Her Last Breath

"Have you ever seen me meddling in George's business? You had the most fun in the family, so rest in peace quietly, and don't ruin my sleep." Sebastian's remorseless dismissal sent a chill down Chloe's spine.

Of course, the brothers were always at war with each other over power so no one meddled in the other's business except when their father was involved.

Hearing his wife, Hilda, giggling in the background, Chloe remembered one of George’s several confessions.

The feast was planned for her death so it’s obvious everyone already knew of it.

“Try Ruby’s room. She’s the only one who would want to help.” He suggested, banging the door behind her.

“I guess it's time Ruby stops being so clueless.” Hilda’s mumble echoed right before the door closed.

Disheartened, Chloe trudge towards her room and quickly locked the door behind her, relaxing her back on the door.

From George's confession and Sebastian's statement, Chloe realized she would be doomed if she ever sought help from any member or staff of the Marlowe.

The only person she knew would never forsake her was Ruby but she’d have to pass through George’s room to get to hers so Ruby was definitely not a choice for her.

She went through her contact, and that was when she realized she really had no one else in the world except Jamie and the Marlowes. She dialed Ruby’s number but her phone was switched off, leaving her stranded once again.

She was also smart enough to know that calling the police on the Prime Minister would be suicide because he had the power to manipulate them.

The only other contact she had on her phone was Blake and holding her phone to her chest, she reflected on George's statement.

Blake was definitely one of Chloe's crushes back in high school but it was just a crush and it died the moment George came into her life.

She wanted to call him for help but she was too embarrassed...And her stomach ache wasn’t helping matters.

She felt a lump in her throat and tried to cough it out but to her surprise, blood spilled out of her throat, sending chilling goosebumps all through her body.

While she was still writhing in pain, George began stomping on her door.

"Open the door, b*tch!" He cursed, startling Chloe and causing her phone to drop from her hand. At that moment, she unintentionally dialed Blake's number.

"Get me the spare keys!" He heard George give out an order and her whole body began to tremble.

She tried to hide but George soon pushed the door open and dragged her out.

Chloe begged to be forgiven but the whole family was already in uproar because of her disturbance as they all gathered in the living room to decide her fate while she lay helplessly on the floor in front of them.

"Son, you can't get your hands dirty. Since the poison didn't work as fast as we wanted, let them finish her." Dawson Marlowe, George's father suggested, referring to the two hefty bodyguards.

Chloe crawled to his feet begging to be saved but all he did was bend over and whisper to her, "It's too late. My son moved, now you have to move on too."

"Let's give a minute of silence to our beloved sister, daughter-in-law, and wife who died by suicide as a result of depression." He announced and being the man of the house, the whole family quickly obeyed.

Angry tears streaked down Chloe's eyes as the bodyguards dragged her to the rooftop of the mansion.

What better way to commit suicide than jumping down from the three-story mansion of the Marlowes?

As the guards dragged her out of the living room, she heard Ruby crying, arguing, and battling with her family but soon enough, a few guards dragged her back to her room, locking her up.

Jamie and George weren't satisfied with just the news of it so they decided to follow the guards and watch them do it.

Blake, who had answered the phone and heard Chloe's horrifying screams over the phone, rushed to Marlowe's mansion which was over an hour's drive from his palace on a normal speed limit.

But riding the Royal Ford meant he could go against the speed limit in an emergency.

Just as he entered the compound of the mansion, a loud thud on his car caused him to bump into a parked car.

The force caused him to nod his car steering but he felt he saw something in a flash.

As he gently raised his head, he met a pair of hazel eyes staring right at him through the darkness.

As he looked closer, he noticed blood dripping over her face. It was at that moment he realized who was laying partially lifeless on the bonnet of his car.

"Chloe!" He screamed in horror as he ran out of the car.

Blake's hands trembled as he held her in his arms. "Stay with me! Please stay with me, Chloe!" He panicked as he quickly applied pressure to the part of her head where the blood was oozing out from

He looked up and locked eyes with surprised George who immediately phoned the guards downstairs and ordered them to stop Blake from leaving the compound.

Blake quickly carried her in his car and was about to drive off when he noticed several guards were beginning to surround his car.

It was obvious Blake's presence would ruin their perfect plan and therefore they would want to hurt him but all he cared about was taking Chloe to safety and hoping she makes it out alive.

Just when the guards were about to attack his car, the gate of the mansion opened and another Royal car flashed its front light into the Compound, making the guards stand back.

It turned out it was Zane, Blake's personal bodyguard who had seen him leave his house in his car.

Because of his presence, Blake successfully moved his car out of the compound.

*******

Before they arrived at the hospital, Blake's car seats were already flooded with Chloe's blood yet he was determined to save her since she still had life in her.

He mobilized several doctors and surgeons who struggled for hours to save her but after receiving seven bags of blood and still bleeding heavily, the doctors gave up and the chief surgeon broke the disheartening news to him.

"We did our best but, I'm sorry she has less than 24 hours to live." Chief Moore announced. "We will transfer her to the VIP room now." He added before walking out on him.

All her intestine were already damaged from the poison so saving her was impossible.

Blake felt his heart sink into his stomach upon hearing the news. For several seconds he forgot to blink as memories of happy and cheerful Chloe flooded his brain.

He stood in front of the operating room and watched as the nurses pushed her in the stretcher to the room, his vision blurred by uncontrollable tears.

Long after she was out of sight, he never stopped staring at the now-empty hospital walkway.

He felt a sudden need to sit down but forgetting he was standing in the middle of a walkway, he almost fell if not for Zane's quick interventions.

"Sir, you need to rest now. You've been up all night." He suggested as he supported him to stand.

Blake couldn't bring himself to say anything as he pushed off Zane's hand and trudged towards the room where Chloe was taken in but before he entered, he wipe off his tears, trying to look strong for her.

When he went in, Chloe had her eyes shot but as soon as she felt the presence of someone in her room, she slowly opened her eyes to see Blake sitting beside her.

She looked around her but no one– not even a single person she always cared about was there for her. It was just him.

Someone she felt was so far away that she never even dare to call by his name.

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out— just muffled breath. That was when it dawned on her that she lost her voice.

Aside from her head, Chloe had broken her neck and her limbs from the fall and this has made it impossible to move the movable parts of her body at will. She also broke her spinal cord so sitting up properly without support was impossible.

Tears streamed out of her face as she realized this. This was the end for her. And the worst part was that she couldn't even cry out as she pleased— only tears— Sad tears! Painful tears! Sorrowful tears! Angry tears! Regret tears! Wishful tears!

Blake wanted to stay strong for her, but watching her cry like that— he could only join her.

He held her palm in his and gently squeezed it to keep her cold body warm.

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm sorry I couldn't even save you! I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I thought George truly loved— if I had known— I wouldn't have given up on you." He confessed.

"I never stopped loving you…I was just reluctant because you seemed happy with him. I'm sorry you had to go through so all that. I'm sorry." He apologized over again as it was all he could.

His mind revisited the memories of their college days.

Chloe used to be so cheerful. Always seen around her sister. She was beautiful but above all, she was Blake's type.

He'd fantasize about her day and night. Plant several love notes in her locker and talk about her all day with George and Zane.

Even his parents knew he was in love— but George stole love away only to return her in the worst state possible.

'I wish our fate was different. I wish I had done better. I wish—'

The news on TV cut through his thoughts.

It was about Chloe. Her death was announced just as her father-in-law planned it. Suicide from depression.

Videos from their home were displayed. Everyone was in tears— George and Jamie especially! They held hands, crying and comforting each other at the same time. Ruby was nowhere to be seen. She was probably still locked up in her room because she'd never accept the injustice done to her favorite sister-in-law

Chloe could only cry and make inarticulate sounds. She wanted to tell the world that even though she was dying soon, it wasn't suicide but even if people were with her, they wouldn't be able to make sense of her grunts and snorts.

No one could hear her cry of pain— not even Blake but he could feel it.

He felt her body vibrating on the bed. The news would kill her faster. Blake u understood this and he quickly switched the TV off and played music instead.

Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton played in the background.

Aside from the music and the constant beeping of the life support machine, there was silence. No grunt, no snorts, no whimpers. Just the two ill-fated people staring at each other. Communicating through their eyes and tears while reminiscing over the lyrics of the song.

Blake tried to keep her conscious but Chloe obviously was slowly losing her awareness. She also tried to force her eyes open but the vision of him was becoming blurred. She knew the hour had finally arrived. Blake knew this too.

He knew that after today, he would never get a chance to see or even touch her so for the last time he wanted to do it well.

He adjusted the angle of the bed to around 105° to a sitting position wiped off her tears and hugged her warmly.

He only sat back up when he heard her grunts. He looked into her eyes and could tell she had something to say.

Her eyes darted to her right arm and his eyes followed.

He saw that she was desperately trying to raise it. She wanted to give a last word.

She wanted to give a last word and he was ready to help her.

He attempted to help her raise her hands but she stiffened her hand, showing her rejection.

Blake was always quick to understand her so he let off of her hand and watched her strive to make her last words solely hers.

Fortunately, the bones of her fingers weren't broken, so with much difficulty, she put up her thumb, index finger, and pinkie finger, while keeping her ring finger and middle finger down.

She couldn't hold her hand out but her palm was facing away from her as she slightly moved it back and forth, displaying the only sign language she knew.

Blake has always drawn that finger emoji in all the letters he sent to her so he was quick to understand it.

"I— Love — You." The sign read.

He could only cry, knowing that his love reached her heart even though it was too late.

While still staring at her fingers with blurry eyes, he noticed her arm suddenly fall to the bed.

Her body which was in close contact with him had turned extremely cold. The danger alarm of the life machine set off as the beeping became unnecessarily loud.

Blake knew what was happening. The moment he dreaded the most has finally arrived.

Looking into her eyes while she took her last breath scared him but missing her last gaze scared him the most so with much difficulty, he raised his head to see her face.

Her eyes were partially closed now but she had a sad smile on her face.

And then– it was over as she hiccuped before letting out a loud sigh.

Her last breath.

Blake let out a loud wail, literally seeing life sneaking out of her body.

***Wheezing****