"Come on darling, I'm fine! Besides it's only for a few minutes", he begged.
"If those men show up, you'll be tempted to go back to work. I'm not having it!" She folded her arms against her chest.
"Trust me, I won't", he said, a little more seriously than usual and his face a little grim.
"What do you mean by that?" Her frown deepened when she noticed this. Was there something she was unaware of?
"What's going on?" Xavier asked as he walked over.
"Your mom won't let my boys visit me", he shrugged. "One of them came and failed to see me."
"Happy wife, happy husband", Richard reminded as he walked in behind Xavier to sit on a sofa.
"Victoria, you can be there with him when they visit. She can be there with you, right?" Stella questioned as she sat down next to her husband, giving the look that said his answer could only be 'yes'.
Henry's mouth fell ajar seeing both women giving him the same look. He could feel them slowly reeling the word 'yes' from his mouth even when he strongly wanted to say the opposite. And if he delayed any further, they would know his real answer even if he says what they want him to say....
"N.... There's my favorite little person! Is she awake?" He looked expectantly at Amy who was carrying Roserie.
Zach mentally shook his head at his father who was openly using Roserie as an escape. "You can't carry her when you're hurt."
"I have one good hand, there's so much I can do with it", he said proudly and stared at his fingers which he gave a slight wiggle.
"Henry, there's a child in the room", Victoria nagged.
"So?" He looked at her confused.
"Nothing", she looked away and down to hide her burning red face but Stella and Suzy caught on and silently chuckled.
"Bring her over let me see her", he said excitedly.
Zach took her from Amy and went over while she followed to sit on the edge of the bed. Henry's eyes were full of warmth as he stared at the tiny face of his granddaughter in her father's string arms. Suddenly, his eyes wetted and tears escaped to trickle down his cheeks.
"Dad?" Zach and Xavier called out at the same time worriedly.
"Henry, are you alright?" Victoria asked worriedly and started to get off the bed to go to his side.
"I'm fine", he sniffled and used his good hand to wipe the tears. "Don't worry...", He sighed.
So much had happened the day before. The mission had reminded him of how dangerous his work his and that he would have missed out on the beautiful life that was his family.....
"I... have an announcement to make", he said as he caressed the little one's chubby cheeks.
He nodded, signaling Zach to go sit with Amy, which he did. Henry looked around the room, taking in each and everyone, forgetting that he was making some of them nervous, and nodded to himself, coming to a decision.
"I'll leave", Suzy nervously said as she stood up.
"Don't worry Dr. Glynne. It's not confidential, please sit", he gestured with his hand and she did as told. He let out a sharp breath. "Well, I'm retiring from my job."
Silence.
He looked around, most were stunned by the statement except for Zach who remained calm.
"Oh Henry", Victoria was the first to break the ice as her face pulled into a frown.
"What will you do instead?" Richard asked curiously.
"What else? Look after my family. Oh!" He chuckled when Xavier suddenly hugged him as he remained seated. He patted his arm and Xavier gave a small smile when he released him.
"Suzy, are you sure he didn't hurt anything else?" Victoria asked worriedly. She knew how much her husband loved his work.
"I said I'm fine, right Dr. Glynne?"
"Are you sure? What else could have made you make this decision?" She persisted with worry.
"You." He smiled seeing how stunned she was. He took her hand in his and continued, "I have made some stupid decisions in the past but they were all for you, and this one is no different."
"Aw", she smiled with tears in her eyes when he kissed the back of her hand.
"On that note, I would also like to talk to Zach and Amy."
The three excused themselves to go into another room leaving Roserie with Stella. The two could practically guess what he wanted to talk about.
"It's nothing serious, I just wanted to update you on what happened yesterday", he gestured at the sofa opposite his for them to sit. "So, there are a few things that I thought you should know. The new King is more dangerous than we thought he was. He's more insane than his father was. The things we witnessed yesterday..." He shook his head. "I..... I need your help. Actually, I don't know."
"What's wrong?" Zach probed.
"He knows about our family." Amy's heart dropped but she calmy continued to listen. "I don't know how much he knows but when he mentioned your mother..."
"Is that why you're retiring?" Zach asked, at the same time took Amy's hand. He knew she must be freaking out inside despite her calm facade.
"No. Overall, everything that happened yesterday brought me to this decision. It was the first time that I didn't know how a mission would end. I'm truly grateful that Rider listened in on our conversation and thought fast to create the diversion we needed."
When he came speeding in between the vehicles, the trucks were forced to move aside to avoid the 'unruly teenager'. Henry used that chance to observe the movement of the trucks and make a wild guess. A wild guess that prevented more casualties and put an end to the mission.... Even if the culprit was still on the loose.
Zach nodded in agreement, he really owed it to that friend of his, well old colleague. And now he understood his father's sudden retirement. He too would have made the same decision for his family. He kissed the back of Amy's hand with this thought.
"Ah!" Henry's eyes lit up when something came to mind. "How did it go, when I asked for your help? Anything you found useful?"
"Hmm.... I was hoping I would be able to track his location while he had hacked info your system but he was clever to conceal it. He was my student after all...." She responded.
Henry's brows slightly furrowed when he noticed her expression as she delivered this news. "So you got nothing?"
She chose to remain mum. Suspicious..... This got Henry even more curious. He was about to speak when Zach beat him to it.
"Updates on Gwen and Peter?" He changed the subject.
"According to Rider's email, she's not speaking probably because of the King's backing and her loyalty to him. She probably trusts he'll get her out too", he said with clear annoyance.
Zach's lips lifted into a smirk, "She'll break."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om