"....Dad?!" Serena cried.
"Princess...." George said as he was dragged by the two policemen who were holding him into the house. Some other officers and lawyers were following behind.
"Why...why George, WHY?" Grace yelled as she made her way to her husband, she slapped him right in his face.
"Why did you have to kill your friend? Why did you have to torture this innocent soul here? Why?" She asked again.
"You seriously-" George began, but earned a slap again.
"Don't even dare to spill any shit from that filthy mouth of yours. We all know, everybody knows what you did." Grace said. Serena was still sobbing behind, being comforted by Leaf and May.
"You told them, huh? You knew there would be consequences." George still had the nerve to talk to Misty like that. She glared back at him.
"You are out of power now. There's nothing you can do." Misty stated.
"Whatever was supposed to be done is already done. The contract which I had hidden for so long, is finally out and with the lawyers from The International Bureau of Business here. Ash is bound to follow it, since that stupid signed it." George said, smirking.
"Shut the hell up." Delia said.
"You think that's the one?" Misty asked.
"Huh?" George raised an eyebrow.
"Where is it?" Misty asked. A lawyer came forward, opening a file and handing it to Misty. She read it over.
"Didn't you read this through, smarty pants?" Misty asked, turning to George. He looked confused.
"What do you wanna say?" He asked.
"This is not the real one." Misty stated.
George was shocked. "No, it's the real one." He refused to believe Misty.
"Ever wondered who was the one that had intruded your files section?" Misty asked. George stared at her before asking.
"Don't tell me, was it you? It can't be, it was a boy." George remembered what he had seen in the CCTV footage. "He looked like him." He continued, looking at Clemont.
"No no, it wasn't me." Clemont stated, shaking his head.
"I know, I am good at disguising myself." Misty revealed. George widened his eyes.
"The contract was untouched. Mrs. Anderson told me herself." He said.
"Yeah, I kept this one there, very easily apparently." Misty told him.
"Damn, she's smart." Brock whispered to Clemont. He nodded.
"Where's the real one?" Gary asked.
Misty said nothing, and just looked at Liam, turning her head to the side. Liam understood what she wanted, and went to fetch the real stack of papers because of which everything happened.
After he came back and handed the real one to Misty, she looked at it.
"You have been played, Mr. George." Misty stated, looking through the real contract as well.
"Shut up. Mr. Fin, the real one's here, please go through it." George said. Mr. Fin nodded and took the file from Misty, going through it.
"Everything we have been told is included here." Mr. Fin said, George smirked.
"According to the rules of the business world, every contract which is made, both the parties are supposed to follow the conditions of it." Mr. Fin said.
"But he already took his shares back, Ash's not bound to Serena anymore." Delia spoke.
"That is not what's written here. On the last few pages, it's clearly stated that Tyler agrees that even if the shares are taken back, Ash will have to marry Serena, unless Tyler denies it." Mr. Fin read out.
"And since Tyler is not here to deny it, Ash will have to." George said, feeling that he won this game.
"You never knew Uncle Tyler, did you?" Misty asked.
"I did, why?" George asked, trying to free his arms from the handcuffs but failing.
Misty took the file from the lawyer and walked towards Delia, who looked at Misty expectantly.
"Aunt Delia, kindly tell me." Misty said, as she showed Delia the papers. "Is this Uncle Tyler's sign?" Misty asked.
Delia looked at the sign for a moment. "No...it's not." She concluded. "This one's different."
"See? His own wife admitted that it's not Uncle Tyler's sign. I told you that you have been playing already, but you didn't listen." Misty said, turning back to George. Everybody's eyes were wide.
"It's a fake sign." Misty stated.
"It can't be! YOU'RE LYING!" George yelled.
"You never went through it after the incident. Neither did anybody else." Misty said.
"How did you know?!" George asked.
"Common sense." Misty replied. "As far as Ash and Serena's marriage is concerned, Ash, answer me. Do you love Serena?" Misty asked.
"No. Not that way." Ash replied. Misty nodded.
"Serena, do you?" Misty asked.
"Same, not that way." Serena answered.
"Princess? You don't? You used to tell me you loved him!" George said.
Serena shook her head. "That was just a stupid attraction towards him, dad! I never mentioned him when I grew up, did I? Why didn't you ask me first?" She asked her father.
"But...I thought you did..." George said, not believing what she just said.
"I didn't. It wasn't true!" Serena stated. George looked at her with a hint of guilt in his eyes.
"Thanks to Uncle Tyler, he was smart to not give his real sign on these papers. If so then mine, Misty's, and Ash's lives would be ruined." She told her dad. "You used to say, right? Everyone must always follow the rules. Why didn't you follow the rules of your friendship? Why did you kill him? Only because of this stupid thing no one wanted? I never expected it from you, dad." Serena stated. George was feeling some high-level guilt right now.
"I....I hate...to call you my father now..." Serena said.
"SERENA!" George yelled.
"My vision of you won't change now, or ever....Mr. Yvonne." Serena said as she took some steps back.
"NO!" He said, trying to get out of the two police men's grasp. Grace came beside Serena from behind.
"I wonder why I never saw the true sides of you. Even though you were doing it for our daughter, you did it wrong. You took actions too quick, killed someone and injured someone, letting that person live with the traumatic memories for seven whole years. Misty suffered a lot because of you. Who knows how she spent all those years thinking what had happened to her. There's no way I can make it up to her, but you'll get what you deserve." Grace said. It took her a lot of courage for saying this to her own husband, but she did. There was no way she was letting this mistake of his go unnoticed.
She looked beside her at Serena, who had a cold emotionless look on her face.
"STOP!" George yelled again as he tried to wiggle out of the officer's hold.
"Take him away...." Serena said coldly.
"SERENA!" George yelled again, but his efforts were in vain. Serena turned around, and tears fell down her eyes.
"RELEASE ME! SERENA!" George yelled as he was being dragged away. His only fear in the world was his princess hating him, and that was the result of his past deeds. He would have to live the remaining part of his life remembering that his princess hated him.
"I'm sorry mom....but that had to be done..." Serena managed to say using her broken voice.
"Don't be sorry. He deserved it." Grace said as she wiped her tears, turning to Misty.
"I am sorry Misty. For all the things my husband did to you, for whatever he made you go through, I am sorry." Grace apologized to Misty, joining her palms together.
"No." Misty said as she made Grace stop apologizing to her. "It's not your fault."
Everyone was silent. Nobody had expected to witness this kind of situation. Gary decided to break the silence as a question popped up in his mind.
"What had happened to you when you moved to Cerulean?" He asked Misty. She turned to him.
"Was in depression for several months. My sisters never paid enough attention which I needed, and couldn't tell anyone about it. Basically spent the first two years alone." Misty explained.
"What were Daisy, Lily, and Violet doing?" Rose asked, going towards Misty and taking her in her embrace.
"Planning their third world tour." Misty replied.
"I'll see them later." Aiden said, still angry over everything.
"Misty." Grace called Misty. Misty turned again.
"I...I want to give you something." Grace told her.
"What?" Misty asked.
"Our company." Grace said. Misty didn't reply, waiting for Grace to explain why she was doing this.
"I never really knew anything about what George did, not even in his life or not even in business. And now that he's gone...someone will have to take care of it, and that someone can't be me...that's why I want you to do it." Grace told her.
"I agree. You're perfect for it." Serena said, surprising everyone in the room that she believed Misty was perfect for handling their company.
"But I don't." Misty said, shaking her head. "It's yours, wholly. And you'll be able to handle it, just like Aunt Delia did." Misty assured her.
"Yes, you can do it Grace." Delia convinced Grace.
"And we'll be here to help you with anything you need." Aiden stated. Grace shed a happy tear. Never in her life had she thought that these people would be so loving and helpful even after they got to know what her own husband did to them. She couldn't help but be thankful to no extent.
"True. You can do it mom." Serena told her mom. Grace took her girl in her embrace and hugged her tight. After all, now it was only both of them for each other, if we exclude their friends.
"I....I don't know what I did to deserve you people." She said through her soft voice. Rose and Delia went towards her, patting her back to make her stop crying, though happily or sadly. Aiden just smiled.
"You know what, Misty?" Brock said. Misty turned to him. "You should totally be a detective."
"I agree. You will solve all those dangerous mystery cases in a matter of seconds." May said, laughing a bit.
"You have a perfect mind as well." Gary said.
"I'll be your student." Clemont stated.
Misty just laughed. "Calm down guys."
"Did you tell the police people about his abuse towards you?" Delia asked Misty, who shook her head.
"Not yet. They're gonna call me again for some more investigation. I've saved that information for later." Misty answered. Delia nodded.
Amelia and Jack entered. They saw everything that was happening, and wanted to know what was going on.
"I am not telling the tale again, you go." Misty told her dad. He chuckled, nodding and kissing his daughter's forehead.
Seeing everybody right now, Misty felt happy. It was totally like the beginning of a new chapter in her life, and she was looking forward to it. Looking at her mom and dad's happy faces, finally knowing that their daughter never forgot anything, she felt satisfied. Since seven years ago, she wanted everybody to know about George's deeds, and seeing that finally the truth was out, and she had helped reveal it, she felt like she achieved something. It was as if winning a battle which was going on for seven years.
Seven years.
Seven years of not seeing Ash, seven years of training and finding evidence, seven years of remaining the cold, blunt Misty she still was till date. She knew that because she lived with her cold personality for years, she wouldn't just switch back to her old, chirpy, one. But either way, people liked her. As the cold Misty or the talking machine, they loved her, and that was what she wanted.
Looking at the happy faces in the room, she slowly backed away, getting out of there without anyone noticing.
* * *
After she had got out from there, Misty straight away went to the pond. The pond that she had missed for years, the one which she denied remembering, the one where she and her two best friends used to play around all the time. It brought a beautiful smile on her face instantly now that she could enjoy it freely, not having to worry about anyone finding out how she remembered this place or stuff.
"You're here too, huh?" A voice from behind said. She looked behind, tiling her head to the side to catch a glimpse of the person, though she knew who it was.
"Of course I'd be, Ash." She replied, turning back ahead as the boy took a seat beside her.
"You know, when I first saw you that day at school I had no idea things would turn out the way they did. I just thought you'd never bother with whatever I did." Ash told her his past thoughts.
"But that didn't happen, did it?" Misty asked, chuckling and looking at the pond water slightly moving because of the wind.
"Nope. Certainly not." Ash replied, smiling at the memories.
"Ash? Why did you want me to remember the past so desperately?" Misty asked, turning to Ash, who in turn smiled.
"Because of a small feeling my heart felt whenever I saw or thought about you." He said, looking at the blue sky. "If I had never come back, it would have been still closed up inside my heart."
"I am glad it was able to get out of that cage, then." Misty told him. "But." She added.
"Yeah?"
"You didn't keep your promise." Misty said sternly. Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Which promise?" He asked.
"The one you made back at the hospital, seven years ago. That you'll never leave me, but you left anyway." Misty said, keeping a straight, kinda angry face.
Ash remembered his words which he had said to an unconscious Misty back then. He only remembered some of it, but that was enough to let a smile make its way on his face.
"You remember that too, huh?" He asked. Misty nodded.
"I never planned to. It was destiny which parted us, but then again brought us together." Ash stated. Misty looked at him.
"True."
There was a moment of silence between them. It wasn't awkward, but comfortable.
"The time when you were going back into your old self..." Ash began, making Misty look at him again, "you must have eased yourself a bit, right? From all this acting..."
"Technically, it wasn't acting. I just became this distant from everybody. When I decided to be my old self, it was hard, I swear. Living with a cold personality for years...it really was." Misty explained.
Ash sighed, looking at the water, which was slightly moving. Misty did the same. Silence surrounded them.
"Misty." Ash said after a while. Misty turned to him yet again.
"Hm?"
"Thank you." Ash said.
"Why?" Misty asked, confused.
"For letting me know the truth. If it hadn't been for you, I would have always blamed dad. Would've hated him for what totally wasn't his fault. I blamed him, spoke bad of him so much, back at the house today morning...but I take it all back. My dad's the best, and he proved it yet again. Even in the time of crisis, when he had no option, he made his brilliant mind work and saved me from that stupid marriage bond, not letting the enemy even have a glimpse of his strategy." Ash stated. Misty patted him on his back.
"Uncle Tyler's great, Ash. Just remember, if he did something, he must have had a reason for it. He would never do something that would be problematic for his family which he loved beyond limits." Misty told him. He nodded in return.
"Although tell me. What had happened that time resulting in him calling for Uncle George to help him? Do you know?" Ash asked.
"I do. After doing some research, I found out that some stupid companies of that time with no aim who had invested in Uncle Tyler's company, had closed down. Which meant he was in loss. For not falling down, just like what happened today, he asked only Uncle George to help him by investing, which led to this all." Misty explained.
"I see. But it's funny how you still call him 'Uncle George' even after whatever he did to you." Ash said, sliding a hand around Misty shoulder and pulling her closer by his side.
"I gotta. He's an elder after all. 'Rules.'" She replied, air quoting the word rules.
"Oh wait..." Ash began.
"What?"
"That day...when I snapped at you for..." Ash continued, looking at Misty with a bit of guilty in his eyes.
"Oh, that." Misty looked at the sky, "Well, that would have happened sooner or later."
"But I heard, you cried that day." Ash looked at Misty, still a bit guilty.
"After hearing you saying all those words, it really hit me like a wave about what I was doing. I considered telling you everything for a second, but then decided against it." Misty explained, remembering that time.
"Very well." Ash said, agreeing.
"But", Misty began again, "that, was indeed very rude of you." She continued, trying to hide a smirk.
"I- Misty, I am so sorry." Ash said, sitting on his knees and holding his ears, bowing down. "I can even do this for you-" Misty stopped him from bowing while laughing, holding his shoulders.
"No need, calm down. I was just kidding." Misty said between her small laughs, which were music to Ash's ears. He smiled nonetheless.
"I wanna tell you something." Ash said.
"Go on."
"Remember the video of you drunk?" Ash asked. Misty quickly averted her gaze towards him.
"Yah?"
"And how you had asked me if I had seen all of it or not? Which I replied to with a 'no'?" Ash asked again, Misty nodded.
"Well guess what. I had already seen it long ago." Ash stated, smirking.
"Don't expect me to blush and turn into a red tomato 'cause I'm not doing that." Misty warned him. Ash chuckled.
"You have already kissed me anyway." Ash said, leaning back and looking up at the sky, remembering their first and a little weird kiss.
"Wanna do it again?" This time Ash was the one to quickly turn to look at a smirking Misty.
"Why not?" Ash shrugged and pulled her closed, resting his lips on hers.
They kissed under the blue sky, surrounded by the green trees and grass, the sound of them ruffling against each other and the water moving because of the wind was heard. They continued, their lips moving perfectly together until they pulled back, panting for air.
"That cute little kiss we had that day is still gonna be our first one though." Misty said, regaining her breath.
"Yep. Our children would love hearing about it." Ash said, smirking while looking ahead.
"Ash!" Misty smacked his shoulder, resulting in him laughing. "That still has got a long time to happen." Misty said, crossing her arms.
"True...but you agreed that it will happen." Ash said, smirking. Misty shot him a glare and he laughed a bit, turning his gaze ahead as he remembered the story of his life. All those obstacles he went through, all those moments where he had lost hope in life, all those moments when he thought he was just an empty person who was breathing. He remembered how his friends changed him, how Misty changed him. How all those sad events in his life made him stronger.
"Misty?" He asked. Misty turned to him again.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"Would you like to begin everything again...?" Ash asked a little nervously, extending his hand towards her. She looked down at his hand, smiling and locking their hands together.
"I would love to..." Misty began, and then turned her gaze from over their locked hands to his beautiful chocolate-brown eyes.
"...begin again."
~~~
The End
Important: If you have any questions that you want me to answer, please feel free to ask them. I'll love to answer them. [No personal questions please, thank you.]
[Two more chapters ahead. Don't miss them~]