The Christmas We Loved

Chapter 4

Heartbeats in the Dark

Alexander's POV

“Don’t you dare leave me, Sophia.” His voice was ragged, urgent, full of fear. Alexander’s breath was hot against my ear as he held me close, his strong arms trembling under the weight of the moment. "Please, stay with me."

I blinked, struggling to focus, to make sense of the blurring world around me. The pain in my side was sharp, biting, and relentless. Every breath felt like fire, and yet, his voice—a familiar, desperate sound—was what anchored me. It was the only thing tethering me to the world.

“You promised me.” His whisper was a prayer, his grip tightening around me. “I can’t lose you again, not like this.”

I tried to lift my hand, to press it against his chest, but my body wouldn’t respond. The fear of slipping away from him—again—was unbearable. And yet, a part of me felt a strange sense of relief that he was here, that he hadn’t walked away like he had all those years ago.

“I’m not ready…” I gasped, the words coming out weak, barely a sound above a breath. “I’m not ready to die, Alexander.” The thought of never seeing his face again, of never being able to say the things I’d left unsaid, was suffocating.

“You won’t die.” His voice was low, determined. “Not while I’m here.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that he could save me, that we could go back to a time when the world was ours, when nothing could touch us. But that time has long since passed, hasn’t it? The world we had built had been torn apart, broken into pieces. Neither of us knew how to fix it.

“Please, stay with me.” His voice cracked as his fingers pressed harder into the wound on my side, trying to stop the bleeding. “I need you. You’re my world. Don’t you dare leave me now.”

But as his words tore through the haze of pain and darkness, something inside me snapped. This—this was real. The danger wasn’t just a threat. It was right here, with us. A man I had once trusted, Matteo, was threatening our lives, playing a game with no rules, and I had no way of knowing what came next.

Suddenly, I heard it—a distant sound, but one that made every hair on my body stand on end. The faint sound of footsteps, coming closer, closer.

“They’re coming for us.” The words were out of my mouth before I even realized they’d formed. My heart raced in panic, and Alexander stiffened beside me, his eyes darting to the door.

“You need to stay down,” he ordered, pulling me further into the shadows. “Don’t make a sound.”

His hands shook as he adjusted my position, his eyes locked onto mine, full of intensity, full of something else—something I couldn’t quite name, but that made my pulse quicken.

"You're not going anywhere," he added, his voice sharp. His lips brushed against my temple, sending a shiver down my spine. The moment his lips lingered there, so close, so intimate, I almost forgot where we were, who we were, and the danger that loomed.

But then, the sound of the door creaking open shattered the moment. I stiffened, fear and adrenaline coursing through my veins. They were here. Whoever they were, they were getting closer.

“Sophia.” His voice was low, but the tension in it was impossible to ignore. His grip on me tightened. "Listen to me. You need to stay alive. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

I nodded, the words getting stuck in my throat. His fierce determination burned through me, but I couldn’t help but feel a terrible sense of dread building up inside me. We can’t outrun this. I couldn’t outrun the storm of emotions, the pain, and the threat hanging over us.

The door opened fully. There, standing in the frame, was Matteo. His silhouette was unmistakable. But something about him was different now—colder, harder, almost like a shadow of the man I had once known.

“You really thought you could hide?” Matteo’s voice sliced through the silence, cold and mocking. His eyes swept over us, landing on me with an unsettling glint.

I could see the malice in his eyes, the way he studied me with an almost cruel amusement. The same Matteo who had been my friend, my ally, now stood before me as a threat, as an enemy. And it hurt—more than I was willing to admit. The betrayal was fresh, stinging.

“I should have known better,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“You should have.” Matteo stepped into the room, his eyes locking with mine. “But you weren’t paying attention. None of you were. I always told you, Sophia, you were just a pawn in this game. I’m just doing what needs to be done.”

My breath caught in my throat. “Why, Matteo? Why betray us?”

He didn’t answer. His eyes flicked to Alexander, then back to me, cold and calculating. “You really think I’m the one you should be afraid of?”

I didn’t have time to respond. Suddenly, the sound of movement—distant voices—echoed through the corridor. Matteo didn’t flinch. He just smiled, a wicked, almost amused look twisting his features.

“Looks like your time is up,” he said. “No more running. No more playing hero.”

“No.” Alexander growled, rising to his feet. “I’m not letting you win, Matteo. Not today.”

Matteo raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a sneer. “You’re not in control anymore, Sterling.”

Before I could say anything, Alexander’s hand shot out, gripping my wrist with a force that sent a jolt of panic through me. “Get down,” he ordered urgently.

And then, everything happened so quickly. The distant voices got louder. I heard the unmistakable sound of heavy boots approaching, then the screech of tires outside. A car engine started up, its rumbling deep and threatening, as if the world was closing in on us.

I was about to ask what was going on, but then the sound of gunfire erupted, cutting through the tension like a knife.

I gasped, my whole body stiffening. Alexander pulled me closer, shielding me with his own body as the walls of the room seemed to close in on us. The shots rang out again, and I could feel the heat of the bullets tearing through the surrounding air.

“Stay down,” he whispered fiercely, his grip never loosening. But I could hear the panic in his voice. The man who had been so confident, so unshakable, was now fighting to keep me alive.

And then, as the chaos erupted around us, I saw something that froze the blood in my veins.

A shadow in the doorway. A gun was raised.

And the unmistakable sound of a click.

“You’re too late, Sophia,” Matteo’s voice rang out in the chaos, his words cutting through the ringing in my ears. But his eyes—his eyes were no longer locked on me.

They were locked on Alexander.

The sound of the click was deafening, sharper than the gunfire that had preceded it. My breath caught in my throat as I realized the magnitude of what was happening. The gun was aimed at Alexander.

“No!” I whispered hoarsely, my pulse pounding in my ears as I tried to push myself up, despite the searing pain in my side. But I couldn’t move. My body refused to obey me. All I could do was watch in horror as Matteo’s cold eyes never wavered from Alexander.

“You’re too late,” Matteo repeated, his voice filled with malicious satisfaction. His finger hovered over the trigger, and I could see the tremble in his hand. He was enjoying this—my pain, Alexander’s fear, our impending doom.

"Matteo, don't do this!" I gasped, my voice desperate as I tried to pull myself upright. “You were supposed to be at our side! You were supposed to help us!"

Matteo’s gaze flicked at me, then back to Alexander, his lips curling into a smile that made my skin crawl. “You think I owe you anything, Sophia? You and your little fairy tale. You’re nothing but a pawn. And it’s time you learned that.” He raised the gun slightly, his gaze shifting between us like a predator savoring the moment before the kill.

Alexander didn’t flinch. His jaw was clenched, his entire body tense, but his gaze was steady, unyielding. "You’ve made a mistake, Matteo. This isn’t who you are. This isn't who we were."

But Matteo didn’t seem to care. “You weren’t who you were either, Alexander,” he said coldly, his eyes narrowing. “You’ve always been weak. You’re not the man you used to be. And you’re not saving her.”

A sharp laugh escaped my lips despite the fear tightening around my chest. "What do you want from us, Matteo?" I choked out, feeling the dark weight of the situation sinking in. "We’re not enemies. Why this? Why are you trying to kill us?"

“Because I can,” Matteo snapped, his voice low and dark. “Because it’s the only way out. You don’t understand. None of you do.” His finger moved slightly, the cold metal of the gun flicking towards Alexander’s chest.

A new voice cut through the tension. A shadow moved behind Matteo, someone else stepped into view—someone I didn’t expect.

“Stop.”

It wasn’t a plea, it wasn’t a command—it was a warning.

The person who had spoken stepped into the room. My breath hitched when I saw who it was—someone who should not have been there.

"Take your hands off her," the voice ordered, the command so certain, so commanding, that Matteo froze, his gun lowering just slightly. The figure’s eyes locked with mine, and I felt a wave of disbelief flood over me.

The silence stretched for a heartbeat. And then, with no warning, Matteo’s hand jerked, and the gunshot rang out.