Clack!

Liza jolted when one of the small pots she was working on tipped over and shattered on the floor. But before she could react, the sound of a chime echoed through the flower shop.

"Don’t — I’ll clean it!"

Tommy’s voice rang out as he hurried toward her and crouched beside the shattered pot. Instead of picking up the pieces immediately, he checked the soil first.

"Did you already put a seed in it?" he asked, using one of the broken shards to move the soil around. "How small is the seed? And do we keep the soil?"

Liza chuckled softly at him. Of course, her husband knew what mattered most to her.

Tommy looked up in confusion. "Hmm?"

"It’s just normal soil," she assured him. "Let me help you clean it up."

The couple cleaned together, Tommy gathering the broken pieces while Liza handed him a broom and dustpan. By the time he finished and sat down, she had already served him tea.

"Still as clumsy," he teased. "But that’s your first accident this month."

She laughed and sat beside him. "Stop teasing me. I’ve been trying to be careful. I’m making progress."

Tommy only shook his head and sipped his tea.

As they sat quietly together, Tommy noticed Liza staring absentmindedly at one of the flowers on the shelf. After all their years together, he recognized that look immediately, no matter how faint it was.

"What is it?" he asked, setting his teacup down. "What’s bothering my beautiful and graceful wife?"

Liza raised a brow and smiled. "Is there anything I can hide from you, Tom?"

"I wish you wouldn’t hide anything from me."

"Haha." She laughed softly. "I was talking to Ashley earlier."

His eyes brightened instantly. "How is she? Is she doing well? Did you tell her we’re coming to the party?"

"Tsk." Liza clicked her tongue, earning a playful chuckle from him.

"Is she alright?" he asked more gently.

"Lucian is taking good care of her like usual," Liza hummed. "But she asked me something today."

Curiosity flickered in Tommy’s eyes.

"She asked how we did it," Liza said. "How we managed to leave that kind of life when your position seemed impossible to walk away from."

"Ah." Tommy nodded knowingly before chuckling. "Did you tell her the truth?"

"Of course." Liza exhaled softly. "Otherwise, she might misunderstand."

Misunderstand and think it had been easy.

Liza and Tommy hadn’t earned this peaceful life without sacrifice. It had cost them heavily, and no amount of goodness afterward could fully repay that price. They also lost people, loved ones. So, protecting this life was their only way to at least atone.

Tommy studied her before smiling faintly. "If it’s them, it may not be impossible."

"Hmm?"

"Lucian and Ashley," he explained. "I think they’re better than we were. So they’ll probably do better too." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

He leaned back slightly.

"Back then, no one guided us. No one gave us advice. We just did what we could and hoped it worked." Tommy looked at her reassuringly. "Whatever’s making Ashley and Lucian think about these things... they’ll figure it out. It won’t be easy, but I think they have a better chance than we ever did."

"Right?" Liza smiled softly, because she wanted to believe that too.

But then her brows rose. "Lucian?"

Tommy nodded. "He called me the other day."

"He did?"

"Mhm." Tommy chuckled. "He asked me almost the same thing. Honestly, it’s flattering that the Black Dragon of Dominion came to me for advice."

A brief silence settled between them before Liza burst into warm laughter, covering her lips with the back of her hand.

"They’re adorable," she said fondly. "It’s true. They’ll do better than us."

She looked at him teasingly. "After all, they’re on the same wavelength unlike us back then."

"That’s because you hated me," Tommy muttered with a frown.

"I didn’t hate you," she corrected. "I just misunderstood a lot of things."

Soon, the conversation drifted naturally into other topics, just like always. Little by little, Liza’s worries about Ashley faded as she chose to trust both Ashley and Lucian.

*****

Meanwhile, in another country...

Lukas massaged his brow from the backseat of the car. Even after taking medicine, the headache hadn’t eased much.

Clicking his tongue irritably, he glanced out the window. The displeasure on his face only deepened his already sour mood.

All he could see were endless trees lining both sides of the road, making him snicker under his breath.

"Of course," he murmured, eyes glinting coldly. "They’d hold this meeting somewhere difficult to find."

Or rather, somewhere far beyond Dominion’s reach. Otherwise, Lucian might catch wind of it.

Lukas crossed one leg over the other, swinging it mildly.

"They better make sure this is worth flying across the globe for," he muttered while checking his phone for updates.

He ignored most of the notifications until Nikki’s message caught his attention. His brows rose as he opened it, chuckling quietly at the attached photo.

[Life of an Unemployment]

The photo showed a balcony overlooking the beach.

"She got kicked out of the company, not freed from responsibility," he muttered before replying.

[Lukas: Enjoy.]

[Nikki: Doing my best.]

[Lukas: Enjoy doing your best. It’s better than plotting how to kill Gustav.]

A laughing sticker popped up in response, making him shake his head.

Lukas stared at their chat for a moment before sighing quietly.

What Gustav did angered him — not because it was wrong. Deep down, Lukas understood Gustav had done what he believed necessary. Despite their constant tension, Lukas trusted Gustav more than almost anyone else.

What upset him was how Gustav handled it.

This was Nikki. Gustav should’ve at least given her enough dignity to step down on her own. Instead, he humiliated her publicly to put her in place.

That, Lukas, couldn’t accept.

"Especially when that little witch who kept staining the Madam’s title did far worse," he muttered.

His thoughts were interrupted when the driver announced,

"Sir, we’re here."

Lukas frowned and looked outside. After hours on the road, all he saw were long stone steps stretching upward toward a distant temple hidden above.

He hissed. "Those bastards... really better make sure this is worth taking those hundred steps to the top."