Chapter 167: Victoria Learns Everything, And Left Me…!

Chapter 167: Victoria Learns Everything, And Left Me...!

The days following the prison break were incredibly hard on Star City. The sheer scale of the coordinated violence made worldwide headlines, focusing heavily on the fact that three distinct terrorist organizations had managed to execute a joint offensive inside the province.

The absolute pinnacle of the crisis involved the theft of the Star Wars military satellite, an orbital laser platform fully capable of reshaping the landscape of an impending world war. The crisis reached such a political height that the King of the United Kingdom of America had to issue a highly publicized apology to every nation involved, primarily because two of the three militant groups responsible for the raid had originated directly from within his borders.

Just from within the ranks of my own Fire Birds, I lost a total of eight lives during the initial breakout and the subsequent tactical retaking of the city blocks. As the commander who had personally given the explicit order to deploy and fight, I made a strict point to attend their cremations in person. I also ensured that every single family they left behind was permanently taken care of financially, guaranteeing that their lives were not lost in vain.

Ultimately, the Fire Birds were responsible for systematically eliminating close to half of the escaped inmates on the streets, while the overwhelmed police force managed to successfully recapture the vast majority of the rest. Laura and a core group of roughly ten lifetime criminals were the only high-value targets who had managed to escape the dragnet with their lives.

The moment I originally returned home from the executions, I explicitly told Mary to head back out and do her job with an easy heart. I had only kept her sheltered at the mansion because of the immediate threat posed by Steven Woo's hidden movements. I knew Mary would be perfectly fine trading gunfire with standard convicts, but she was definitely not equipped to counter an operative of Steven's caliber.

I immediately moved to support Lucy behind the terminals in the private computer room. Together, we managed to uncover the mercenaries' contingency plan to escape using a commercial oil tanker, but unhappily, by the time we verified Laura's exact maritime destination, their vessel had already escaped deep into the territorial waters of North America. That repositioning put them well outside the operational perimeter where Lucy's hidden combat drones could safely strike without triggering a massive international incident.

Right in the middle of this logistical aftermath, another shocking piece of news hit Eurasia completely out of nowhere.

The Hidden Dragons faction, operating under the direct command of Ashley Tang, launched a massive raid to seize the Long family estates, successfully capturing Kimberly Long along with her immediate inner circle. Ashley immediately took temporary control of all their corporate and syndicate assets, holding them until the former Head could return to fulfill his hereditary duties for the Long Clan.

David Long, the former Head of the family, was currently being brought back under heavy guard to personally deal with the fallout of the Long matter before the central government stepped in to permanently strip the bloodline of its illustrious position as a Guardian family.

The University infrastructure had officially canceled all classes for the remainder of the week due to the widespread chaos across Star City, allowing local families to gather together and secure their homes. Although the active street fighting had been relatively brief, the armed convicts had still managed to cause extensive harm to many civilian sectors.

I chose to send Hinata home using my private jet so she could deliver the news regarding Steven's death to her family in person. Even though he had been officially removed from their roster and remained a permanent stain on their legacy, he was still connected by blood. Hinata had aggressively protested the order, refusing to leave my side, but I told her flatly that I would be completely fine. I reminded her that handling this family closure was a strict part of her duties as my student and as a ranked member of the Fire Birds.

As for what Lucy and I managed to discover privately regarding the true architecture of this major scandal, the reality was deep. It turns out that the traditionalist faction operating within the Li clan had intentionally leaked classified data to the Chinese Empire regarding the projections for World War II. They had specifically suggested the high-profile theft of the Star Wars satellite system to guarantee that the upcoming global conflict would not escalate to include nuclear weapons.

Consequently, the Empire had hired their long-term covert partners, the Southern Cross, to retrieve the physical device from the facility. The Southern Cross had then turned around and hired the remaining prison gangs to act as a massive, violent smokescreen to cover the tracks of their corporate theft. As a result of that play, the Star Wars satellite platform was currently sitting snugly inside a secure military base deep within the Chinese Empire.

A massive amount of history had unfolded in just a few short days, but I knew the absolute biggest test of my mental strength was about to begin.

The clock drifted to exactly 2:37 PM on Saturday afternoon inside the private tenth-floor office of Phoenix Tower.

While I was stationed at my desk signing off on the final stack of financial documents, Jenifer’s smooth voice drifted over from her secretary station on my left.

"Master, Miss Kyusho has officially returned to the building and is currently on her way up the elevator bank. I am going to step into the restroom to prepare for our departure in a little while; I need a hot bath."

Seeing that there was absolutely no one else in the private office to witness the lapse in decorum, she tiptoed across the scarlet shag carpet, leaned down to press a soft kiss against my cheek, and vanished straight into our attached bath area. She really was incredibly adorable whenever the corporate cameras were turned off.

Knock. Knock.

After a few minutes of quiet, a sharp knock echoed from the outer door, and I called out for her to enter.

Dressed in her traditional crimson kimono, Hinata stepped through the threshold and carefully set her travel bag down against the wall. She slipped out of her footwear before stepping onto the plush red carpet, marching straight to the front of my white retro desk to offer a deep, formal bow.

"Greetings, Sensei. I am back."

I could instantly detect a distinct sense of relief washed over her aura, making it clear that a massive emotional burden had been lifted from her shoulders. It was obvious her family had highly praised her actions regarding Steven.

"Was your trip back to the Kyusho estate successful?" I asked, looking up from my laptop. "Did your parents take the news well?"

She reached into the folds of her crimson sleeve, pulling out two formal parchment envelopes to slide across the glossy desk.

"It went very well, Sensei. My parents explicitly asked me to deliver these documents directly to you as a token of their absolute thanks. But Sensei... what you read inside those pages is also my own genuine desire, and not something I am being forced into by the elders. I will go and utilize the bath now to clean myself and change into fresh clothing, if that is acceptable to you, Sensei?"

"Sure, go right ahead," I answered, gesturing toward the door. "But Jenifer is already in there right now, so don't be surprised when you walk in."

"Understood."

She offered another crisp bow, gathered her travel bag, and disappeared into the adjoining room. I anchored my eyes to the two letters, both written in intricate Japanese calligraphy, and let out a massive exhale.

"Sigh. Lucy, I bet you predicted every single line of this layout. But I guess I can't be a pussy about it either."

I glanced toward the door where the geisha-like beauty had just exited, picking up the first envelope to read her father's words.

The moment I slid the first document back into its envelope, I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair, carefully processing his explicit terms alongside Lucy’s past advice and Hinata's recent confession. I quietly questioned myself.

"I guess I truly do enjoy her company. I can't honestly say that I am deeply in love with her yet, but her personal loyalty is absolutely amazing, and the same goes for the rest of her family. So I guess this arrangement is perfectly fine, right?"

I shifted my focus to the second envelope, sliding out the letter from her mother. Her handwriting and stroke technique were absolutely splendid, displaying the precise discipline expected of a high-level swordswoman.

[To my Lord... I offer my deepest personal thanks for the profound training you have bestowed upon Hinata. I personally challenged her to a formal duel upon her arrival, and her skills are improving at a rapid pace. Your Black Dragon Style is clearly nothing that mere mortals can easily comprehend. Please, continue to pass these teachings down to Hinata so that she may eventually pass the lineage down to her own child. Our clan has honored the legacy of the Black Dragon for thousands of years, and to receive your personal instruction is the ultimate Kyusho blessing. I have spoken extensively with my daughter; she fully understands her hereditary duty and is more than willing to fulfill it. Thank you, Lord Black Dragon... Inu Kyusho.]

"The fuck?!" I blurted out to the empty room, my mind spinning into a sudden internal conflict. "Why the hell does her entire family think I am a literal Black Dragon? Is this some kind of Japanese mythological version of the Yellow Emperor or the Imperial Dragon? Wait, did Lucy know about this specific clan lore all along?"

Ring. Ring. Ring.

My smartphone suddenly began to vibrate across the desk, interrupting my panic over being labeled a Black Dragon instead of a Gold Dragon. Seeing Victoria's name flashing on the caller ID, I immediately answered the line.

"Hello, dear. I was planning to head over to your location the moment the ladies finished getting changed."

[Dear, my father is scheduled to arrive at my office in a few minutes,] Victoria’s voice came through the speaker, tight and strained with anxiety. [Will you be here to stand at my side for this meeting?]

I knew instantly that this interaction was going to center entirely around her past expulsion and her rightful claim to the Headship. Her father was an older, incredibly strict traditionalist; she had never maintained a close relationship with him growing up, choosing to bond almost exclusively with her mother.

"Vicky, I will drop absolutely anything for you," I answered instantly, shifting into motion. "Just give me a single moment to gather the girls, and I am on my way to your floor."

Fortunately, my corporate tower was located right near the Velvet Tower infrastructure, allowing my group of three to arrive at the Velvet Tower well ahead of schedule. As we rode the private elevator up through the central core of the building, I turned to address Jenifer and Hinata.

"While I am actively engaged in this meeting with Victoria and her father, I want the two of you to head straight up to the fortieth floor to wait for me. Lucy is already stationed up there waiting to let you into the secure suite."

"Yes, Master," Jenifer answered professionally, adjusting her glasses.

"Understood, Sensei," Hinata murmured, her hair still slightly damp from the shower.

The security guard operating the lift today wasn't Benz, but rather his close partner, Jeffery. He gave me a sharp nod, opening the security gates to let me off precisely on the thirty-ninth floor.

I stepped out onto the polished tile, and the heavy automated doors clicked shut behind my back. Straightening the jacket of my black, tieless suit, I walked down the extensive glass corridors that I had traveled regularly over the past several months.

As I made my approach, every member of the administrative staff blossomed into dynamic movements to greet me with deep respect. I had become an incredibly well-known figure across their corporate network, and the entire staff was fully aware of my standing.

The two executive secretaries stationed on duty at the front desk offered me a warm reception, with the head assistant smiling as she spoke.

"Mrs. Yang is currently meeting with Mrs. Long inside the main office, but they explicitly stated that you should just come right in the moment you arrive, sir."

"Thank you, I will do just that."

Gretta Yang had officially retired from her high-ranking position within the primary cosmetics company the exact moment Harem-Chat went completely independent from their corporate umbrella. She had explicitly requested to assume the role of CEO for the brand-new branch operating under Victoria's supervision, and I had been more than happy to grant her that authority. She was the one who had originally gone out on a limb to get the initial project off the ground, taking the assignment completely personally. Our team simply supported her with the technical back-end infrastructure, leaving her as the primary decision-maker for all ground operations and marketing campaigns.

The exact moment I pushed through the double doors into Vicky's spacious office, the striking blonde woman named Gretta was just preparing to make her exit. The second her eyes locked onto me, her professional posture vanished, and she lunged forward to wrap her arms around me in a warm hug that made me feel exactly like a coddled younger brother.

She let out a cheerful laugh, completely stepping past standard office boundaries as she bubbled over with words, saying, "I explicitly hung around the floor just so I could see you in person, Rick. You are always so incredibly busy these days, you really need to stop by my branch sometime soon so I can walk you through some of our newest advertising proposals. Oh, and my girls at home wanted me to say a massive thank you for those personalized autographs you and Kate sent over. Well, I absolutely have to sprint, I will see you in a few days for the main marketing meeting, fufu."

Before I could even frame a response or offer a basic polite greeting, she gave me a rapid wave, pivoted on her heel, and vanished straight down the glass corridor.

Honestly, if I were acting out the role of one of those absolute scumbag antagonists from a trashy urban web novel, I probably would have already formulated a ruthless plan to steal a stunning corporate woman like her away from her husband just to add her to my private collection, sigh.

Victoria, tracking the completely perplexed expression plastered across my face, stepped over to my side and wrapped her arms around my waist from behind. A teasing smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she murmured against my shoulder, "Don't worry, she is completely in love with her husband, fufu. She has just been a massive fan of yours ever since she saw your stage play performance. She specifically waited around after our meeting just so she could thank you and give you a hug, which is actually quite cute when you think about it."

I turned within her embrace, lifting a hand to cradle her cheek as I pressed a firm, reassuring kiss to her lips, holding her tightly against my chest as I replied, "Well, it looks like I made a solid impression on the—"

[Mrs. Long, your father has just arrived at the reception desk,] the administrative assistant's voice cut in sharply through the desktop intercom, slicing right through the quiet rhythm of our embrace. [Should I authorize his clearance and send him straight in now?]

The playful warmth evaporated from Victoria's face instantly, her expression growing incredibly stern as she caught her breath. She gripped my hand with a firm, unyielding strength, pulling me away from the desk toward the long executive couch positioned directly in the center of the room. The exact moment our thighs hit the premium cushions, she reached forward to depress the intercom toggle, directing firmly, "Please send him in."

The heavy wooden office door swung open a second later, allowing a sharp-eyed man in his mid-sixties to cross the threshold, followed closely by a professional woman in her late twenties who quietly secured the door behind them.

David Long, the former Head of the Long Clan, stood before us dressed in a sharp, bespoke business suit, his piercing purple eyes locking onto us from beneath a thick mane of salt-and-pepper hair as he marched toward the facing couch. He offered a tight, formal nod of acknowledgment to the two of us, clearly noting that neither Victoria nor I had made any effort to stand up out of respect for his entrance. The younger woman remained standing perfectly straight at his flank, clutching a reinforced leather briefcase with an unyielding grip that practically screamed she was a high-level corporate attorney.

David took his seat, keeping his tone perfectly level as he opened, "Victoria, and Mr. Tang. It is a genuine pleasure."

The sheer level of sarcasm dripping from his voice smelled like absolute bullshit to my senses. I could tell right then and there that Kimberly and Laura had naturally learned their vile, manipulative behaviors directly from this old turd; he simply possessed enough diplomatic discipline to hide his rot beneath a polished corporate veneer. Victoria tightened her grip on my bicep, her voice cutting through the air like a razor as she jabbed right back at him, saying, "Father, you look exceptionally well. How exactly can I help the Long family core today?"

The sheer confidence behind her delivery made me want to pull her into another kiss and give her a high-five for the absolute disrespect. David didn't even blink, addressing the elephant in the room with a cold, matter-of-fact delivery, explaining, "Kimberly has completely deceived my judgment, and now the entire infrastructure of the Long Clan is facing a terminal crisis. Consequently, I am here today to formally request that you either abdicate your hereditary rights to take the helm of the Long family as our official new Head, or step aside to let your cousin Vinnie assume the mantle."

"Passing my birthright down to a side branch will never be considered under any circumstances," Victoria countered instantly, her posture stiffening as she glared across the table. "I am no longer recognized as a member of the Long clan due to your choices, and you know every single detail about how that expulsion was handled, right? So as far as I am concerned, you can let the entire Long legacy fall into the dirt."

David let out a long, controlled breath, shifting his weight as he countered, "Sigh. You must understand that it was fully within her legal rights as the active Head to remove your name from the roster."

Victoria simply grinned at him like a ruthless corporate vulture, completely dismantling his defense as she rebutted, "And yet, you willingly stood by and allowed her to strip my name away over something completely trivial, like marrying the husband of my choice. So what? You are the one who ultimately chose to place Kimberly at the helm of a sinking ship, father."

David's purple eyes narrowed slightly, the diplomatic facade slipping for a fraction of a second as he growled, "Victoria, I am no child to be lectured. Tell me your exact terms."

She let out a mocking, derisive laugh, looking down her nose at him as she questioned, "Terms? I don't need a single term from you. I am already massively successful without the backing of the Long family name, and my husband and my unborn child are already incredibly well off financially. So, father, I have absolutely no use for your terms. My personal situation remains absolutely terrific whether the Longs are sitting on top of the world or rotting at the bottom of the food chain, but I will absolutely not surrender my stolen birthrights to an incompetent branch that doesn't deserve the leverage."

I remained perfectly quiet, watching the fallout display. I knew for a fact that Lucy was aggressively pushing for Vicky to assume total control of the Long Clan for the sake of my long-term empire, but honesty dictated that if my wife truly wanted to watch her bloodline burn, I could easily do without their assets. An oppressive, heavy silence stretched across the office as the father and daughter locked eyes in a brutal staring contest. Finally, David broke his gaze, turning his purple eyes directly toward me as he pleaded, "The initial choices were made over twenty years ago, and I cannot, nor would I ever change the historical decisions I finalized for the preservation of the Long Clan. So please, do not allow Victoria's rightful birthright to fall into complete ruin simply because you harbor a deep hatred for my past actions."

A wide, cold smile spread across my face, and I shook my head in total dismissal of his emotional leverage, answering, "I don't care about a single shred of that history anymore. I have my lovely wife sitting right here beside me, an entire household of family members who love me unconditionally, and a beautiful baby boy growing right inside her belly. Why on earth should I care about what you, Kimberly, and Laura did to protect your standing back then? My father made his own conscious choices as a grown man, and I accept the reality of his path. As for Laura and the rest of the scum who actively participated in killing my father, I will deal with them using my own hands. You are strictly Victoria's father, and this succession issue is entirely between you and her."

David cleared his throat, leaning forward as he revealed a piece of critical intelligence I was completely unaware of until now, explaining, "The Central Government authorities have already taken Kimberly into custody, transferring her directly to the Capital due to her illegal exposure of classified knowledge regarding the internal operations of the Four Heads. She will never be permitted to leave that secure facility again for the remainder of her life. Please, I beg of you, assume control of the Long Clan right now before our entire structure is dissolved. Do not take the position for the sake of the main branch elite; do it for the sake of every single Long family member currently living across Azure, and for the thousands of corporate employees who rely entirely on our syndicate's financial support to survive. Come with me to the primary family vault immediately to sign the official transfer documents. This is Ruby Yen, she is a specialized Central Government attorney who has been cleared to walk you through the legal procedures right now."

Victoria turned her head, searching my eyes for guidance, and I simply offered her a casual shrug of my shoulders to let her know the choice was hers.

"My primary job on this earth is to support whatever decision you make," I murmured softly, laying it out for her. "The only major upside I can physically see in this arrangement is that our newborn boy would legally become the next undisputed Head of the Long Clan in the future, so there is always that political leverage to consider."

David's jaw tightened, looking exactly like a man who had just been forced to swallow a bucket of fresh shit as the realization settled in that a child carrying half-Tang blood would eventually inherit his entire ancestral legacy. But beneath his disgust, his survival instincts won out; preserving their status as a Guardian family was infinitely more important than maintaining a tiny bit of personal pride. Victoria squared her shoulders, delivering her terms with absolute finality.

"First, my son is explicitly locked in as the next Head of the family line, and second, Rick is coming with us inside that vault right now."

David let out a defeated breath, answering, "Fine."

Within twenty minutes, Mei had pulled our luxury armored limo directly up to the Velvet Tower entrance to retrieve me, Vicky, Hinata, and Jenifer. We fell into a tight security formation, following her father's transport straight toward the main Long estate, descending deep into the subterranean levels where the secure family vault was housed alongside the government attorney.

The heavy hydraulic security doors hissed open as Ruby Yen, David, Victoria, and I stepped into the heavily reinforced antechamber leading toward the primary vault room. The weight of what was waiting inside suddenly slammed into my chest, making me remember a critical piece of historical lore. I stepped in close to Victoria, leaning my head down to whisper directly into her ear before she could take another step forward.

"Whatever you happen to learn once you step past those doors, I need you to remember the baby and keep yourself completely calm. And Vicky... I am so incredibly sorry. Just please know that I love you more than life itself."

Victoria paused, tracking the deep look of guilt flooding my face, completely unable to tie my sudden emotional display to whatever assets were resting inside her family's vault. The look of a man who felt like he was actively betraying her trust was entirely evident in my eyes, but she simply offered me a slow, reassuring nod before turning back toward the gateway. I could only stand back and wait for her ultimate verdict.

Ruby Yen stepped up to the primary control console, inputting her high-level government encryption codes as she addressed my wife, saying, "Mrs. Long, the statutes dictate that only you and your father may pass beyond this structural threshold. You are legally permitted to enter this vault exactly one time during your ascension, and you are forbidden from ever speaking a single word regarding what you learn inside, even to your immediate family members. Only the past and present active Heads are permitted to know the true contents of this vault. I am unlocking the primary seal now with the explicit approval of the Central Government. The moment you choose to exit, the vault door will permanently re-lock on its own tracking, and I shall not permit you back inside under any circumstances. I have already confiscated all of your recording and electronic communication devices, so good luck, new Head of the Long Clan."

With a loud clunk of heavy iron bolts retracting, the massive vault doors slid aside, and the father and daughter stepped inside the dark archive of the Long family legacy.

After a full hour had ticked by inside the cold stone vault, Victoria found herself collapsed into a reinforced chair, her trembling fingers holding open a massive, metal-plated tome filled with intricately engraved sheets of thin metal pages.

Thunk!

Victoria's fingers completely lost their strength, allowing the heavy metal book to slide from her grasp and hit the floorboards as she finished reading a highly classified historical chapter, the light in her purple eyes going entirely dull with shock. David stepped over to retrieve the tome, checking the exact segment her eyes had been anchored to before a triumphant smile spread across his wrinkled face.

"Yes, that chapter reveals the true, unvarnished reason our ancestors originally fled the borders of the Chinese Empire exactly two thousand years ago," he noted, his voice echoing in the enclosed vault. "And although it sounds completely impossible to believe for modern minds, the legend of the Yellow Emperor is completely real. He has successfully reincarnated multiple times over the course of human history, stretching back over thirty thousand years ever since the first China Emperor originally reigned and brought the dawn of human civilization to the planet. The last confirmed Yellow Emperor walked our very own Eurasian soil almost five hundred years ago. Now you can finally comprehend exactly why I was so incredibly enraged when Rick Senior refused to marry Laura. My absolute rage stemmed from the fact that our golden opportunity to have the next reincarnated Yellow Emperor born directly into the Long bloodline was completely dashed in a single night, sigh."

Victoria slowly lowered her hand, resting her palm flat over her stomach as she closed her eyes to steady her rapid breathing. She focused entirely on calming the erratic rhythm of her heart, her mind racing back to process my cryptic warning right before she entered the room, before charting a path all the way back to her very first casual meeting with me...

Several agonizing hours slowly ticked away in the outer hallway, and the local time was already beginning to drift past the standard dinner hour. I could only pace the concrete floor, silently hoping that she had at least eaten the high-protein emergency bar I had forced into her hand before she crossed the threshold. I let out a ragged sigh, the heavy realization dawning on me that she might actively be delaying her exit simply because she couldn't bear the thought of facing me after what she had uncovered.

I sat heavily into a nearby chair, completely at a loss for words, my mind spinning as I tried to map out how to explain the unexplainable to her. Out of everyone in my life, only Lucy and Mei possessed the full tactical knowledge of my past-life origins, along with the active leaders of the other three great head families. But outside the borders of the Li clan network, that was still an incredibly small circle of trust.

Click. Thud.

The massive pneumatic seals of the vault door suddenly hissed, and the heavy iron structure ground open before securing itself shut. I snapped to my feet instantly, alongside the government attorney, my eyes tracking the doorway.

Victoria stepped into the light of the antechamber, her purple eyes looking incredibly timid and vulnerable as they slowly rose to lock onto my blue eyes. The heavy silence in the room made it instantly clear: Victoria now knew absolutely everything about who and what I was.

Ruby Yen checked the glowing display of her digital watch, turning to offer a professional nod to my wife as she broke the silence, noting, "My legal assignment here is officially completed, so I am heading straight back to the Capital. Good luck, Head Long. May your family line successfully regain its former glory. Goodbye."

David Long let out a jubilant laugh, immensely relieved to have successfully unloaded the near-total collapse of the Long Clan's infrastructure onto his daughter's shoulders, answering cheerfully, "I will personally walk you out to your transport, counselor. Let's go."

Without a single backward glance at the two of us, he happily marched out of the subterranean facility alongside the lawyer, leaving the heavy security doors to click shut behind them.

After the two of us were left entirely alone in the dim light of the subterranean corridor, I looked down at the floor, the heavy weight in my chest finally breaking as I whispered, "I am sorry, Victoria. For not telling you the truth..."

Then, Victoria left me...

Speechless, as she suddenly lunged forward, grabbed my shoulders, and buried my face directly into her chest. She began gently patting my back, wrapping her arms completely around my frame and cradling me like a sad, exhausted child.

"You have truly had it rough, haven't you?" Victoria murmured, her voice warm and thick with emotion against my ear. "Rick, I will always love you, you silly man..."

Unconsciously, my arms tightened around her waist the exact moment those comforting words hit my ears. The raw reassurance sounded completely different coming from Vicky’s lips, carrying a grounding weight that felt entirely distinct from the calculated awareness of Lucy and Mei.

I had successfully manned up and aggressively faced down every single trial thrown at me so far in this life, but the agonizing uncertainty of not knowing whether Victoria would accept my cosmic reality or feel deeply betrayed had left my heart tightly constricted. I leaned into her warmth, crying silently for just a brief moment within her comforting embrace.

It was absolutely no mental breakdown, but rather a sudden, overwhelming surge of pure happiness that she could so easily forgive me for hiding my biggest secret from her. She stroked my hair, adding softly, "I will officially surrender my scheduled night next Friday over to Hana to let her rest with the baby, but tonight, I am going to hold you tightly, my love."

Both of us remained locked in that quiet embrace for a little while longer, letting the emotional storm settle before I finally ended the silence, looking up to meet her purple eyes.

"I have a massive amount of things I want to tell you about tonight, Vicky. Let's go home."