Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 302: Like A Warzone

Chapter 302: Like A Warzone

Viviana held the baby close and shushed her. The baby thankfully got silent. Viviana knew that it is almost time for feeding the baby. Once she gets hungry, she won’t stop screaming.

But before that...

She winced unconsciously hearing the door unlocking. The one who opened it was firm and hurried. Viviana’s heart began beating in her throat.

"Melanie, are you okay?"

Viviana let out a deep breath hearing the familiar voice. She patted her chest to compose herself.

Leander is safe! Leander is safe!

She could hear shouts of pain from outside. The men were shouting for help and asked them to call for an ambulance. She heard Steve shouting to transfer the men who were caught to a secured place before the cops arrive.

The smell around her didn’t help. It took her to the Abenney fire. She froze. All the courage she managed to cook up till then disappeared the moment she heard Leander’s voice.

He’ll take care of the rest. She just wanted to lie down.

"Lemon!!!" Leander rushed to the bed as he heard no reply from her. He was careful not to get any bullets near that area but what if...

I should have sent her upstairs!

Leander almost lost all the strength in his legs at the silence. The place was not silent. It was filled with various noises. But in the absence of the one voice, he yearned to hear, he almost thought that he went deaf.

He felt like someone ripped his soul off his body. Even that baby was not crying.

What if both of them were...

With bated breath, he walked toward the bed. Never in his life had he felt such a sharp pain in his chest. Never in his life had he felt a fear so profound that he preferred death to living a second more of that moment. He felt like he was breathing in sulfuric acid. His chest was burning in pain.

"Minnie..."

Leander called for the light of his soul again, as he took a heavy step forward.

Viviana was snapped out of her reverie hearing the deathly voice of Leander. "I’m here, I’m here," she tried to crawl out from under the bed.

Leander slid as he slipped on debris and on his knees. Finally, his heart started to beat again and he breathed oxygen again. His trousers tore at the knee and he scraped his knee as he fell. But not minding that, he crawled to where Viviana was.

"Mel..." Leander’s voice shook and he pulled her to his embrace.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Viviana asked trying to keep a distance between them. She was holding the baby and she didn’t want him to squish the baby.

But Leander was not caring. He pulled her out from under the bed. Sitting on the floor that was littered with debris from the horrific firefight that ensued moments ago, he hugged her.

"Sweet Lemon..."

Viviana felt the tremble in his body. His hands were cold and his voice was shaking. She sensed that he was scared. What scared him, she couldn’t guess. She held the baby in one hand away from him and hugged him back.

"I’m fine, Leander. What about you? Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked.

She wanted to know if he was hurt. He was standing in front of an open fire for a long time. It was dark everywhere and she couldn’t see properly. She patted him down.

He didn’t appear to be hurt anywhere and she sighed in relief. He was still holding her.

"When you didn’t answer me... for a moment I thought..." Leander’s voice was trembling. She could hear him choke. "I cannot live without you, Lemon... I cannot..."

Viviana kissed his cheek. "I am fine. I have not hurt anywhere..." She rubbed his back. She didn’t think Leander would get this scared for her.

Does he not trust himself?

"You scared me though," she punched his arm as he calmed down a bit. She still couldn’t see his eyes. "I thought... " She held his cheek. "I’m glad you are safe, Leander. I wouldn’t survive if anything~"

Before she finished her sentence, Leander’s lips crashed on hers. He wrapped his arms around her and the baby as his lips left hers. At that moment, Viviana felt so close to him than she has ever been in the past few months. Although she couldn’t see his face, she could feel his vulnerability.

"Don’t say that, love," he pressed his forehead on hers. "You should survive even without me. I won’t be able to..."

Viviana wanted to stop him but then she could see that he was opening up. He tried to tell her something. So, she listened without interrupting.

"Even if something happens to me, you should go on. Just like...you managed to carry on even after Leona’s passing even if it was hard. You had your parents and... You found me, didn’t you, Lemon? You lived and you found me. You will find..."

He stopped as there was someone walking closer to the room.

Viviana clutched to his collar. Her heart skipped a beat. "Is it not over, Leo?" she asked.

Are we not okay yet?

Not the gunfight. She didn’t care about that. But she did not find it right that he brought up Leona again. Is Leona the reason he built the distance between them? Does it mean that he still is mad at her?

She did not want that.

Leander hugged her and patted her head. "It will be okay, love," he kissed her cheek and stood up. "Everything is..."

Viviana held her hand. After crouching under the bed for a long time, she couldn’t stand up all of a sudden. Plus, she was holding the baby.

He turned at her patted her head and walked out. Viviana massaged her legs as her legs were having pins and needles. She saw Steve coming to Leander. There were distant sounds of sirens. The first responders must be there.

She realized now was not the time to get worried about her marriage. Something terrible happened in their house. She wanted to know if everyone was safe.

Viviana stood up and walked to the door. Leander was blocking the door and through the gap, she saw the entire place unrecognizable. All the expensive tidbits in the living room and the bar were entirely obliterated. The walls were constructed with bricks and there were holes all over. The entire place was covered with dust.

She didn’t see anyone in the living room.

The baby started crying. Viviana hugged her close to her chest.

Leander turned hearing the baby. "Your puppies are upstairs. The cats are with them. Go, stay upstairs," he said.

"Is everyone okay?" Viviana asked. "Mary, Katerina, Martha, Maya..."

"Melanie," Leander kissed her forehead. "Go upstairs," he said. "Everyone is fine."

Viviana nodded. It looked like he was not asking her. He was telling her to go upstairs. "The baby’s food," she said.

"I’ll ask someone to bring it upstairs. Go to our room and lock it inside. Do not open for anyone but me," he said.

Viviana could see cop cars pulling up in the driveway along with the ambulance. She didn’t want to stay there anymore and got upstairs.

She looked around and she remembered the explosion at the restaurant where her parents died. Although the house didn’t catch fire, everything else looked like there was an explosion.

She didn’t look around and ran up the stairs. The upstairs looked undisturbed except for the thick layer of dust. The bedroom looked fairly clean.

Her puppies were in the bedroom and they jumped on her the moment she entered the room. The cats were lying on the bed. Viviana sat at the breakfast table and looked out through the big window.

The garden was ruined, the border fence was broken in some places, and her vegetable patch was ruined too.

It looked almost like a warzone. Her heart raced out of fear.

Who did this? Who wants Leander dead?