Rivan returned from his meeting and found Xiran had gained consciousness but was still in bed.

"Frila, did he eat anything?" he inquired after she told him that he was awake.

"Good evening Señor! No, he only drank some blood. He said he wasn’t hungry," worries marred her face.

"Prepare food for him and bring it into the room, we will eat together," he instructed before making his way to the room.

Opening the door he found him sitting on the bed staring at the wall in front of him. Anguish flawed his handsome face, he seemed lost, unaware, and depressed.

"Xi!" Rivan called out to him softly and stepped closer.

"Hey!" Xiran turned to face his friend. His grey orbs were still moist and a permanent sadness had descended on them.

"How are you feeling?" Rivan sat down next to him and placed his hand on his arm.

"Lost...," he said in a voice that held all his pain and all his sufferings.

"You want to talk about it?" Rivan gently asked and Xiran informed him of what he had done. Rivan’s lips were forming a thin line by the time his friend finished confiding in him.

"Oh! Xi, why did you sacrifice your love? You should have waited and we could have come up with a plan. We could have hidden Aselia instead of going to this extreme measure," Rivan tightly held his friend’s arm seeing the tortured expression on his face. His own heart felt pained beyond measure learning that his friend sacrificed his love so he could keep them safe.

"No! Rivan. She needed to be free, I can’t hide her forever and I can’t defeat my father. So I have lost on every front and I don’t deserve to have love in my life," his declarations were making Rivan regretful. His friend had lost so much and now he had to lose the person he had fallen in love with.

"Quit that thinking. Don’t let his mind games get to you. You realise that’s what he wants, to see you defeated to see you plummet into darkness so he can mould you the way he wants," he lightly reprimanded him for trying to give up. Xiran he knew never gave up.

"Right now I don’t care about my father or his actions, or his games. My focus is on you people and my city, I will do everything in my power to keep you all safe."

His expression was dark as the light fell on half side of his face and Rivan knew his heart had already darkened to some extent. And this darkness would taint him to the point of no return. He was afraid that Xiran might trudge on a shadowy path which will lead him right to where his father wanted.

"Erase her memories, Xiran. Let yourself breathe, let yourself have a fresh start," Rivan suggested, hoping he would agree. This jolted Xiran and he gave him a deathly stare.

"That can never happen. I will always love her, haven’t I lost enough? That I have to erase her memories too? Let me keep those at least, I want to cherish them. Besides, even if I was to erase her memories, my father already knows about her and would remind me and I will set out to find her."

"But, Xi! They will haunt..." Xiran raised his hand showing his friend that he didn’t want to dwell on this topic any longer. There was this dangerous glint which shone in his eyes as he said: 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I don’t want to discuss this any longer. We have some serious agendas to deal with. Let’s dwell on that."

Rivan felt his heart sinking, he was going to shut everyone out and suffer alone. He couldn’t even try to push him, that would only result in him breaking. So Rivan decided to put a pause on this topic for now and just be there for him, quietly.

"I am listening, what do you have in mind?" Rivan maintained the softness in his voice, never raising it. His calm personality aided in maintaining a healthy atmosphere to carry out conversations.

"We need to set up an orphanage, I don’t trust the ones we are affiliated with. They have not been loyal. It’s time we take this step and save the future of as many kids as possible," Xiran had been constantly thinking about this from the moment he had learnt how Aselia was shifted from one to another and finally ended up where she was. And seeing that little girl in the street made him extremely determined to take this step.

"I have been thinking about this initiative too but if your father is to learn of it, this plan could bring us a lot of heartaches," Rivan apprehensively answered back.

"I have a plan. We will build a library as the front and all of the orphanage will be built underground. It will be hidden and only a select few will have access."

"I agree," Rivan nodded his head as Xiran continued to speak:

"Rivan we need to do this for kids, so many have been orphaned in the recent attack. They need a proper place to live. I want work to start on it by tomorrow and be completed as soon as possible."

His determination and stubbornness showed in his eyes and Rivan knew he didn’t want more kids to end up as Aselia did. Somehow he held himself responsible for her life too when it was not his fault but his father’s.

"That indeed is a solid plan. I will call the contractor and cartographer tomorrow and we will begin this project."

"Good, how is the rehabilitation going? King Zohane has transferred me a huge sum of money, and although I asked him that I didn’t need it and can manage, he insisted. So have some of our other allies. Tomorrow I am going to distribute it to needy parties. We need to make a list of which infrastructure requires how much amount."

"It will be done," Rivan continued to agree with his friend to not aggravate him.

"And, one last important matter. I want you to find Treia and kill her," there was this bitterness in his voice as he said that. This was the first time he had asked him to kill a woman.

"Consider it done," Rivan squeezed his arm and he nodded at his friend.

A soft knock on the door and Frila entered with their food.

"Thanks, Frila, kindly place the food on the table," she did as Rivan said and with a slight bow left the room very quietly.

"Come let’s eat together," Rivan asked but Xiran seemed disinterested.

"I am not hungry," he mumbled.

"Eating is important if you want to work on all these projects you are planning. So let’s discuss this further over dinner," Rivan got up and offered his hand to his best friend who sighed heavily but took his hand and got up to have dinner after three days.