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.

-- Hao --

The sterile scent of antiseptic filled the waiting area outside the emergency room. The weight in my chest felt heavier with every second that passed. I sat in the corner, silent, unmoving-barely breathing-as I waited for news.

Angela, her voice hoarse from crying, rushed forward the moment Klaus emerged. "Doctor," she called out, her hands trembling. "How's my daughter?"

Apart from Jazz's friends and my men, no one else was here with us.

Angela hadn't informed anyone from the Casanova Mansion. She was afraid that if they knew-her aging in-laws and Jazz's nanny Nana Pasita-something might happen to them from the sheer stress of it all.

Jaime didn't know either. He wasn't in Manila-off in Negros for the Smart City Project.

Not that it would have mattered. He never cared about his daughter.

She had called her brother, but Nakago was in Japan. It would take him at least four hours to arrive, though he had assured her that he was on his way. Stay strong, he had told her.

But how can a mother stay strong when her only daughter is at death's door?

I know she would trade places with Jazz in a heartbeat. Sell her soul to the devil if it meant keeping her alive.

I would, too.

"Klaus," I called out, my voice barely above a whisper.

I must've looked like hell-because I felt like hell.

"How is she?"

"She's stable," Klaus answered, his voice steady but tired. His lips curved into a small, reassuring smile, but I could see the exhaustion in his eyes. "But we'll keep her in the ICU for now. There's something I need to check first."

"I need to see her." I stepped forward, but Klaus blocked my path.

"Not now, Hao." His tone was firm. "We need to monitor her for twenty-four hours. If she remains stable, then you can see her. I've assigned my best people to watch over her-you have nothing to worry about."

I had no choice but to nod.

Klaus Freehely is one of the few people I trust.

I couldn't think straight right now. So Lantis took it upon himself to make the necessary arrangements. Jazz's friends refused to go home, so he secured a VIP suite for them to rest. It would be the same room where Jazz would be transferred once she left the ICU.

The door to the VIP room opened.

"Angel," Nakago's voice was steady as he stepped inside.

Angela turned to him, and the moment she saw her brother, the dam broke again. She rushed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"What did I do wrong, brother?" she choked out. "Did I raise her the wrong way?"

"Shhh," Nakago soothed her. "You did nothing wrong. You raised her the best you could."

His gaze swept across the room.

I sat in the corner, unmoving. I could hear him take a sharp breath.

He knew.

He knew that the demons in my head were awake again. Lurking. Waiting.

I had kept them quiet for the past two years-for Jazz. But tonight, they were screaming.

Nakago guided his sister to a vacant bed. "Get some sleep," he urged.

She shook her head.

Jazz's friends were already asleep on the sofa bed, exhaustion finally catching up to them.

"Angel-" Nakago started, but the door opened again.

Klaus.

I immediately stood up, ready to question him, but his sharp gaze was locked on Nakago.

"Teacher, I heard you arrived," Klaus greeted, bowing slightly out of respect. "There's something I need your second opinion on."

My stomach twisted.

"About what?" I demanded.

Klaus hesitated. For a second, I saw uncertainty flicker in his eyes. Then, without another word, he made a small hand gesture-a discreet sign that Nakago had taught only a few of his students.

Nakago's expression darkened.

"Stay here. I'll be back soon," he told Angela. Then he turned to me. "Stay put, Hao."

I clenched my fists but didn't move.

I wanted to follow them. I needed to know what was so urgent that Klaus required Nakago's second opinion. The secrecy, the tension-it made my blood run cold.

Minutes passed. Then an hour.

They hadn't returned.

And my mind was unraveling.

'WE'RE GOING TO LOSE HER!!!'

'I TOLD YOU TO LOCK HER UP!!!'

'WE SHOULD CHAIN HER SO SHE CAN NEVER LEAVE US AGAIN!!!'

The voice in my head was screaming. I was barely holding onto my sanity.

The only thing keeping me from tearing this entire hospital apart was the fact that she was stable.

That she could still wake up.

Then, finally-

The door opened. Nakago stepped inside, nurses trailing behind him.

"Take their blood samples," he ordered.

"What's happening?" Lexi's voice, thick with sleep, rang from the other side of the room. She rubbed her eyes, confusion clear in her expression.

"Doctor?" Lantis called out, immediately stepping between the nurses and his sister.

Even Angela looked alarmed.

"Brother-?"

"Heroin was detected in Princess' system," Nakago stated. "It's what caused her cardiac arrest."

The room went deathly silent.

"Oji, we don't do that," Yui protested.

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Nakago replied in a cool tone.

It was against his duty as a doctor to order a drug test without consent.

But right now, he wasn't just a doctor.

He was a man willing to do anything to protect his family.

Lexi, Yui, and Simon didn't hesitate. They rolled up their sleeves, allowing the nurses to draw their blood.

Then I noticed it.

Vonn had gone pale.

My body moved before I could think.

"You bastard!!!" I snarled, my hand wrapping around his throat.

"Hao!" Lantis was on me in an instant, trying to pull me off.

Vonn gasped for air, clawing at my grip.

"AGH!" A sharp pain exploded in my neck as Nakago struck a nerve point. My grip loosened, and Vonn collapsed onto the floor, coughing violently.

I stumbled, but the moment I regained my balance, I lunged for him again-

"ENOUGH!" Nakago caught me in a chokehold, restraining me.

"Let go of me! I'm going to kill that bastard!" I fought against him, my blood roaring in my veins.

Lantis dragged Vonn away.

"Vonn... please tell me you didn't give her that," Angela's voice wavered.

"Tita... no... I swear, I would never do that to her," he gasped, still holding his throat. "I admit I've used before-but I would never give her that. I never even let her drink more than two glasses of alcohol."

"Menteur!!!" I roared. "I'M GOING TO FÙCKING KILL YOU!!!"

"I SAID ENOUGH!!!" Nakago's grip tightened, forcing me still.

He knew.

He knew that if he let me go, I wouldn't stop.

I would kill him.

Then-

"Doctor Freehely!"

A nurse burst into the room, eyes wide as she took in the chaos. Her voice shook as she uttered the words that changed everything.

"The patient is awake."

-- Hao --

"You should go home for now," Nakago told Lexi's group as Klaus left to check on Jazz in the ICU.

"But Oji-"

"I know you want to see her," he said, cutting her off. "But she just woke up. We don't want to stress her out. And you all need rest." He gave them a rare, small smile. "You've been here since this morning. Come back tomorrow when she's more stable."

The group exchanged hesitant glances. Even though they had managed to get some rest earlier, the exhaustion and redness in their eyes were still evident.

"You too, Vonn," Nakago added, still blocking me from getting anywhere near him. "And make sure no one hears about this."

"I'll send them home," Lantis said, ushering the younger ones toward the exit.

He convinced them to leave, reassuring them that they could return tomorrow when Jazz was in a better condition.

Lexi and the others had no choice but to obey. Before leaving, they hugged and kissed Angela, making her promise to call them immediately if anything happened.

Once the door closed behind them, Nakago's sharp gaze turned to me.

"Control yourself," he warned. His tone left no room for argument.

I exhaled harshly, rubbing a hand down my face before sinking into the one-seater couch.

"I'm trying..." I said, voice hollow. "I really am."

Angela, who had been silently watching, finally turned to me.

"What happened, Hao?" she asked. She hadn't had the chance to ask earlier-too focused on Jazz's condition.

She only knew what Lantis had told her, and even he had no idea why her daughter had hurt herself.

I clenched my fists.

"She thinks I'm cheating on her."

Silence.

"And are you?" Nakago's question was immediate. He knew the answer, but he also knew Jazz wouldn't think something like this without a reason.

"NO!!!" I snapped, my voice rising. My chest heaved as anger and frustration clawed at my throat. "I've never slept with anyone else since the day I met her!!! And you know what I have done for her!!!"

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. "After everything I've done just to keep her safe, do you really think I would hurt her this way?"

"She wouldn't think that unless she had proof," Nakago pointed out.

I turned to Angela, my eyes pleading, desperate for her to believe me.

"I swear, in my mother's name, I have never and will never cheat on her. I know you still think I'm not the best man for her, but I'm trying. I am trying."

I shut my eyes.

I felt so... lost.

Angela's eyes filled with fresh tears. She didn't doubt me. She knew I was telling the truth.

I wasn't the best for Jazz. But she could see how much I was trying to be better. And how much I loved her.

Not even Nakago could deny that fact.

The sound of the door opening made all three of us turn.

Klaus stepped in, followed by a team of nurses pushing a hospital bed.

Jazz.

"Baby!" Angela rushed toward her daughter, but the nurses gently stopped her.

"Ma'am, let us settle her in first," one of them said politely.

Angela hesitated but stepped back, letting them do their work.

I took a step forward, but Nakago's arm blocked me.

"Let the professionals do their job, Hao," he reminded me sternly.

My fists clenched. I hated seeing them touch her-moving her like she was fragile, breakable. I hated that I wasn't the one taking care of her.

But I forced myself to step back.

Klaus introduced each of the nurses assigned to Jazz. His voice was steady and professional, but his eyes flickered with exhaustion.

"She's stable now," he informed us, "but we don't yet know the full effects of the drugs in her system. I'll have her under observation for a week. The nurses will monitor her every two hours."

He continued giving instructions, making sure we knew every detail of her care plan before finally excusing himself.

"She's still weak," he warned before leaving. "So don't overwhelm her with too many questions right now."

A few moments later, one of the nurses turned to Angela.

"Ma'am, she's fallen asleep again."

Angela nodded and took the seat beside Jazz's bed, gently holding her daughter's hand.

Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at the gauze wrapped around Jazz's wrist.

I knew what she was thinking.

Why?

Why would her daughter do this?

Jazz was spoiled, but she was strong. Angela had raised her to face challenges head-on.

"Baby, I love you..." she whispered, pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead. "Mommy is always here whenever you need someone to talk to."

I sat on the other side of the bed.

I didn't speak.

I simply reached for her other hand.

I pressed my fingers against her pulse, checking it myself-because even though the patient monitor showed she was stable, I needed to feel it.

I lifted her hand to my lips, closing my eyes as I pressed a lingering kiss to her fingers.

I didn't care that Angela and Nakago were watching.

I didn't care about anything else.

She was here.

She was alive.

Nakago sat on the couch, his eyes closing for the first time in hours.

The three of us were exhausted.

But none of us could rest.

Not until we were sure Jazz would wake up and stay with us.