26

My heart was racing. So fast that Justin could hear at least I thought. Dylan said we had just seven minutes. Seven minutes before the yacht exploded.
“Go ahead hero, beat me to death,” He told Justin with a weak smile on his face.
Justin wanted to hit him again but what was the use? He thought. He angrily let go of him allowing his head to drop to the ground.
“Where is it ?” Justin asked Dylan. I was already searching every nook and cranny of the yacht in search of the boom.
“I Said where is it ?”
“There is no point looking for it now .”
“Just sit back and enjoy your last moment together.”
“Shut up and answer my question.”
“Justin, we do not have time for all this.”
“We need to get this thing out of here .”
“So many lives are at stake .”
“Dammit.”
I was pacing up and down the room, impatiently in search of the Bomb. Justin did the Same. Dylan wasn’t helping matters. He just laid there, watching the drama unfold With a smile of satisfaction on his face. Our lives alone weren’t at stake. The lives of everyone around the marina were. One wrong move and we would all be gone.
We could have left the yacht bothered About what was going to happen but no, our conscience simply didn’t allow us.
“The clock is ticking .”
“Tik Tok,” Dylan said.
“Isabelle, Isabelle.”
Justin called out my name and came over to me.
“Did you find it?”I asked.
“No. “He took my hands.
“Isabelle……”
“What are you doing Justin?”
“We need to find it, we have limited time. ”
“You heard him”
“Isabelle, I know this is stupid. ”
“Especially at this critical moment”
“But, I never thought I was going to do this, at least not like this. ”
“I’m sorry about everything. ”
“I have realized staying away from you, your love, made me nothing but a weak man”
“Isabelle, you should me love when all I did was hurt you. ”
“Countless times, I gave you reasons to let go but you held on. ”
“Isabelle, you came into my life, showered me with love, and alongside, you gave me amazing kids. ”
“I love you Isa, I love you so much. ”
“If I was asked to go back, I’d gladly go back, go back to the day I met you.”
“Go back to that night. ”
“I’d go back and do everything again ”
“I’d asked the universe for just one thing, to erase all the hurt I cost you and filled those empty spaces with happiness. ”
“I love you, Isabelle ”
“Please, marry Me, marry me all over again. ”
He gazed into my eyes as he spoke. At that moment, we forgot everything. We forgot we were about to be blown up. We forgot that could be the last time we spoke. We forgot everything. Right there and then.
Justin knelt In front of me. It all felt like one big dream to me. What was going on? Was I in my fairytale world again? If this were real, then why now? I had no doubt In my mind that I still loved Justin. I once did and even today, I still love him. So much.
“I know, I know this is all like a big dream but Isabelle, I have never been so sure of anything my entire life.”
“I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“If this is our last breath, I want to take it knowing you were Mine. ”
“I want to hold your hands and go beyond. ”
“And if we do survive this, I want to show Aiden what it’s like to treat a woman like a princess and I want to show Amelia what it is to have a man like her father. ”
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. ”
I was overwhelmed by the whole scenario. Justin was in front of me asking me to marry him for the second time. Just like him, I have never been so sure of what I wanted my whole life. I have never been more sure than I was there.
I was too stunned to speak. My eyes became blurry from the tears I tried to hold back from falling. Justin was impatiently waiting for my answer. The clock was ticking and the bomb was going to explode anything soon.
“Take my hands, Isabelle ”
“I’m so glad I was able to experience some genuine moments before my death.”
“Paris is a beautiful place if you survive, take her on a holiday ”
“I bet you both won’t. ”
Dylan sighed and drew his last breath. He took his last breath right in front of me.
“Yes, I will marry you, Justin. ”
I took his hands and pulled him up. I wrapped my hands around his neck and embraced him tight. He was almost out of breath but I didn’t care.
“I love you, Isabelle. ”
“I love you”
I wish you didn’t propose 4 minutes to our death. I chucked over his shoulder and let him go.
“I have a plan. ”
“First we need to move this out of here .”He suggested
“But how?”
“I don’t know how to do that. ” I said
“Leave it to me.”
“Just keep looking. ”
He was about to head to the pilot’s house.
“Justin?” I went to him.
“Yes”
“I love you,” I said and kissed him. A kiss so sensational and passionate.
“If this happens to be the last time, I want you to know that I will always love you.”
” Even in death,” I muttered on his lips.
Our heartbeats were moving Rhythmically. Our souls connected and so did our bodies.
“I love you too . nodded and left me.
The fight for our lives began. Justin ignited the engine and soon we started to move.
I was in search of the Bomb. What if Dylan was only trying with us?
What if there was nothing on the yacht? I thought but I knew he was so determined to ruin Jessica’s life that he could go to any extent.
I was still in search of the Bomb when I stumbled over a bag back seated perfectly at the corner. I dragged it out and unzipped the bag.
“Oh, my goodness?” I whispered with terror.
Inside the bag lay the cash, drugs, and the bomb. The Beeping sound of the Bomb was coming from the bag.
2:40 seconds left.
No. We had just one minute before the yacht exploded.
Dylan wasn’t joking after all…
Isabelle, anything? Justin yelled out.
I was mute. Scared of what I was going to say.
Isabelle?
“I found it .” I picked up the bag carefully and went to him.
“We…. We have just 2 minutes left. ”
“I…. ”
“This it ?”
“The kids, you,”
“All this is happening because of me.”
“You shouldn’t have come. ”
“I dragged you into all of this? ”
“Justin, I’m sorry. ”
“I didn’t tell you about my past .”
” What are you talking about? ” Justin didn’t know anything about why I was there or my past. He still believed somebody was blackmailing me with the children and was forcing Me to do all this.
He was right but knew all that but one thing he didn’t know was that I invited all this to myself. He didn’t know I was an assassin all this while. I kept him in the dark despite the life I had for him but all that I did was out of fear of losing him. I left my past behind and I thought it already left Me too.
I thought I could start a new life with him, move to another city and let go of everything but it caught up with me, and the man I loved so much was caught up in all of this too.
“If this is the end of it all, I do not want to hide anything from you. ”
“I brought all this upon myself, I killed people. ”
“You didn’t kill anybody. I killed Dylan, not you ”
Just listen to me Justin, I fear this might be our last chance.
“I was an assassin. I killed people for money. I needed to survive and I was so stupid. ”
“What? ”
“Yes, I didn’t tell you because I thought I moved on. I left everything behind and I moved on.”
“I should have told you, I know I’m sorry. ”
“And the kids, My boss kidnapped them. He somehow traced me down here.”
” He took Amelia and Aiden. ”
“He asked me not to inform the police or anyone else and I had no choice but to do as he said. ”
“I was scared for Amelia and Aiden. ”
“For him to free them, he asked me to work for him again. I did, I did. ”
“I thought that was it but he wanted more. He wanted me to Eliminate Dylan and Jessica. ”
“I promise, I didn’t intend to kill Jessica, I promise you.”
“I wanted to let her go and let this go just like I did those years ago .”
“I thought I could do this and clean up my mess just like I have been doing but this.”
“I didn’t mean for you to get involved ”
“I didn’t want to lose you or the kids and I lied ”
“I’m sorry. We might not make it out of here Justin.”
“I broke down in tears.”
” I’m sorry. ”
A secret I had kept for so many years, I finally told and my chest felt lighter. Justin and I were naked with each other now. I hid nothing from him. I was relieved.
A secret I had kept for so many years, I finally told and my chest felt lighter. Justin and I were naked with each other now. I hid nothing from him. I was relieved.
“Hey… listen.”
“I don’t blame you.”
“You did what you had to.”
“I understand your fears. I understand. ”
“Nothing will happen to Aiden and Amelia. ”
“Nothing will happen to you. ”
“How are we going to get out of here?”
We have less than two minutes, I…I….
“Dylan made a wrong move by telling us his escape plan. ”
“We will make it out. “