When the door of the hotel room swung open, Adam wrapped a protective arm around my waist and gently pushed me behind his back, giving the man that I call my father a warning look.

He stared at my best friend before shifting his gaze to me, I bit my lip before I looked away, burying my face into Adam’s shirt.

I’m not ready to face him yet.

Sighing, dad walked around us before disappearing down the hall.

One more goal before this summer ends, I hope I send my father back to England with us in good terms.

But before that, I peeked inside the room and found Kate busy typing away on her laptop, as if she was completely oblivious to our arrival and short dramatic scene with her fiancé.

I cleared my throat rather loudly and she finally lifted her gaze from the screen. Giving us a polite smile, she tapped on a few more buttons before shutting down the device, “Just chatting with my maid of honour.”

Nodding my head at her statement, we stepped inside the room and I pointed out of the door, “We better head out now, we have a very busy day ahead of us.”

I want to make it up to her all those time when I’ve been acting such a bitch. I called up an appointment with Macy for a meet up about possible locations and a meeting with one of the best wedding dress designers in Hollywood.

Maybe I’ve been too harsh on Kate, so even though I’m still mad at my father, I’m going to do my best to let her have the wedding she desires.

She grabbed her purse from its spot on the bed before heading out of the room. I turned the door and when I was halfway through, I turned back to Adam who was staring at Kate’s laptop with a new kind of curiosity.

“Adam,” I called out softly and he snapped out of his trance. He gave me a sheepish smile as he followed right after us.

That was definitely weird.

Entering the restaurant we saw that Macy was already there, sipping on the coffee she ordered as she looked over the papers she had laid out on the table. We approached her and when she looked up at us, she stood up, straightening out her skirt before giving each of us a handshake.

“So glad to see you again,” she gave as a warm smile before she gestured to the seats, wanting this meeting to start.

Looking over the papers, I nodded in approval at the various places printed on there. It had pictures of venues and with accurate description of each one.

“I took the liberty of printing up some places you might be interested in,” she explained, handing us a binder, “But I would like to know where exactly do you want your wedding to be held?”

Without a moment of hesitations, Kate laced her fingers together as she answered her question, “Home, I want it to be done in England.”

Macy nodded, quickly grabbing her list and eliminating all the locations that was not part of Kate’s preference.

If it’s going to be held across the Atlantic Ocean, that means that I need to visit the place I once called home.

I have mixed feelings about it, I sincerely miss everything about it. From the freezing cold to the amazing sense of comfort it gives, I crave to see it again. I fly there every Christmas season, but I guess two weeks per year wasn’t enough for me.

But every time I step on that familiar land, there’s something at the pit of my stomach. Even though for the first fifteen years of my life, I grew up there, it felt so foreign. It was as if I drifted away from it.

I eyed Kate as she described animatedly to Macy on how there was a lovely church near her hometown where she would love to have the wedding.

Adam, on the other, was in the trance, looking like he was thinking deeply. I reached out and gave his hand a squeeze to gain his attention.

The haze that was occupying his eyes went away and he focused on me, “Hmm?”

“Anything wrong?” I asked quietly, concern leaking in my voice. He shook his head, giving my hand a small squeeze in return.

The next stop was the wedding dress designer. Entering his small boutique, the man who I have met several times ran up to me and gave each of my cheek a kiss.

“It’s so good to see you again, Heart,” he grinned, glee showing through his features.

“Nice to see you too,” I laughed before pointing at my father’s fiancé, “This is the bride-to-be.”

He clapped his hands, approaching her, “This woman has potential.”

Kate blushed at his statement before she was suddenly dragged by him into the dressing room, snapping his fingers as his many assistants started to move around the small shop, doing whatever he commanded.

“I’m going to show you the available dresses first, dear,” he started, slotting as many weddings dresses and gowns into the dressing room she’s in, “Then we can modify something or if you want, make one from scratch.”

Kate only managed a squeak before a woman got inside to help her get inside the intricate works of fashion.

Just saying, I almost bawled when she pushed the curtains open.

As a child, I often pestered my parents to tell me about their wedding. They usually handed me their wedding albums and helped me browse through them, pointing at each picture as they told me how everything was so beautiful.

When they separated, they had this argument that they should just burn the albums. It terrified me to no end, and that was when I snuck up one night just to get one of their most treasured picture.

Dated on February 1994, an exact year before I was born, an image of love and romance was captured. A newly wedded couple named Robert and May Valentine stood in front of an altar, looking at each other with so much adoration.

Who knew a few years later they would be attempting to bite each other’s heads off.

It was a candid shot, it appeared that they were oblivious to the camera that was pointed at them. My mother was laughing to something my father said as he held her in his arms.

What in the world happened to them?

I was so young so I had no idea when or how it went wrong. How can something that used to be so precious shatter in such a short time?

Back to the present, I stared at Kate as she twirled in front of the mirror, smiling at the gown she had on.

I remember that outfit. From the lace by the torso to the satin train, it looked so familiar.

“I designed this back when I was an apprentice in 1993,” the man explained, his eyes twinkling with nostalgia as he eyed the gown, “It’s a beauty, isn’t it?”

It was my mother’s wedding gown.

I could almost picture it from memory, her chestnut brown hair flowed down the translucent fabric at the back, and every curve of her body was accentuated perfectly. She was really a sight to behold.

I wanted Kate to take it off. I felt like it was reserved for my mother in a special sort of way, but the way the designer talked about it, he implied that this dress was now produced in masses.

“This is it,” Kate grinned, turning to us, “I want this.”

“No!” I snapped, my tone nothing but defensive and bitter.

They all flinched back at my response before staring at me with concern, wondering why I suddenly had an outburst.

I cleared my throat, trying to gain my composure, before gesturing to the dress, “It’s wonderful, but are you sure you don’t want to try on the other dresses first.”

Kate shook her head, looking back at her reflection once again, “This one’s perfect.”

Please, this can’t be happening!

“I’m sure you would like something custom made,” I tried to urge, my voice slowly turning frantic, “Money is not a problem.”

Kate tilted her head to the side in question, staring at me as I started to go into hysteric.

Adam placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. I haven’t said a single to thing to him yet, but he was acting like he understood what I was trying to do.

I was doing everything in my power to make sure Kate doesn’t get that specific gown.

“You know, my dear, I have something similar in the back,” the designer stepped up, “Would you like to see it?”

Nodding slowly, Kate retreated back into the dressing room but up until the curtain closed, her eyes were trained on me.

“It was my mom’s,” I whispered to Adam.

That was the only explanation he needed and he left the topic alone for the rest of the day. I drove us all back to the hotel and when Kate opened the door to their room, we scanned the inside for my father, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Maybe he went out to buy supper,” Kate assumed, walking inside, dropping her purse on the bed before going back to her laptop.

It was like she shut the world out again as she stared at the screen, her fingers dancing along the keys. Adam stared at the device with the same fascination he had on earlier.

I was starting to get suspicious, what was so amazing about that laptop?

“Well, it looks like it’s time for us to head out,” I tried to catch her attention, but nope, she was focused on the screen.

Sighing, I pulled Adam to the door, giving Kate a silent goodbye.

Instead of the familiar road to my house, I made a swift turn towards my mother’s home.

“Soph, what are you doing?” Adam asked gently, as if he was unsure that this was a good idea.

Trust me, I doubted my own plan. I don’t even know why I’m heading there, it was as if I’m looking for closure. I’m pretty sure she carried that wedding gown wherever she lived, she told me how much she adored the thing.

So I have this hunch that it’s now collecting some dust in her attic.

Stopping right at her driveway, I got out of the car and went right up to her porch. I rang her doorbell and waited patiently for het to get it.

After a few minutes passed, I pressed on it again, but once again, no answer.

“Maybe she’s not home,” Adam said.

I fished my purse for the keys she entrusted me with. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I explored her attic for a while.

Entering the house, I looked around for any sign of life.

Something was wrong.

The foyer lights were on, and knowing my mother, she wouldn’t leave them like that if she was going out.

“Mom?” I questioned, my eyes roaming around the area.

“Aunt May?” Adam called out.

The both of us froze when we heard a very loud shattering sound from the living room. With an exchange of look, we hurriedly ran to the source.

I gripped Adam for support when I saw the scene in front of me.

My mom and dad were face to face, an expression of nothing but pure hatred was traded between them. A shattered vase was resting on the floor, but thankfully, none of them had any signs of injuries or bruises.

“You shouldn’t have come here!” I heard her snarl at him, “Just leave me alone.”

“We need to talk, May,” he calmly spoke, “You know this.”

“No!” she cried, grabbing a pillow and she chucked it towards him. He ducked it right in time, and from the looks of it, he did the exact thing when he was avoiding the vase.

What the hell is happening? Why is my father here?

“I pity Kate,” she growled, “Are you going to treat here as another one of your whores?”

Hearing my mother talk like that is certainly something new.

“I loved you,” she declared, a sob escaping her lips, “But you just left me.”

They were both unaware of our presence and if you ask me, I want to keep it that way for a few more minutes.

“And you think that I didn’t reciprocate that?”

Let me answer that question for you, yes.

“Fuck you!” she screeched at the top of her lungs.

My dad started to walk towards her and instead of moving back, my mother held her ground, glaring at him.

I moved to approach them but Adam wrapped a hand around my wrist, when I looked back at him, he shook his head, silently telling me to let them be.

“I still love you,” she finally confessed and my nails dug into my palm as I bit my lips hard enough to draw blood.

Adam paled at her statement, releasing my wrist as we both stared at my parents with disbelief.

My dad grabbed each side of my mother’s face before colliding his lips with hers.

Let’s just say that was the last scene I saw before I fainted into Adam’s arms.

This is not nice!

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Gosh, this was dramatic, somebody give me a fan! Sorry, no Axel vs Adam drama in this chapter, we're focusing back on Sophia's relationship with her parents and Kate.

Did I take long to update? I think so, maybe not, what do you guys think?

I'm so sorry, but aside from my writer's block, i'm running around with school works. I'm trying my best, I promise, we can make it through together.

Dedicated to @_being_me for the cute banner on the side, AnnaSophia looks so pretty there.

Question: Why did Heart's father go to her mother?

Love you guys, I trust in us. I don't know when I'll upload next, but I hope you guys will wait patiently for me. Don't forget to vote, comment and follow, it really makes my day.