In the morning, Queen Roxy sat alone in her room, sad and heartbroken. The silence pressed heavily against her chest. She shouldn't have done that to her own son, and now he had cut ties with her. The regret was sharp and constant, echoing in her thoughts as tears slipped down her cheeks.
Meanwhile, Karesse and Ash were cuddling softly beneath warm sheets. She nestled closer to him and whispered, her voice gentle and soothing, "I think you should forgive her, sweetie…" She rubbed his face tenderly as she spoke.
Ash slowly opened his eyes and looked into hers. "Why?" he asked in a husky voice.
"She is your mother," Karesse said calmly. "She gave birth to you. Indeed, what she did is unforgivable and unforgettable, but I can see that she is very, very sorry about her actions." Her words were soft, steady, and full of understanding.
Ash smiled at her and pulled her into a deep kiss. "I love you so much," Ash said.
"I love you too," Karesse replied, and they held each other, comforted by the warmth of forgiveness and love.
Josephine sat on the rocking chair with Xavi beside her. She was breastfeeding the boys, her movements gentle and practiced. Motherhood made her happy and tired sometimes, but Xavi always had her back as her husband. Vaedor giggled loudly as he grabbed his father's hair.
"Ouch!" Xavi exclaimed.
His twin brother, Kaelric, giggled too, clearly enjoying their father's reaction. Josephine laughed at Xavi, her laughter soft and calm. Xavi froze the moment he heard it—it was the first time he had heard her laugh like that. His heart swelled with happiness to hear her voice, but confusion followed immediately.
"How did her voice come out?" he asked Sienna later.
Sienna smiled gently. "Josephine must have used all her strength to push her voice. She wanted to call you, and she screamed so loud that the whole kingdom heard her voice."
Xavi took care of his whole family well—especially his wife, his Queen. He adored everything about her.
The twins came back from school. Adris and Novara were already sleeping, and they climbed onto the big family-sized bed, curling up and taking a nap. Xavi carefully placed the twins beside them in the middle. He took a picture of all his children together and framed it on the wall. Then he sat on his throne peacefully as his work began—attending to cases, inputting new laws into his kingdom, and reshaping it with wisdom and care.
Two days later, Queen Kendra sat weakly in her chambers. She was now very, very old and had fallen sick. Xavi sat beside her, holding her hand tightly.
"My boy," she said in a low tone, "I am very, very proud of you. But I miss your grandfather."
Xavi fought back his tears because he knew what was happening. "P…please don't leave us," he pleaded.
Queen Kendra gave a weak smile and kissed his forehead. "It's my time now. I have lived very long—longer than my husband. He is so lonely up there."
Xoni held her other hand. "Grandma…"
"Stay happy and blessed," Queen Kendra whispered. Her hand slipped from Xavi's grasp, and her eyes closed forever.
Josephine cried as Queen Kendra was now dead. The word of her death spread quickly around the kingdoms, and all the royal families came to mourn. Xavi hugged Josephine, crying very, very, very hard.
The same day, they buried Queen Kendra's body. Xavi and Xoni, with Kael, Severin, and Dauris, refused to leave her grave. Josephine watched them, her heart aching as they stood broken and grieving. Slowly, she opened her mouth. As they looked at her, her eyes glowed white.
They turned—and there stood Queen Kendra's spirit, smiling beside their grandfather, King Valcaryn.
"We are very proud of you all," King Valcaryn said.
Xavi's tears flowed even more.
"Queen Josephine," Queen Kendra said softly, "take care of the family till we all meet on the other side."
Josephine nodded.
"Goodbye, my lovies," Queen Kendra said again as a heavenly light shone around them both. Queen Kendra and King Valcaryn kissed and waved at their grandchildren.
"Bye… Grandma," Xavi said as they vanished.
Then they saw someone else.
"Hey, it's Dad!" Kael said.
They looked up to see King Roman smiling at his children. "I love you all," he said, and the light disappeared.
They held each other tightly.
"Thank you, Josephine. We really appreciate it," they said.
She smiled softly.
During breakfast the next day, everyone was quiet and sad. Josephine sighed heavily. Xavi stayed in his room all day. Adris held Carliet as he cried endlessly, flashbacks of Queen Kendra flooding his mind—how she took care of him when he was a child, how much she loved him, and how deeply he loved her in return.
Xavi lay on his bed as Kaelric sat up in his crib, his brother sleeping beside him.
"Dada?" Kaelric said.
"Hm?" Xavi replied.
Kaelric crawled out of his crib, and Xavi lifted him up.
"Dada?" he said again, tapping Xavi's face with his tiny fingers. "I miss grandma," Xavi whispered.
Kaelric pouted, then placed a sloppy kiss on Xavi's nose. Xavi chuckled softly.
Renia sat with Xoni, who was still crying.
"No tear, mama," Renia said.
"It's okay, baby," Anesthesia said gently as Xoni's head rested on her lap.
Vexar kissed Xoni's cheeks. "It's okay, mama," he said.
Xoni smiled faintly at them.
One month later, the family had begun to heal after Queen Kendra's death. The twins were now crawling faster. Orion and Opehila always tried to catch them, but they failed every time, making Xavi laugh.
Adris's wedding was set for Thursday. Alruna took Carliet shopping with Josephine. Josephine couldn't talk properly yet, but she was still learning. Xavi made lunch for the kids.
"Big brother Adris, is your friend single?" Novara asked suddenly.
Xavi looked at her. "Huh?"
"You mean Basil?" Adris asked.
Novara nodded quickly.
"Looks like someone has a crush," Opehila teased.
Novara giggled at her sister.
"When you grow up," Adris said.
"Mkay!!" Novara replied happily.
Basil had overheard everything and smiled softly as they all ate together, warmth slowly returning to the family once more.