Upon the Pedestal

-- Hao --

It was early morning, and Marco was on his knees in front of me, his face bloodied and bruised from the blows I had given him. His nose and mouth dripped with crimson, yet he didn't even bother to wipe it off.

"It seems you no longer want to live," I spat, my voice laced with fury.

He didn't argue. He knew he was at fault.

For two years, Marco had been assigned to guard Jazz, and in all that time, she had never given him trouble. Unlike the spoiled brats he had guarded before-kids who always tried to escape their security-Jazz was different.

She hated the idea of looking like some pampered princess with a bodyguard trailing behind her. So, we had an agreement-she would inform him of all her plans as long as he kept his distance.

That was why, when she asked to go to the mall yesterday, Marco didn't think twice about waiting for her at the parking lot-just like he always did.

So when I called to check on her and he said she was at the mall, I believed him.

He was tracking her phone. The signal never left the mall. But by 9 PM, something felt wrong. Her location hadn't changed for hours, and then, suddenly-her PIN disappeared.

Marco rushed to the last known location, but she was nowhere to be found.

"YOU HAVE ONE JOB!!! TO KEEP AN EYE ON HER!!!"

I could feel the veins in my neck tightening, my fury barely contained. Without thinking, I grabbed one of my men's guns and aimed it at Marco's temple.

He closed his eyes.

"Hao! You can't do that here," Lantis interrupted, reaching for the gun.

"Let go, Lantis, or I'm going to kill you first," I warned, my voice dangerously low.

"Do you want her to wake up to the sound of gunfire?" he challenged, referring to the girl sleeping in my room.

I clenched my jaw.

With a sharp breath, I turned back to Marco. "Get out of my sight," I ordered. "And don't you dare show your face until you find out what happened yesterday. Or you'll be dead."

I slammed the gun down on a nearby table and walked away, heading straight to the kitchen.

Jazz was drunk last night. She would wake up with a headache. I needed to make her hangover soup-something warm, something comforting.

As I prepared the broth, my mind kept replaying Vonn's words.

"Jazz thinks you're cheating on her."

She thinks I would do that to her?

A dark voice whispered in my head.

She's just making an excuse. Her feelings have changed. She no longer loves us... AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! GIVING HER TOO MUCH FREEDOM!

"No... She loves me..." I muttered under my breath. "She was even jealous of her sister..."

STOP DELUDING YOURSELF!!! SHE'S GOING TO LEAVE US!!! I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD LOCK HER UP!!!

"SHUT THE FÙCK UP!!!"

The words tore from my throat in a violent shout.

My chest heaved as I gripped the counter. It had been a long time since the voice in my head had been this angry-so angry that it almost made me fear it would take control.

It wanted to lock Jazz away. It wanted to keep her where no one could see her-where only I could see her.

But I couldn't do that.

I promised my mother I would never become like my father.

And I never break a promise.

Not after everything I've done to rebuild the Azakura clan. Not after two years of fighting, killing, and bleeding just to give her the life she deserved-with me by her side.

I took a deep breath, calming the rage within me. Then, I picked up the bowl of soup and carried it to my room.

She has always loved my cooking.

But the moment I opened the door, I barely had time to react before a phone came flying straight at me.

"Ma vie!!!"

I dodged just in time, but the sudden movement caused the bowl to slip from my hands. The soup splashed onto my skin, burning my hand, but I barely noticed the pain.

Because she was crying.

"Ma vie?" My voice softened as I took a step forward.

Her eyes were red, swollen, filled with anguish.

"Ma vie, what's wrong?"

"Don't come near me!!! You cheat!!!" she screamed, her sobs breaking through each word. "I hate you!!!"

'I TOLD YOU!!! SHE HATES US!!! SHE HATES US NOW!!!'

Her voice, her eyes, the way she looked at me-it was like she no longer saw the man she loved. Only a liar. A traitor.

"Cheat?" I repeated, keeping my voice calm despite the storm raging inside me. "Ma vie, you know I would never do that to you."

"LIAR!!!"

She reached for anything within her grasp-books, a lamp, even the small framed photo of us by the bedside-and threw them at me.

"Ma vie, stop!!! You're going to hurt yourself!" I dodged what I could, letting the smaller things hit me. It didn't matter if I got hurt. What mattered was her.

"Don't come near me!!!"

I froze in place.

"Please... calm down..." I pleaded, trying to keep my voice steady. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you."

I had no idea what I'd done, but if she was hurting, then I'd fix it. I had to fix it.

But she wouldn't stop crying. Her whole body shook with the force of her sobs, her breathing coming out in short, ragged gasps.

"Ma vie, please-"

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. Her eyes lost focus, her voice quiet but filled with something far worse than rage-defeat. "You're just like Daddy."

Her words struck me harder than anything she had thrown.

She wasn't screaming anymore. She wasn't fighting. Instead, she spoke in a hollow, broken voice.

"I tried my best to make him proud... I made sure to act properly, to never cause him trouble. But none of it mattered."

She looked at me again, and this time, her pain sliced through me like a dagger.

"I should have known... You knew all along, didn't you? About them. About his other family. And you never told me."

I clenched my fists. So this is about that.

"Ma vie... I just wanted to protect you. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"No... If you really wanted to protect me, you should have told me the truth from the start. Do you know how many times I cried to you? How many times I wondered why he wouldn't come to my events? You knew. You knew, and you let me believe in a lie."

I swallowed the guilt clawing at my throat.

"Oji was right," she whispered. "I should have listened to him."

"Ma vie, please... I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

She flinched when I reached out, stepping back-putting distance between us. She moved around the table, like a prey avoiding its predator.

"I defied Oji for you," she continued, voice shaking. "I fought for you. I stayed, even when everyone in my life told me you weren't the right man for me. That I would find someone better. But I fought for us."

Her words tightened around my chest, suffocating.

"I'm sorry-"

"I did everything you asked me to do... I even let you control my life... But how could you cheat on me?"

"I would never do that."

"STOP LYING!!! I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES!!!"

She clutched her head, pressing her hands against her ears as if trying to block out my words.

"I'M SO TIRED!!! I tried my best, only to get hurt over and over again... I'm tired of never being enough. Why can't I be enough?"

"You are, Ma vie... You are- MA VIE, NO!!!"

My heart stopped.

She was holding the dagger I had left on the table last night.

Before I could move, before I could stop her-she slit her wrist.

"NO!!! NO!!! NO!!!"

I was by her side in an instant, catching her before she collapsed. Blood. Too much blood.

"My Empress, no!!!" My hands trembled as I tore my shirt, tying it around her wrist to stop the bleeding.

"LANTIS!!!" I roared, my voice shaking with desperation.

The door burst open.

"Hao, you-"

"The car!!!" I didn't let him finish. I lifted Jazz into my arms and rushed out.

She was growing pale.

"Ma vie... Open your eyes... Don't do this to me," I begged, my voice breaking as Lantis sped through the streets toward the hospital.

She blinked up at me, weak, her lips barely moving.

"I hate you," she whispered.

Her words were knives, but I clung to her anyway.

"My Empress... you can hate me all you want. You can hate me every day... I'll take it. But you can't leave me," I murmured against her forehead, my grip on her wrist firm, refusing to let go. "Drive faster!!!"

For the first time in years, I felt helpless. As vulnerable as the three-year-old boy who didn't understand why his father was pointing a gun at his head. As vulnerable as the ten-year-old who had to kill his own friend-to spare him from a worse fate.

And now, once again, I was that same helpless boy.

Only this time, the one slipping away from me was the woman I loved.