Forbidden Desire

[53] Cycle Of Misfortune

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

"What?"

Elliott stared at Enzo like he was a ghost, his heart sinking further and further down in his stomach. The words hung in the air, incomprehensible, as if spoken in a foreign language. His ears were ringing, his forest-green eyes widening in sheer incredulity.

"Alive?" The word left his lips in a whisper, barely audible, his voice strained with disbelief. He blinked rapidly, his previously built calm demeanor cracking as he struggled to process what he had just heard. "You are telling me Levi is... alive?"

Enzo nodded cautiously, still not able to predict what his next words would be. He was like a ticking bomb and Enzo knew that very well. "Yes, sir. He is alive. I couldn't really bring myself to-"

"Stop." Elliott raised a hand, cutting him off. He stood rooted to the spot, his usually commanding presence replaced by a rare vulnerability and desperation for verification. "Say that again." He demanded, his voice trembling ever so slightly. His sharp eyes bore into Enzo's, searching for any signs of lying.

He knew Enzo would never come all the way here to lie to him, that too about something so consequential. He didn't have that courage, he knew it. But he still couldn't wrap his head around what he had just heard.

Is this some kind of joke? He thought, desperately hoping it wasn't.

Enzo hesitated, the crazed look in his boss' eyes faltering his courage ever so slightly as he repeated himself. "Levi is alive, sir. I took him to a nearby hospital instead of disposing of him like you ordered me to. He is in a medically induced coma, but the doctors assured his condition is stable now, not fully, though."

Elliott's knees almost buckled as the words sank in. He stumbled back unexpectedly, one hand reaching for the edge of his desk to steady himself. His heart hammered painfully in his chest, the weight of months of guilt and regret suddenly threatening to crush him.

Levi. Alive. Coma.

These three impossible words echoed relentlessly in his mind, each one falling on him like a thunder strike. His breathing came in shallow and slow as he struggled to gain composure.

It didn't make sense. It couldn't make sense. How could Levi Agreste be alive when he could so vividly recall the grotesque events of that night from two months ago?

The memory was engraved in his brain like a nasty scar that refused to fade away. He remembered the cold metal weapon weighting down his hand, the burn of hot fury in his chest due to her leaving him and the crazed desperation he felt to end his wife's friend. The cold shot of the gun had aimed right onto his chest as his crimson warmness splattered right across his neat suit and stained it with his tragic farewell.

Was it all a fragment of his imagination?

The way Levi had dropped on the hard ground like a dead fly, his face deathly pale as he helplessly clung onto Sirena like she was his lifeline and tried to speak with her, encourage her to leave him and live the life she deserves.

The sound of it, his screams of pain and her cries of despair blending into a horrific harmony was still ringing in his ears, almost making them numb.

Every single day, he has been dissecting his every second, every action and every mistake non-stop. The guilt, remorse and regret - all of it was coming back to him in waves now as he shook his head in disbelief.

"But.." He whispered, shaking his head in denial, his eyes wide with consternation. "That is.. that is not possible." He pressed a hand to his forehead, his mind replaying the moment he pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot, the sight of Levi collapsing; it had haunted him every waking moment since. "How could it be possible?"