Again, I wanted to give you all a heads up that there may be some scenes of violence and heartbreak in this chapter that you might not like and wanted to apologise for that in advance.
He's Gone - Part 4.
"Good afternoon, Mr Andrews," Sasha smiled happily as she emerged from the Queen's office and saw him entering through the main door.
"Good afternoon, Sasha," Philippe smiled as he closed the door behind him and made his way slowly towards her, walking towards him in the foyer. "And please, call me Philippe. We have known each other long enough now."
"Of course," Sasha smiled as they come to a stop in front of one another. "How are you today?"
"Oh same old," he smiled while removing his gloves and holding them together in one hand, "it's a bit cold out there today."
"Yes it is, there's certainly a chill in the air, so it's a good job you are wrapped up nice and warm isn't it," Sasha smiled while gesturing to his nice cozy looking coat and scarf wrapped round his neck keeping him warm.
"Yes, it is," he nodded, "winters definitely starting to kick in now, it won't be long before there's snow on the ground."
"I'm sure it won't be," Sasha smiled, watching him look thoughtfully across the foyer at the idea of snow.
"Anyway, why I'm here…" he said while looking back to his daughter's assistant, "is Clarisse about?" He asked and smiled. "I thought I would pop in and make sure she's alright, you know, after all this business over the weekend."
"She's in the drawing room with the prime minister at the moment, but it's not an official meeting so I'm sure she wouldn't mind you knocking to see her," Sasha replied and watched as the Queen's father glanced across the foyer to the drawing room door a brief moment before looking back to her.
"Oh no, I wouldn't want to interrupt them and intrude," Philippe said with a shake of his head, "can you kindly let her know that I popped in and to give me a call when she gets a chance."
"Of course I can," Sasha nodded with a smile.
"Thank you, Sasha," he smiled, "enjoy the rest of your day."
"I will, and you too," Sasha smiled and watched as he turned to walk back over to the door to leave before heading on her way.
Reaching the main door to leave, Philippe stopped a moment to put his gloves back on before heading back out into the cold air when he heard a noise. A smashing sound, followed by a muffled scream coming from the drawing room. Looking up, his heart began to race as he remembered Sasha telling him that's where his daughter was with the prime minister. And before he knew what he was doing, he was hurrying towards the door, to find out what was going on, and to make sure his Clarisse, his bunny, was okay. But nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to discover beyond the door.
Opening that door just seconds later, his gaze instantly fell upon the prime minister putting his hand up around his daughters throat, before forcing her to one side, and out the way of the sideboard, before shoving her backwards and pinning her hard against the wall behind her.
In that moment everything seemed to move in slow motion as he lunged towards them, knowing he had to do something to help her, to stop that man from hurting his daughter. All the while wondering where the hell her security team were. "Get of my girl," he roared as he started hitting, pushing and doing what ever he could to try and get him off her.
"Père, no, don't," Clarisse exclaimed breathlessly, her chest heaving rapidly from the effort of trying to fight back against the prime minister and watched as he raised his free arm and shoved her father onto the floor in one hard shove. Causing his head to hit the corner of one of the dining table chairs as he fell to the floor. "Noooo," she screamed, tears now spilling from her eyes as she stared down at her father lying motionless on the floor. "Père," she cried helplessly, her voice a mere whisper.
"Well, now I know where you get your fiestiness from," the prime minister smirked back at her, pinned tightly against the wall by his hand still around her throat. "And I must admit, I do love a fiesty woman."
Her heart was beating so hard in her chest that she felt like it might explode as she looked back up at him, the man pinning her to the wall by her throat. The man she and her husband thought was a friend. The man who was the prime minister of their country, and the same man who had just hurt her father right in front of her. "You're a sick, evil man!" She exclaimed, as he turned her in anger and shoved her to the floor too. Causing her to scream out in pain as the back of her head hit the floor with a thud. "You won't get away with this." She cried.
Stepping over her, so a foot was on the floor either side of her legs he slowly lowered himself and straddled her body while pinning her arms to the floor as she fought back against him. "GET OFF ME!" She screamed.
"Excuse me," the King said and tapped on the prime minister's shoulder with one hand while clenching his other hand into a fist, ready for him as he turned his head to look up at the King standing over him and Clarisse. "She told you to get off," he exclaimed and uncharacteristically punched him, knocking him backwards before looking to his wife lying on the floor, her hand now gently holding her throat as she desperately tried to catch her breath.
Scrambling to his feet, Henri instinctively put his hand up onto his nose, to check to see if it was bleeding, and pulling it back to find blood on his fingers he looked back up at the King. "You broke my nose."
"Clarisse, are you okay?" Rupert asked while stepping closer to her and held out his hands for her, carefully helping her to her feet.
"I'm fine, but I need to help my père," she nodded tearfully before hurrying to tend to her father still lying unconscious on the floor as the King looked back to the prime minister.
"I'm not a violent person, prime minister, but that first punch was for hurting my father-in-law," Rupert snapped and punched him once again, even harder this time and knocked him off his feet onto the floor. "And that one's for hurting my wife." He said, shaking his hand as pain ripped through his fingers and wrist, and stared down at the prime minister laid on his back in shock, before looking back to his wife now kneeling down beside his father-in-law. "Is he okay?"
Looking up at her husband, Clarisse shook her head. "We need an ambulance," she cried, her tears now running down her face and falling onto her blouse as she looked back down at her father slowly opening his eyes and looking up at her. "It's going to be okay père, we are going to get you to hospital and everything's going to be okay. I promise."
"Security," Rupert yelled while hurrying over to the telephone stand and picked up the receiver to call for an ambulance. "We need security in here, NOW!" He shouted while dialling emergency services for an ambulance and put the phone up to his ear as Andre and Peter came running into the room. "Where the hell were you?" He yelled at them.
"My chest hurts," Philippe said groggily while putting his hand up onto his chest. "It feels so tight."
"I'm so so sorry, père," Clarisse cried as she moved closer to the top part of his body and gently lifted his head and shoulders into her lap before holding her hand out beside them to find it was covered in blood. Trying not to panic, knowing it would be from the gash on his forehead from when he hit the corner of the dining table chair when he fell, she moved her arm behind her and wiped her hand as best as she could on the back of her skirt.
"It's not your fault, bunny," he said, slowly closing his eyes. "I love you, always remember that."
"I know you do père, and I love you too," Clarisse nodded with tears in her eyes and bent down to kiss his head gently, "I will remember, of course, but it's going to be okay. You'll see," she whispered, praying for a miracle, as her husbands bodyguard, Hugo, came running into the room with another security guard.
Hanging up the phone after requesting an ambulance and the police, Rupert turned back to the guards in the room. "Hugo and Stephen," he said as they looked at him, "restrain that man and take him to a different room until the police arrive, I want him out of my sight," he snapped and glared over at the prime minister now sitting up. "And then Hugo," he said and looked to his bodyguard, "I want an investigation as to how, and why, this was allowed to happen. I need answers."
"Right away, your highness," Hugo bowed his head and got to work with Stephen, restraining the prime minister and taking him away to the security office, as the King looked at Peter.
"Peter, track down Lyle, he's about the grounds somewhere, and inform him that there's been an accident and that he needs to come straight away please," the King requested before looking towards Andre, "and Andre, inform the rest of the security team that there's been a security breech."
"Of course, your highness," both bodyguards said in unison before bowing their heads and leaving the room.
Turning his attention back to Clarisse and his father-in-law, Rupert moved across the room and knelt down on the floor beside them. "An ambulance is on the way, Clarisse, and the police too."
"Okay, thank you," Clarisse nodded as she continued to look down at her father a moment longer before looking up at her husband. Briefly taking her bottom lip between her teeth as she glanced across the room and then back at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. "I can't lose him too, not now," she whispered tearfully and shook her head slightly, trying her best to suppress a sob.
"I know," he nodded, not really knowing what else he could say to her, and with not wanting to give her false hope by telling her everything will be alright, because he didn't know that. No one knew if it was going to be okay, he simply put his hand up onto her back and smoothed it up and down a few times instead as she looked back down at her father. He did know though that he needed to be there for her, especially after everything she's been through in such a short space of time, and he vowed right there and then that's exactly where he's going to be. Whenever she needed him, no matter what time, day or night, he would be there for her. She was still his wife after all.
"What's going on," Philippe exclaimed as he hurried into the drawing room with Sabrina following close behind and suddenly stopped when he saw the scene that lay before him. "What the hell happened?"
"Oh good god," Sabrina exclaimed from behind Philippe and put her hand up to cover her mouth as Clarisse and Rupert looked over at them.