"Do you know how badly I want to kill Dad right now? He made me believe you were dead! Dead Xavier! I thought... thought I lost a piece of me, and it hurt like hell." Xylia said, hugging her brother tightly. He knew what their father did was wrong, but they all had their best interest in mind. If it were him, he would have done the same. Their family loved them, and his father hated that Xavier and Elias had to take the throne, which Xavier was now reconsidering.
In the back of his mind, he didn't think he was quite right to be Don, but he knew it was for the best at the time. Xerxes was in a coma, and Elijah was nowhere near fit to be Don. Zay had no choice, but now he felt he was a bigger threat to his family than their enemies were. They all wanted him and the rest dead because they were scared. They weren't quiet, or did they stand back and let shit ride. In Xavier's eyes, if someone threatens him or his family, they die without questions, but that fear leads to their enemies doing shit without thinking, as they did last night.
On the other hand, his father, Opa, and the others were more of letting their enemies start a war first. Truly this near-death experience had him thinking as he held his sister and baby girl in his arms. He didn't want to leave either of them or his wife. So, at this moment, he had some thinking to do. "Xylia, stop crying. You're upsetting, Raya. I know it was wrong for Dad and Opa to let you think I was dead, but they did what they thought was right to wee out the enemy. Setiawan showed his true colors last night, costing him his life. Let's be grateful one enemy is out of the way. Now we need to find Pierre and end him." He spoke while making eye contact with Barkley nodding his head.
Xavier could tell the man had some shit on his mind as he did. Elias showed the same expression, although he should have been still in his hospital room. Once Elias woke, he started ripping off everything hooked to him and then made his way back to his family. He was relieved to learn Xavier was okay, but Elias was in deep thought. In a way, all of them were thinking the same shit. Were they ready for what was to come? Zay's answer was easy, but he didn't know about the other two. Lying in a hospital bed made him rethink a lot of shit, and it wasn't all good. He could have easily died tonight if the bullet had hit three inches to the right. Somehow, he had a guardian angel on his shoulder for the second time. "Shy baby, are you okay?"
She had been too quiet sitting with her head down, and it worried Xavier as she looked up with a tear-stained face causing him to reach for his wife quickly. It hurt like hell, but she needed him, and he needed her, but Xylia refused to move. "Empress...."
"She's fine, Ark.... Hey Ry, could you go find Dad and Opa? I want to speak with them." He said, kissing Shy's head as she let out a sob. A few seconds later, Xylia did the same, which made it hard for the others to hold back theirs. "Y'all know I'm alive, right? Stop crying. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
"Promises are shit. We almost lost you... I almost lost, Xavier. I know you're trying to put on a brave face for me, our daughter, your siblings, and so on, but.... But we saw you get fucking shot. From our point of view, the bullet hit you in the head. We couldn't do shit... I couldn't do shit, and for a full twelve hours, I thought you were dead. That fucking shit hurt Xavier. It fucking hurt. So, I'm going to damn cry until I know this is real... until I feel safe in your arms again." At this point, his twin nicely moved and pulled his crying daughter from his arms, allowing him to kiss his wife.
"You feel that? That means I am real, and I'm not going anywhere." He spoke, kissing her repeatedly as his father and Opa entered the room. "Soon as I'm released, we are going home, but until then. I need to speak with my dad and Opa...."
"I don't want to leave you."
"Aw, that's sweet; now get the fuck out!" Luca said as all the women sighed, standing. He was beginning to be a big jackass. The older Luca got more they hated what came out of his mouth. Still, they loved him, and like now, all the females made sure to hug Luca and Xerxes before leaving and calling him out of his name. "There is a simpler way to get them out, Dad." X laughed while Luca arched a brow.
