Midnight Bride The CEO's Temptation

The gun seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and Crystal's arms were trembling. Her face was flushed, and her forehead was damp with perspiration. She had thought that she could shoot him easily, but something was holding her back.

Crystal wanted to turn around and point the gun at Eric. She felt like she was in a nightmare, and she wanted time to stop so that she could walk away from all of this.

Nathan smiled weakly and said, "If you are going to do it, do it. You have my blessing. I cannot live without you anyway."

Crystal's whole body began to shake, and she began to weep quietly. She turned to Eric. "I'm sorry," she whined. "But I'm not a killer…"

Eric nodded encouragingly. He smiled and said, "You can. I believe in you, you just need to believe in yourself."

"She can't do it!" Nathan laughed out loud.

"She is nothing but a chicken. Even in the state that I am in, I am an eagle compared to her. She is nothing but a garden variety prairie hen. Peck peck! Peck peck!"

"I am not a chicken!" Crystal roared as she turned and pointed the gun at Nathan's chest. His eyes lit up as he realized his mistake - and then she pulled the trigger.

Crystal's eyes went wide. Had he not antagonized her, she never would have had the strength to pull the trigger. And now that the deed was done, she was deeply ashamed, and she prayed that he was not dead.

The sound that the gun made in the cathedral was deafening, and as it echoed through the hallways, it seemed that it would go on forever.

Nathan was not dead, though. The bullet struck his sternum, its path deviated, and then it lodged itself in his abdomen. That being said, the attack had shaken him to his core. Never in a million years would he have thought that she had it in her to shoot him.

He looked down at the hole in his chest. It was seeping blood, and he put two fingers in the wound to stop the bleeding. It hurt like Hell, but he was determined not to let her see how much pain he was in.

Eric sighed as he turned to look at Nathan. He said, "It's a pity that I didn't hit your heart. It was a good shot. You must have a horseshoe up your ass. You are lucky to be alive. Anyway, you once shot me, so I guess we are even now." Eric wrapped his arms around Crystal's waist, and he imprisoned her in his arms. "You have avenged me," he said. "For that, I thank you."

Crystal glared at him. She wanted to put the pistol into his mouth and force him to shut up!

He was completely oblivious to her thoughts, though. For the moment, he was more interested in what Nathan was going through.

"How are you feeling?" Eric asked.

"I'll live," Nathan muttered absently.

Despite the blood oozing out between his fingers, he looked like a man that didn't have a care in the world.

Eric nodded to one of his guards and said, "Bring him out."

Crystal grasped his hand tightly and stared at the tank. "He won't die, will he?"

"Look at him," Eric cackled. "He won't die." He pointed to Noah and said, "Luckily, we have a doctor on hand."

Crystal's lips were pale, and she found it difficult to breathe - what with the smell of the poison in the air, that and the smoke, and the tangy scent of Nathan's blood. She looked over at Nathan, and she felt sympathy for him.

Eric cruelly pinched her jaw. "The more you care about him," he hissed, "the more tortured he will be in Mrs. Bush, we need to make something clear: You are married to me now, and that means that you belong to me."

"You are the devil," Crystal growled. "Why did you make me shoot him? If I knew how cruel you are, I might not have been so quick to marry you!"

Eric was startled by Crystal's candor, and by the time he had formed a response, it was too late. The guards had brought Nathan to him, and they were waiting for their next instruction. Nathan's bleeding had increased, and he was fading in and out of consciousness.

Crystal's heart was beating extremely fast, and she was scared. "Is he going to live?" she asked. "You promised me that he would live!"

"He will live!" Eric hissed. "If I tell you a thing, you don't need to keep pestering me about it! Why do you care so much about this piece of shit anyway? At first, I thought that killing bothered you, but now I see that it is the thought of killing Nathan that bothers you?!?!"

Crystal composed herself. "I don't like the idea of killing Nathan or anyone else. He isn't special in this regard." She denied her feelings for Nathan because she did not want it to be something that Eric could later use against her. "Anyways," she continued. "You said that if I shot him, you would let him go."

"I promised to let him go," Eric admitted. "But didn't I promise to let him leave..."

Crystal frowned. "What do you mean?"

Eric explained: "When I said that I would let him go, I meant that I wouldn't kill him, which is fundamentally different from letting him leave the premises."

"Fuck that!" Crystal shouted. She pulled herself away from Eric and said, "I am not going to play your word games. You knew what I meant, and you promised that you would do whatever I said. Now, if you do not fulfill your end of the bargain to my satisfaction - I won't finish this wedding, and you can go home alone for all I care!"

"Just half an hour ago, our wedding was broadcast live worldwide," Eric said coldly, "and don't forget that you signed the marriage agreement last night. The legalities are complete. This ceremony is nothing but a bunch of traditional nonsense." He spat on the ground in front of her. "Legally, you are my wife, and I don't need you to say, 'I do!"

"I will kill myself," Crystal threatened.

"Then kill yourself," Eric scoffed. "But what will happen to your parents if you do? What about Nancy and Clark?" He smiled leisurely. "And if you die, then Nathan will be the first one to follow after you." He smirked.. "How do you like them apples?" he asked.