“If he doesn’t, don’t I? You almost killed me at the club!” Faiz yells.
“You shouldn’t have been there,” his father snaps as he leans forward. “That’s your own fault.”
“Why?” Faiz roars. “Tell me why,” he begs, sounding distraught. “Why would you try to hurt Zia and his family? What could you possibly gain from it?”
“Don’t be so childish! We gave you everything. You wanted for nothing growing up. We made sure of it. Your father and I did what ittook to get here. All you had to do was follow one simple request—marry Zia, someone you loved, and everything would have been fine, but you couldn’t even do that. You even fucked that up,” his mother scolds. “Now you think you deserve to know why? You know nothing about this family or our business, boy. You’re just a child playing gangster. We gave you that right, and you messed it all up.”
“What does that mean?” Faiz asks, and he looks genuinely confused. I hate myself for doubting him. Despite his parents being behind this, he didn’t know. When I heard his mother’s voice on the phone, I did wonder, but as he stares at his parents, I know he didn’t.
“They are broke,” I announce, and Faiz looks at me. “They lost all their money in some realty scam. I’m betting they were depending on our marriage to regain their wealth. They are desperate.”
They remain silent as Faiz looks at them. “You tried to kill him though. Why?”
“To protect our family!” his father roars as he shoves to his feet. “If we ruin his business and take it for ourselves, then we get what we are owed. You were supposed to get it through marriage. It was promised to us. He ruined that. He left you and abandoned us. We are just taking what is ours.”
“You would kill someone I love for money?” Faiz whispers, sounding so young and shocked. Maybe I’m jaded or just had time to come to terms with who was behind this, but I feel nothing but anger that they attacked tonight. On Nikko’s big night.
“I would do anything for this family. We have nothing left. Without this, we are ruined. He promised us money when we agreed to let you marry, but he backed out.” His father looks at me in disgust.
“You promised them?” Faiz seems to be reeling.
“They wanted to tie our families together, and I wanted to marry you. To keep them happy, I offered a percentage of property and shares. When I broke up with you, that agreement was void. I never considered they would go this far. I had no idea they were struggling so much.” I look at his parents. “Do you want to know the worst part? If you had told me, I would have helped you. You didn’t have to do all this.”
“This is the way of our world, boy. Don’t be stupid or act innocent. You’ve killed and stolen too. You are no better than us,” Mr. Bardin spits.
“You’re wrong. Zia is better than all of us. He always has been,” Faiz retorts angrily. “I can’t believe you went this far, but it ends now!”
“You’re wrong,” his father replies calmly, and I know this isn’t going to go the way Faiz wants. “We can’t go back now. Do you think they will let us live? Even if Zia can forgive us, his father never will. He’ll kill us for touching his son. There’s only one way to end this.”
I notice the moment he makes his decision, but there’s nothing I can do as he pulls out his gun and aims at me. I spread my arms, protecting Nikko and my father behind me as he squeezes the trigger.
Faiz yells and swings his pistol up as he dives in front of me at the last second as I wait for the bullet to hit. Faiz fires, and I see his mother jerk, then his father, before Faiz stumbles back into me.
It all happens in seconds, between one breath and the next, and I’m left reeling as Faiz sags into my body.
I catch him, and we tumble to the floor. He blinks up at me, his face pale, and I look him over in confusion before seeing it.
Deep red blood rapidly spreads across his white shirt. Ripping it open, I find the bullet hole, and I cover it with my hands as his gun falls out of his limp fingers.
He’s shaking as he lies across me, looking more fragile than I’ve ever seen him. “I’m sorry, Z,” he croaks, blood bubbling on his lips. Something important must have been nicked when the bullet went in. Shit! “I didn’t know, please believe me.”
“I know you didn’t,” I say as I press harder on the wound. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get you help?—”
“I need you to forgive me.” He coughs, spraying blood as I feel it steadily pump into my hands. My brain knows what my heart won’t acknowledge. It’s a kill shot. Even if help is on the way, he won’t make it.
“Please, I need you—I need you to forgive me.” He presses his trembling hand to my cheek. “You are the love of my life, my bestfriend, and I’m so sorry I hurt you, but I protected you tonight like I promised. I just hope that’s enough.”
“Shh, save your strength,” I beg as I wipe his mouth with my other hand. Tears wet my lashes as I stare down at the man I once loved more than life. Despite everything that has transpired, the feeling of him dying in my arms is too much to bear. This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. We are supposed to silently hate each other forever like most exes, then forgive one day and be happy for the other and watch them grow old. His hand drops and covers mine on his face.
“I love you, Z. I always did.” His body rattles with a deep cough. When it sounds wet and he struggles to breathe, I know it pierced his lungs and he’s drowning. I look around for help, but everyone is quiet, and his words draw my attention back to him. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I forgive you,” I assure him as I look at Nikko and my father. “Get help!” I yell before focusing on Faiz. “Hey, stay with me, okay? We can talk about this tomorrow. You’ll be fine.”
“Liar.” He grins. “That’s the first lie you’ve ever told me.” He’s struggling to speak now, and my heart shatters as I stare into his eyes. He knows he’s going to die. “Just . . . Just don’t forget me, okay? No matter what I did, please don’t forget me.” Tears drip from his eyes, mixing with his blood as mine drop steadily onto his face. I press my hands harder against the wound, hoping it will be enough to save him, even though I know it won’t.
“Never. How could I forget my first love?” I murmur. “I forgive you, Faiz. I forgive you.”
He shudders below me. “I’m scared, Z. I don’t want to die.”
