Stand By Me Darling
Chapter 333: Want To Kill

Chapter 333: Want To Kill

The tremors from the explosion outside could be felt inside the private room and Talia was pulled to the floor by Vivian, along with Marcella.

"Keep your heads down... Cyril would be near... It seems like the security outside was the target of the explosion." Vivian put to words what Talia was thinking.

"Wh-who would do this?" Marcella was visibly trembling and Vivian hugged her.

"It doesn’t matter. But I am her target. When she enters, just stay under the table. I will handle her." Talia had a wild hunch that it could be Sophia. When she left from Northern Star, she vaguely heard Jordan talking to some woman. Talia guessed Jordan had resumed contact with Sophia and the ’he’ Jordan mentioned could be Sophia’s brother.

It could be Sophia... Or it could be someone else, but if they are here, they must be for her.

She didn’t want to involve the McAllister sisters in her fight and wanted to sneak a look outside. She couldn’t hear Mr. Ed anymore and she wondered if something happened to him during the blast now.

Please be safe. Sir Robert...

As she crawled to the front, she was stopped by Vivian. "Wait," Vivian whispered and pulled out a weapon from her purse. Talia was surprised to see how composed Vivian is during this entire ordeal.

Surely she is suited to be the next Countess of the Lockhart family!

They could hear footsteps approaching and Vivian gripped her weapon hard and crawled closer to the exit, but Talia stopped her. The three women with their heart beating in their throat, waited to see who arrives.

At that time, a sound of heavy footsteps of a staggering man was heard followed by the familiar voice, "Stop!"

Talia sighed in relief hearing Mr. Ed’s voice. What followed was a series of gunshots.

"HIDE, YOUR HIGHNESS!"

Talia heard the desperate voice of Mr. Ed and Marcella gasped and started hiccupping as she cried. Before any of them could react, another explosion happened. Along with the loud bang, the air displayed due to the shock wave made the wooden partitions break apart, scattering pieces of wood and dust everywhere. The sudden change in pressure made Talia’s ear bleed and she had a sharp pain in her right ear.

My right eardrum ruptured! Well... Talia hold on! You can’t die here like this!

Sir Robert?? What happened to him? What kind of explosive is this? And did the one who used it survive?

Talia felt sick and she coughed as the dust entered her lungs. She could smell smoke and looked around. The blast had damaged the sprinkler system and she knew if they don’t leave now, they’d be toast soon in this place filled with dry wood.

These loud explosions would have alerted everyone and it won’t be long for the cops to be here.

Talia looked to her side, fanning away the unsettled dust to find Vivian and Marcella. She vaguely saw two figures and when she got closer, her heart skipped a beat. Vivian was crushed under a beam with Marcella pushed away a little further. Talia used all her might and pushed the beam off Vivian. It seemed like Vivian had hit her head and there was heavy bleeding from her forehead where a gash was seen.

Talia searched in that mess and found her purse. Tears started to drip from her eyes as she felt helpless.

Fred... Get here... I’m scared.

Talia called for him in her heart. Her hands shook, but she wiped her face and took in a deep breath.

Now is not the time to get disheartened!

Getting a tissue, she pressed on Vivian’s wound that didn’t stop bleeding no matter how many tissues she used making Talia scared. She changed the tissues and at the same time checked Marcella. Marcella didn’t have any visible wound and looked like she had fainted.

Or she could have had internal wounds and in that case, Talia knew she cannot move her and should leave it to the emergency workers to take care of her.

What should I do?

Talia checked her phone but it seemed due to the explosion her phone had fried and it won’t be usable now.

"Are they dead? Oh, no! The monster killed them! He he..." A sneering voice came and Talia slowly got the gun in Vivian’s hand and released the safety, just to be prepared.

With the cloud of dust floating around, Talia vaguely saw the figure of a woman in a blue dress walking towards her. She had something in her hand and Talia guessed it must be a weapon.

"Your replacement Knight is dead, your friends are dead..." the voice sneered and as the woman got closer, Talia recognised her.

Sophia Clairmont!

Talia’s ear hurt a lot and she felt dizzy due to the pain, but she refused to give up and gripped the gun in her hand tightly.

"You should die too! If you die, I can become the Duchess of Oakley... hehehe..."

Sophia stood in front of Talia who had now crawled away from Vivian and Marcella. As expected, that crazy woman came for her and she cannot let those two to get hurt.

"Duchess of Oakley? Annabelle Brunton is still the Duchess of Oakley. How will you become a Duchess then?" Talia diverted Sophia’s attention towards her.

"Hehehe... why are you stuck on technicalities? Fine, I won’t become the Duchess, but the Marchioness of Ashwood. Are you pleased now? I’ll be the Marchioness. You on the other hand will be... "Sophia raised her hand and pointed the muzzle of the gun at Talia. The roof had collapsed partially and sunlight spilled through the gap and Talia saw the beadings of Sophia’s dress glitter in the sunlight. Her eyes on the other hand, were murderous. "...dead!"

Talia’s eyes filled with tears as she saw the shining metal of the gun in Sophia’s hand. It had a distinct seal of the Rosandale knighthood. Mr. Ed has told her that one could only get this particular gun of his only from his cold, dead, hand.

Mr. Ed, are you really dead?

Talia still on her knees held the gun with both of her hands and pointed at Sophia. "Let’s see who’ll die first, Sophia!" Talia smirked. She was aiming straight for her head and she knew all she has to do is pull the trigger and this will be over with.

But her fingers froze and her hands hurt. She couldn’t even move a centimetrer.

"Even if I die, I’d still be buried with the title of HRH Princess Royal of Rosandale. You on the other hand..." Talia knew Sophia cared most about ’Titles and statuses and so she spoke this way to rile her up. "After you die in an assassination attempt, no one will even use your measly title of ’Lady’. Hmpf! Just drop the gun and surrender, I’ll arrange clemency for you."

You can do it Talia... Just a little pull! She killed Mr. Ed, she might hurt your friends who are unconscious, and she is going to kill you if you don’t kill her first! Just pull the trigger!

Talia tried to reason with herself, but she really couldn’t pull the trigger. She thought she was over it, but at the other end of the muzzle, she still saw Cyrus.

Talia started to hyperventilate out of anxiety and perspiration formed on her face. She looked to the side and it seemed like the next room had caught fire and it won’t take long for the fire to get to them.

"You ... are you scared to hold a gun?" Sophia took a step forward and Talia pulled the trigger. But since her hands shook, the bullet didn’t even get near Sophia. "How amusing!" Sophia chuckled. "Maybe I can play with you a while!"

"What do you want, Sophia?" Talia knew she cannot give up just because she can’t pull the trigger and so she decided to distract Sophia. She could hear the sound of fire engines at the distance and she knew the cops would be here sooner too. She just has to hold on a little longer.

"I told you. I want you dead! "Sophia gritted her teeth. In that low lighting that was clouded by smoke, Sophia looked like a dark soul, who escaped from hell.

"Why? You think Arthur would change his mind and marry you once I am dead?" Talia snorted. "You couldn’t change his mind when I was away for ten years. How will he change after I die? Even if he decides to move on, with how handsome he is, will he look at you? With you nearing thirty and losing your youthful glow, won’t he naturally find young college graduates more attractive? How many women will you kill? Look what the woman who couldn’t sway a man’s heart who was engaged with her speaks! "

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Why is everyone blaming me? My father, my mother, my brother and now you... How many times should I tell you all? It is not my fault Arthur didn’t fall for me. It was the fault of the monster who seduced him! It’s you!"

Talia although couldn’t pull the trigger, still held the gun to Sophia’s face as she rambled. She could see the fire from the next room being extinguished and there were a lot of murmurs heard from the outside.

Help us!

Talia’s eyes started to blacken gradually and despite her attempts to stay awake, she failed.

Fred! Save me!