Pull the Trigger | ✓

t w e n t y - n i n e

It has been a month since Noah killed his father and I can tell that it had taken a toll on him. Cain was his father and Noah had idolised him even through the pure hatred he held against his father for causing him and his family so much pain. I had caught Noah the other day with his head in his hands in his office, his eyes closed but his eyebrows narrowed as if trying to fight off the guilt.

Since a week ago, I had noticed that I had been eating more and my stomach was bigger than before. I hadn't spoken to my father since I had discovered that he was Juliette's kidnapper but Fran had reassured me that he wasn't going to be in my life anymore unless I said otherwise.

Officially merging our company and gangs together, we had renamed ourselves the Bellucci-Moretti where Noah and I both shared the Crown but since my pregnancy made me slightly uncomfortable, Kai was to report to Noah about the shipments, meetings and details for the time being.

"Tori, come! Dépêche toi s'il te plaît!" Juliette exclaimed from upstairs, snapping me out of my thoughts as a small smile crossed my lips before I hauled my ass off the sofa, putting my laptop to the side.
[Dépêche toi s'il te plaît = Hurry up please]

With Cain dead and Juliette's mother back in France after being labelled as unfit to care for a child by the court, Noah and I had decided to take Juliette into our care and welcomed her inside our home. When Juliette had found out that she was going to start living with us, she had been so ecstatic that she jumped up and down on the sofa and tripped over a pillow, causing her to land face down on the floor. She had cried for fifteen minutes after that.

As I ascended the flight of stairs in our home, I walked inside our bedroom and immediately chuckled at the crib that Noah had spent three hours trying to build on his own. Noah was standing beside the white crib, his hands on his hips as he stared at it proudly before flashing a boyish grin in my direction.

Noah and I had decided to not build a nursery room because of the life we lived and decided it was a safer option to have the baby in our sights at all times.

"I helped!" Juliette exclaimed proudly as Noah chuckled and leaned down to kiss his sister's head.

"It looks good!" I exclaimed, laughing as I shook my head in amusement while I approached Noah and kissed his cheek. "I'm proud of you both."

"Okay, now go get change before uncle Javier and uncle Fran takes you out on a date," Noah said to Juliette who widened her eyes in realisation before nodding, rushing out of our room barefoot.

Noah yawned, stretching as he placed a hand on my back and led me to our bed before sitting us both down. He placed his other hand on my growing belly and sighed, a faint smile spreading on his lips.

"How are you, my love?" I questioned softly, searching his face for an answer as his smile faltered, his eyes softening.

Noah sighed, leaning his head on my shoulder as I kissed his forehead. "I don't even know where his body is buried. Javier said it was best that I didn't know where in case cops came looking."

I bit my lip. "I'm sorry that you couldn't say goodbye to your father properly."

"He didn't even deserve a proper goodbye," Noah replied harshly, shaking his head. "I just hate the fact that Juliette won't know what it's like to grow up with a father figure in her life."

My eyes widened in disbelief as I turned around to face him, placed my index finger under his chin so that our eyes were meeting each other. "You are Juliette's father figure. She already looks up to you; idolises you. And we're going to raise her in a loving environment, although, I'm not sure about 'safe'."

Noah's eyes softened as he kissed the tip of my nose. "We'll make it safe. For our child and for Juliette."

On some days, I was scared. I was scared of how our child would turn out to be like; especially with Noah and I's job. Yes, we may be entrepreneurs on the outside but underneath all of that facade, Noah and I both lead a dangerous life with our names on the 'next to eliminate' list. And it was too late to get out of it now.

"Hey, you're worrying again," Noah whispered softly, rubbing his hand in my belly as he sighed. "We'll get through it, I promise."

"I know," I responded with a reassuring smile.

"I'd never let anything happen to you, Juliette or the baby."

I trusted him. I trusted his words. I trusted the man sitting beside me with my body and soul and it pained me to admit it but I have my father to thank for that.

We were going to do it as a family.

a/n: hey everyone, I just wanted to quickly apologise for not updating Pull the Trigger in months. Not only have I lost motivation to write due to personal issues but I needed to work on myself. And you might wonder, "oh, but you were able to post chapters on your other novels" and that's because they were already pre-written before going overcoming my personal obstacles. 

I think it was also because I was putting off writing the last chapter of this novel. This might've been a short chapter and I apologise but the epilogue will be out soon and I can assure you that it will be longer than this chapter. 

I will be giving you an insight of their futures whether its five years later or even ten; as unrealistic as it sounds.

Nevertheless, thank you to each and every one of you who read, commented, voted and supported Pull the Trigger. I couldn't have done it without you guys and I will say my official farewell to this novel in the epilogue but for now, stay tuned. 

all my love, ariella. x