Yuki #4
“It’s over.” The words barely sounded like my own. Chen frowned almost immediately, studying my face as though he were waiting for me to laugh and tell him this was some kind of loyalty test.
“What?”
“I said...” My voice cracked, forcing me to swallow before trying again. “It’s over.”
For several long moments he simply stared at me, refusing to believe what he’d heard. We’d spent years hunting Marius, sacrificing people, resources, and pieces of ourselves to get to this very moment. Walking away now didn’t make sense to him, and truthfully, it barely made sense to me either.
“Marius is still out there, Madam. We finally have his location and have spent years trying to get to this point.”
Chen took a careful step toward me, lowering his voice as though reminding me of something sacred.
“Wei Long didn’t build us to quit.”
The mention of my father made all of this come down that much harder. I looked around the foyer, my eyes drifting across the men who had followed me into wars without ever asking where we were going or whether we’d make it home. They had trusted me because they’d first trusted him.
“He didn’t build us to quit.” I paused, allowing the truth to settle before continuing. “He built us to survive.”
Chen lowered his eyes, struggling to accept what I was saying. “We can finish this for him, for his legacy.”
“I can't .”
“Mad...”
“That’s the problem.” He looked at me without understanding, and for the first time in years, I realized I finally did.
“I’ve spent so many years trying to honor my father that I lost sight of what he actually wanted for me.
He wanted me to be strong, yes, but this life was never supposed to be mine.
It was always meant for my brothers, and somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that strength meant never putting my weapon down. ”
The silence inside the foyer wasn’t uncomfortable anymore.
It was reflective. The men standing before me were waiting for another order, another target, another mission, but for the first time since inheriting my father’s empire, I found myself questioning whether I’d spent all these years honoring his legacy or simply hiding behind it.
“My pride made me believe I had to finish this,” I admitted. My eyes to traveling across the faces of the men who had followed me without question through every war I’d declared.
“My anger convinced me I was the only one who could.” I drew in a unsteady breath, surprised by how much lighter the truth felt once I finally allowed myself to say it aloud. “But all these years...all I was really doing was becoming somebody I don’t even recognize anymore.”
Chen’s expression softened with a sadness I’d rarely seen from him. “You’ve done what you thought was right.”
“I’ve done what I thought was necessary.”
“They’re the same thing.”
“No.” I shook my head, meeting his eyes. “They’re not.”
The realization hurt more than I ever imagined it would. I had spent so many years measuring my life by the enemies I’d buried that I never stopped to count everything I’d lost along the way.
“I lost my son, I almost lost my daughter...and I'm about to lose my husband.” I laughed bitterly, chastising the woman staring back at me from the reflection in the foyer mirror.
“And the saddest part is I was still getting ready to leave this house and risk losing whatever little bit of family I had left.” I looked back at Chen, finding the same unwavering loyalty in his eyes that had carried us through years of bloodshed, impossible decisions, and wars that should’ve buried us all.
This time, however, I wasn’t about to send him into another one. “Call everybody in.”
Chen nodded once before disappearing through the front door.
Within moments, the remaining soldiers who had been waiting outside quietly filed back into the foyer, taking their places with the same discipline and readiness they always had.
They stood before me prepared for battle, waiting for orders that would send them into another fight without hesitation.
Looking at them now, I realized how different we all looked standing in the very same room.
They had come ready for war. I had finally come ready to surrender.
“I appreciate each and every one of you. Some of y’all have been with me for decades. Some of y’all followed me because you believed in my father. Others stayed because you believed in me.”
I paused, fighting through the emotion tightening my throat as I looked around the foyer one final time.
Some of these men had been with me longer than my own children.
Others had inherited their fathers loyalty to Wei Long before they ever pledged it to me.
They had followed every order I’d ever given without hesitation, trusting that every decision I made was leading them toward something worth fighting for.
The realization that I had been leading them deeper into my own grief instead of toward peace sat heavier on my chest than anything I’d carried into this house tonight.
“I won’t ask another one of you to spill blood for my mistakes.” Confusion swept across the room. Several men exchanged uncertain glances before looking back at me, waiting for the rest of the sentence they were convinced was coming.
“This organization ends tonight.” More than one head snapped up.
“Go home.” Nobody moved.
“I mean it.” I offered them the first genuine smile I’d worn in years, surprised by how natural it felt after spending so long hiding behind anger.
“Go be husbands. Go be fathers. Go be sons. Go be whatever this life never gave you the chance to become.” The room remained completely silent.
Nobody argued or questioned me. They simply stood there trying to understand how the woman who had spent years preparing them for war was now giving them permission to choose peace instead.
Chen stared at me longer than anyone else.
“And you?”
My eyes instinctively drifted toward the staircase where, only a short while earlier, my husband had given me an ultimatum. Everything about this house suddenly reminded me that life had continued moving forward while I’d remained trapped in the past.
“I’m going to try being a mother.”
One by one, the men who had followed me into every battle lowered their heads before making their way toward the front door. Boots echoed across the marble until only Chen remained behind, his eyes never once leaving mine.
“Wei Long would’ve been proud of you.”
“I hope so.” He nodded, accepting my answer for what it was.
“I’ll always answer if you call.”
“I know.” A sad expression crossed his face as he turned toward the door. Just before stepping outside, he stopped long enough to glance back over his shoulder.
“I hope he comes home.” I followed his gaze toward the empty driveway where Majeston’s taillights had disappeared only minutes earlier.
“So do I.”
The front door closed behind him, leaving me alone for the first time in my life.
My eyes drifted back toward the staircase, and for the first time since Ysis was born, I allowed myself to imagine a future that wasn’t built on vengeance.
I imagined holding my grandchildren without wondering if it would be the last time.
I imagined hearing my son’s voice again without strain sitting between us.
I imagined waking up beside my husband and talking about ordinary things instead of death, betrayal, and survival.
I had spent so much of my life running that I’d never stopped long enough to realize I already knew where home was.
I had simply been too stubborn to return.
Looking toward the front door one last time, I closed my eyes and whispered the words I’d been too proud to say for far too many years. “Please, come home to me.”