Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 161

Theo

POV

My love turned towards me in her flowing white dress, which sparkled as the sunlight hit the little diamonds on the dress. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her face radiated with joy and love, and her promise to be mine lodged in my mind. Now, I get to capture those red lips in mine and seal the deal. I blinked when I noticed something red on her dress and did not get to look at it to determine what it was.

This beautiful moment was shattered beyond belief when suddenly a bang was heard, and she was suddenly taken away from me by a man's body that had jumped in front of her, and all three went crashing to the ground.

A second shot was heard almost immediately after, and screams from the crowd. Suddenly, pandemonium was all around

me.

I looked down to where my wife would be and saw a man's back, blood seeping out over his suit. Both Bethany and Pam were under this man's body as he tried to protect them with his own life. Everything happened so fast, but it was in slow motion at the same time. I stood there looking down at the scene in front of me, temporarily stuck frozen for the moment, unsure what to do and fearing that I had just lost the woman I married and my unborn child. My wife was under that body.

I unfroze from whatever dream I thought I was in when someone pushed me aside, away from her, and that someone was shouting and screaming for his bag and calling for an ambulance.

I looked on as if it was a movie and not real life, still not believing what was happening in front of me.

It was Dad who rushed forward to attend to the man whom I had yet to comprehend as to who protected my wife. That was until Thomas started to scream his name and was on the ground next to the man, assisting Dad in picking him up and whisking him off to the house, both saying something that I could not understand.

Someone nudged me, bringing me back to my senses again, and I squatted down to check on Bethany, her white dress covered in red blood, her eyes fluttering, and she groaned; at least she was alive. I lifted her into my arms and stood, carrying her inside while trying to avoid the panicked people around me; people were coming out from under tables and trying to rush inside, out of the shooter's range.

Pam was already on her feet, unharmed, and talking to Scott and Bob as they walked beside me.

'The sniper was in the trees over there. Our man saw where the shot came from and returned fire. He saw the sniper fall from the trees, and I have men rushing over there now. We have called a second ambulance to attend to the sniper, and I believe the police are on the way, too.' Scott sounded rushed and frustrated, and I could tell he wanted to go to the sniper and see who it was and if the threat was over. His job was still happening around us, and I bet he felt guilty that he had failed again to stop someone from being hurt. He had his own sniper on the roof of Dad's house, but he could not shoot till the sniper shot first or gave away his position, and that is where the problem lay, not on Scott's shoulders. He did all he could, and unless he wanted us all to wear flack jackets, what else could he do? When his man saw where the sniper was hidden, he did not hesitate to shoot at the sniper and hit him, stopping them from doing even more damage than they already had.

'Do you want to go and see who it is?' Pam asked, and I looked at Scott and saw his indecision. I had already guessed he wanted to go. If I were in charge of this, I would like to go.

'Go, and you can tell us all about it later. I said, and he nodded, looking relieved. We understood and took off.

'Bob, you can go too if you wish and come back after you are satisfied. We are safe. I will stay here with Bethany! Pam spoke softly to Bob, who nodded and headed in the same direction as Scott. I hope this means the danger is now over.

I made it to the same room Dad had Nate in and placed her on a table. I started to undo the millions of buttons that were on this dress. It may have been fun alone in our room, but I needed to see if she was hurt. I had seen the blood on the back of her head, but that was all I could see till I got this dress off. Though the blood did not seem to be getting any larger, I had to be sure.

Bethany opened her eyes and looked at me as I fumbled with her buttons.

'Hey.' Bethany whispered to me. I looked up at her and searched her face for something.

'I am fine. It was just a bump on the head, and Nate took the shot! She said, and I looked over to where Nate was on the table, lying on his belly, as Dad worked on his back, trying to stem the bleeding.

'How did you know?' I asked. I had not even seen him dart across in front of her; it was all too quick.

'I think we both saw the flash of light at the same time, but he darted in front of me and pulled me down with the

momentum, and I think Pam too. Why was someone trying to shoot me?' Bethany was in shock and started to shake like she was very cold.

I looked over at Dad and Thomas as they worked on Nate. I was so glad when the ambulance arrived. Dad explained what he had done so far and then loaded Nate up and left. Dad climbed into the ambulance with Nate.

Mum was in tears somewhere down the hall, and I was too busy worrying about Bethany to comfort her. Bethany sat up and helped me get her wedding dress off.

'Does blood come out? Kitty will be so upset that her mother's dress is ruined.' I am not sure Mum would be upset that the dress is ruined, more like happy Bethany is safe and, oh, the baby?

'ARE you sure you are okay? The baby?' I asked, very concerned for both.

'Yes, I am fine. You Pam, the baby?' Bethany asked, pushing any doubts about her own health aside.

'Pam, you took a hard fall with Bethany. Would you like for me to check you both out?'

'No, thank you, Theo; I know you are a doctor, but it does not feel right that my step-son-in-law checks me out!' I chuckled at how she said this; it would be weird. But I did not even think of that when I offered.

We managed to get the dress off Bethany, and Pam took it to Mum to see if she could soak it or something before it was stained. But I get the impression that Mum most likely removed the diamonds, chucked the dress, or put it away somewhere out of sight. Underneath the dress, Bethany was fine, with no sign of the bullet having hit her. I was concerned it might have gone through Nate and into Bethany. I did a check on the baby, and all seemed to be okay; there was no sign of any bleeding down there, and she was in no pain.

Bethany put on some jeans and a blouse, not wanting to put on the dress she had planned to wear; until we knew how Nate was, we did not feel like celebrating. Downstairs, several guests were still there, enjoying the food and soft music.

We walked around and chatted with the guests, trying to make the best of the situation. The guests were still there waiting to hear news about Nate, the hero. We ate and tried to enjoy what we had here, but it was hard. Mum kept breaking into tears, and Scott's team kept walking around and checking the fence line, reminding us of what had happened a short time ago.

Bob and Scott returned and nodded to Dad's office. I nodded, and with Bethany and Pam in tow, we headed there, leaving Mum to deal with the visitors. Cindy and Margaret comforted her and supported her as she tried to be there for the guests. 'This will be one wedding that will never be forgotten.' I heard one guest say.

Yeah, I am not likely to forget my wedding day ever.