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Chapter 17

Along the way to the hospital, Daniel couldn\'t stop his limbs from shaking.

Suicide?

Freezing needles pricked his stomach, and bile danced in his throat at the thought.

How could Sisley commit such a thing as suicide?

This thought consumed Daniel\'s mind as he raced to Sisley\'s operating room. But he was stopped by a sudden fist on his jaw.

He wasn\'t expecting that, and he fell straight on the floor.

"You\'ve got the nerves to show your face here!"

Daniel saw stars for a moment. He shook his head and rubbed his jaw as he eyed the man towering him. He was consumed with Sisley in mind that he didn\'t even saw Sisley\'s family waiting in front of the operating room. Especially her brothers.

"Sorry. I was the one who invited him," Max said and went in front of Daniel—shielding him from the murderous intent of Sisley\'s family.

"How could you? He is the reason why Sisley is in this state," Jen said and glared at Max.

"Enough. This is a hospital. This is not the place nor the time," Mrs. Lacroft said, weak as her voice. Her tears wouldn\'t stop. Her husband then comforted her in his embrace.

"I don\'t care. You get this bastard out of here before I kill him!" one of the brothers said.

Daniel got up, didn\'t bother to wipe the blood that opened from his already busted lips.

"I understand your anger, and I don\'t want any trouble. I just want to know if she\'s alright," Daniel said.

Jen snorted. "It\'s a little late for that, don\'t you think? She\'s already in the hospital, and it\'s best if you don\'t show your face before we call security to kick you out. Your presence only adds stress here."

". . ."

Max looked at Daniel, guilty for calling him. But he felt like Daniel needed to know. "I\'m sorry, man."

Daniel was silent before he looked at the people in front of him. Anger was apparent, and their disdain was palpable. He felt it even from just their stares.

"Alright. But call me if anything came up," Daniel said at Max and added, "please?"

Max was hesitant for a moment before he made a side-eye at Sisley\'s family. "I don\'t think it\'s the right time to visit yet, but I will inform you of her condition from time to time."

Max knew that he didn\'t have the right to decide, but he felt it was alright if it was just informing Sisley\'s condition.

"Thanks. Appreciate it." Daniel made one final glance at everyone before he decided to leave. Worried as he was, it was not the time to force his way.

Outside, he took a large intake of air and released it into the sky. He curled his fingers into the palm of his hands, not even feeling them digging in. His cheek was bleeding. His jaw seemed a little dislocated, and his face was covered in bruises.

But he felt nothing—just complete numbness.

  ----

"Your Highness! How is Sisley doing?"

Lilybella asked when the Richardson mansion door opened and came in Daniel with another wound on his face.

"Your Highness, you\'re bleeding!"

Daniel didn\'t even spare a glance and didn\'t stop when he walked past Lilybella. With his back facing her, he said, "I want you to move out."

". . ."

Lilybella\'s eyes almost popped out from their sockets. "Y-your Highness?"

"If Sisley finds out that you\'re living here. It wouldn\'t be good for her condition."

Lilybella\'s smile gradually fell. "Y-you\'re. . . getting back together with her."

It was not a question. She knew that they were going to get back together, and her heart dropped in the pit of her stomach.

Daniel didn\'t answer for a moment and said, "I want you to move out first thing tomorrow."

Lilybella felt like she was stabbed in multiple parts of her body. Not with a knife but with something much worse. And she knew the scar wouldn\'t heal.

"B-but . . . where will Lilybella go?"

"I don\'t care where you go!" Daniel snapped. "Rent a hotel or something. Or better yet, go back to Everland!"

Daniel stopped at the tears in Lilybella\'s eyes. Her big eyes seemed like they were melting, and the usual smile on her face was gone. Her cheeks were red, and her bottom lip clamped in between her teeth.

Daniel couldn\'t, for a second, look at her. It was painful. A pain he didn\'t want to understand.

Clenching his hands, he turned away. "Go wherever you want. Just not here." He then went to his room.

----

Chapter 18

BlackPine country, Cole\'s Manor

"I don\'t want to marry Maxine."

. . .

. . .

At Álvaro\'s announcement, heavy silence descended in the office of Marcos Cole.

Alex Cole looked at his eldest son. The temperature was cold, but he was sweating like crazy as his stomach churned.

Marcos Cole was silent. Then he reclined on his leather chair. "And what made you think that you can just break an engagement established long before you were even born?"

"It\'s because it\'s my life, and I have every right to decide who to marry," Alvaro said, face and voice serious. So distant from his usual playful demeanor.

Marcos\'s lips twitch. "Foolish boy!"

Alex flinched on his seat.

"Who do you think gave you everything you needed? Each wants you desire?" Marcos spat, "This family had provided you with everything! The only collateral is your obedience and loyalty!"

Marcos then looked at Alvaro in the eyes and said, emphasizing each word, "You will marry Maxine."

". . ." Alvaro was breathing heavily now. "True that the Coles has provided me with everything. But I already repaid it with my twenty-seven years of serving this family. All I\'m asking is not to marry a girl I don\'t love."

"Foolish!" Marcos hammered his cane on the floor. "Honor is the greatest virtue of this family. For generations, our ancestors valued and cherished honor above all else. Our family, our legacy is deeply rooted in honor. Our empire grew because of our loyalty to our words. And I will not let you be the first to break it."

Marcos stood from his seat and looked at Álvaro. "You will marry Maxine, and that is final!"

Alvaro stood from his seat and faced Marcos head-on. "No, grandfather. You\'re not protecting this family\'s honor but only yours. I will no longer be your puppet."

Then Álvaro turned his back and went for the door. "Disown me all you want, but I will not marry Maxine. And that is final."

"Alvaro!" Alex called, about to stop his son when he heard a loud thud. Turning, he saw his father on the floor, clutching his heart.

"Father!"

Alvaro stopped and looked back. The grim in his eyes changed into horror.

"Grandfather!"

  ----

"How\'s his condition?" Alvaro asked the moment the doctor went out of the operating room.

The doctor tugged his mask and faced the Cole\'s family. "The good news is, the operation is successful. We manage to bring him back from the dead. But we still had to monitor his vitals. The bad news is, his legs are paralyzed, and his kidney is failing. He needs to be dialysis, and he needs to remain in the critical wards for weeks."

Alex sighed and approached the doctor. "Can we visit him?"

The doctor shook his head. "You can only view him outside the room. But if his condition improved in the following weeks, we can transfer him to his private room. But I suggest not agitating him. Master Cole is old, and this is already his second stroke. We are lucky that he arrived in the hospital in time. But if another accident like this happened, it could result in total paralysis or even death," the doctor warned. Then he gave a few more remarks before he said his goodbye.

Alex sighed again while Alexis finally stopped biting his nails.

Alvaro was silent. Then he released a big breath—a sigh for what was coming.

"Álvaro," Alex called, tapping the shoulder of his son. "Can we talk for a moment?"

Alvaro didn\'t answer but nodded. They then went into one of the private rooms reserved for their family.

Alex faced his son and said straight to the point, "Marry Maxine."

Alvaro inwardly sighed. He didn\'t even know what to feel anymore.

"Son, do this first," Alex said, squeezing Alvaro\'s shoulder. "Do this for the family. We both know that you are the only one capable of leading this family. Asher is impulsive. Alexis is too young and naïve. I, too, am already old. If you leave now, the main family will fall apart. What will happen to your brothers then? Your mother? You know how many of the branch family eyed your position."

Álvaro\'s\' hands were white from being clenched. Nails were digging against his palm, but he didn\'t feel the pain—only frustration.

Alex\'s eyes softened, and his grip on Alvaro\'s shoulder weakened. "Do this first. Marry Maxine. Your grandfather is old. You can always wait for him to take his last breath before you file for divorce."

Alvaro looked at his father. For some reason, he wanted to punch him. "Just like what you\'re planning to do with mother?"

Alex\'s eyes turned cold, and he let go of Álvaro\'s shoulder. He took a step back and walked towards the floor to glass window.

"I only made sure that the main family remains in control. Your mother knows that too.  In the end, we both got what we wanted. The main family remains in control, and she lived the life any woman envied."

"Only lonelier and depressed," Álvaro spat.

Alex clasped his hand behind his back. His face stern and his voice deeper as he said, "That\'s why I\'m going to set her free."

"When grandfather dies?"

". . . Yes," Alex replied and faced the window again. "And if you are smart, you\'ll do the same. Do this not for the Coles but your brothers. I don\'t even have to tell you what their life would be if you\'re not the successor of the family."

". . .." Alvaro bit his lips and said no more.