The Empire's Descent (First Draft)

Chapter 62: Their Days of the Weeks I Went Into a Coma

A/N: Chapter 61 is Unpublished and doesn't affect the subsequent chapters.

*

LUCA'S POV

"You see, guys, I came back unharmed! We can't be afraid to do just because we got hurt before, okay?", I looked at my family after Marco and I entered through the front door, just back from Jamaica.

"Welcome back. When will you be resuming full control of Giordano Industries?", Gianni tilted his head and smiled with his teeth.

"Well, I'll be resuming in three weeks when I send you gremlins off to July High," I smiled with forbearance and announced to the children.

"I know some of us have submitted requests to remain homeschooled, but I would appreciate if you gave July High a chance and then you can decide to continue official school in September or remain in homeschooling," I disclaimed.

I saw the mouths, opened to protest, close after hearing the end of my sentence.

"Now, can I please just relax with all of my babies for this week? I need an actual break," I wrapped Gianni and Giorgio under my arms and grinned at the rest of them perched in various resting states on the couches in the living room.

"Fine," Mma piped up, and the rest nodded.

*

Monday

"Hey, Gio, it's 7:30pm. You said we could meet then," I called out over the telecom from behind the safety glass of the observation room of his lab. His lab is located at the very back of the property at least 2 miles from the family home.

His hand holding forceps still, and he and his team looked over to me. I waved awkwardly. He said something to them and left through staff doors on the other side of him.

*

"What wind blew you here first?", he joshed.

"You do know you're my first baby, right? I dropped you down some stairs," I reminisced on a terrifying time for us.

"You really should be ashamed of that...," he mumbled and stepped over to me for a hug.

"That's what they get for giving a seven-year-old a one-and-a-half-year-old to hold, but you taught me so many lessons on childcare... mainly through trial and error, so it was your noble sacrifice," I mumbled fondly and hugged him. He laughed at my ridiculous comment.

"Let's go, I set up our forts and Nollywood movies. I figured we could chat, and I could hear how you passed my two-year-coma?", I suggested.

"Oh... yeah, yeah, man, sure," he smiled tenderly.

"Good!", I cheered and steered him out of the building towards the family home.

*

"Well... it was rough to put it simply, but I took my pain and channelled it into work. I developed a treatment for the incurable Sage Blight that attacks the Panax Araecellium genus of plants, like the Panax Typo-quadfolius, that's in the Wheat Wonders cereal you like so much," he shared and munched on the snacks I had plattered out.

"That's awesome. What was it like at home?", I wondered.

"A little difficult trying to navigate the new dynamic, but Lia the Glue really held us together when all we did was hide away to be alone with our feelings," he smiled at the bare wall of my room.