You Are Mine (English)

Chapter 378: Chapter 378: Why Would You Sacrifice Yourself?

Stuart hated to see Edie badly hurt, and it broke his heart to hear her cry. He had no choice, and he didn’t look back at her.

"I don’t want you to save me. Please just leave," Edie began crying hysterically. "Don’t do this, Please, I beg you!"

Stuart remained unmoved by Edie’s emotional plea. ’Oh, God! Please get her out safely,’ he prayed.

When Stuart didn’t answer, she turned to Childe. Her only hope was him. "How could you do this to her?" Her throat gulped as she swallowed. "She cares deeply for you. There’s still time for you to put an end to this," she pleaded.

A thousand conflicting emotions surged through him. Then it was like a switch was flipped, and he went back to his usual self. "No one cares about her, and she’s an orphan. Anne has a heart condition and it’s hard to say how much longer she’ll live. If she dies now, she won’t be in any more pain." Childe laughs sarcastically. "Edie, you’re too kind. You don’t belong in the Yates Family."

Childe looked at Stuart, but Stuart didn’t even flinch, He just stared straight ahead. His hands were balled into fists and squeezed against his thighs. He took a deep breath, allowing no emotion to show on his face, and Childe hated him for it. Then in a low voice, Stuart said, "Take Edie to the car."

The men picked her up ruthlessly and put her in the back seat of the car. "No....." were the last words, Stuart heard. Edie was beside herself, not knowing what was going on inside the chateau, and suddenly, she heard a gunshot. She was terrified. "Please...No....." Her mind was in a whirl, and she didn’t know what to think.

Stuart slowly opened the door to the chateau. He made his way onto the front deck, then step by step, gripping the railing, he made it halfway and stopped. He took a deep breath and made it to the car. Without saying a word, he sat in the back seat beside Edie. Ivan quickly started the engine, and as he put it in gear, he glanced back at Stuart. "Are you okay?" he asked timidly.

Stuart nodded his head. "I’m fine. Just drive," he said.

Edie looked at his pale face, pale as death. Her face was flushed, her lips tightly pressed together, and there were tears in her eyes as she stared at him. She wanted to know what happened but was afraid of the answer.

Stuart blamed himself for all of these tragedies. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t brought her into his life. The pain he felt when he looked into her eyes was unbearable. He brought his hand up to her face and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Did he hurt you? Are you okay?" he asked.

Edie nodded then hung her head, the tears now flowing in earnest. She couldn’t lie. She wasn’t okay. She sniffed and swiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand, trying desperately to regain control of her emotions. "What...happened.....to....." She hesitated, unable to finish her sentence. She was terrified to find out the truth.

Stuart didn’t mince words with Edie because he knew how worried Edie was. "The little girl wasn’t harmed," he said in a low voice.

Edie’s eyes brightened, and she looked at him with disbelief. "She wasn’t hurt?....." she asked, curious. She looked as though she debated completing the rest of the sentence and hesitated before saying, "Why did Childe let her go?"

"All you need to know is...she’s fine," Stuart caught his breath slowly, smiling faintly at her.

"But I heard a gunshot..." Edie tilted her head to the side, pausing to think. "Something doesn’t seem right?"

Stuart’s eyes were focused on her with some kind of emotion she’d never seen in them before. It terrified her. It was then that she realized something was very wrong. Edie clutched at his hand, his cold fingers curling around hers. His right hand slowly grabbed at her wrist. "Don’t look," he whispered in a hoarse voice.

Tears begin to leak from Edie’s eyes, slowly at first, then a surge of uncontrollable sobs gushes out. "What the hell happened?" she asked as she pulled his hand away. "What did he do to you?"

Stuart was in too much pain to speak. He leaned toward Edie. "Stuart...." He heard Edie screaming just as he lost consciousness

Back at the Bolton Chateau, Childe sat on the floor covered in blood with a gun in his hand. The whole scene kept replaying itself over and over again in his mind, like some horrible movie on an endless loop. freewёbnoνel.com

"It doesn’t need to end this way," Stuart pleaded. "You don’t need to kill anyone else. I will put an end to your suffering. If I die, it’s all over." Then Stuart turned the gun to his chest and slowly put his finger on the trigger.

"Please, let this be the end," Stuart’s voice flat with resignation.

Childes’ mind went blank except for a single phrase, "He can’t die!"

After so many years of hating Stuart, Childe didn’t even think about it. He started running at top speed and yelling in full voice, "No." He was trying to get the gun back, but it was too late. "Boom," the gun went off in the struggle. He just grazed Stuart’s hand, right before he pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore into Stuart just below his heart, tearing through his stomach and exiting just above his right kidney, leaving a hole the size of a small marble. A splatter of blood went with it and splattered the wall and Childe. Stuart stumbled, but he did not go down.

Childe looked at him, hurt, confused, and a little scared. He looked over the emotions on Stuart’s face and sighed sadly, "Why would you sacrifice yourself for a woman?"

Stuart could barely speak, but he managed to speak a few words out. "Because I love her and I would do anything for her," he answered.

Childe shook his head at his answer as if it didn’t make any sense. "All these years, I’ve tried to bring you down, and all it took was a woman? I don’t understand?" There were a few awkward moments of silence, he looked at Stuart and asked, "This child means nothing to you, but you were willing to give your life for her? Why?"

The explanation made his head spin; still, he didn’t understand. Childe was frustrated, helpless, and hopeless, a multitude of confusing thoughts revolving, eating at his heart. These feelings had been pent up inside him for a long time. Today’s loss had been the trigger, but they would have broken out eventually. He couldn’t control anyone. He couldn’t defeat anyone. He couldn’t even overcome the shadow in his heart. Thinking of this, another wave of weeping washed over him.

Childe knew he had to help soon, or Stuart would pass out from shock and blood loss. Grunting, he helped him to the door. Still, Stuart never uttered a word, but the expression on his face was calm.