First of all, thank you all so much for your patience! School was super hectic with all the finals and then Christmas festivities kept me busy so only now did I finally have time to finish this chapter. There are about two chapters left, so let's see if I can wrap this thing up in a way it makes sense. Hope you're all doing well! xx.

...

She kept silent, still avoiding his eyes.

Eggsy tried his best to push aside the horror and shock invading his mind and proceeded to hurriedly get out of the bed, almost falling over.

Emma grabbed his shoulder at the last moment, giving him a concerned look ''Mr. Unwin where do you think you're going? You've just woken up after being nearly catatonic for seven days!''

''Emma, listen...'' He could feel his head spinning ''I have to go find Ms. Morton and-''

''You need to eat and get well, Mr. Unwin. Then you can do whatever you want'' With a stern look on her face she helped him get back in bed. Before he could protest, another maid came in with a tray of chicken broth and some biscuits. The two women proceeded to chatter eagerly about how well Mr. Unwin looked today, the colour already returning to his cheeks.

Eggsy knew they were hiding something from him and he feared the worst, but he kept silent. He would have to find out on his own what had happened in the past week. If only he could call Lancelot, but his phone was dead...And what about his mom? And Daisy? Had they been here to see him? Were they worried? He'd dreamed about them; he remembered his mom's hand stroking his hair and Daisy's distant giggling...

He gulped a couple of spoonfuls of soup in front of the maids, and after he'd promised he'd take it easy and get some sleep, the two women left him alone. They closed the door behind them and Eggsy listened as the voices in the corridor died down. He carefully slipped out of bed, his feet more steady this time after having eaten a bit. He traded his pajamas for a white tee and gray sweatpants, and silently wandered into the corridor.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was 6 pm when Roxy's Audi rolled into the patio of the Mansion. She closed the car door behind her with a heavy sigh and made her way towards the front door of her home. She'd been rocking the whole business executive-look for a while now; her navy-blue blazer and black leather briefcase made her look like some preppy London business school graduate. The horror.

Once inside she threw her coat onto the rack, kicked her shoes off, and slowly wandered towards the living room. There was nothing but worry on her mind these days; about the company, about her mom, about her employees...about Eggsy...Roxy needed a drink and she could already feel his father's dalmore whiskey burning on her tongue and soothing her heavy heart. She really missed him.

Roxy held back a sniffle and straightened her shoulders as she proceeded to enter the living room. Now was not the time to have a meltdown, there was too much left to do.

Her surprise was indeed great when she opened the door and saw a very serious-looking Eggsy sitting on one of the armchairs by the fireplace, with mussed hair and dark circles under his eyes, looking like a rugged Calvin Klein model. The bastard.

They stared at each other intensely for a moment, neither one of them moving an inch, neither one of them saying a thing.

Roxy was the first one to speak, her tone neutral ''Glad to see you're up. Did the doctor come see you yet today?'' She nonchalantly walked towards the liquor cabinet by the fireplace and poured herself a glass as she spoke. Eggsy carefully followed her with his eyes, trying to decipher, to read the small clues that would confirm what he already knew in his heart.

Eggsy finally opened his mouth, after a long silence ''Where's your father?''

The boy watched as Roxy downed the whiskey in one gulp, seemingly ignoring his question. His eyes were still slightly wild and glassy from his illness, and he felt dizzy. Eggsy had rehearsed that question for the whole two hours he'd been waiting for her in the living room, his heart tight in his chest and not sure if he'd be able to ask it.

Roxy took her time putting her glass down and pouring herself another shot.

The boy grew impatient, and the words rolled out of his mouth without him being able to stop them ''I'm so sorry Roxy, I didn't...I didn't think it would go like this I-''

Eggsy stopped himself, choking on his words and not really knowing what to say anyway. He was waiting for Roxy to get mad at him, to scream, or cry, or laugh hysterically, to give him anything but this cold silence. He should have told her. He should have reached out. Should, should, should...

After putting the dalmore bottle back in the liquor cabinet, Roxy sat herself in an arm chair in front of him, absentmindedly staring at the glass of whiskey in her hand.

''My father is fine, Eggsy. He's currently completing his physical therapy in a secret location in the Caribbean.''

Eggsy look at her, shocked and confused ''What?''

She stared at the fireplace with tired eyes for a moment, her cheeks red from the alcohol and the heat of the flames ''Turns out, our Hungarian friend Mr. Miklossy is dying of pancreatic cancer. He has kept it a secret from family and friends, but your mother knew and she told me when she came here to see you. She used to clean at his house. One day months ago she found him passed out on the floor, having fainted from the nausea caused by chemotherapy. Doctors say he has about a year left, but that estimate is perhaps...slightly too optimistic.''

She turned to look at the confused boy ''I used some of my IT-knowledge to do a background check on Mr. Miklossy. He has a 16-year old daughter who lives with her grandmother in Birmingham. He is the sole provider for the family. Once he's gone they'll be left destitute, since his savings are but meager due to his intense gambling'' She paused to place her glass on the coffee table ''I offered to take care of his daughter and grandmother once he passes. And it wasn't too hard to make him accept. He has, after all, nothing to lose. I've already given them a property to live on here in London together with Mr. Miklossy. The girl will get a hefty monthly allowance for the rest of her life, ensuring she can live comfortably...and in exchange, Mr. Miklossy agreed to help us fake my father's death ''

Eggsy was in shock. He and Lancelot had tried to find leverage they could use against the more prominent members of the mob, completely overlooking the Hungarian man.

He blinked his eyes, looking at Roxy in confusion ''How...but the mob wanted evidence about your father being dead. They were supposed to send someone to-''

''To check he was truly dead, yes. They sent Mr. Miklossy, and indeed he confirmed Mr. Morton had ''courageously sacrificed himself for the good of his family and shot himself in the head''. They took Mr. Miklossy's word for it, since he is their most trusted associate. We quickly and discreetly put my father on an airplane and shipped him to the other side of the ocean...he's staying with friends, last time I heard of him he was doing quite well, expected to achieve full recovery''

Roxy stared at the fireplace, her eyes filled with dancing flames. She had learned that when bringing down an enemy, instead of focusing on his head, it was sometimes more useful to look at at the tiny weeds growing at his feet.

Eggsy leaned back in his arm chair, looking exhausted and defeated ''I let you down, Rox. I'm so sorry''

She gave him a serious look ''No you didn't, Eggsy. This dangerous mess wasn't yours to sort out to begin with and I'm very sorry you got dragged into it. But I wish you had told me and asked me for help''

He nodded quietly, lost in thought. He could not believe that his own mum had been a hundred times more useful than him in sorting this mess.

Roxy looked at the distraught young man, her heart breaking a bit ''Eggsy, you've done an excellent job as a bodyguard. I could not have asked for more.''

''You're giving me way too much credit...''

''I am not, Eggsy. I give people the credit they deserve, no more and no less''

They both fell silent for a moment. Roxy eyed the coffee table in front of her, exhausted; there was always something getting in between of them, trying to keep them apart. Misunderstanding, or fear, or jealousy, or doubt. Drama. She was sad; she'd been that way for a while now. For very long actually. From way before this whole mess, before her birthday party, before Eggsy came into her life. This wasn't the life she'd imagined for herself.

Roxy turned to stare at the flames burning in the fireplace. The silence was too unbearable, so she started chatting absentmindedly, talking more to herself than to Eggsy ''Everyone at Cronos Inc. thinks he committed suicide, except Lancelot. The staff here at the mansion also think he's dead; I told the maids I'd be the one to 'give you the news' once you got better...It might seem cruel to have them think he's dead, but we really have to make sure the mob doesn't find out we faked his death.. '' She could feel the boy's eyes staring at her, but she dared not meet his gaze, carrying on with the chatter instead. She probably resembled Lancelot in that moment with her nervous rambling, whiskey in hand and all ''We even held a fake funeral on Sunday...most depressing thing you could imag-''

She almost didn't notice when Eggsy walked up to her and cupped her face with his hands, leaning in to capture her mouth in a fiery kiss.