These are the times where I would love to hit the slow motion button in the movies where a car door opens and a high heel clad foot suddenly steps out, followed by a dramatic exiting from the vehicle where there's a bunch of wind effects and the protagonist slowly removes her sunglasses.

Right now, that was me. I look so freaking badass!

Adam lifted a hand and brought me to reality with a light chop on the head. Giving him a dirty look, he clicked his tongue with an amused expression, "Focus, Soph."

I fed the meter enough money so that I was assured that my car wasn't going to get towed anytime soon. We entered the small bridal shop and the woman by the desk looked up from her computer.

"Welcome," she greeted.

"Valentine," I said, before she nodded as she tapped on her computer.

"Please take a seat, Miss Dean would be right out."

As we sat on the plush chairs, Macy emerged from the back and plopped down a think envelope, before sitting in front of us, "Alright, time to get to business."

"We're so sorry for troubling you," I apologized.

She shook her head, giving a halfhearted shrug, "It's not the first time for us, and it certainly won't be the last."

Frowning, I tried to swallow the guilt inside my chest and focused on reading the fine prints on the papers.

"It's just sad to see couples break up," she breathed out with a deep sigh, "But I guess, our red string of fate gets so tangled up with other people's that we usually don't make the effort to find the other end."

I blinked up at her and silently agreed. Please, my dad gives up halfway with a tangled up pair of earphones, how much more about this situation.

Please dad, I don't want to hate you. I want to you to save yourself and get rid of Kate, please find the real end of your string.

Macy slid a piece of paper with an amount written on it, "This is the cancelation fee."

Reaching into my bag, I took out my checkbook and signed it, writing the necessary information with it. I've spent too much goddamn money for this, I've had enough with playing around.

The process was actually quick, just a few paper signing and payment. Once we were done, Macy bid me farewell and we went out.

"Do you believe in the red string of fate?" I questioned Adam as we got inside my car.

Shrugging, he strapped on his seatbelt as I did the same, "It doesn't really matter if I believe it or not, if you fall for a person, you wouldn't exactly know if you two were bound by an invisible string."

"I think my parents should really go searching for the other side of their string," I said out loud, driving into the streets, "I've had enough of watching this."

"You might never know, your mom and dad may be the two connecting ends of each other's strings."

"Impossible," I scoffed, keeping my eyes on the road, "You saw what happened to them, how many times have I asked one of them to drive me to your house just so they could cool down and so I could escape their fights?"

He was silent for a moment, before answering, "Maybe they just got tangled up with other people."

"The minute you say the majestic 'L' word to a person, it's sure that things will go downhill," I said, my tone a bit bitter than what I intended it to be.

"Is that the reason why you wouldn't say it to him?" he inquired, referring to Axel.

My grip on the steering wheel tightened and I growled under my breath, "We're not having this conversation."

Sighing, he leaned back against his seat in defeat, "You can't keep running away forever, Soph."

That's the reason why I'm facing everything head on right now!

We reached the hotel where the happy couple was staying. Reaching for the nicely wrapped box that was resting on the backseat, I exited the vehicle and entered the tall building.

"Are you sure you want to give him that?" Adam asked for one last time, before I nodded.

What I was carrying looked like a wedding gift with the silver wrapping and white ribbon on top - but what's inside was far from a well-wishing. It contained the two hard drives where I backed up Kate's laptop plus the CD which had the video that Axel edited.

Walking up to the receptionist, I placed it on top of the marble counter, "Could you please send this to Robert Valentine's room?"

She recognized me instantly and took the box, "Surely, Miss Valentine."

We then walked to elevator and headed up to the floor where my father's room was located. We reached the front of his door and without much of a word, I took out an envelope where I wrote a small anonymous letter for him.

Well, after reading it, he could surely know that it was me.

Inside was a screenshot of the Kate's history page, the same history page that I saw when I found out about her doings. Written below was a message.

I'm sorry.

Am I apologizing for what I've done? Nope. I'm saying sorry because I waited this long to tell him how nasty that bitch is.

Crouching down, I slipped the letter through the small space underneath the door, hoping that my dad will get to it first rather than Kate.

"At least you wouldn't have to endure an eleven hour flight with them," he sighed, "And if those two do break up right now, it's going to be a lot more uncomfortable than it already is."

"I'll upgrade your ticket to first class if you want," I offered casually.

He huffed before wrapping an arm around my shoulder, "No need, Soph, I'll just be waiting for you on the other side."

I pressed the down button on the elevator and waited patiently for it to open. Imagine my surprise when the metal doors slowly slid to the side, it revealed the two people I really wanted to avoid.

You could only guess how compromising it was. I was frozen stiff onto my spot, and after a deep breath from my father, he walked out of the elevator with Kate, but instead of passing by us, he stood right by our side.

I need to go inside the elevator, but my feet were glued to the ground.

Say something, you idiot!

You're strong and tough, you can talk to them. Why are you acting like this, huh?

Inhaling through my nose, I tried to muster up my courage.

Hi, hello, anything! Don't say something horrible, don't say something mean.

"You smell like a hooker with that perfume, bitch," the words came out of my mouth.

So fucking fantastic, Valentine. Congratulations, do you want a trophy with that?

"What?" dad gaped at my sudden outburst.

Trust me, I don't know where that came from either.

Adam slapped his forehead, and don't worry, I was mentally doing so as well. To save me from making any further damage, with his arm still wrapped around me, he dragged me with him into the elevator and quickly pressed the close button.

"Explain yourself," Adam demanded once the shaft started to go down the floors.

"I don't know, okay?" I huffed, covering my face with my hands, "I tried to be nice."

"Only you, Soph," he shook his head, chuckling lowly.

"So far, this day had been going up and down," I frowned as we exited the hotel and walked to my car.

"Cheer up a little, you only have to endure it for less than a week," he told me to cheer me up.

I felt rather sad now that he reminded me how short was the time left before the end of the summer. After that, he'll be going to university and I'll be touring around the world.

I shouldn't be so sad about it, because we would be technically living together, but I couldn't help it.

When we stopped by a red light, which was when Adam poked my cheek, making me jolt up in surprise. I turned to him and he was showing me that assuring smile, "Stop worrying, alright?"

"What happens after this?" I asked, the worry finally coming down upon me, "There's no freaking way that everything would return to normal."

"Just worry about yourself and the tour, things will fall into place at some point," he said, "You've done what you can, all you have to do is wait."

"Why are you so nice?" I mumbled, but it was loud enough for him to hear,

With a teasing tone behind it, he replied, "Somebody has to balance out your selfishness."

"Without you, I couldn't have gone through this summer in one piece," I laughed as we continued on with our drive towards my house.

We were quite shocked to see Axel's car as he was about to enter the vicinity of my home. I pressed down on the horn and the car stopped. Even with the tint, I knew it was his vehicle.

Once we got out, I rushed to him who was just exiting his car, "What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering if we could have an impromptu date?" he questioned, reaching inside before producing a bag of Chinese takeout, "We don't need to go anywhere fancy though."

"Adam's going to be here," I muttered, turning back to see my best friend waved at us before he entered through the front door.

"I also bought him his share," he said, still waving the plastic bag, "So what do you say?"

Do I have the heart to refuse? Hell freaking yes. Would I say no to him? Hell freaking no.

So that's how we ended up with Adam digging in for his box, before grabbing his drink and making his way upstairs to his guest room.

"Hold on," I told Axel, before rushing to follow my best friend, "Adam!"

He stopped from his steps and slowly turned back to me with a questioning look, "I'm sorry, I'll treat you to dinner another time."

"Go be happy and be all couple-y with him," he spoke with a commanding tone, before his voice softened, "Just scream if you need me."

When I slowly trudged back into the living room, Axel instantly shoved my food into my hand along with a pair of chopsticks, "You're always thinking about him."

Thankfully, the usual jealous tone coming from his mouth was long gone. It was nothing more but a statement, it was like he was silently questioning why though.

"He's done a lot for me," I spoke, sitting down on the couch beside him, "He was even the one who taught me how to play the guitar, so he was basically a contributing factor to my career right now."

"You know, if I never said yes to Taylor, I would probably going to university as well," I sighed, throwing my head back, "I would still probably be hopelessly in love with him."

"And if I never said yes to Marcus, I wouldn't have been forced to break up with my girlfriend back then," he stated back.

I blinked up at him, my lips slowly turning down. He noticed my silence and glanced towards my direction to see my long face.

You would think that this job is so easy, but it's not, just like any other work, we also sacrificed something so we could be successful. And that sacrifice was a great mix of time, privacy, and our normal life.

Because if you think that getting your picture taken by a stranger that is positioned miles away, but has these ultra-zoom lenses on their cameras is normal the you should revaluate your definition of the word.

Some people get mad when their friends posts an ugly candid shot, think about how we feel.

"Valentine..." he trailed off and I gazed back at him.

"Do you miss your old life?"

"Do you?" he fired back the question to me.

"I do," I answered honestly, "But I like this one better."

"Because of the pay?" he chuckled.

"That," I nodded - you can't blame me for agreeing with that, you will too - but of course, that's not all of it, "And I've managed to experience something that I thought I would never will."

"I guess that's true," he agreed.

"And I would have never met you," the words escaped my lips before I could stop them.

He paused for a while, before dropping his head on my shoulder, "Hey Valentine."

"Hm?" I hummed, trying to keep myself from shaking. Personal space, people, if Axel Brooks invades it, you know I'm going to faint here.

"I love you," he said.

Closing my eyes, I willed myself to stay calm. I knew that we were going to arrive here somehow. Lifting a hand, I slowly maneuvered so that he would sit straight again, "Axel..."

He sighed, before leaning into me. I guess it's better than putting me in the spot once more.

And that was the perfect time for the doorbell to ring.

"God damn it!" he yelled in exasperation, falling back into couch, "I swear, nobody wants me to make a move."

Wrong, I want you to make a move.

"Calm down," I gave him a light giggle, before standing up to get the door.

He grabbed my arm and spun me around before crushing his lips onto mine. My hands instinctively went to hold his cheeks to press his face closer to mine as my eyes slowly shut themselves.

We pulled away when we heard the doorbell again, but apparently, whoever is at the door is only Axel's second priority as he connected our lips once again.

Pushing my body against his, I completely melted in his arms. These are the moments where I appreciate this boy's stubbornness. Let me tell you, his kisses are the best, you'll feel like the world just disappeared and all you can do was focus your attention to this boy.

"I love you," he mumbled after we stopped to take a deep breath.

I couldn't reply, so I did the next best thing, I pulled him again for another kiss.

It's not that I didn't love him, saying that word is submerging me to another level of a commitment. Plus, I remembered my words from earlier: the minute you say the majestic 'L' word to a person, it's sure that things will go downhill.

Another doorbell. Oh shut up, I'm enjoying my time here!

"Stop making out down there and get the door!" we heard Adam yell from upstairs, and that was what made us separate and untangle ourselves.

"Coming, coming," I screamed back at him as I sent a wink towards my dear boyfriend, before heading to the door.

When I opened it, my eyes widened at the sight of a figure with a large suitcase lying on the ground beside him.

"Dad?"

—————

Axel DID NOT get cockblocked this time! Everybody rejoice!

I actually meant to put this up a little earlier, but when I went to look at the file, I found out that half of chapter failed to save so I basically had to retype it. Somebody get me a new computer, this has been the umpteenth time that this happened to me!

Dedicated to @ireneeejh for the cover.

Question: What do you think happened with Sophia's father?

Well, the questions you asked me last time were erm... interesting. But I'm always open to talk, just hit me a private message, I always try to reply.

I love you guys, and I shall see you all next chapter. Don't forget to leave a comment, vote and follow.

It's 1:30 in the morning so that means I have to sleep (Oh who am I kidding? I sleep at four in the morning, somebody help me in restoring my sleep cycle!)