New Life : A Second Chance - Finale (IV)

“Do you want a wedding as well?” asked Nitocris softly beside him.     

Xing Han looked up at his beloved, smiled and shook his head.     

“No, there is no need to,” he replied.     

He reached out and held Nitocris’s hand, then placed his hand on top of his, so that their ring fingers were side-by-side.     

“I have these to declare that you’re mine,” Xing han said with a soft smile, looking at the simple platinum wedding bands, with their names engraved on the inner ring. There was no stone on it as Xing Han felt it would not fit Nitocris’s image as the Underworld King.     

He wasn’t particular either, and he liked the way it glistened in the sun, like right now. The glow of the sun that was slowly setting made the sight even more appealing to him.     

Nitocris looked down upon his little puppy, his normally stern face gone all soft upon seeing how happy and content Xing Han was. They had gotten married a month ago, in a small ceremony at the Civil Affair Bureau.      

The Elite Five had been there and most importantly … Xing Han’s father, Zhènlín, was there, too.      

After years of ignoring his son, he had finally softened and accepted it. He had mellowed with age, and part of his acceptance was due to his daughters marrying well and giving him grandkids.     

That, and the fact that he could see that despite the many years that passed, Xing Han was happy. The company also flourished under his daughters while Xing Han was doing well with Nitocris’s company as well.     

Although Zhènlín wasn’t warm (he never was, anyway), his acceptance meant the world to his puppy. For that, Nitocris was willing to let it slide.     

“And have you decided yet?” Nitocris asked again, taking this opportunity since the atmosphere was right.     

“But Cookie,” pouted Xing Han, “I still think we should have two, one from each of us.”     

Nitocris reached out and took Xing Han’s chin in his hands, forcing him to look up at him, “Puppy, we’ve talked about this. I do not want the blood of my father to have another generation. Let it stop with me.”     

“But you’re …” Xing Han wanted to protest, feeling that his Cookie was just being stubborn and blind to his own merits. Just because Kazuya had been a total whacko, it didn’t mean their son – or daughter – would be.     

Nitocris didn’t allow him to finish the sentence, swooping down and kissing him deeply, while holding him tight for he knew his kisses made Xing Han weak in the knees.     

“Please, Puppy,” Nitocris said softly against his lips, “I know you love me but me, having children? Never. I want our children to only be from you. I want a whole horde of sweet, sunshine kids. Okay?”     

With each sentence, Nitocris would give him light, butterfly kisses on the lips.     

While still hugging Xing Han, he turned them towards the kids at the chocolate fountain, “Look at them. Imagine our kids being part of that. They will have a normal childhood. Whether or not they’ll take over my mantle is not important. Children should be innocent while growing up.”     

He kissed his puppy again, “Please?”     

Xing Han gulped.     

His Cookie never pleaded before.     

For him to even do so meant that this was really, really, important to him. How could he, Xing Han, be selfish then?      

He truly wanted another mini Nitocris to hold and hug whenever Nitocris was not around but if it meant it would be painful for him … His Cookie always indulged him, and had always given him anything he wanted or asked for.      

So how could he deny him this?     

Sighing, Xing Han touched Nitocris’s cheek and nodded, “Okay, you win. I understand.”     

Nitocris smiled widely, a rare event that made Xing Han feel even worse for having made his Cookie feel so bad.      

“Let’s contact her now,” Xing Han said, “And we can start the IVF immediately.���     

Nitocris nodded and did the call.      

Xing Han sighed in contentment.      

His Cookie had already all the procedures and arrangements done. Even the women who would be the surrogate mother to their children had been meticulously chosen. It had to be women who needed the money, and was clear of any disease.      

They would be handsomely paid for their services, and the only condition that they had was to completely abandon the baby. The woman, after all, was only the carrier. The sperm would be from Xing Han while the egg was donated from a trusted source.     

Who the woman was, Xing Han did not know but Nitocris assured him that it was purely voluntary and the woman wanted to help. She just did not want to be known. Xing Han was okay with that.     

Thus, the moment Xing Han approved, Nitocris merely needed to give a call to have three women who had been ‘prepped and waiting’, to continue with the procedure.     

Unlike what most people think, being a surrogate mother was not failproof. The surrogate mother would need to go through multiple fertility treatments, medication and other hormones to help regulate the cycle and prepare the body for IVF. Xing Han’s sperm would be fertilized with the donor egg in the laboratory and the fertilized embryo would be transferred into the surrogate mother’s uterus for implantation.     

There were so many things that could go wrong, such as a failed transfer, or a miscarriage. As such, Nitocris wanted three women to do the procedure at once.      

If they were lucky, they’d have three children at once. If not, none.     

Nitocris prayed for the best case scenario, though.     

Xing Han was busy staring at the FFs and all the kids that were there. Imagining their children with them made Xing Han smile widely.      

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“You grew up well,” the distinguished man said, looking at Kyle with a smile.     

“I had a good foundation, Principle Godric,” Kyle replied.     

“Please, I’m no longer a Principal,” Godric said with a sigh.     

“You’ll always be my Principal, Sir,” Kyle replied politely.     

Sakura Academy truly grew under Principal Godric’s programme. It got bigger and its plans were slowly being used in other schools as well. Unfortunately, it did not mean that it could be implemented nationwide as there were just too little resources and expertise to help.     

“And furthermore, you are continuing your work,” Kyle said.     

After Principal Godric retired, he was hired to lead a group to spread the programme throughout Country Tz. For any school that showed an interest and made an application, then Godric would go out and help.     

It was tiring, but he found it fulfilling.     

“A lot of the plans then were actually your work as well,” Godric said, “Why did you not allow me to give you any credit for it?”     

Kyle had, before he left, given the Principal some of the more meticulous plans he and MIB had come up with but he had made the Principal swear never to reveal the source before he actually gave it.     

Kyle shrugged.     

“I’m an entrepreneur, not an academician nor an educator,” Kyle said, “I only gave you some feedback based on my experience as a student under your guidance. It was only fitting you expanded on it.”     

Godric sighed.     

“You’re always like this,” he mused, “Never changed, have you?”     

Kyle looked at him seriously, then said, “You made my teenage life fun. I’m only repaying that favour. No more, no less.”     

Kyle gave him a hearty slap on the back and said, “The true hero is one who carries on the fight.”     

He left with those words, leaving a man who thought otherwise.     

He looked at the strong back of a man that had grown so much more than he ever thought possible.      

No, to him, a true hero is one that leaves his mark unnoticed.      

The silent fighters, the ones who get the job done, or the one who gets the job the push it needs. Kyle did what he did without fanfare, not caring whether people knew or not. He didn’t tweet about how clever and good he was. He did it because he wanted to, and he could – not for the acknowledgment.     

A true (silent) hero indeed.