Leveling Up the Billionaire

02| The Accident (Life and Death Situation)

What an uncomfortable situation. Zion's actions made him regret showing up in the dining room. Xavier didn't know that Zion would ask him to eat in front of the other guests. It wasn't usually like that, because so far, Zion had been quite understanding and often helped Xavier find excuses. So, it wasn't like Zion didn't know about the trauma Xavier had suffered.

Xavier put the small spoon back in his hand, then he pushed the food away. He couldn't force himself, his heart was already beating wildly when he hadn't even touched the food yet, that was how scared he felt.

Zion, who sat on the right side of the table, shook his head slowly at Xavier, asking his distant cousin to remain seated. But unfortunately, Xavier rarely listened to others. As a result, he got up from the chair with a little haste.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for not being able to accompany you until the end. There is work that I must complete immediately." Xavier said with a forced smile, then left the dining room immediately. He did not care about the astonished gazes of those who could have had breakfast at their own homes, but chose Daguise's residence for a specific purpose. How annoying, Xavier thought.

Zion couldn't help but shake his head, feeling like he couldn't get enough of it. "Come on everyone, please continue to enjoy your meal." He said, breaking the ice.

As for Xavier, he was seen walking towards the room of his grandfather, the great lord Jostein Daguise. He was going to say goodbye because he had to take care of work outside the city, leaving London at a crucial time before his inauguration as the successor to the family's assets and wealth was not recommended, his grandfather had warned him a long time ago. But what could Xavier do? He couldn't stay silent when he received a message that there was a problem in one of the company branches there.

Xavier's steps stopped when he passed Mr. Liam who had just come out of their great master's room. They both exchanged a smile and then walked away.

"Sir, wait!" Called Xavier to prevent Mr. Liam from leaving.

Mr. Liam stopped obediently, "Yes young master? Is there anything you need?" He asked.

"Is... is he okay? I mean my grandpa, what about his condition?" Xavier sounded very worried.

"His condition is like... yesterday and days before, he still cannot do activities like before, he can only lie in bed for the next few days or get around using a wheelchair." Mr. Liam answered as clearly as possible. Xavier must understand, at the age of 82-year-old, Grandfather, with a suffering from heart disease. His condition would certainly decline over time.

Xavier nodded. "Thank you, but where are you going?"

"Greeting the guests, asking them to return after rescheduling the meeting with your Grandpa." Mr. Liam replied.

A good choice, meeting guests who only thought about themselves could make Grandfather tired, so it would be better if they were told to leave. After officially becoming the heir, Xavier would do some cleaning and get rid of all the troublesome people who could not make any meaningful contribution to the company or to the Daguise family.

"Good. I will see Grandpa to say goodbye." Xavier continued his steps and entered Grandfather's room, which was intentionally left unlocked for easy access in case something happened or Grandfather suddenly needed something.

His footsteps distracted Grandpa from the book he was reading, he threw a smile, then sat on the edge of the bed. Xavier didn't speak right away, he just stood still for a while while grasping his grandfather's right hand.

"Grandpa, I have to take care of work in Edinburgh. There is a person who refuses to give permission for a billboard. I have to go see him and offer a deal by myself." Xavier said, not daring to look at his own grandfather's face. Whatever nickname Xavier got from the employees, he was still the grandson who was afraid of Grandpa.

Jostein was baffled by his grandson's way of thinking, he had even given the prohibition a few days ago that weeks were crucial for an heir. Although he didn't show it, as Grandfather, Jostein knew that Xavier was already going through a lot of hardship. Jostein didn't want anything bad to happen to his only grandson. Xavier was all he had.

"Anything can happen to you at such an important time as the inauguration of the heir. You know that, right? I told you a million time." Jostein said, reminding Xavier.

"I understand your worries, but I have to go anyway. It's not just about the billboard, the clients are already urging us." Xavier explained.

"Tomorrow is your inauguration as heir, tomorrow, Vi. Please obey my words and work from home, send your people to go there and handle about the billboard." Grandfather's command was undeniable.

Xavier never obeyed easily, especially since he thought his grandfather's worries were too much and doesn't make sense. "I know that very well, but I also have a responsibility to this job. Zion said we can't delay the launch of the product, we can't let a small problem about advertising interfere tomorrow's procession." He explained again.

Jostein sighed heavily, "As you wish, I won't hold you back or tell you to leave. But remember one thing, tomorrow morning you have to come back as soon as possible. Understood?"

Xavier nodded, "I understand. Alright, then I'll leave now so I can come back at night." He said. "Don't worry, I'll be back. I promise." He added.

Xavier hugged his grandfather tightly, then walked away. Jostein could only stare at his only grandson's back until he disappeared behind the door. He had a bad feeling, but he tried to brush it off because bad thoughts can bring bad things too.

The rumbling wind made the atmosphere very tense. Heavy rain with black clouds covering the moonlight added to the horror of the night. The streets that were usually filled with vehicles became so quiet, there was only one car that Xavier was driving.

"Shit." He cursed while closing the windshield as the wind splashed the rain inside, "I hate rain." He added.

The cell phone he had placed on the dashboard vibrated and showed a message notification. He immediately grabbed the phone and a smile appeared on his handsome face.

[Congratulations, tomorrow is a big day for you. Starting tomorrow, you are officially the heir of DG Group company.]

His heart warmed as he read the entire message from his girlfriend. It was true, tomorrow was an important day in the history of his life, after so many years of working hard to prove that he was worthy of being the successor of the family business empire, it would finally pay off.

As the only grandson, Xavier was always be a priority and with his ambitious and unyielding character, he never failed to get what he wanted. All the project he handles were always successful with huge profits, at such a young age he was able to take the familly company to the top.

Before he could reply to his girlfriend's message, a new message popped up again.

[I'm sorry that I won't be able to accompany you. I want us to break up. All this time I didn't even know if you really loved me or not, because you were too busy with your work, your trauma and family matters. Never mind, I don't intend to complain. Let's break up, thanks for everything."]

"No... No!" Xavier refused to believe it and re-read his girlfriend's last message. "This isn't right, what nonsense is this?"

Xavier looked frantic, his eyes glued to the phone screen that showed the beautiful face of a smiling woman while clinging to his neck. He smiled blandly and threw the phone onto the back seat.

Xavier once almost died because he was poisoned. He should not be down because he was dumped by a woman. At least Xavier had tried to always be there and give what his ex-girlfriend wanted. It was not him who lost, but his ex-girlfriend who should have suffered the loss.

Xavier tried to calm down and refocus on the dark road that seemed so long.

And then, as Xavier craned his head forward, he was startled by the presence of someone standing tall right in the middle of the street wearing a raincoat.

Xavier's eyes opened wide and reflexively slammed the steering wheel to the left to avoid. Unfortunately, the dodging action caused his car to hit the road divider - no, Xavier just realized that he had hit the bridge divider right when the car he was driving plunged from a height.

"Is it the end?"

"Am I going to die like this?"

Xavier felt the air around him turn dark, the wind breaking through the broken glass freezing his body. There was no way. He could not just die like that.

"After losing the people I love, do I also have to lose myself?" Xavier's eyes began to be watery with tears welling up and blurring, his heart felt broken into pieces.

The memories of his father, mother and little brother who had passed away earlier came back and filled his head. Xavier did not expect the accident that happened to his parents would also happen to him.

All the worst misfortunes in life, Xavier had experienced, but outsiders never knew all those painful things just because Xavier looked fine. They thought Xavier lived a comfortable, peaceful life away from misfortune.

"God... Please."

The car hit the river so hard that it made a loud bang. Poor Xavier was drooping weakly with his eyes perfectly closed. The much-anticipated night had come to a sad end.