ALAS, IT WAS time for Ariah to go home. This is where she belonged. As much as Michael wanted the girl to stay with himm for a much longer amount of time, he knew that she needed to go home. The two of them were in the studio, awaiting Paul's arrival to take his daughter back home.
"I don't want to leave."
"I don't want you to leave, darling." Michael pecked Ariah's lips lightly. "But, you have to go home."
"Are you guys a thing now?" Quincy asked, with intentions of only teasing.
"Yes, Q." Michael looked over at his producer, pushing some curls behind his ears. "Yes, we are.
"What the hell?" Quincy rose an eyebrow, puffing smoke out of his mouth and waving his cigar in the air. "Since when?"
"Well," Michael began to smirk at Ariah and she just blushed deeply. He glanced at his watch. "Exactly eight hours ago."
"Mhm." Quincy glanced at both Ariah and Michael, shaking his head in obvious disapproval. Michael's career was key and having Ariah as a distraction was not apart of the plan. Moreover, Qunicy left the room.
"So," Michael began. "I know I'm a little older than you, but that's the way it is with most married couples. Don't feel weird."
"I know." Ariah smiled at Michael's concern. "Less talking, more kissing."
"Mm." Michael hummed, crashing his lips onto his girlfriend's, feeling her smile. He then pulled away to give her a special present that he had been waiting to give her for a long time, as she deserved it.
"I have something for my girl." The entertainer got up and grabbed it from a drawer of a desk in the corner of the room. "It's not much and I would really give you the world if I could, but it's just a little token of love."
"I'm sure it's still nice, whatever it is." Ariah said as Michael handed her the miniature box. She ran her fingertips over the velvety material that the box was made of before opening it. When she lifted the top off, a diamond necklace was revealed to her.
"Michael, this is beautiful!" Ariah squealed, admiring the beauty of the necklace. It was obviously a customed necklace, made especially for her. She found herself feeling really emotional as no man had ever done something for her besides her own father. "I can't believe you would ever get this for me."
"Of course, sweetheart." Michael simply chuckled. "I'll put it on you, if you'd like."
"Please!" Ariah turned around so that Michael could place the necklace on her. When it was finally on, the girl loved how she looked wearing it. "It's an M."
"That's right." Michael pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Do you know what that stands for?"
"McCartney."
"It stands for Michael," He whispered in his girlfriend's ear. "But, I guess it could stand for McCartney, if anyone asks." Michael shrugged, chuckling. "I just know that it covers all of these love marks all over your collarbone and neck, good grief." He ran a finger over her collarbone, making her shiver. "Who did this to you?"
"My boyfriend." Ariah smiled before breaking into laughter with Michael. "Listen, I appreciate this so much. I appreciate you."
"I appreciate you, too." Michael kissed his girlfriend deeply, extremely happy that he and Ariah found love. "You know what else?"
"What's that?"
"I've known you for a long time." Michael began to pour his heart out to Ariah. "Ever since you were a young girl, maybe about four or five, not much older than Zuri," A smile began to creep onto his face as he continued to talk. "I've been very fond of you." He rubbed his hands together and then them on each of her thighs. "We're only five years apart, you know, but, I thought you were the cutest little thing. I still do."
"Mhm.." Ariah hummed in reply, wanting her boyfriend to continue on.
"I don't know, I'm a shy kind of guy, but you've brought me out of my shell. I've been stuck on you for a long while. You're smart, smarter than the average woman, I think. You're also very beautiful, like, I don't understand how someone can be so beautiful." Michael told Ariah, making her blush deeply. "Honestly, you're just so amazing and I don't really know what I'm saying because you make me crazy, but I just want you to know that I love you."
Overwhelmed with emotions, Ariah couldn't believe the words that had just rolled off of Michael's tongue.
I love you.
"Oh, Michael.." Her voice trailed off as she was still shook, after hearing what Michael had just confessed to her. "I love you, too. I'm crazy about you, I just-" Ariah shook her head, chuckling lightly. "Wow. I love you, too. So much."
"Well, good." The two began to kiss deeply and pulled away when they heard a door open. When they looked up, Paul was standing there and he did not look pleased.
"Daddy!" Ariah got up and hugged him. They hadn't seen each other since the day she went missing, which was weeks prior. "I missed you!"
"My sweet baby, hello." He kissed her forehead. "Go wait in the car for me, I need to talk to Michael."
"Bye, Michael." Ariah flirtatiously waved to her boyfriend, making him smile widely at her.
"Bye, beautiful!" He waved to her and she blew him a kiss. Paul turned around to give his daughter a stern look which let Ariah know that she needed to wait in the car. The girl eventually left which meant Michael and Paul were in the studio alone.
"You think it's okay to kiss on my daughter as freely as you please?" Paul asked Michael, who didn't feel intimidated at all.
"Well, we're dating."
"Hmph. Dating." Paul muttered, not believing this. "Since when?"
Michael tried so hard not to smirk, but he felt the expression playing on his lips. "Last night."
"Dammit, you!" Paul hit Michael's shoulder. "What happened last night?"
"We just," Michael was at a loss. He wasn't prepared to answer this question and this was a moment where he wasn't being his usual smooth self. "Watched movies?" The entertainer didn't mean for it to come out sounding like a question but this only made Paul doubt his friend.
"My little girl always tells me the truth." The former Beatle reminded Michael. "I'll know if you touched her."
"I swear, I didn't lay a finger on her." Michael gave him a reassuring smile and thankfully, Paul bought it.
"Treat her right or I'm not gonna treat you right. Understood?"
"Yes sir." Michael nodded, not even knowing how to do a girl wrong. "Your daughter is special."
"You're right, so don't break her heart." Paul told him firmly. "And, I swear if you touched her.." His voice trailed off as he stopped talking. He noticed how happy and unbothered Michael was, which only meant one thing to Paul.
"You touched her, didn't you?!"
"Why would you ever think that?"
"You're happy. It looks like you've gotten laid."
"Paul!" Michael gasped, placing his hand on his heart. "I would never do that. I told you that before and I'm telling you now, I would never touch her that way. I would never dream of it."
"Well, I'll ask Ariah myself, and if she tells me otherwise, you're dead."
"Okay." Michael chuckled. "Nice talking to you, Paul. See you around."
"Kicking me out of here, eh?"
Michael just crossed his arms, laughing at Paul without a reply. The former Beatle just shook his head. "That's alright. I'll remember that." He mumbled to himself, leaving out of the studio and going to his car where Ariah was waiting. Paul hopped into the back next to her as their personal chauffeur drove them home.
"My daughter dating Michael Jackson, wow." The former Beatle spoke aloud, not even looking for a response from his daughter.
"Oh, Daddy." Ariah could barely contain her excitement. "Life is great."
"Mhm." He rubbed his hands together slowly. "How was your stay at his penthouse?"
"Magical." Ariah answered his question truthfully, causing Paul to roll his eyes. "It was wonderful. I wish I could stay longer."
"I bet you do, baby." He sighed. "We all miss you at home though."
"I miss you all too, Daddy."
"I have a question for you and I want you to be completely honest." Paul glanced over at his daughter, who was all smiles, just like Michael was in the studio. It wasn't a good sign for him. "Okay?"
"He didn't touch me."
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me." Ariah smiled as they arrived at their home. "He didn't lay a finger on me. I wouldn't let him touch me, even if he tried. I'm not ready for that, yet."
"Good." Paul felt relieved at such an answer. He could always depend on Ariah for the truth. Not that he couldn't depend on Michael, but he just needed confirmation. He got that from his daughter.
Ariah went into the house before Paul did and Linda greeted her as she walked in, elated to finally see her daughter.
"Ariah, my sweet darling!" Mrs. McCartney spoke with such excitement, running to embrace her daughter. "How are you? How's everything? I missed you so much, girlie!"
"Mum, its great to be back home." Ariah pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek, letting go of her embrace slowly.
"My, my, my. What a necklace." Linda looked at it with admiration and Ariah wished that her mother would overlook the love marks and bites as her father failed to notice them. "Stands for McCartney, yes?"
"Yup." Ariah nodded, smiling widely. "Zuri and Stella upstairs? I want to see them!"
"They are, honey." Linda told her, nodding. "Go get settled. We can talk all about your stay with Michael and how much fun you guys had at dinner tonight."
Ariah smiled, but she had to do everything she could to keep the biggest secret from her family. Losing her virginity made her emotional and she hoped that she could keep it off her mind, just while she was around her family. She kissed her mother on the cheek one more time before heading upstairs to greet her sisters.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAUL! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. THIS UPDATE IS DEDICATED TO YOU AS WELL AS skyIord, WHO HAS BEEN WANTING THIS UPDATE FOR THE LONGEST TIME. 💙
NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST CHAPTER. GET YOUR TISSUES READY.