It was morning, very early in the morning. Gage was still asleep, and all of a sudden, "Dude," his roommate said, trying to wake him up and kept shaking him.

"Hmm... not now," the architect major grunted, then curled to his side away from Felix.

"Gage, it's important. You got to see this."

"Can't it wait?" The sleepyhead grumbled, feeling annoyed that his slumber had to be disturbed before the alarm on his phone made a sound.

"No!" Felix insisted and kept shaking him non-stop.

However, Gage was not in the mood to get up just yet, and he was getting aggravated from the unintended wake-up call. "If it's another Instagram post of an obese pug laying down on the floor looking like a bread loaf, I swear I will throw your phone out the window."

"It's not about that. You need to see this. It's about your Dad. He's in the news," Felix told him.

Gage instantly became wide awake as he peeled his eyes and turned to his friend. "What?!"

"Here." Felix showed him the video of the news on his phone where Leon described his father as a schemey man.

"Let me see that." The poor guy watched in horror that his man talked about his parents like that. "That bastard!"

"What the hell, Gage? Who is this hack? And why is dissing your folks like that?"

The architect student recognized the man since he was the man who checked out his model back in the expo. "Someone in my Dad's past."

A moment later, he called them. "Dad, what is going on?" Gage called his father to confront him about the scandal. "I watched the news. This man is saying pretty nasty stuff about you."

"It's nothing," Adrian told him. "It was just... a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? Dad, he's saying you're the one that accused him of stealing and that it was a false accusation."

"I didn't accuse him of anything. I knew what he did. He's just getting back at me because of your mother."

"Dad, I don't understand. If everything is not true, why is he saying that he used to be married to Mom and that you stole her from him?" Gage questioned.

"Because he's a liar. He's just bitter that your mother chose me and not him," the father claimed.

"So he used to be married to Mom?"

"No, none of it is true. Listen to me, Gage, this man is after me for revenge."

"Dad, I'm getting worried. If that's the case, then you and Mom should be careful," the guy said to them with concern in his tone.

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. I brought him down before, I can bring him down once more," Adrian groaned.

"Alright, Dad, but are you sure that you and Mom are okay?"

"Yes, we will be. You just focus on your studies. I can handle this," His father assured him.

"If you say so, Dad. I'll check on you soon, and maybe come home this weekend." Gage put down the phone, then let out a heavy sigh as he dropped himself on his bed.

"Is everything alright? How are they? What did they say?" Felix asked. Even though he was in the room, he was not listening because he wore earphones the whole time his buddy was on the phone with his folks.

"Dad said that they're fine, but I don't think that's true," the worried guy answered. "Come on, let's just get ready for class."

----

Meanwhile, the girls were speaking about it in the room they shared. "Your Dad is making a bold move, I don't know if I should be happy for him or be scared at what could happen next?" Rita expressed.

"I know, I'm kinda worried too," Oddey replied. "They should have this coming for them, but what about Gage? He must be devastated right now that his parents are in the hot seat and not the good kind."

"Yeah, I mean uncovering their dirty laundry and blabbed it to the whole world. That's the over-the-top payback I have ever seen in my whole life. I just can't say the same to Gage because he's in the middle of this. By the way, you don't think he knows anything about his father's past. Do you?"

"He doesn't. He thinks his Dad is this hero for getting my Dad in jail for stealing money. That's why he became the VP of the company."

"What a friggin liar!?" Rita reacted. "His Dad deserves all that's happening to him. This news could destroy him badly."

"Yeah, but it also means destroying Gage's family, and it could destroy him."

"Bestie, I get that you're his girlfriend, and it's normal to think about all that. But you have to admit this is getting bad, I mean.... look what's happening now," Rita reminded her about the situation. Oddey did not answer, though she knew that her best friend was right, that she had to tell Gage about herself somehow.

----

The news about Adrian Munro was spreading like wildfire in the city, especially in CarmU. Fortunately, not a lot of students were aware that his son went to school with them, but Gage still feels uneasy, knowing that his father is the talk of the season.

He and his two friends were walking in the hallway, they could hear people talking, and they were on their phones watching about his father, "This Adrian dude is insane," he heard a guy say then began laughing as well. "Sleeping with somebody's wife and accusing him of stealing, what a loser."

"Yeah, some people are just so pathetic," said the other one. "Do you think what Leon Magnum said was true? He couldn't lie about something like that. right?"

"I don't know. But if it is true, guys like Adrian Munro have this coming for him. I mean, what he did was low. Seriously, what's wrong with people?"

Gage could not stand hearing those two individuals talk any longer about his father like that, "Why don't you guys just shut the hell up!? and mind your own business?" he snapped at them while his friends held him back so he would not be able to charge at the two bashers.

"Gage, don't," Felix told him while the two guys walked away.

"Yeah, calm down," Courtney said.

"Calm down? they are talking shit about my Dad," Gage expressed out of anger. "How would you feel if it was your Dad being talked like that? Huh?"

"I'd get upset too, but what are you gonna do? beat them up?" Felix reminded him.

"Yeah, you might get kicked out of the play," the female friend added.

"Seriously, Courtney, that's what you're worried about? Oh! I'm sorry that my concern over my father got in the way of that," the architect student responded in disgust.

"I'm sorry..." Courtney apologized as she realized that it did sound very selfish. "I wasn't thinking..."

"Dude, Gage, I'm sure she did not mean that we're all here for you," Felix assured him. "Listen, why don't you skip your classes for today? Just cool off or go for a drive."

"No, no, I'm okay," Gage exasperated. "Thanks, Felix. Anyway, I want to be alone for now."

"Sure, I'll see you later."

When Gage left his friend to get away from the student's wagging tongues, Felix turned to Courtney, "Way to go," he mocked.

"Shut up," Courtney snapped back. Felix just shook his head and walked away from her, too.

-----

Oddey was in Usagi cafe by herself, and like Gage, she too was hearing people talk about the viral video. She could not even drink her morning hot coffee, which was already getting cold. "Excuse me," a waiter asked.

"Huh," the girl startled.

"Sorry, do you want me to warm your coffee? That one must be cold."

"Oh, sure. Thanks."

Gage came in and saw her. "Oddey."

"Gage, hey."

He sat down with her and then immediately hugged her to find that comfort he badly needed from what was going on, "I'm glad you're here," Gage expressed.

Oddey instantly knew why he did that since it was about his father or, in other words, their father. It killed her that Gage trusted her with his troubles when she felt like she was a part of it. "I heard," she whispered in his ear. "It's gonna be okay. I'm here for you."

"Thanks, I just need you right now here."

Minutes later, Gage got his coffee, and the two began talking, "Don't you have class right now?" Oddey asked him.

"Yeah, but I decided to skip," he sighed. "I just can't stand hearing people talk about my Dad like he's some kind of criminal."

"Oh! No."

"I try not to care what people say. He's not the man that Leon Magnum says he is."

"They don't know your Dad." Oddey could not help but empathize with him since the problem was affecting him and her as well.

"You're right," Gage replied. "I should beat him to a bloody pulp if I know he's gonna do this to my family."

The Juliet felt terrorized. "So... I watched the news, what... is your dad saying, by the way?"

"That this is all a crazy plot for revenge."

"Really?" The Juliet gulped.

"I know, it's hard to believe, but my dad seems to think so."

"Do you?" Oddey questioned her with this subtle nervousness in her tone.

"I don't know, but there's no reason for my dad to make these up," he claimed.

Oddey watched him suffering, yet she was still too scared to tell him, and then suddenly, Gage took her hand. "Listen, I know I promised you this date, but after what's happening, I need to check on my parents, I need to go home this weekend."

"Gage, I get it, don't worry about it," Oddey told him. "Take as much time as you need. Besides, you didn't promise anything."

He smiled, and after that, she hugged her. "You're the best, you know that. Once everything is okay, I promise that I will take you somewhere special."

"Don't think about that, just be with your family."

Gage embraced her tightly again, and Oddey felt that she did not deserve his affection. "Thanks for understanding."

"I'm here for you. Remember that?" The Juliet was just as shattered as him. Perhaps even more. Seeing Romeo broken over their family's problem, she could not do anything about it.

----

In the Munro house, the couple could not show their faces in public now that their names were tarnished by the media, and neighbors had been torturing them in a few different ways. Their cars and lawns had been covered with graffiti, name callings whenever they answered their landlines, and many more.

Marie pressed the voicemail button and then heard another insult from a stranger. "Go to hell, adulterers, MURDERER!"

Afterward, her husband turned it off since there was more of it coming. "I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS," he yelled. Obviously, Adrian was not taking it very well as he threw a small ceramic decor on the floor. "HAL IS GONNA PAY FOR THIS."

"How? He got the whole city against us," the wife whimpered.

"He can't do this to me!"

"I know. Oh, my God. Our son watched it, too. This is humiliating."

Adrian broke another item in the living room. "After this blows over, I will Hal for what he did to us. All those lies he said about that."

Suddenly, Marie had this realization. "Especially the part when he was falsely accused of stealing."

The man darted his head to her. "Well, he did. You know, everything he said in the news was all lies."

"Not everything. We did go behind his back. What I don't get is why would he say that you were the one that set him up to be locked up in prison?"

"He was the one stealing money, and I caught him. That's how he went to jail."

"And you tried to kill him off?" Marie questioned him over a disturbing allegation.

Adrian began to panic that his wife was doubting him. "I would never do such a thing. Don't believe that!"

"I'm not, but why would Hal make up something like that?"

"I don't know what you are trying to insinuate," the man replied in a defensive tone. "Maybe he just said that because he wants to destroy us. Enough about this. I'm going to call our lawyers."