Brink of Extinction

After the Sui Family's scrumptious breakfast, the king excused himself and called for Maxen's attention.

He buried the scowl that threatened to paint his face in streaks of anger and disappointment when he saw his son glued to his mobile phone like a teenager.

"Maxen, follow me to my office. Darling, my Queen, if you will excuse us," the king said, taking Queen Isla's hand and sweetly pressing his lips on the back of her hand. Queen Isla gave her king a small smile before moving her gaze to her son.

"Off you go," she said as she flicked her wrist. She watched as the two men left and could not help but feel a glint of wariness in her heart.

She glanced at Princess Maya's tablet and her instincts told her that Olivia was not Amelia's doopleganger but her friend's supposed to be dead child.

The whispering winds played the tune that made the leaves on the trees dance, gracing King Alistair and Maxen as they took the usual pebbled path, however, the walk today felt longer than any other walk that the latter had growing up. Maxen could not help but frown and let that sense of foreboding seep into his veins and like a true soldier, he heightened his senses to be on high alert. He watched King Alistair's back which was straight as a ruler, his head never bowed down. He came to the conclusion that the man before him was the king and not his dad. Maxen felt an incoming train of "suggestions" – as to how the king words it – on how to deal with Olivia.

King Alistair and Maxen arrived at a room on the far end of Southeast Wing and they saw Secretary Abbott holding the door as he waited for the royals. Once the three got inside, Secretary Abbott placed a clear folder filled with documents on the wide mahogany table and excused himself, leaving the father and son inside.

King Alistair eyed the folder which contains Olivia Lin's files: the good, the bad, the ugly. Last night after sniffing his son's bewitchment on Olivia, he had to pull strings to make sure that her records were indeed clean. A quick search on her came up clean as expected. Her name as a Lin, education, and stellar career as President of her own wealth fund management group would make every parent want her as a daughter-in-law. Queen Isla might fight tooth and nail too once she finds out Olivia's roots but not King Alistair. Not after he saw the report that looked exactly like Amelia Lin's background check two decades ago. He could not believe how he had to hold every ounce of his emotions during breakfast so as not to give suspicion to his queen.

Olivia Lin. A member of the Pyxis. A freaking human Pandora's box. Just. Like. Her. Mother.

Secretary Abbott and Jack stood guard by the office door and each could only let out a hopeful sigh: the senior, for Maxen to listen to the king's wise words and the junior, for Maxen not to flare up like a spoiled boy.

"Are you serious?" King Alistair asked Maxen as soon as the door closed. He hasn't reached his seat yet, his back faced Maxen. The latter waited for his father to settle himself inside the office where "key" talks would usually take place.

"Serious about what, Dad?" Maxen loosened up a little, his shoulders now relaxed when he saw King Alistair tug a corner of his lips upward in a desperate move to lighten up the mood.

"Is she one of your playthings or…?"

"Olivia Lin is not a plaything and never will be."

From where King Alistair sat, worry lines started to crease his forehead as he thought of the two paths to take: his son's happiness or the preservation and safety of the royal family. He was praying to the gods that his son's fascination over Olivia Lin was just in passing but unfortunately it was not.

He pierced his sight on Maxen whose eyes as blue as a clear sky momentarily darkened like the Cerulean Sea, giving the king a hint that Maxen would put up a fight over Olivia Lin if he objects to the idea of them entering into a relationship. King Alistair bobbed his head and his lips pursed into a thin line at the thought of how fate plays a cruel joke on everyone. How it played a joke on their family and the Pyxis – that damned organization.

He was once like his son; he fell in love with a member of the Pyxis too – and that story didn't end well for the other. Sebastian, his brother, held on to his love for Amelia Lin until the last second and look where it got him and his family.

"You should know, Olivia Lin is a heavy responsibility that the crown can't bear. Your Uncle…" King Alistair's words tapered off before he gave his suggestion, "The Sui Family and the Pyxis had a very bad history, cursed even, and I will not let another disaster befall our family. I suggest that you end whatever you have or want to start with Olivia Lin."

Outside in the hallway, Secretary Abbott glowered at Jack beside him who was trying to eavesdrop on the conversation inside with the latter's ears almost sticking on the door. Jack's eyes widened in shock which puzzled Secretary Abbott so the latter moved closer to the door too. The two men's face mirrored each other when they heard Maxen speak.

"Then you leave me with no choice but to hand in my letter, stepping down from my duties… and that's not a suggestion."

"Are you serious!"

"I'm a 32-year-old grown-ass man, Father! I will call the shots in my life. Please give me a break. I just met Olivia last night and haven't even formally dated yet. But look at you pulling out the big guns cutting the lines before it even gets connected."

"I am the king and I am your father. I can use whatever method I want. Our family has been under the radar ever since we severed our ties with the Pyxis twenty-five years ago. Dating one or marrying one is out of the question. They simply pose a threat to our family!" The king's fist pounded on the table, shaking the two secretaries who stood guard outside.

"I get it. Our family is on the brink of extinction, yes. It's just you, Mother, Maya and her baby, and I. What matters now is the continuation of the Sui Family and I intend to make a lot of little Suis with Olivia as the mother of my children and of course my wife. Good Lord. We're talking about children now when she just replied a thumbs up to my essay-like message! Why is there too much pressure everywhere I go!" Maxen lashed out and unfastened the top button on his jacket suit to give him more room to breathe. He slumped on the upholstered sofa and leaned his back on the rest, his head faced up the ceiling before he took a deep breath with his eyes closed.

King Alistair also looked up the vaulted ceiling that was painted with Italian Renaissance art to hold the tears that were threatening to fall before he moved his gaze back to his son. He's getting older and more emotional lately. The weight of the crown was wearing him down the longer it stayed on his head but he has no choice but to hold on to it until his death because that's the only way the crown could be passed over. That's exactly what happened when Sebastian and his family died.

"Maxen, there's a lot of women out there at your expense. I would really love to see a lot of little Suis running around the Highlands but bear in mind, before your name, is a title to which you should prioritize," King Alistair pleaded with his eyes yet he received nothing but apprehension from Maxen.

"And before you became a king, you were my father. Now, if you will excuse me, Your Majesty, I have a future wife to pursue."