Ash POV

As Sere was leaving the kitchen in search of the bathroom, dad walked back in. I turned my head to face him, putting back his touchscreen phone inside his pocket. "She's quite something, isn't she?" he asked conversationally.

Warily, I looked at him, wondering 'what now?' It was always something with him. "Sir?"

"Your little friend," dad elaborated. Again with the 'little' thing! "She's a special case. Actually seems to like you."

I grumbled and crossed my eyebrows. The way he was acting right now was more suspicious than meeting the eye. "I'm not sure why you sound so surprised."

"Well, she's not a gold digger, I can tell you that much," dad continued, sounding jolly as all f***.

"I could've told you that."

Dad started pacing like a drill sergeant, his hands behind his back covering from my sight. "Are we even yet?" he asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" I asked. I was way too slow to keep up with dad's rapid subject changes.

He stopped to face me,  his brows drawn together in a frown. "You're clearly doing this out of  spite. Dating Miss Yvonne, I mean. So are we even yet?"

"What?" I yelped out loud, my voice repeating around the whole kitchen room. I slammed my hands on the counter causing it to shake a little from the impact.

"I know you, Ash. You  love doing s*** to piss me off. This has got to be another stunt geared  to make me mad. Let me off the hook. This round goes to you. I fold."  His lips bared in a creepy wide smirk and I glowered at him, seething  inwardly. I didn't even know what he talking about but it didn't sound good to my ears.

"Don't flatter yourself,  dad. My world doesn't revolve around you anymore." I ran a hand through  my raven hair travelling from forehead to back nape. "Sure, there was a time when I did stuff to piss you  off, I admit it. But since you don't care what I do these days, I don't  have the energy to piss you off anymore. Me and Sere- it's 100 percent  real." Dad's eyes widened as I continued. "No gimmicks."

"You're serious, aren't you?" he breathed, looking like he had just seen a ghost. The face he was giving to me was priceless.

I nodded, just as Sere strolled came back into the room, her face freshly scrubbed. "Dead serious," I said and meant it.

Sere place a cool hand on my shoulder. "I'm ready to go," she said behind my back.

"Okay." I told her and turned to dad, who was still looking stunned at my revelation. "I'm going to drop Sere off."

To my utter surprise, dad spoke up, "If you reconsider, let me know," over my shoulder to Sere.

As I hustled her out of the room, she simply replied "I won't reconsider. But thanks anyway."

"Reconsider what?" I asked curiously as we started walked our way to the elevator.

She bit her lip, looking up at me for a brief second. "Don't get mad." She spoke her words softly, more than a quite mutter. The tension between me and my girlfriend was rising more than ever. I couldn't describe what she was saying to me or what she did when I left her with my devilish accursed father.

Something was not right, not right at all.

Stepping into the elevator when the door split open for us, I spoke up, "Okay, something obviously happened when I was gone. Tell me." I motioned my hands fo Sere to walk in first after me.

"Promise you won't get mad?" She stood nervously beside me.

"Sere!" I thumped my fist on the 'down' button, annoyance running through my veins.

She cupped my face in  her warm hands, stroking my cheeks with her thumbs and instantly calming  me down with my eyes meeting hers. I loved when she touched me like that. Giving me the feeling of her skin and comfort.

In a hesitant but determined voice, she told me everything what my dad had said to her. And to my action and self-exertion, it didn't go so well.

"Are you kidding?" I  tried to hide my irritation at dad's meddling, but I was on my way to  being well and truly pissed off at him. "He tried to bribe you to dump  me?"

She giggled softly. "I said no." The answer made me calm and my worriedness toned down.

I took a small step and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her close to  me. Her head resting my chest while mine rested on her head, presenting me a sweet scent. "I love you for standing up to him," I whispered in her short silky hair. "He  was playing mind games with you. It's his thing."

"I don't understand him,  though." Sere pulled away a little and looked up at me while in my grasp, her eyes filled with a concerned light.  "It's like he doesn't want you to be happy."

Ain't that the truth!

With a wide confident smile, I leaned down and place my hand at her round red cheeks as both our faces were closing in. I looked at her gleam eyes showing me of all her care and worry, but that didn't matter to me. All that matters is that I have her only. "Don't worry Sere, I won't let anything happen in our relationship." I smiled at her and as for my achievement and reward, she smiled back.

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As soon as I got home  from dropping Sere off by keeping her safe from any harm Alain, I headed straight to dad's office/hide out,  opened the double expensive doors and strode in without knocking, enjoying the surprised look on  his face as he glanced up from the dossier on his desk.

"Let me guess," he  started, the patronising tone that I hated dominating the tone of his  voice. "Miss Yvonne told you about me trying to buy her off and you're  not happy with it."

I planted my hands palm  first on his wooden desk slamming it with all might, staring down at him in full of anger. "What do you want from me?" I  demanded, the rage coming up my throat. "Outline your master plan for my life, coz I just can't read  the clues you're handing out."

Dad grinned lazily up at me. "Feisty, Mr. Ketchum." His eyes turned cold. "Siddown."

Throwing myself  gracelessly onto the chair facing him, I said, "You never, ever show an  interest in my life, but as soon as you found out that I'm dating Sere,  you want to mess up for us? Why? Don't you want me to be happy,  especially with my whole situation?"

I avoided talking about  the aneurysm with dad if I could help it, mostly because I knew he  didn't give a s***, but on this occasion, I was mad enough to make an  exception. Sere made me happy. Why couldn't dad see that?

Dad eyes me severely. "Your happiness is important, but preserving the Ketchum name- that's also important."

"What does that even mean?" my arms open wide out.

"It means that Ketchum's don't date commoners." The snob was back in the building. Once again.

"This Ketchum does," I  announced. I was my own person. I could date whoever the hell I wanted!  The chair legs scraped against the tiled floor as I stood up, preparing  for my grand exit. "And if you don't like it-."

"Sit down!" Damn. Grand  exit denied. Scowling, I sat back down from order, glaring at the plain wall behind dad's  head. "Don't interrupt. You lost your friends because you chose Miss  Yvonne over them."

"They're shallow jerks," I muttered through my clenched teeth, tightening my jaws and working them. "I'm better off without them in my life."

Hey, I know he said 'don't interrupt', but I've never been good at taking orders!

"You got expelled from Lumiose high because of this girl." Dad continued talking like I hadn't said a word.

I shook my head. "Nope. That's not-," I started, trying to defend Sere's part in my expulsion.

"I talked to Calem." Dad  stared intimidatingly at me. "He told me the reason you swung at him is  because he insulted her. I mean, you thought that was a good idea?  Calem, Misty- they were your friends before this 'Sere' girl was even on  your radar! And now you're willing to give up everything just to be  with her? Do you see how complex your life has been with her in it?"  Great. Now dad was trying to blame Sere for all my problems. Dumb ass.

"None of this is her  fault, dad." I hunched forward in my seat, the bright light sending a  flare of pain shooting into my temples. "If anything, it's all  repercussions from my previous actions. Karma, dad. Nothing to do with  Sere." Sighing, I continued. "I still don't know what the hell you want  from me. What do you want me to do?"

"Simple." Dad grinned at me, the smile surprisingly predator-like. "I want you to dump her for good."

"No sale." I shook my  head. Why did he always have to kill my buzz? "I'm happier than I've  been in a long time. Why would I dump her? Because you think it's a good  idea? Not gonna happen."

Dad groaned mentally, massaging his temples. "Ash, you're hardly equipped to be in a relationship at this time."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the input."

"Really," dad pressed.  "You should be focusing on your illness right now, instead of pouring  all of your energy into building a new relationship."

Letting out a bark of  incredulous laughter, I stared directly at dad. Say what now? "You want me to be  all the time thinking about the aneurysm? Really? That's your excuse,  why you want me to dump Sere? So that I can sit in a puddle of self-pity  and cry about how my life sucks coz I have an as yet inoperable growth  growing in my head? No thanks." I shot dad a pitying look. He didn't get  it. "The reason I'm with Sere is because she makes me forget. Even if it's  just for a little while. And God knows I need that." I stood up again without receiving any commands,  staring down at my dad. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"I'll excuse you on the grounds that you think of it," dad spoke, almost pleading with me.

I simply walked away as my feet dragged themselves to the closed doors. Turning to face him with my hand gripped on to the door knob, I said truthfully, "I probably won't." with that been said, I walked out of his office room leaving him on his own and for me to face my own fears.

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Next day at the Ketchum penthouse.

When school was out the  next day, Sere came over for the afternoon and, together with Leaf's  help. We managed to bake a batch of eatable cookies. Unfortunately, we  also managed to eat all the cookies ourselves. That gave Leaf an  enviable sugar high, which did  make her very happy. When we finally  managed to corner Leaf in the parlour after an extensive game of 'Hide  and Seek', she was whisked away for a nap and Sere went home.

And guess who the hell materialized from the shadows?

Yup, Mr. Nosy himself.  My Dad. Okay, he didn't exactly materialize from the shadows, he's not a  vampire. But you get what I mean. He had obviously been skulking around,  watching me and Sere as we chased after Leaf.

"Ash, I have to apologise," he announced formally, loosening his long tie around his tight.

I stared wordlessly at  him, sure that between us, we were going crazy. What the hell?  Scratching my head, I said, "Apologise for what?"

"I thought you were  joking. I really thought you were pretending to date Miss Yvonne to  spite me." He paused, looking uncharacteristically subdued as he looked  seriously into my eyes. "But I see how much you care for her. And I can  tell she cares for you."

A huge sigh of relief  escaped me. He understood! He finally got it! Me and Sere made each  other happy, which was the most important thing. I grinned goofily at  dad, probably the first time in years that I've actually smiled at him  and meant it. But hey, what he had just said meant a lot to me. "Thanks,  dad."

He stared back at me  gravely. His eyes looked tired, like he hadn't gotten enough sleep. In a  perfectly sombre voice to match the serious expression on his face, he spoke up only this made time go slow and silent, "That being said, I have one question for you to answer. If Miss  Yvonne cares about you this much, what will happen if you die on the  operating table and she's still in love with you?"