Vanessa was still shocked by her actions. Andre was shocked too.
"You are going to be fine",Vanessa whispered to him.
"How sure are you?",Andre said as he fell to her shoulders and continued crying. The tears would not stop.
"Help me get him up so we go inside",she asked of his guards help. Andre signalled a stop sign showing his full palm towards them. He wanted to stand by himself.
The pair held hands as Vanessa walked him in.
He also ordered that the body should be picked and ready to be buried at the house the same day.
********************
"Selma told me of his plans, so I wore a bulletproof jacket and a cap which was also bullet proof, beneath the cap I wore a tiny helmet too",Asher informed Miles who wanted to know how he was not dead.
"How did you know?",Miles asked Selma.
"Andre loves women. It was easy",Selma answered.
"So where were you all this while? and how about your family?",Trey asked him.
"I moved out the country to find time to explore and think of a good place to settle down with Vanessa",Asher answered.
"Hey , What on earth do you mean settle down?",Miles asked. The statement got him angry.
"Since you ditched her and left her, we became a thing. I was ready to propose to her until I heard of what Andre did",Asher answered.
"Selma's been of good help. I mainly have her to thank. She's the reason I am here alive. For my family, I would pay a visit to them at the right time with my wife",He added.
"This is some good news. I have a good detective as my woman",Trey said sharing a kiss with Selma.
"How about you Dean?",Selma asked.
"I was not really shot", Dean said.
"Lies, you were. I was there",Miles interrupted.
"Shut the fucking hell up Miles",Asher said out loud.
"You've been acting like a fool and a little child all day",Selma said to him.
"I had a sack of animal blood in my clothes",Dean said.
"Why?",they all asked immediately.
"I was in love with Vanessa, she was in relationship with this ingrate soul Miles. I wanted to show how much of love I could prove to her, so I hired a gang of bad boys to attack us and asked them to shoot Vanessa so I could jump and take the bullet for her. It was not a real bullet or gun. It was fake and it had a pointy fake bullet that could pierce the sack open and made the fake blood flow",Dean explained.
"Doing this, everyone would think you are dead. What were you doing since you were alive?", Asher asked.
"I was not doing well at school. I needed to do something else. I was so much interested in making money outside academics. I wanted to be a chef",Dean answered.
"So I went out of town,started a mini restaurant on the streets of New York. After some while, I made a lot of money and now I own six restaurants in New York, three restaurants in Chicago and two here now",Dean added.
"Your family?",Trey asked.
"My mom and dad died last year from the fire outbreak at our house. My younger brother and only sibling knew about all this",Dean said quietly.
"Are we going to continue this welcome party or save my girl?",Miles asked.
"We are saving Asher's wife and not your girl",Dean said to him making everyone laugh at Miles.
They all headed for the sweet rides and set of to the airport. Selma and Trey hugged them goodbye and wished them safest of journey.
"Please make sure Vanessa is safe and the wild dog Miles doesn't feed on her",Selma said.
Miles heard this and raised a middle finger sign to her from inside of the car. It was really a luxurious ride.
"You all think this is how the fairytale will end, Asher and Vanessa, Hell NO! , I will end you for good Asher",Miles said to himself.
*************************
The burial session had been completed. Her friends and some family members who were able to meet up were all gathered round the house. It was a very sad moment. Andre was really not concerned about it like earlier. His heart had melted. He was thinking about the girl that kissed him hours ago.
"Why did she?, Why would she?, Does she love me with all these I have done to her?",he questioned himself severely.
"Could she really heal my wounded heart?"
"The ring in mom's room. She said I should make sure I give it to the woman I love on the day she dies",Andre remembered immediately.
He hurried down to the room, stopped by a guard.
"Get Vanessa to meet me in my Mom's room",Andre ordered.
In just four minutes, Vanessa was already knocking on the door of the bedroom. Andre opened up and ushered her in. He let the guards leave, he needed the privacy.
"How would I cope without her?",Andre asked Vanessa.
She was still lost and confused. This man made a maid few days back and now he is talking to her like she is married to him. She remained silent.
"Why did you kiss me?",Andre asked pointing a gun to her.
She stood up from the bed in fear.
"I-,I knew you needed it at that time. I just had to",Vanessa answered stammering.
"Can-,Can you please do it again?",Andre asked in a mellow tone.
"I-,I-,I don't",she was stammering as he grabbed her by her waist and started kissing her passionately.
Vanessa managed to set her self loose.
"What? Why did you stop?",Andre asked. He sounded like the kiss was the oxygen he needed to live.
"I am just a prisoner and maid here",Vanessa said to him quietly.
"No!, Never!!, Not anymore!",Andre shouted as if he was in pains.
"Then who am I?",she asked.
"Will you be my girl?",Andre asked showing her a diamond ring he had just drawn from his pocket.
"Oh my-",she screamed.
"We don't even talk. You've always treated me as, as-, Yes! I will marry you",Vanessa said out loud dropping tears from her eyes.