Xavier stood quietly, watching the family of three.
The entire time, his hand remained tightly clenched, fingers digging so hard into his own skin that he had broken it. The faint ache of the wound barely registered.
Watching them now, no one would have guessed he had just heard unthinkable horrors moments ago.
When Luca had finally come to, Xavier had been turning over what to say first. How to console him. How to ask what had happened. But he never expected the first words he heard from Luca to be… a thank you.
Not when Xavier himself felt like he had failed him.
If only he had gone through the proper steps from the beginning, if only he had approached their relationship the right way, the Duke wouldn't have reacted like that. Luca wouldn't have been forced to relive all of it.
Yet, Luca's face held no disappointment.
If anything, when he sat up in bed and noticed his parents weren't there, his pale face shifted immediately into worry.
