Emma did not notice Xion's presence behind her because she was very panicked. Haoran collapsed suddenly, and she did not know what was happening to him. Even though she had six types of power, she felt so powerless and useless when she couldn't do anything to save her loved ones.

She wished she could take Haoran flying with her to the hospital so they could arrive faster, but unfortunately, they were in a public place, and she did not dare to show her power in front of the crowd.

The ambulance arrived seven minutes later, and the EMTs immediately took Haoran away. Emma went in with him in the ambulance and they soon left with a loud sirene. Once they're gone, the hotel lobby became quiet again.

Xion just watched the scene with a frown. He knew that Haoran had no place in Akkadia, and Therius would kill him if he insisted on going with Emma.

However, Xion didn't expect Therius to still kill Haoran even though Emma had decided not to go back to Akkadia.

Now Emma really had no choice, he thought.

He started feeling deep sympathy for the girl. Emma Stardust had lived alone and suffered from when she was just a young, innocent child. It seemed that Emma only found a bit of happiness after she met Haoran.

But now, even Haoran was taken away from her. Xion didn't need to go to the hospital to find out that Haoran would not make it.

***

"How is it, doctor?" Emma asked worriedly.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Haoran was admitted to the ICU. The doctors immediately carried out various tests to check his condition. Emma could only wait in front of the ICU room while pacing in distraught.

Half an hour later, David, Alex, Dinh, and Eric arrived from their respective homes to accompany Emma. They were all shocked and panicked. No one thought Haoran, who was so young and healthy, could suddenly collapse like this.

"The patient suffered a brain hemorrhage. Apparently, a vein ruptured suddenly and caused severe bleeding in the patient's brain. We also found a blood clot. We have scheduled immediate surgery to remove the blood clot and repair the ruptured vein. We are waiting for our best surgeons to arrive very soon," said Doctor Lim patiently.

This hospital was one of the subsidiaries of Lee Industries. As soon as they find out who the patient was, all the doctors and their best equipment were immediately mobilized to save Young Master Lee's life.

"How can he suffer a brain hemorrhage?" Emma asked hysterically. "Haoran is still young and very healthy. He workouts and eats well."

The doctor shook his head in concern and explained. "This can happen to anyone. I am very sorry..."

Emma wiped her tears and nodded. "Alright ... but you can save him, right?"

"We will do our best," Dr. Lim said firmly.

As doctors, they must never promise that they would heal a patient, but they could promise to do their best.

Haoran's father and his wife came with Haoran's grandparents as soon as Haoran entered the operating room. They were all in shock, and no one said anything.

Everyone could only wait anxiously in the lounge outside of the operating room and prayed to any G.o.d they believed in to save Haoran's life.

The surgery lasted for over eight hours.

***

"She has suffered too much ..." Xion chided to Therius. "Why did you have to kill her husband?"

"I have no choice, Xion," said Therius. He looked at the night sky attentively as if the billions of stars would have the answer to Xion's question, about why Therius did what he did.

He had no choice, and he dragged Emma with him by taking away her chance to make her own decision.

"You still have the choice to do the right thing and heal him... We can just go home," Xion said. "You will ascend the throne with or without her. You do not need Emma Stardust to rule Akkadia."

Come to think of it, Xion wasn't wrong at all. Therius would sooner or later become the king of Akkadia. Indeed, he would face the resistance of his two cousins, and the conflict with Thaesi would continue to flare up ...

Maybe he would have to face the rebellions until finally General Stardust died and Princess Arreya died with him.

The situation will become heated. There may be an open war, and the whole planet would become turbulent. 

But they shall all pa.s.s.

Sooner or later, he would be able to conquer them all. If he returned to Akkadia without Emma, ​​he must prepare himself for conflict. Still, he was confident enough in his abilities and his supporters.

The truth was, the throne was not the main reason why he wanted her to come home with him. Therius had wanted Emma Stardust as soon as he saw the girl on the messenger s.h.i.+p's screen. 

He finally saw the face he admired when he was a child and had long forgotten. He only kept the topaz ring that Emma left behind and had no idea that he would see her again twenty years later.

So, when he finally did see her again, he knew they were fated.

"Do you remember when we were punished by the Beast Teacher for a misdemeanor in our second year of the academy? He ordered us to hammer the nails to build a wooden fence around the lazy bird coop. Do you remember, Xion?" Therius finally asked his friend without moving his gaze from the sky.

"I do. What does that have to do with all this?" Xion asked, looking irritated.

"I wasn't talented doing construction work, so I made a lot of mistakes with the hammering, and we had to remove the nails so many times. When we removed the nails from the fence ... were the holes in the wood gone?" Therius asked again.

Xion shrugged. "Of course not."

"The damage that was already done cannot be reversed," Therius said while clasping his hands behind his back.

He meant to tell Xion that even if he wanted to heal Haoran, he could not. 

"You're heartless," Xion commented.

"I'm not that heartless. I give them a chance to say goodbye," Therius said with a deadpan expression.

Xion suddenly remembered the topaz ring on Therius's neck, and he took a deep breath.

He did not know why Emma's ring could end up with Therius, but slowly, he could somehow guess what really happened.