One-Bullet Chance

After five years of hurting each other, I was finally tired of Aiden Russell. Five years ago, I finally brought down the biggest drug lord in the Walled City and avenged my father, Paul Chadwick, who had died in the line of duty. But Aiden refused to let the drug lord's daughter, Naomi Siddall, die. He even threatened to take his own life just to force me to agree. After the operation, Aiden brought Naomi back to our home. From that day on, we never stopped hurting each other. Once, I held a knife to Naomi's throat. Aiden immediately pointed his gun at me without hesitation. When I threw away Naomi's medicine, Aiden stripped me and threw me out into the freezing snow. Then one day, Naomi timidly hid behind Aiden while holding a positive pregnancy test. I watched the way Aiden protected her. And suddenly, I felt completely hopeless. Right in front of him, I removed all five bullets from my revolver. Then I pressed the gun against my temple. "Aiden, let's make a bet. Russian roulette. One chance in six. If the first five chambers are empty, you let me walk away. From that moment on, we have nothing to do with each other. But if one of those first five chambers has a bullet, then consider it the life I'm giving you. And a birthday gift for your unborn child." Chapter 1 Nicole's POV Aiden Russell frowned and instinctively stepped in front of Naomi Siddall to protect her. Seeing him do that broke my heart. I gave a bitter laugh at myself and fired the first shot. Click! The first shot was empty. "Nicole, are you insane?" I didn't answer. I pulled the trigger again and again without hesitation. Click! Click! Click! The sharp clicks of the trigger echoed through the living room. By the fifth shot, Aiden was already charging toward me, screaming my name. He tackled me to the floor. "Nicole!" The moment I hit the ground, I instinctively covered my lower stomach with one hand. But the pain I expected never came. Aiden caught me and instinctively shielded me beneath his body. Click! The fifth shot was empty too. Aiden was breathing hard. He held me tightly against his chest, his eyes filled with fear and desperation that I couldn't understand. "Nicole, stop this. Can we just stop hurting each other?" I felt nothing but heartbreak. But when we had reached this point, who was really hurting whom? The day my father, Paul Chadwick, died in the line of duty, Aiden had held me tightly and promised that he would help me wipe out the drug cartel. After spending a year undercover in The Walled City, I finally succeeded. But Aiden betrayed the man who had raised him. After the investigation ended, he actually began to feel sorry for the daughter of my enemy. I was about to speak when a soft, trembling cry suddenly came from the side. "Aiden, my stomach hurts so bad... I think our baby was scared." Naomi sat on the floor, clutching her stomach and crying. Aiden froze. He glanced at the gun lying on the floor, then looked back at my calm face. The fear in his eyes instantly turned into rage, as if he thought I had made a fool of him. "Nicole, are you playing games with me?" He grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off the ground. Through gritted teeth, he shouted. "There aren't actually any bullets in that gun, are there?" I looked at the fury on his face and felt nothing but sadness. I said nothing, and he took my silence as an admission. Aiden shoved me away and asked coldly, "You know Naomi is scared easily. Why would you deliberately do something like this just to frighten her? "You're really cruel now. If anything happens to Naomi's baby, I will never forgive you!" With that, he scooped Naomi into his arms. He carried her toward the door, gently comforting her as he walked. "Naomi, don't be scared. That gun is fake. I'll take you to the hospital right now, okay?" I lay on the floor and watched him carry Naomi away. A dull pain suddenly spread through my lower stomach. If I had fired one more shot just now, the bullet would have gone straight through my head. That was Paul's service weapon. It had exactly one full magazine left. The first five shots had all been empty. Maybe Paul, watching over me from Heaven, had protected me one last time. I stared at the ceiling and whispered, "Aiden, I won this gamble. It's time for me to leave." Chapter 2 When I returned to my bedroom to pack my things, a yellowed photograph slipped out of the drawer. It was taken on the day I graduated from the police academy. Paul had his arm around me as we stood together for the picture. In the photo, Aiden was wearing a suit. His head was slightly tilted, and he looked at me with a smile in his eyes. I stared at the focused, burning look in his eyes. Everything had changed. Back then, we were young and full of energy. We dreamed of becoming detectives who worked on the front lines. After Aiden's parents were brutally murdered during a case, Paul adopted him and paid for his education through law school. We had promised each other that we would get married once Aiden had settled into his career at a law firm. But everything changed the day Paul was killed in retaliation by the drug cartel. I cried so hard that I nearly passed out several times. Aiden held me tightly. His eyes were red with rage as he promised, "Nicole, we'll get revenge for Paul together. No matter what it takes, I'll make those bastards pay!" I went undercover inside The Walled City alone and lived a life filled with danger. Meanwhile, Aiden helped me gather evidence of the drug cartel's crimes. But during my second year undercover, the cartel leader's daughter, Naomi, returned from overseas after studying art. Aiden couldn't stop himself from being drawn to her. Compared to me, who was caught in gunfights almost every day, Naomi seemed so innocent and untouched by the darkness. She was sweet and kind. Whenever it rained, she would even hold an umbrella over snails that had crawled into puddles. The cartel leader had protected Naomi so well that she knew nothing about his dirty dealings. The day I risked my life to obtain the evidence we needed, Aiden sat awake until late at night, staring at a sunflower painting Naomi had given him. He looked torn and miserable. "If we really take the cartel down, Naomi's life will be destroyed, right? But she doesn't know anything..." I asked Aiden if he regretted it. He didn't answer. For the first time, he avoided my eyes. During the final six months of my undercover mission, I was hunted by the cartel while trying to protect Aiden as he passed along information. One of them slashed my lower leg, leaving a deep wound. With nowhere else to run, I hid in a filthy, foul-smelling ditch for an entire night. When Aiden finally found me, he looked extremely irritated. "If you're hurt, you should have found somewhere to hide. Do you know how much chaos you've caused outside? Everyone is looking for you! What if Naomi finds out the truth?" I stared at him in shock. Then I whispered, "Aiden, it hurts so much." Only then did he notice the horrible wound on my leg. His face changed at once, and he hurriedly carried me on his back. As I clung to his back, I kept telling myself that he still cared about me. But the next day, Naomi cut herself slightly with a craft knife while painting. Aiden panicked. He carefully cleaned and bandaged her tiny wound. He even sang songs and told her stories to comfort her for the entire afternoon. The night before the final operation, Aiden wrapped his arms around me from behind. His voice trembled. "Nicole, when all of this is over, let's get married. I'll make sure you wear the most beautiful wedding dress. Then we'll go to Paul's grave together and pay our respects." But the very next day, he forced Naomi to come home with him. Then he expected me to live under the same roof as the daughter of the man who killed my father. I grabbed a gun and tried to take Naomi down with me. But Aiden stopped me and took the gun away. He slipped a ring onto my finger and kept pleading with me. "Please, Nicole. Naomi has already lost everyone in her family. Once she's had time to calm down, we'll go get married, okay?" I held on to that promise. But a false promise was still a false promise. To give Naomi a peaceful future, Aiden forced me to resign from the police. He claimed that he wanted us to live a quiet life together. But in reality, he had given up on the dream we once shared. He had also betrayed everything Paul had sacrificed his life to protect. But I refused to give up. For the next five years, I secretly worked as an informant for the police and continued the mission Paul had never been able to finish. Until one day, Aiden's constant favoritism finally drove me over the edge. Right in front of him, I pressed a piece of broken glass against Naomi's throat. Without hesitation, Aiden twisted my wrist until it broke. Then he locked me inside a freezing walk-in freezer to teach me a lesson. After that, we never talked about getting married again. Every time Aiden hurt me for Naomi, he would later get drunk. He would then kick open my bedroom door and drag me into a desperate tangle amid the mess. That was how we spent the next five years. Until today, I finally gave up on him. I closed my dry, aching eyes. Then I tore the photograph in half. I kept the half with Paul and me. The half with Aiden was thrown back into the drawer. Just then, my fingers touched something inside. The moment I saw what it was, I froze in shock. Chapter 3 It was a marriage certification. My hands trembled as I unfolded it. Inside was a photo of Aiden and Naomi together. Naomi was leaning against Aiden's chest, smiling innocently. Aiden was looking down at her with a gentle smile. I knew that smile all too well. It was exactly the same smile he had worn in our graduation photo. I kept turning the pages. Then I saw their names. The marriage had been registered three years ago, on December 24. I stared at the date in disbelief. December 24 was the day Paul had died in the line of duty. It was also Naomi's birthday. No matter how busy Aiden was, he always went with me to the military cemetery on that day to pay our respects to Paul, except three years ago. That was the only year he broke his promise. At the time, Aiden had started a private security company that gave retired police officers job opportunities. He told me he had an emergency assignment in another state that day and couldn't get away. It had rained heavily that day. I stood alone at Paul's grave and quietly told him, "Even if Aiden has forgotten the promise he made to you, please don't blame him. Once we get through all of this, we'll come back to see you." But it had all been a lie. Aiden had already married Naomi. I was nothing but a joke and a useless outsider who had been left behind. "Ha..." I covered my face in pain. But my eyes could no longer shed a single tear. Aiden was truly cruel. I gritted my teeth and made a phone call. "Darren, that joint narcotics task force along the southwest border you mentioned before... Do they still need more hands?" Police Chief Darren Clifford sounded surprised. "Weren't you laying low because you wanted to stay with Aiden? Why did you suddenly change your mind?" "Let's not talk about him anymore. Just tell me if they still need me." "Of course they do. But it's an extremely dangerous area. Are you sure about this?" "I've made up my mind. I want to leave as soon as possible." I paused. Without realizing it, my fingers dug into my palm. "Also, could you help me get special approval to have my dad's ashes moved?" After hanging up, I started packing my last few things. But just then, the front door suddenly opened. Aiden carefully helped Naomi inside. Her eyes were red from crying, but she looked quiet and obedient. She leaned against Aiden's chest as he held her. The moment Aiden saw me, the tenderness in his eyes disappeared. "The doctor said Naomi had a pregnancy scare, so she needs complete bed rest. The main bedroom gets the most sunlight. Move your things into the guest room tonight. Naomi will stay in the main bedroom while she rests." I gave him a bitter smile. "Sure. The main bedroom should belong to the lady of the house anyway." The moment I said those words, the last bit of hope I had held onto for years finally died. Aiden froze for a moment. Then he looked angry, as if my words had embarrassed him. "Since you're being so generous, you might as well move all of Paul's belongings and medals in the living room into the storage room too. Naomi says seeing those things gives her nightmares." I stared at him in disappointment. So, this was what heartbreak felt like. But I didn't look at him again. I simply turned around and went back to my room. Chapter 4 The next day, I found a cardboard box and began packing up Paul's belongings so I could take them with me. I had just placed one of his medals inside when Naomi walked over with a glass of water. She looked me up and down before her eyes stopped on my flat stomach. Then she asked in a voice that was no longer as sweet and helpless as usual, "Nicole, you're pregnant too, aren't you?" I ignored her. She continued to provoke me, "Too bad Aiden married me three years ago. Even if you give birth to that baby, it'll still be a bastard." I already knew the truth. But hearing her say it still hurt. "Does your great police officer father know his daughter is a homewrecker?" The moment she insulted Paul, my anger exploded. "Shut up!" Naomi smiled in triumph. Then she poured her entire glass of juice over Paul's certificate. She even stepped on one of his medals, crushing it beneath her heel. "Oh! My stomach! Nicole, why did you push me?" Aiden rushed out the moment he heard the noise. He saw Naomi sitting on the floor, clutching her stomach. Then he glared at me as if I were his enemy. "Nicole, what the hell is wrong with you?" Aiden pointed at me furiously. "You used to be a cop! Did you forget everything Paul taught you about justice and knowing right from wrong? And now you're using all of that against a pregnant woman? You're awful!" His eyes and his words cut deeper than any weapon. I bit my lip until it hurt. I swallowed the metallic taste of blood and fought with everything I had to keep my dignity intact. I didn't argue. Instead, I calmly bent down and wiped the juice off Paul's certificate. Then I carefully wrapped up his medal. "Yeah. I'm awful. So once I'm finished packing, I'll leave. I won't stay here anymore." My calm reaction made Aiden freeze. For a moment, he looked confused. Then he frowned impatiently. "I never said I wanted you to leave. Stop making a scene..." Before he could finish, the huge living room window suddenly shattered. Several men wearing black masks and carrying machetes stormed inside. They were remnants of the drug cartel from The Walled City. I reacted on instinct. I immediately drew the gun from my waist, rolled across the floor, and positioned myself in front. Aiden instinctively pulled Naomi toward the door. The leader quickly glanced at Naomi. Then he ordered his men to surround me. Aiden used the chance to drag Naomi out of the house. "Nicole, you have real combat experience! Help me hold them off! I'll take Naomi first. She's pregnant, so she can't get hurt!" He slammed the security door shut from the outside and locked it. He had personally sealed off my only escape. And with that, he also destroyed the last bit of love I still had for him. I stared at the locked door. In that incredibly dangerous moment, I suddenly let out a quiet laugh. I laughed so hard that tears almost filled my eyes. Aiden must have forgotten. Yesterday, I had already fired five empty chambers in our game of Russian roulette. Now, there was only one bullet left in my gun. A cartel member suddenly swung a machete at me. I dodged the blade and raised my gun. Bang! The last bullet went straight into the leader's forehead. Warm blood sprayed across my face. My vision instantly turned red. I threw away the empty gun and pulled a knife from the dead man's body. "Come on. This ends today. Your death or mine." I looked coldly at the remaining men and casually wiped the blood from my face. ... Third-Person POV Half an hour later, Aiden had settled the terrified Naomi somewhere safe. Then he rushed back with several men from his security company. He had only one thought in his mind. Nicole couldn't be dead or hurt. But when he charged into the living room, he froze. The house was completely silent. Blood covered the floor. Furniture was overturned, and signs of a violent struggle were everywhere. The cartel members lay dead in pools of blood. But Nicole was nowhere to be found. Aiden stumbled through the blood covering the floor. Then he saw a ring on the table in the middle of the living room. Beneath it was a pregnancy test report. Name: Nicole Chadwick Test Result: Eight weeks pregnant.