26.

***Nikki***

"We need a doctor stat!"

"Get him to ICU, now!"

Everybody was just yelling everywhere, and I was just standing there, watching. Everything around me seemed to be moving at high speed. My brain was trying to process everything, but it couldn’t. It just didn’t make any sense. I brought a man into my life, only for him to die. Why does everyone around end up dead or hurt?

They shot him, she shot him. He risked his life for me, and now he's going to die. Why would he do something so fucking stupid, how was I going to explain this to the public? Jo-Anne is now dead, and it's all my fault. Everything I touch dies, that's just who I am, a killer.

"Nikki?" I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I turn, and Charles is behind me, he's been crying.

"I'm so sorry, Charles," I sobbed, "It's all my fault."

"Oh baby," he sobs, and he pulls me in for a hug, "It's not your fault, I don't blame you at all."

"Everything I love dies," I continue to sob.

He rubs my back as I sob into his shoulder, I feel another pair of arms wrap around us and by the feel, I know it's Damien.

"Nikki, it is not your fault. Everything is going to be okay, he is going to live," Damien chokes.

I look up at them both, we are all crying.

"We love you, and we are here for you. The doctors are going to do everything they can to save him, okay. Xander has been through worse believe me," Charles adds, "You just have to be strong for him okay."

I sniff and nod, "Okay."

Damien smiles at me, "That's my girl, now wipe those tears and let us go get some coffee, okay, Xander's mom and your mom are on their way here from the police station."

"Okay," I croak out.

Damien leads the way to the cafeteria; the whole floor has been cleared out of any unnecessary people, and guards are on watch. Damien did mean it when he said he would protect us. We get to the cafeteria, and we sit down at a table nearby while Damien orders some lavender tea for all of us. We did need it, to calm the nerves. Everything just happened so fast, all I heard were gunshots and I saw two bodies on the ground. Although I am grateful that I wasn't one of them, Xander didn't have to be there, it could have been anybody, just not Xander.

Damien returns with three teas, and he places them down on the table, he puts a cup in front of me and I look at it.

"Hey, drink it, it'll help you relax, okay?" Charles says.

I pick it up and my hands are shaking uncontrollably. Charles takes the cup from my hand and places it down, then he asks Damien to get me a straw, Damien immediately gets up and goes to grab a straw at the counter and returns. Charles pulls it out of its packet and puts it in my cup.

"Drink baby girl."

I put the straw to my mouth and sipped, the taste and aroma hit me all at once and I let out a sigh.

"There we go," Charles says, rubbing my back.

I took slow sips of my tea, doing breathing exercises at the same time, I knew that once my mother showed up, there was going to be chaos again, and I had to prepare for it. The realization of Aiden's manipulation just frightened me, he even got sweet Jo-Anne to do his dirty work. She even died for the bastard and for what, because she didn't want that sorry excuse of a man to go to jail for the crimes he committed. He was a true sociopath.

After twenty minutes of silence, I saw my mom and Xander's mom coming from the door behind Damien; I let out a shaky breath and Charles put his hand over mine on the desk and said, "I'll handle it."

"I have to do this, I'm going to marry her son," I quiver.

I get up and the two men, do the same, Damien turns around and offers the chair, while he gets an extra one. I walk over to both women, and they pull me in for an embrace. I started crying again, they both started crying too.

"Oh, baby, are you okay?" my mother says.

I shake my head, "No mama, I need you. I need you both."

They hold me for a moment, and I just cry some more, I realized that I felt guilty. If I hadn't sent the proposal no one of this would have happened, I caused all of this drama and Xander might pay for it with his life and now his other will never get to know her son.

"I'm so sorry," I sob, looking at Xander’s mother.

She places her soft hand on my cheek and chuckles with tears streaming down her pale cheeks, "Oh honey, it's okay. It is not your fault, you hear me.

"Everybody keeps saying that, but it's true if hadn't invited him here in the first place, none of this would have happened," I cry, "I brought him here and involved him in my mess."

"My child, if he hadn't come here, you wouldn't have known what Aiden was up to. You wouldn't have found the love of your life and a mother and son would have remained separated," my mother says, "You did what you thought was right and that's what's more important."

"Your mother is right Nikki, I'm so happy that you brought him here and brought us together," Xander mother adds, "I will forever be grateful for that."

"Xander will pull through, okay, I know he will," my mother says.

I nod, "I guess you're right, and thank you."

"We love you Nikki, and we are here for you no matter what, okay honey?" Xander's mom says, stroking my cheek.

I feel a lightness on my shoulders, she doesn't hate me. That's the last thing I wanted, for my future mother-in-law to hate me, so Xander you better wake up, you hear me.