Apocalypse Rebirth: Making Billions With My Fortune-Telling Skill

​April took a slow breath, turning her head to look up at him. ”Thank you, Xavier.”

​She paused, her fingers lightly brushing a damp strand of hair away from her face as she looked down at the gravel. ”And... I apologize for showing you such a vulnerable and unsightly side of me tonight.”

​Xavier looked down at her, his dark eyes softening into a quiet, rare warmth. ”It’s fine. I did the exact same thing.”

​April blinked, remembering the night at the dining table when the absolute weight of his empire burning in the coming apocalypse had brought him to tears before her.

​”Now we’re even,” Xavier added smoothly, a tiny smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

​A small, genuine chuckle escaped April’s lips—the first real sound of relief to leave her chest all night. ”Yeah... it seems so.”

​Xavier smiled back at her, his expression turning deeply earnest under the midnight rain.

”I’ll always have your back, April. Just learn to lean on me a bit more.” He paused, his dark eyes locking onto hers with unwavering intensity. ”Like Nat Collins said... I am your saint. But that doesn’t mean I won’t get my hands dirty if I have to, because of you.”

​April froze, her dark eyes wide as his words echoed in her mind. Her thoughts instantly flashed back to that afternoon in his office—the moment she had first picked up on the true, heavy depth of his feelings for her.

​She quickly turned her face away toward the car, burying the sudden flutter of complexity behind her usual quiet mask. ”Thank you... regardless.”

​Samuel held the rear door open for her, his disciplined face polite and attentive as always. ”Miss April, please step inside where it’s warm.”

​April nodded, stepping into the comfortable, heated interior of the sedan, with Xavier sliding into the seat beside her. Samuel shut the door, stepped into the driver’s seat, and smoothly navigated the heavy vehicle out of the courtyard.

​Behind them, a sudden, brilliant orange glare burst into the dark night sky. The Gabriel estate went up in massive, roaring flames, burning the blood, the trauma, and the dark secrets of the past to absolute ash.

​April leaned her head back against the leather headrest, closing her eyes as the car sped toward home. Tomorrow, the ashes would settle—and Madam Morgan would face her debt.

As soon as they got back to the estate, the first thing April did was prepare a warm bath for herself to soak in.

The warm water in the porcelain tub swirled softly, the gentle hum of the steam filling the quiet bathroom. April rested her head against the padded rim, her eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling as the heat worked to thaw the cold, heavy knot locked deep in her chest.

​A soft knock sounded at the bathroom door before Samuel’s voice drifted through, low and disciplined. ”Miss April? Is there anything you need?”

​April didn’t open her eyes as she responded, ”Nothing, Samuel. Thank you.”

​Outside, Samuel stood still by the wooden frame. His fingers twitched, closing into a tight fist at his side. He opened his mouth as if to say something—to offer some word of comfort or simply reassure her that everything for the compound was moving according to schedule—but the words died in his throat. He knew when to step back.

​”All right, Miss April,” Samuel murmured softly, relaxing his hand. ”Have a good night’s sleep.”

​He turned and walked away, his quiet footsteps fading down the hallway to leave her in peace.

After about thirty minutes, April finally stepped out of the cooling tub.

​When she stepped out of the bathroom, drying her damp hair with a small towel, Rufus lifted his massive head from the rug near the bed.

The large dog let out a soft, low whine, padding over with slow, heavy steps, his golden eyes reflecting a quiet, instinctual worry for his master.

​Beside the nightstand, the little snow-white kitten woke up as well. Sensing the heavy, lingering darkness clinging to the room, Lily hopped down from the cushion and trotted over like a queen before rubbing her soft, pure white fur back and forth against April’s bare, damp ankles.

​April stopped. She looked down at the tiny kitten, a faint, weary breath escaping her lips as she leaned down to pick Lily up, cradling the warm, soft bundle in her arms.

​”Are you taking away the bad luck?” April whispered softly, her fingers gently stroking the kitten’s ears. ”Thank you, Lily.”

​She carried the kitten to the bed, setting her down beside the pillows before sliding beneath the heavy duvet. Rufus settled his heavy chin flat against the edge of the mattress, guarding her from the floor.

​April closed her eyes, trying to let sleep drag her under, but her mind refused to quiet down. Every time she drifted near the edge of rest, the flood of recovered memories—the old woman’s worn hands, the sting of the neuro-sterilizer, the evidence of suicide wrapped around Emily’s neck—flashed violently across her thoughts.

Her mind wouldn’t settle and her heart wouldn’t rest.

​Giving up on sleep, April reached for her phone on the nightstand. She opened Winecraft, tapping into her current world save.

The rival player on the server that had been persistently trying to breach her perimeter defenses and destroy her main tower, had struck again, forcing her to rebuild her structural fortifications from scratch.

She didn’t have much else to do, so she quietly focused her mind on routing virtual supplies and reinforcing her digital walls.

She played for a while, her blood heated work the thrill of the game and for a while, she forgot her worries.

She simply played and played until the clock struck four. It was at this point that the exhaustion finally won over her mind and body.

​Somewhere halfway through building a secondary perimeter moat, her thumb slowed on the glass screen. Her head was resting on the pillow so it did not take long for her eyelids to start closing in sleep.

Soon, the phone slipped from her hand, landing softly on the mattress as the exhaustion finally won, pulling her into a deep, dreamless slumber.