The Last Moments
A week later, Bruce invited Meredith over to meet his family. The princess reluctantly agreed even though she felt scared. Meeting her future in-laws was not something she wanted to do at the age of 18.
"Don't be shy, my family is really nice" Bruce dragged Meredith over to his family's courtyard. He held her hands the entire way.
The couple finally made it to Stellae's family courtyard. Meredith was having second thoughts at the last moment and tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately, the bandit grabbed her before she could run away.
"Bruce put me down!" Meredith was as red as a tomato after failing to escape. Bruce carried her like a princess into the courtyard.
Everyone came out to see the scene and found it quite amusing. Meredith wanted to dig a hole and never come out. Bruce didn't mind the attention and kept carrying her to his parents.
"Bruce, that's not how you treat a lady!" Elizabeth put her hands on her hip. Clearly, she was dissatisfied with the way Bruce handled her future daughter-in-law.
Meredith quickly got off Bruce and greeted his parents.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Stellae, my name is Meredith Lockwood" Meredith blushed as she introduced herself. She didn't want to look directly at Bruce's parents after what had happened.
"Forget the formality, you may call me mother" Elizabeth grabbed Meredith and the two began to chat.
"Son, you sure are lucky" Logan patted Bruce's shoulders.
"I know dad" Bruce smiled happily as he watched his mother and Meredith talk to one another.
"Is something wrong?" Logan noticed something different about Bruce.
"Nothing for you to worry about. I've just had a lot to think about" Bruce calmly replied.
"Bruce, it's a shame that I'm not strong enough to protect you. I can't even imagine what kind of pressure you are under right now" Logan dejectedly said.
"Dad, everything will turn out fine. I assure you that" Bruce patted Logan's shoulder and joined the ladies.
Everyone had a pleasant meal together as they got to know each other. Meredith felt much better about the situation because Elizabeth was extremely welcoming to her.
Elizabeth convinced Meredith to stay over for dinner and she agreed. Meanwhile, Deion came over to introduce himself to Bruce's family.
"Everyone, this is my brother at the Imperial Academy, Deion Wakeford" Bruce introduced Deion to his family.
"Hello everyone" Deion smiled brightly and acted according to his status unlike his usual hooligan self when he hung around Bruce.
Bruce even invited Sophia over for dinner which made Meredith slightly uncomfortable. She still had difficulty sharing Bruce with other women. Seeing that Sophia accepted her, she held back her feelings and treated her as a friend as well.
Looking at his family and friends gathering at the table, Bruce felt warmth in his heart. It's unfortunate that it will be a while before he could witness this moment again.
After dinner, Bruce called Deion over to a private area for a chat.
"What's going on?" Deion asked.
Bruce looked at his best friend and sighed.
"Deion, I will be leaving the Imperial Academy for a long time"
"WHAT?" Deion screamed.
"Shhh, keep your voice down!" Bruce whispered.
"Why are you leaving the Imperial Academy?" Deion could barely calmed himself down before asking the next question.
"My Lisa got taken away from me by some unknown powerhouse"
"My family is forced to stay hidden in the Imperial Academy because of me"
"Deion, I need to get much stronger much faster" Bruce explained.
"Where else besides Imperial Academy that you can get much stronger in a short period of time?" Deion asked in an agitated tone.
"Such a place does exist, and I plan to go there to train myself" Bruce smiled.
"Please promise me that you'll take care of my family"
"Bruce… I…" Deion struggled to digest everything. He didn't want his best friend to leave.
"You are my only brother in this world. I will only feel safe if you're the one taking care of my family" Bruce patted Deion's shoulder to calm him down.
"Bruce, does it have to be like this?" Deion's voice was shaken.
Looking at the current state of Deion, Bruce felt his entire being was slowly broken down. However, he still had to go through with this decision.
"How long do you think before the Worldly Supreme invades our continent?"
"By my estimate, it should be within this century"
"No one in this continent can stand up against such powers. I can only try to reach that realm before it's too late."
"The Imperial Academy is unfortunately no longer good enough for me"
"Then let me come with you!" Deion wanted to share Bruce's burden as well.
"I wish I could take you with me but it's a place that only I can go by myself" Bruce shook his head.
"Bruce… I'm sorry…" Tears began to fall from Deion's eyes.
"Why are you sad you idiot? I'll be back stronger than ever" Bruce smiled brightly to cheer up Deion.
"If you promise to come back alive then I promise to protect your family"
"Good, I'll definitely come back alive"
The duo chatted for a little bit more before going their separate ways. Bruce instructed Deion not to tell their teacher about this. He already knew that his teacher would prevent him from leaving at all costs.
'Next are Sophia and Meredith, my toughest challenge' Bruce didn't know how to tell the girls and he did not want to leave without saying goodbye.
Bruce called Sophia to meet him at Meredith's house. Everyone arrived and Bruce told them to sit down while he tells them the news.
"Sophia and Meredith, I will be leaving the Imperial Academy for special training" Bruce decided to rip off the band-aid and get it over with.
"What?" The two girls were confused.
"I will be leaving for some time to train myself and …"
"Wait a minute!" Meredith interrupted.
"Why are you leaving?"
Bruce touched Meredith's cheek and explained his reasons. The girls were extremely shocked that Bruce had to bear so many responsibilities.
"Bruce, how do you know that you will get much stronger outside the Imperial Academy" Sophia asked.
"It's a secret as I cannot tell any of you about it just yet." Bruce reached out to hold Sophia's delicate hand.
"Just know that I will come back for all of you in the future."
"Bruce, I don't want you to go!" Meredith cried.
"Meredith, I don't want to go either but this is the best shot that I have to control everything" Bruce hugged the crying princess as he was also having a hard time leaving everyone.
"Meredith, we have to let him go. He's doing this for our sake" Sophia teared up as well.
"I'm sorry that I'm too weak to help you" Meredith hugged Bruce even tighter.
"You're not weak Meredith. It's just that the circumstances forced me to do this" Bruce sighed.
"I hope that you guys can get along after I leave"
"Don't worry, she'll be my little sister and I'll take good care of her" Sophia tried her best to stay calm.
"You…" Meredith was speechless.
"Good" Bruce was glad that both girls have a much better relationship than before.
"Since this is your last day with us for a long time, why don't we sleep together?" Sophia suggested.
"Sophia, why are you talking nonsense?" Meredith blushed crazily thinking about sleeping on the same bed with Bruce.
"If you guys are offering this opportunity, who am I to say no?" Bruce was glad that Sophia was in his life. She's truly a wonderful girlfriend.
"Alright, let's all sleep on Meredith's bed then" Sophia winked at Bruce.
"Sophia!!!" Meredith tried to say no but she couldn't. She too wanted to do something special with Bruce before he leaves.