirmed what we all hoped wouldn't be true."

With a severe pounding in my head, tears forming in my eyes and a frustration I cannot fathom, I turn around and run back upstairs, leaving everyone behind.

I make my way up to my room and slam the door behind me. Placing my hands on my head and shaking my head in disbelief.

"This can't be happening." I whisper to myself, pulling on my hair before letting go and falling down to the ground. This doesn't feel real. It can't be real. He promised he'd come back to me unharmed.

I feel my chest tighten and everything crash down around me. I can't seem to wrap my head around it. How am I going to go through life without him?

He's not dead. This has to be some sort of mistake. He promised he'll be back and I believe him. This is Tristan. He knows what he's doing and he wouldn't leave me or Eric like this. I know him. In fact, no one knows him more than me.

This is nothing but a misunderstanding that needs to be fixed and everything will go back to normal. It can't end like this. We've been through too much together for this to be it.

Taking a deep breath, I wipe my eyes and go back downstairs where they are all still gathered.

"Tristan's not dead." I stand my ground, feeling angry. "Please don't say that ever again." I say in a weak voice, staring at Elijah.

"Aurora-." Mr Black interrupts.

"It's not him. I know it." I loudly state as my tearful eyes look between all of them. They stay silent, pitifully staring back at me.

"Aurora, it's him." Jonas confirms but I shake my head.

"Dianne, It's not Tristan. They've got the wrong person. He would know to be careful." I argue in my weak voice, attempting to get her agreement. "How can you believe this for a second?" I question, feeling frustrated that no one is siding with me.

"H-He promised me. He's coming back." I sob, tears freely streaming down my face as I try my best to catch my breath.

"Aurora-" Dianne approaches me, extending her arm towards me but I back myself up, shaking my head. I must've not counted my steps because I suddenly bump into one of the coffee tables, causing the vase on top of it to break and fall to the ground, immediately shattering.

I flinch, my breathing hitching as I hear Eric's loud cries erupting from upstairs. I stare at them, the tears at the brim of my eyes blurring my vision.

My chest heaves up and down uncontrollably as Aylina approaches me. "I-I think I need to be alone now." I tell them, wiping my tears.

"Sweetheart-" Mr Black starts but I stubbornly shake my head. "I'm sorry." I whisper to myself before exiting, leaving them all there once again. This time for good.

I run back upstairs to my son and carry him in my arms, crying my eyes out. I hold him tightly against me as I continue bawling my eyes out, unable to stop.

"Please, please God, this can't be true. Please bring him back to me." I whisper to myself as I rock Eric back and forth, my chest heavily heaving up and down against his head.

I have been under the illusion that I had a bad life. That I've been through hell and back. But I would relive all of those moments combined on a loop if I can stop feeling like this.

I look down at Eric as he quiets down his cries, his features serving as a cruel reminder of Tristan. He looks exactly like him.

I'm not ready for this. How am I supposed to pull myself out? I don't think I deserve the pain I'm about to suffer because of this and I'm scared. I'm terrified that I'll never be the same person again.

I had grown accustomed to company, only to find myself alone again. With a son that'll never grow up with his father. He'll never know how much Tristan loved him. And we'll never get the chance to be a family.

I place Eric back in his crib and fall to the ground hopelessly, crying till I can't breathe.

Hoping this is all just a nightmare I can wake up from.

Elijah's POV:

I've known Tristan since we were kids.

I've watched him as he grew up. We grew up together. Our fathers were friends. My father worked for his father before he was killed. Mr Black took me in and raised me like his own son.

Tristan wasn't the easiest of people to be friends with. There's a lot of things I still don't understand about him. Lots of traits I wish I could comprehend.

But there is one thing I know for sure. The best thing that ever happened to him was Aurora. He became a completely different person after he met her.

I still vividly recall the day he first mentioned her four years ago. I remember finding it odd. He'd never talked about any woman before. At first, I thought he was just looking for a quick fuck as he always does. He'd often invite women over but they never stay the night. He'd fuck them, then toss them aside. All they wanted was money and status anyways. He could give them that. But still, they were nothing but an abundance of nameless, unmemorable nobodies.

Then I watched his infatuation with her grow over time. Admittedly, I found it both humorous and peculiar that he was in such predicament. Yet somehow, I knew that he'd do anything to keep her from harm's way.

And that's exactly what he did. His defensiveness over her is what ultimately caused his demise. He wasn't stupid, he knew the risk but his judgement was clouded by feelings.

I do like Aurora. She's a good person who doesn't deserve what's happening to her. If Tristan were alive to see her right now, he never would have done what he did.

She's the only one that kept him grounded and seemed to help in suppressing his frequent homicidal thoughts. I've noticed his priorities remarkably alter when he married her.

She also deserves closure, to know what happened to him. But this isn't just about my personal opinions. I'm bound by honor to Tristan. He's my boss. I've been his right hand man for our entire lives. I cannot do anything. I can however do what I can to help her and their son. Be there for them as much as I can. It's the least I can do to honor Tristan.

His death will not be in vain. But it certainly changes everything. Tristan had massive influence in the underworld and in business. No one could ever take his place nor do it as well as he did.

And now that he's gone, I can't even begin to think of how many problems will arise because of his passing. The whole ordeal is surely going to cause mayhem once I officially declare the news. There'll be conflicts rising from every corner regarding shares at the Entreprise, shipments, not to mention threats from rivals.

Tristan was the one who directly dealt with that side of the business and he's done a remarkable job at it. Everybody respected him and no one dared to cross him. He led by example and earned everyone's high regards.

On the other hand, so many people will be seeking revenge, me included. I won't rest till his death is avenged and the people responsible are six feet under.

I know he told me to take his place if anything happens but he's a hard act to follow. How am I supposed to guide everyone as well as he did?

The simple answer is I can't. No matter how hard I try to make this sound normal, I'll miss him. They'll never be anyone like him.

He was widely respected and feared by everyone who knew him and his legacy will live on after him...

Published: February 14h 2024.