Chapter 145– One Year Later
Watson Mansion
New York City
One Year Later
One year.
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Three hundred and sixty-five days.
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An entire year had passed.
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Somehow.
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Nobody knew how.
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Because grief didn't disappear.
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It simply learned how to live beside you.
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Life Moved Forward
Slowly.
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Painfully.
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But it moved.
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Aries & Ella
Married.
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Still terrifying.
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Still arguing daily.
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Still somehow in love.
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Mica & Calix
Married.
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The definition of chaos.
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Grace & Denzel
Already married long before everything.
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Still disgustingly sweet.
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Alex & Lyra
Married.
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Doctors.
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Partners.
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Best friends.
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Still fighting over coffee.
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Freya & Edrix
Married.
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Nobody understood how.
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Not even them.
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Yuri & Ash
Married.
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The world's most dangerous couple.
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And somehow still dramatic.
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Percy & Honey
Married.
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Honey regretted it every day.
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Percy reminded everyone of this fact.
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Daily.
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Cin & Rakhi
Married.
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Happy.
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Peaceful.
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Rare species.
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Grazel Jay
Now eight years old.
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Living abroad with her parents.
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Still spoiled.
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Still adored by everyone.
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Meanwhile
Three people remained tragically single.
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Felix
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Eman
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David
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And according to Percy—
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The Three Musketeers of Loneliness.
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David
Wanted Percy dead.
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Eman
Also wanted Percy dead.
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Felix
Supported both opinions.
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Then There Was Rhys.
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Still not ready.
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Still carrying scars.
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Still healing.
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Nobody pushed him.
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Nobody would.
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And Then
There was Cole Watson.
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Still cold.
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Still quiet.
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Still broken in places nobody could fix.
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The smile he used to have rarely appeared.
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The laughter almost never came.
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But he stayed.
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For the family.
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For the people Care loved.
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Because she would've murdered him if he disappeared.
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And everyone knew it.
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Today
The entire family was gathered in the living room.
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Movie playing.
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Food everywhere.
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Percy already stealing food from three different plates.
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Normal.
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Then
Keifer stood up.
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Immediately suspicious.
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JJ
Narrowed her eyes.
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JJ
"What did you do?"
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Keifer
"I didn't do anything."
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Everyone
"Liar."
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Keifer
Offended.
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Then
He cleared his throat.
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And made the mistake of speaking.
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Keifer
"I have an announcement."
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Silence.
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Percy
Immediately.
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Percy
"He's pregnant."
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Honey
Hit him.
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Hard.
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Keifer
Ignored him.
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Mostly because he was considering murder.
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Keifer
"I want to get married."
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Silence.
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Then—
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SCREAMING.
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JJ
Actually choked on her drink.
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Percy
Fell off the couch.
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Honey
Started laughing.
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Ash
Started recording.
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Yuri
Immediately took out his phone too.
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Evidence.
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JJ
Pointed at Keifer.
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JJ
"EXCUSE ME?"
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Keifer
Calm.
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Very calm.
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Keifer
"I want to get married."
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JJ
"TO WHO?"
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The Entire Room
Went silent.
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Keifer
Looked at her.
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Keifer
"...you."
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Percy
"THANK GOD."
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Alex
Started laughing.
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Lyra
Couldn't breathe.
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Freya
Actually slid off her chair.
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Even Cole
Looked mildly entertained.
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A historic event.
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JJ
Still processing.
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JJ
"You're serious?"
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Keifer
"Very."
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Then
He walked over.
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Sat beside her.
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Took her hand.
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And suddenly—
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Everything became softer.
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Because Everybody Knew.
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This wasn't random.
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This wasn't impulsive.
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This was years.
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Years of friendship.
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Years of chaos.
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Years of love.
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His Mutya.
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His sunshine.
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His headache.
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His home.
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Keifer
Looked directly at her.
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Keifer
"I've waited long enough."
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The room collectively went—
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"AWWWW."
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JJ
Immediately.
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JJ
"Stop."
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Keifer
Keifer
"No."
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JJ
Blushing.
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Actually blushing.
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Percy
Nearly died from witnessing it.
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Percy
"OH MY GOD."
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Honey
"Sit down."
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Percy
"I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS."
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JJ
Threw a cushion.
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Percy
Caught it.
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Still screaming.
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Then
Keifer smiled.
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One of those rare smiles.
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The real ones.
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The ones only JJ ever got.
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Keifer
"So."
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A pause.
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Keifer
"When are we getting married?"
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JJ
Looked around.
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At the family.
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At the people they fought wars beside.
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At the people who survived everything together.
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Then looked back at Keifer.
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And smiled.
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The same smile that once made an entire school fall in love with her.
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JJ
"Soon."
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The House Exploded.
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Again.
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Because apparently nobody in this family could behave normally.
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Not even for five minutes.
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Watson Mansion
Five Minutes After The Announcement
Silence.
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Complete silence.
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Because everyone had just heard something deeply concerning.
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JJ
Still smiling.
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Still happy.
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Still completely unaware of the disaster she was about to witness.
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JJ
"So..."
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A pause.
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JJ
"When were you thinking?"
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Keifer
Without hesitation.
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Keifer
"Next week."
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Silence.
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Then—
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"WHAT?!"
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The entire mansion shook.
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Percy
Fell off the couch.
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Again.
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Honey
Actually dropped her coffee.
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Lyra
Started choking.
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Alex
Had to hit her back.
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Freya
Dropped her phone.
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Ash
Dropped Yuri's phone.
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Yuri
Almost dropped Ash.
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Even Cole
Looked up.
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A historical event.
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JJ
Blink.
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JJ
"...next what?"
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Keifer
Calmly.
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Keifer
"Week."
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JJ
"KEIFER WATSON."
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Keifer
"JASPER JEAN MARIANO."
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Percy
Looking between them.
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Percy
"Oh this is getting good."
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Honey
Already recording.
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JJ
Pointed dramatically.
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JJ
"YOU CAN'T PLAN A WEDDING IN A WEEK."
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Keifer
"Why not?"
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Everyone
"WHY NOT?!"
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Keifer
Actually confused.
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Keifer
"We have money."
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Silence.
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Nobody Had A Counterargument.
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Because unfortunately—
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That was a valid point.
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Keifer
Continued.
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Keifer
"We have venues."
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Keifer
"We have planners."
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Keifer
"We have private jets."
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Keifer
"We have three countries worth of contacts."
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Keifer
"What exactly is the issue?"
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JJ
Staring.
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JJ
"...you scare me."
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Percy
Immediately.
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Percy
"He has been planning this."
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Everyone Froze.
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Keifer
...
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JJ
Slowly turned.
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JJ
"Keifer."
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Keifer
Looked away.
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JJ
"KEIFER."
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Keifer
Still looking away.
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JJ
"HOW LONG?"
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Keifer
Very quietly—
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Keifer
"...eight months."
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Absolute Chaos.
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"EIGHT MONTHS?!"
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Ash
Started crying from laughter.
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Yuri
Actually laughed.
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Alex
Needed oxygen.
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Lyra
Wasn't helping.
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Percy
Running around the couch.
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Honey
Trying to catch Percy.
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Freya
Recording everything.
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Edrix
Demanding copies.
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Meanwhile
JJ was staring at her fiancé.
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Like she had never met him before.
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JJ
"You already planned my wedding?"
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Keifer
Keifer
"Our wedding."
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JJ
"You already planned our wedding?"
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Keifer
Keifer
"Maybe."
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JJ
"MAYBE?!"
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Keifer
Pulled out his phone.
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Opened a folder.
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Everyone Gathered Around.
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Folder Name:
"Mutya Wedding"
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Silence.
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Then—
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SCREAMING.
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JJ
Grabbed the phone.
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1,247 Photos.
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83 Venue Options.
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12 Dress Designers.
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Guest Lists.
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Seating Charts.
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Flower Arrangements.
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Menu Samples.
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Security Plans.
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Emergency Plans.
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Backup Emergency Plans.
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JJ
Speechless.
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For the first time in history.
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Percy
Looked impressed.
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Percy
"This is serial killer behavior."
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Honey
Nodded.
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Honey
"A little."
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Keifer
Offended.
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Keifer
"It's called preparation."
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Cole
Without looking up from his coffee.
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Cole
"It's obsession."
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The Room Exploded Again.
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Even Keifer
Couldn't argue.
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Because it absolutely was.
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Then
JJ looked down.
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At the plans.
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At the ridiculous amount of effort.
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At the hundreds of details.
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And suddenly—
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She stopped laughing.
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Because She Realized
Something.
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Every single page.
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Every single plan.
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Every single detail.
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Had been made with her in mind.
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Not a business event.
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Not a social event.
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Her.
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Her Favorite Flowers.
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Her Favorite Colors.
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Her Favorite Food.
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Her Favorite Music.
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Everything.
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JJ
Looked at him.
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A little softer.
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JJ
"You really wanted this, huh?"
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Keifer
Smiled.
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The soft smile.
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The one reserved only for her.
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Keifer
"I really want you."
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Silence.
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Then—
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"AWWWWWW."
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Percy
Actually started sobbing.
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Percy
"THEY'RE DISGUSTING."
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Honey
"STOP CRYING."
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Percy
"I CAN'T."
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And Just Like That
The wedding countdown officially began.
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Seven days.
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Seven chaotic days.
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And somehow—
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Everyone already knew.
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The wedding itself was going to be a disaster.
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Chapter End.
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