Max's return to Dombivli Palace was tinged with emotion. Although Asiva had instructed the palace staff and their close friends to keep the day's events a secret, their eyes and expressions betrayed them.
As Max walked in, their faces flushed with bittersweet tears, as although they tried hard to not speak of the events that had transpired, their faces were an open book for Max to read.
Sebastian alone greeted Max with steadiness as he shook his hand with a strong grip and nodded to signal that ' everything was okay ' , while everyone else seemed jittery and on edge.
Severus avoided eye contact, Christian Grey wore aviators indoors, and Jathi couldn't bring himself to meet Max's eyes, opting instead to admire the palace ceilings.
When he interacted with the man, he would look at his hands or his chest but never look him in the eye as Max's suspicion grew and a gnawing feeling began eating at his heart.
The most awkward interaction, however, came from Anna. She hugged Max, but there was an unspoken tension between them that hadn't existed before. Max couldn't pinpoint the change, but he felt it nonetheless.
Then his eyes fell on a little nine tailed fox that was sitting inconspicuously in the corner of the room licking its paws and Max immediately beamed at seeing her.
" Furball! " Max exclaimed in joy as the nine tailed fox looked up for a moment when someone called her name before completely ignoring Max's call of joy and returning to her important task of licking her delicious paws.
Being completely ignored by Furball, Max scratched his chin and chuckled.
" Is brother here? "
Max eagerly inquired, hoping Furball's presence indicated his brother's arrival. But the answer was a disappointing 'no.'
Apparently, No one had seen or heard from Rudra since his disappearance from the Dimensional Battlefield and nobody had the slightest clue as to where he might be.
After a brief meeting with his ministers to ensure Dombivli was stable, Max excused himself for the day. He told them he wanted to spend some quality time with Asiva, who seemed relieved that he had prioritised their relationship. But the moment they were alone, Max's expression shifted.
"What's going on? Why is everyone acting weird? What are they hiding from me?" Max pressed Asiva for answers, unable to contain his impatience any longer.
Asiva sighed. She had hoped Max could enjoy at least one day of peace, but his face told her that wasn't going to happen. Resigned, she began to share the details of the harrowing events from just a few hours ago, including Angakok's assassination attempt on her.
As Asiva unfolded the tale of Angakok's assassination attempt, the room seemed to shrink around Max. Each word from his wife's mouth felt like a weight, pressing down on him until he found it hard to breathe. His face turned ashen, and his eyes, usually so full of life, dulled.
"It was Angakok? Zippo is in the infirmary and you and the baby would be dead if not for Furball? " Max's voice wavered, tinged with disbelief and despair.
Asiva reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. "It's not your fault, Max. You couldn't possibly have known that the Shaman God would stoop so low- "
Asiva tried her best to calm down Max, but Max couldn't absorb her reassurances. His mind was racing through a labyrinth of guilt and regret and rage. How had he let this happen?
He was the Lord of Dombivli, responsible for the safety of his domain and his family. His enemy had walked right into his home, threatened the life of his pregnant wife, and he wasn't there to stop it.
He stood up abruptly, pacing the room as a flood of emotions overtook him. Anger at Angakok, yes, but also at himself for not foreseeing this, for not being there to protect Asiva when she needed him most.
"I should have been here," he muttered, almost to himself, a haunting edge to his words. "I should have protected you."
Asiva stood and walked over to him, gently turning him to face her. "Max, listen to me. You can't blame yourself for someone else's evil actions. I'm safe, and that's what matters."
But as Max looked into her eyes, he couldn't escape the nagging feeling that his own actions, or lack thereof, had put her in this terrible situation.
The realisation was a bitter pill, a condemnation of his own shortcomings, and it settled deep within him.
He was too focused on himself, about how he should turn around his own image, how he should pressurise Regus politically and how he should plan his own next move.
He was so blinded with his own problems that he completely forgot about Asiva and the possibility that if Angakok could stoop so low to expose him and kill Kremeth just to cause him harm, he could easily go after his family too.
He should have been more vigilant and taken more measures to actively protect Asiva.
Somehow he felt like his brother had seen through this event as well and had specifically sent Furball to protect Asiva.
Somehow to him it felt like there was still a lot he needed to learn and mature.
Asiva, his child and his family were undoubtedly a million times more important than his image and the case.
He couldn't even imagine what sort of horror he would walk back to if Furball was not here and it sent shivers down his spine just to imagine such a gruesome image.
Angakok needed to die….
He needed to die the most brutal death….
There was no question in Max's mind about that point, but what was also important was for him to prioritise the safety of his family from this point onwards.
The universe was a dangerous place and he had made many enemies in this damned place who wanted to get back at him through his family.
As a man, he needed to ensure that nothing ever happened to his family as long as he was around.
