The room was a tastefully decorated waiting lounge, filled with warm lights and the scent of fresh flowers. There were two maids in the room who immediately greeted Waylon with a polite bow. Beyond the lounge was another door.

“You may leave the room. I have some guests,” Waylon instructed the maids.

Abel glanced intently at the door, wondering if Emma was beyond those doors.

“This is usually where I spend some time with Emma. My father spends half his days here as well,” Waylon informed Abel.

“I want to see her,” Abel urged. “Is she in there?”

Benjamin walked to the door and opened it, motioning for Abel to step inside first. Abel immediately found Emma lying unconscious on a white king-sized bed covered in pristine white sheets. She was completely still and silent, almost like a wax figure. Abel froze in disbelief. Was his Emma… dead?

“Emma!” Abel called out as he tried to lurch forward, but Waylon held him back with a firm grip on his arm. Abel tried to wrestle himself out, but Waylon only tightened his grip.

“Please, Waylon, let me see her…” Abel pleaded.

“You can see her by all means, or else I wouldn’t have brought you here, but you cannot touch her!” Waylon said authoritatively.

“What… why?” Abel asked in surprise. Only God knew how long he had dreamed of the day where he could hold Emma in his arms once again. He would never let her go ever again.

“There’s a device under Emma’s body that’s working to extricate the bullet from her body. If you move her, you will undo all the progress that’s been done so far and may even take away her last chance at survival,” Abel explained.

“You mean…” Abel inhaled deeply. “… there’s still hope for Emma?”

“She’s hanging on by a thread. Even my father cannot guarantee that she’ll survive…” Waylon sighed before continuing. “The bullet had pierced through Emma’s cardiovascular artery. If it was any other normal person, they would’ve died on the spot, but Emma managed to shut down her meridian points at the very last minute which gave her a fighting chance. We’ve already consulted with the best doctors around the world. Unfortunately, they’ve all agreed that they would not be able to retrieve the bullet via surgery, so we finally decided on using this device to slowly extricate the bullet. Emma is also consuming a special supplement formulated by our family that helps to repair her damaged artery, but no one knows how long this process will take. It all depends on Emma’s will to live…”

Abel finally understood what Waylon and Robert Adelmar meant by “leaving it all up to fate”. If Emma was able to overcome this brutal process, she would be out of the woods. If she could not, it would mean certain death.

“Emma!” Abel fell to his knees in front of her bed. “Please, I’m begging you. You must hang in there and overcome this! Our children are still waiting for you… I’m still waiting for you…” he cried.

“Now that you’ve seen her, you may return home, Abel…” Waylon hinted.

“No,” Abel shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here with Emma until she wakes up!” Abel insisted.

“Emma might not win this battle in the end,” Waylon emphasized again. “There’s no point for you to be here, and who knows how long this process will take?”

“What do you mean there’s no point?” Abel argued defiantly. “Emma knows I’m here. I’ll give her to support she needs to overcome this!”

“Don’t forget that you need to be treated urgently too, or your stomach will bleed out anytime soon…” Waylon reminded him.

“I’m fine. I don’t feel any pain when I’m with Emma,” Abel maintained stubbornly.

“I really cannot win against you,” Waylon sighed, realizing there was no changing Abel’s mind. “Fine, you can stay here for the next few days. The facilities here are free for to use. Just call a doctor or nurse if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Waylon. I really appreciate this,” Abel thanked him.

“Waylon, I’d like to stay here too,” Benjamin said suddenly. “Could you please persuade Master Adelmar on my behalf?”