Chapter 49

"M-mary! You are alive!" Tyler stood at the door, shocked and just staring at her in utter disbelief. He knew he was gaping at her. But he couldn't believe it. She was alive. Mary was alive!

Earlier that day, he had received information from one of his men that he had seen someone like Mary at Dave's old apartment. He even sent a picture. Yes, the picture was not as clear as it should be because it was taken far away, but it definitely looked like his wife, so he arranged a quick flight to his private jet immediately. And no, he wasn't disappointed. There, she was standing at the kitchen door, his wife, Mary, with her dark short hair, well-defined feminine muscles that weren't there before, her tummy flat, her eyes cold, raw, and lifeless.

“Tyler—”

"Mary?" he whispered under his breath. The only word he could muster was, "Mary..." He was at a loss for words because he was not sure how a soul as pure as hers had survived this long in this world with so many of his enemies. Looking at her made his heart beat so fast that it echoed through his ears, deafening him. She was not only soft-hearted, but she was also tough enough to stay alive, hidden away from his foes. That takes a kind of bravery that she was still processing, hence the silence.

"Oh, hi?" was all Mary could muster up as she covered her mouth in disbelief. He was here. Why? How?

Dave still did not move or speak, and he just went back to his phone. Gestures for Tyler to come inside. “Come in, and stop gaping like a fish.”

The silence continued, causing Tyler to shift his feet with discomfort.

"I hope I’m not intruding," he finally said in a soft tone, but his eyes clearly never left Mary. He wanted to just scoop her up and embrace and kiss the hell out of her, but Dave was eyeing him like a hawk eyeing his prey. Mary just stared at him. Unmoving.

Mary bit her lips, still, he looked so handsome, usually with his furrowed forehead and his hands wedged in the pockets of his expensive pants. The long sleeves of his white-buttoned shirt were rolled to his elbows, revealing his tanned forearms and a small 'Mary' tattoo that she had never seen before. His wavy hair was slicked back in the usual style, although the Scottish wind seemed to have misplaced a few strands.

She was breathless at the sight of Tyler, and boy was he sexy. It was as if she was meeting him for the first time.

"Come on in, Tyler," Dave said warmly after a small smile.

Mary could tell he was also shocked to see him out of his formal dress.

But this look suits Tyler much better. Her breathing was still heavy as he made his way inside the apartment. She had tried so hard to forget about him, yet she knew deep inside her heart. She was still in love with the man.

"I apologise for showing up unannounced." As Tyler spoke, he moved further into the apartment and stood directly in front of her. "Mary." He walked past Dave and embraced Mary so tightly. The shock was gone as he caressed her cheek, still amazed to see her alive. "God, you're alive! Oh, Mary..."

They locked eyes, and his intense gaze sucked her in like it always does.

"What happened? Please tell me... the child... our baby?" He asked, as if somewhat scared of her response.

But her tongue was trapped between Tyler’s appearance and her rapid heart rate.

After another few moments, she composed herself. "Tyler, what on earth are you doing here?"

"Mary, please, I need to know: Who took you? Who hurt you? Please, where have you been all those months I've gone insane? I thought I had lost you. Did you know how devastated I was?" Never before had Tyler noticed how time was so much like water—that it can pass slowly, a drop at a time, even freeze, or rush by in a blink. The clock announced it was measured and constant, tick-tock, part of a logical world; the clock lies.

"Because I lost your heir?"

"Yes and no! Fuck no!” he shook his head. “But because I lost you, dammit! It's all my fault. I left you there alone with the... hell fuck. I'm so sorry. Yes, I care about the child as I care about you. But... It's all my fault. It's all my..." Tyler breathed in with tears in his eyes. "I really wasn’t happy with the way things went down in my life since you've been gone." He inhaled deeply. Mary could tell there was a great deal of weight attached to the words he was struggling to say. She didn't think she had ever seen him so nervous, so furious at himself, and so relieved at the same time. It was quite a stretch for the poised Mr. Johnson.

Dave cut in, "Alright, I have to go get some tea in the fucking coffee shop while you two stand there and watch each other's eyes like you are about to fuck here in my living room. Feel free to keep it a little silent, yes?" he grumbled and left them, closed the door slowly, and shook his head.

Mary blushed and stepped a little away from Tyler. "Well, it's a long story. Can I offer you a drink? My apologies for the state of the apartment; we're just trying to get things organised."

The past years without her had passed like thousands of camera frames per second, shown one at a time. It was that mundane and lifeless. In this slow-time bubble, the birdsong was louder, the apathy was colder, and the colours were brighter. All the while, his insides felt as if there was nothing there—nothing to need feeding, nothing to need anything at all—but then she was now standing over him.

"God, I miss you so much," Tyler mumbled as he looked at her lips.

His eyes were locked on hers, and she flinched under his penetrative gaze.

"Um—" Mary ushered him into the living room. They sat down on the couch, and Tyler took another deep breath before speaking.

"I feel like there are a lot of words left unsaid from the last time we saw each other, between all the silent fighting and me ignoring you. If only I had brought you with me, but I was too scared that I would be ambushed again. That is why I left you there. I'm so sorry, Mary. If I could turn back time... I—"

"Stop right there. We can't do anything about it. I lost my baby, and..." It was time to let her heart out as she sobbed on Tyler's shoulder. They both cried. Both are bereaved by the loss of a loved one. After Mary's heart broke, she bled an ocean through her eyes. Her sadness eats away at her soul, as it feels wafer-thin. Her body trembled and chilled from crying so hard on Tyler's shoulder. However, even this magnitude of grief passed. And while it does, she learns more about pain than she ever wanted to know. Then she remembered it. She used it as the fuel she needed to create a world with less suffering. Or, at least, that was what she did for months, and she saw a lot of people doing the same thing in many different ways. Broken was a tough roll of the dice, but if she knew how to transform that raw pain into her strength, her soul roared yet again, with Tyler crying with her, grieving the loss of their child. She just wanted to melt into her tears until they were both empty on the inside.

An hour later, both dried their eyes and caressed each other. "I don’t think anything was cleared up. But the first thing I need to do is apologise to you, Mary, for the harsh way in which I spoke to you before I left. I was so devastated by my grandfather's death that I wasn't able to see clearly that you wanted to come with me. I was just too worried that they may come after you."

"Who?"

"The one who wanted my wife and child dead. I have enemies, Mary. Since my grandfather left me something, my own family was after me. They wanted it."

Mary couldn’t pretend to understand what he was thinking, but he had the right to talk about it like that. So she ended up telling him everything—about how Elizabeth tortured her to death and losing their child. Tyler clenched his fist like he was about to attack someone. But she never mentioned Javier recruiting her as their inside spy. She didn't know if it was better to tell Tyler, but she wouldn't want Javier to target him instead. The man wants Johnson’s wealth. Not Tyler’s life. And for now, she needs to keep it to herself.

She continued, "Elizabeth made sure that my life was a living hell. I was brought back to health all over again, then the torture repeated. It was a loop, a never-ending pain. I wished for a quick death, but it never came.”

"The bitch will pay. I will... fuck!” he stood and began pacing. "I'll kill her slowly for doing it to you. I will—damn it!"

Mary shook her head. She watched him before saying, "She is mine, Tyler! Promise me! She is mine to kill." Her eyes were blurry with hatred. The animosity in her voice was clear. Fury roared through her heart and soul. It was like eating her from the inside out. Changing her. Tyler just stared at her. "I can't promise you, Mary. She will pay dearly for that, I promise you." His own fury vibrated through his being as he burned with anger and frustration. Something was wrong with Mary. He knew something was way deeper and darker. Like she was someone else entirely. She became different, and Tyler couldn't blame her.

"She took my... she knew very well I was pregnant, but she never stops... she wants the baby dead. She wanted me dead just because I was married to you, because you chose me."

"I'm sorry, sweethearts. It's all my fault. But listen, I know you’re angry." He turned away from her and looked back at his finger, where he still wore their wedding ring. "But I need you to understand that I care about you deeply and that everything we had was real. The truth is... I—I care about you so much. But I don't want you to get involved in it if you think you are likely to do so. This is my war. I will take care of it."

She stood with the same speed. "Hell no! Do you think I survived just to hide?"

Tyler cut in. "Mary, listen up; I can't make it if something happens to you. I can't lose you again."