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This is part 2 guys! Hope you enjoy it! I need you guys to bare with me on this one lmao
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Not a moment later, the meeting began once the detectives got organized. "Sorry, for the delay. There's just so many documents to go through. But, let's start with the basics" Pixis apologized as he got ahold of the papers he was looking for.

First off, they'd begin the meeting with asking the a couple of questions that would determine the cause of death to be a heart attack or not, like it was originally stated before the memorial. It was what was speculated. Pixis reached into his blazer and pulled out a pen to start writing down the answers that the family gave them and they could document them immediately.

He cleared his throat and then looked over the papers in front of him. "Did the deceased usually take any painkiller medication?" Pixis asked the first question, and you perked up.

You were very well versed in anything that regarded Grisha's health, since you always made sure he took his medicine, made sure that he went to his doctor's appointments and always made sure to be up to date of what he forgot. But before you could answer, you turned your head when you saw Yelena speak up before you could.

"Yes. He had a knee injury, so he regularly took painkillers," Yelena answered, and you nodded along. That was exactly it. You watched the way that Pixis started to write down what Yelena said and Nile felt like he could start to proceed on the next few questions while his partner got the information written down. "The investigation pointed out to us that the medication he took the day of his death was..." Nile started, but then leaned down to look at the document in front of him to look close and see the exact name of it.

"...Diclofenac. It's what was found at the scene," Nile said, and after that there was a small pause in your head where you tried to figure out whether you heard that right or not. you saw how Nile looked up at everyone, awaiting a response, and suddenly your heart skipped a beat and you leaned forward in your seat. "Wait. That can't be-" You started, cutting yourself off and both Nile and Pixis turned to look at you, as well as everyone else.

You felt multiple eyes on you as you suddenly remembered a very important fact just from what Nile said. He would never take that medication willingly. You know what medication Grisha took like the back of your hand. Is that a mistake? You've never caught Grisha using that medication because even he knew for a fact it was a death wish.

"He couldn't have taken that medication. He was allergic to it, like deathly allergic," You pointed out and a weird feeling suddenly settled deep in your chest. If that's what they found then...is that what caused this? You were at a loss for words.

That can't be the reason. You suddenly felt a hand on your shoulder and you turned to see Eren, along with the trio and Erwin looking at you with unease and uncertainty in their eyes. They wanted to know if what you were saying was 100% certain. "Y/N...are you sure?" Eren said as his voice dropped at what you were saying. He was catching on to what's happening, they all were.

You nodded with assuredness. You always remembered to keep Grisha away from that medication so he didn't take it accidentally, but even he was always so careful to take the right painkillers, not Diclofenac. You could feel a sharp and cold weight in your chest. This didn't make any sense. He never took those kinds of meds. He was very, very allergic.

How was this possible? You even remember that when you found him that day, the bottle of his painkillers as next to him, spilled over, but it looked like the same ones he always took. Not the medication that Nile and Pixis just said. It didn't make any sense.

"Yes. I'm completely sure" You said as your breath started to hitch a little, and you turned back to look at Pixis and Nile, who were looking down at their documents to really check to see if what was documented on them was correct, but they saw no error.

They looked back up at you, as Nile raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. "It's been confirmed that it was Diclofenac," Pixis said, looking back up at you, not knowing what else him or Nile could possibly say to that. There wasn't much to it. What was on those papers is what was determined and they were only here to deliver the information and ask questions.

"It says here in the documentation that he took that medication the day he died," He said and as soon as he did, you suddenly felt all blood rush from your face, your face dropped, and your entire body froze. How were you supposed to react to that?

And as Nile and Pixis continued to explain the issue with the medication, it only felt like the air was being sucked out of your lungs with every passing second and your mind slowly began to go into a state of frenzy as you tried to piece everything together.

"We wanted to point this out, because it turns out that the label on the bottle didn't match the contents," Pixis said, and that didn't help the feeling that your brain was forming into knots and it was far too crowded with  thoughts that were rushing in all at once. You couldn't take it. Did this mean that...no. It can't. You refused to believe it. It's not possible.

Your realization was quickly sending you over the edge faster than any of the things that have already happened to you today already, sending you into a painful spiral. 

Everything was starting to hurt and it was hard to keep it together with so many people around but you were sure that even the trio and Erwin, who were closest to you were noticing.

The way you were just the slightest bit hunched over but not entirely to show that your mind was in distress so its just enough to show your calm composure on the outside, how your hair was slightly falling over your face like a bit curtain but they could still see a peek of the distress in your face that you were trying to hide behind the neutrality you were trying to keep, and how your back was rising and falling with short breaths.

From your posture, they could tell you were trying to keep it together as best you could, and for them, it hasn't quite sunk in yet what all of this meant. But you did. You knew exactly what this meant. You knew Grisha's medical history all too well and this wasn't a mistake.

You were going to try and fight against the block you were feeling to use your own voice, but then, across the room, Yelena voiced out exactly what you were thinking. "So, what you're saying is that...Grisha died because of medical negligence?" She asked, and her pointing out, except, maybe it wasn't medical negligence, and it was something that was planned.

Mistakes like this don't just happen. You knew Grisha's doctors and they wouldn't mix up his medication and tamper with it like that. "We were told it was because of a heart attack," Zeke said from across the room and you couldn't even forced your head to move to look at him. You weren't even able form a single coherent thought right now.

The more that the voices around the room started to chime in, the more the walls felt like they were enclosing around you with realizations. "Who prescribed his meds? Something weird is going on. How did this happen?" Karina said, and her voice only made your head hurt more.

You couldn't think, you felt everything start to crash all at once and you could barely take it. Stop it. You begged in your head over and over. "Don't worry, we're still trying to investigate all possibilities so its best not to jump to conclusions," Nile said, and you continued to beg in your head for everyone to just stop talking. Stop it, please. You repeated again in your mind as your breathing got heavier and harder to hold back

And then everything in your head stopped. It all went blank. Until you could only think of one single thing. Keith Shadis, the audit team, the pills, everything. You promised yourself you'd forget everything that man told you but now it was resurfacing and it was all making sense.

His words were echoing in your head. What he said about the information he had that could apparently make you the new chairwoman of Eldia Group.

Is that why he was killed? To silence him? He'd warned you. Had he known that this would happen? Did he know that Grisha's medication would be tampered with? That someone had been after him? Did he know somebody was after Grisha and that if he died, you or someone else in the family would get the title of chairman or chairwoman?

Those pills you saw spilled over weren't his usual painkillers. They were switched. Everything that you've brushed off over the last couple of days was starting to crash down on you and you felt a harsh pang in your heart that made you nearly gasp in agony.

This was too much, you couldn't take it. None of the things that happened the last couple of days were a coincidence and if the first target was Keith, and then Grisha, were you next? Is that why someone was out to get out at around the same time all of this started?

A hand slapped over your mouth in shock, catching the attention of the trio and Erwin right next to you as they noticed how your eyes were wide and distressed, not bothering to hide it anymore.

After all of this, thinking it had no relation to Grisha and that it was all a coincidence and after Grisha reassured you that everything was fine, Keith had been trying to warn you that he had proof of someone's wrongdoing.

Proof of the switching of the pills and everything else. He had proof of the person that deliberately switched the medication and...killed Grisha. So in turn, they killed him. To stop Grisha from finding out.

Someone killed him. Someone killed Grisha. You knew in the back of your head that this was too sudden, that he couldn't have died just like that because he'd been doing so well medically.

None of it had made any sense to you but now it does and its making every part of your body hurt in ways you could've ever imagined. You thought that the killer who was after you was something entirely different to what happened to Grisha, but now you know, that it's not. It's all connected. Nothing that's happened recently has been a coincidence.

The same person who's trying to kill you, get rid of you, because you probably know too much than everybody else here because of everything that's happened to you, is the same one who killed Keith too.

And maybe it wasn't the same person who killed Grisha, because maybe the person who killed him is someone from the inside. Someone who knows how to infiltrate themselves in Grisha's lives and by proxy, Grisha's medication.

It was someone who stealthily switched the medication without leaving a clear trace that it was a murder, and rather making it seem like it was just 'medical negligence' and that it was an 'accident'.

Why didn't you see this coming? Everything was right in front of you, so why couldn't you connect it before Grisha had to die for it? Why did this realization have to come at his expense?

They killed him to silence him, to remove him, and leave him behind. And it seems either nobody in this room has caught on to everything you had or they just didn't care. Zeke was an exact example of this. You or anybody here should not be surprised

"Medical negligence on my father doesn't sound good at all. We can't have a scandal like this surface to the public with the current crisis going on at Eldia Group. This will only give the public something to gossip about," Zeke said and you leaned your elbow against the arm of the couch while keeping your hand against your mouth.

Your chest was heaving, but you were trying to suppress it in order to not alarm anybody of what was going on in your head. But couldn't even manage to hide it from the people next to you who were glancing over at you in concern.

You didn't even have the energy to react at how Zeke was only taking out of this the fact that the company might face another scandal if this got out. Did he just rule it out as medical negligence and not want to hear about any possibilities?

And he wasn't the only one who only seemed to be focusing on what the public might think and not putting more thought into what could have really happened to Grisha instead of settling for the option that they have to worry the least about.

"God. Just thinking of what people will say gives me a headache," Karina said, and you curled your free hand into a fist after hearing that. Just when you think they can't stoop down lower, they do exactly that.

All they can think about is if people will make up stories, if it will damage each of the branches they work in and are CEO's for but when it comes to finding out what could have actually caused Grisha's death, a family member, they're so quick to turn a blind eye because now that he's gone, its so much easier for them to do things their way.

You were now reaching a phase in your internal breakdown that you were now starting to visibly shake in place as you lowered your hand from your mouth and glared at Karina the moment she spoke up again. "By how much did our stock prices drop since he died?" Karina said, and you swallowed as your breaths were no longer even. They were choppy and short.

"We can't let them drop further, that's for sure," Yelena said with a sigh as she crossed her arms together, earning a nod from Floch next to her. You couldn't believe this is what you were hearing.

Its like they've completely lost perspective and only hear what they wanted to hear. You were trying to contain yourself in that moment from blowing up and letting out everything that was going on in your head and how it was driving you insane to know all of it by yourself, but it was so, so hard.

They wouldn't understand. You'd get laughed at out of this room. This wasn't something you could just blurt out as much as it hurt to keep it inside.

Knowing that the conversations in this room were steering away from what Nile and Pixis were actually here for, so they were quick to bring everybody back down to the topic at hand. Like Zeke said, they had people and guests waiting for them just outside.

"Alright. One last question. Who knew about the allergy Grisha had to Diclofenac?" Pixis asked, and he watched as everyone in the room started to look at each other, wondering if the person next to them knew exactly what the other was thinking. They all knew the answer to the detectives question themselves, but what they didn't know is that they all knew the same thing.

As your eyes scanned the room, the pieces began to click into place. You would save them the trouble of. You would make sure everybody here in this room knows that everyone knows the reason behind Grisha's death, and many of them were not above suspicion. They all knew about Grisha's allergy as much as you did. Someone here was involved and was responsible.

Someone in this room killed Grisha "The ones who knew about his allergy are his doctor, me..." You suddenly started, feeling like it was a miracle alone that you were able to find your voice after feeling how tight it was before.

You paused in your words as you started to look around the room and saw that everyone was looking at you with varied expressions. Whether it was concern, confusion, disdain, smugness or all of the above. You inhaled sharply and looked every single one of your family members the same way.

And then you finally dared to end your sentence. "...and everyone else in this room" You concluded, and after that, it felt like the coldness in the room dropped significantly.

The tension rose in the air and suddenly everybody started to catch on to what you were insinuating. Once again, you were met with confused glances as your relatives looked each other, you were also met with harsh glares sent your way as everybody started to suspiciously looked at each other. And then you made yet another realization just from the way that they were all looking at each other..

The last thing you wanted was to divide this family even more, even if they were separated beyond repair, but someone in this room is hiding their true intentions and you'd find out who, even if it eventually got you killed, too.

Even if it cost you your life. But even when you flat out pointed out to them what was wrong here and that this wasn't about medical negligence at all, of course you shouldn't be surprised at the fact that they would want to brush it under the rug. "Here's what we'll do," Zeke said and his voice made everyone, including you, turn to look at him.

"We'll announce that it was a heart attack, just like we all thought it was. It'll make things easier for everyone," Zeke said as his voice sounded casual and dismissive. His eyes flicked around the room, gauging reactions, his lips pulling into a tight smile. He didn't even flinch as he spoke of his own father's death, like it was just another scandal to manage and brush aside. Seeing it, yout eyes nearly bugged out of your head.

You couldn't believe that Zeke, Grisha's flesh and blood, wanted to just rule out his death and something completely different just for the sake of the well-being of the company and his status.

Especially because anyone out there would quickly be able to piece things together and it obviously wouldn't look good for any of your family members in their respective branches. It was such a low move, even for them.

You couldn't believe that Eren, who was as young as he was, could see the severity in his brother's words. You weren't even related to Grisha by blood and you could see clear as day that what Zeke wanted to do was wrong on so many levels.

He wanted to lie to the public for his own benefit. And for him to act so nonchalant right now just blows your mind. And you didn't think you could be any more shocked than that, but when Karina chimed in, you shouldn't have expected anything different.

"Good thinking, Zeke. None of us can afford rumors or scandals right before succession," Karina said, and both Zeke and Floch nodded along while Reiner, and the people on the couch you were sitting in were looking in indignation at the people in the room who were supposed to be the voices of reason and the adults to look up to, but they were proving to be exactly everything but that.

Even if Zeke felt all of the eyes on him that he had right now, it clearly didn't bother him. As the head of the family now, being the oldest, what he said goes. Until further notice at least. He's the rumored chairman and he was already acting turning his back on his father.

"And besides, It's not like Grisha can come back to life if we reveal the truth," Karina said shamelessly and your jaw nearly dropped. It took everything in you not to lunge at her. You could even see the way that Pixis and Nile turned to look at each other uncomfortably because even they couldn't believe what they were hearing.

You were about to throw all reservations out the window and snap, but Eren beat you to it. "Zeke," Eren said lowly, in a tone you've almost never heard him speak before. In a tone that even Mikasa and Armin turned to look at him with full concern on their faces.

Eren's features were hardened, angry, and upset. And the room went silent in a second, waiting for him to continue. "What are you doing? Don't you see what's going on here?" Eren said, leaning forward to the edge of his seat and you briefly made panicked eye contact with Armin and Mikasa before you three turned your heads again to face Eren, who was awaiting a response from his brother.

Zeke simply sighed and held up a hand up at his brother, and Eren's face twisted in offense. He was really going to ignore everything his little brother had to say to? At the very least, did he not care about what Eren had to say?

"I'm handling it, Eren. It's what-" Zeke started and knowing what his brother was about to say, Eren shot up from his seat and you widened your eyes in shock, as well as Armin, Mikasa, Erwin and Reiner's as well. Floch and Karina were certainly surprised that's for sure.

You looked up and you nearly shrinked back at the visible fire in Eren's eyes. He was breathing heavily and he did not care that everybody was looking at him right now, Eren knew that Zeke and his dad didn't have the best relationship, but on a day like this, even after finding out the real reason that Grisha passed, he'd think that his own brother would have a lot more compassion. But that word didn't seem to be anywhere in his dictionary.

Eren's voice broke through the tension like a lightning strike. "Don't you dare say it's what he would have wanted. You know that's not true. You have no idea what you're talking about," Eren hissed as his fists clenched, his face twisted in anger and his chest heaved. But beneath all of that, was deep betrayal and disbelief for the actions of his brother. Though, he didn't know why he was surprised or shocked at all.

It was clear that the conversation they had a year before at their father's birthday lunch didn't spark in any change in his brother. He didn't 'turn a new leaf'. He's the same as he's always been and Eren felt like a fool for trying to understand and give him a chance.

"You don't get to make that call," Eren said to his brother, nearly seething, while all Zeke could do, was stare blankly at his younger brother, without a single word. And all Eren wanted Zeke to do, is to put his ego aside and do the right thing.

The room was silent for seconds that felt like forever. Eren's breathing was so heavy from the adrenaline in this body, and everybody could hear it.

Zeke just stared at this little brother, and then disregarded him completely, turning his head to look back at the two detectives who have witnessed this entire meeting, that was supposed to be wrapped up by now with awkward looks on their faces. They didn't know what to do.

They considered stepping out for a moment because this felt like something they shouldn't be here for. But they put their focus back on the situation when they saw Zeke turn to look at both of them.

There was a certain...emptiness in Zeke's eyes. That's the first thing they noticed, and the second, was the tone that sent chills down their spine. "I'll put in a word with the commissioner general," Zeke said and Eren looked at his brother like he just lost the last shred of respect he had for him.

The brunette sat back down in his seat with defeat and Armin and Mikasa were both quick to get closer to their closest friend and see if he's okay, all the while, Mikasa happened to send small glances filled with deathly glares Zeke's way.

She's always hated Zeke and everything he stands for. Today has served as more proof than ever. After that, everyone watched as Zeke stood up, adjusted his suit and his hair, looking over every single person in the room threateningly. "This meeting is over. Everyone in this room better keep this a secret," Zeke said as he started making his way towards the door, with Yelena, Karina, and Floch quickly standing up to follow after him.

You were still planted in your seat, unable to move. Seeing as more and more of your family were heading out, seeing that the people who were next to you on the couch were also standing up, you were finding it harder and harder to contain yourself.

Once Eren, Armin, Mikasa, and Erwin, along with Reiner, it was like your entire body was anticipating the moment everybody left so that everything inside you would just stop hurting.

"Where's the attorney?" Zeke said as he headed towards the door, and you also saw that Pixis and Nile were gathering their documents, putting them back into their folders and standing up too. In a couple of seconds, you'll be all alone.

"Is the will going to be read outside? In front of everyone?" Karina asked as she followed after the Zeke and you noticed the way the trio, and specifically Eren, were walking in a bit of a daze.

While Erwin, looked at you in concern as he noticed that you weren't standing up with everyone else. But he understood that if you needed a moment alone, he was more than happy to give it to you. He knew you needed time.

"Its the only way to make it as official as possible," Zeke responded, with a certain level of smugness that made your blood boil. He just wasn't hiding it anymore, was he? Soon after that, the sound of footsteps and the amount of people in the room started to decrease and you started to get impatient.

Your hands were gripping the edge of the couch as your chest heaved and your mouth went slightly agape. You needed to be alone. You couldn't hold it anymore. Your body full hunched over, your hair fell over your face and once you heard the door close shut, that was your cue.

You let out a loud, pained gasp and moved one hand to clutch your chest, feeling it tighten, as your senes began to overload. Your breathing got heavier, harder to get through your lungs, and your hearing was becoming muffled. Your vision was distorted and every part of your body hurt. You were getting dizzy, everything was spinning. How do you make it stop?

How were you able to hold your own before when getting that dump of information? You were continuing to let out strained gasps as you continued to clutch your heart and your eyes closed, trying to bare the pounding in your head on top of everything else. Your ears were ringing.

You needed to snap out of this and leave this place, but you didn't even know how to get your entire body to stop hurting, let alone to get moving. Your breaths were shallow ragged. You were unstable and being here any longer was not helping.

Your senses were so shot that you didn't even notice a sob erupting from your throat up until it left your mouth, which was followed by tears that started to fall down your cheeks through your currently closed eyelids. This was all too much, you needed to get out of here. You didn't even want to stick around to hear the will because it just wasn't worth it.

Nothing was worth this. You panted as your gasps subsided and once you opened your eyes, your vision was glassy and blurry with tears that came out without warning. You should have listened to your gut about everything that's happened to you lately, but you didn't and it led to this. Grisha being murdered.

Your entire family was either failing to realize that and acknowledge it whatsoever, or just didn't care at all. But as your breathing got back to normal and you came to one conclusion, it didn't matter if they all hated each other's guts or this was just some race to the top for them, but you had to convince them to see the bigger picture, just like Eren was trying to do with Zeke. That this wasn't about power and status and that this was all about survival.

Even if the very killer was in this room just seconds ago, they needed to see that this went much further than just brushing it off and releasing what the public wanted to hear instead of the truth. It will only get worse that way. But without expecting it, your thoughts started to clear on your own and you began to focus on one thing.

The space around you let you breathe and how muffled everything felt was now coherent. That's when you stopped trying to overthink this. You weren't going to drive yourself crazy anymore and you'd just act upon what you were thinking instead of letting your emotions holding you back from actually making a change.

Grisha's death has to mean something and not having his death be treated as if he was a nuisance that needs to be disposed of. Swallowing back your incoming sobs, you wiped your tears and that's when your body started to respond to you. Just as you started thinking clearly, or at least what you thought was you thinking clearly.

You shot up from your seat and started heading straight towards the door of the office. If you were lucky, you could still catch up to your family members and they haven't dispersed in the party again yet. You opened the door in a rush, stepped outside and let it close on its own behind you. Your heels clacked in a rhythm that shows how desperate you are to make them really see what was at stake right now.

As you followed the path of the office that led back out to the party, you turned a corner and saw that they were all still together at a group and were about to enter the party area. From what you could see, everyone was sitting down at their tables, talking, but nothing more than that.

You didn't want to cause commotion from what you were about to tell your family. You wanted their reactions to be made before they went back into the space full of guests, and it didn't matter if you got yelled at, laughed at, or called names. You just wanted to desperately get your point across.

Neither of them had noticed your approaching presence, so you decided to make yourself known instead. No hiding, playing games, or trying to hold back. They needed to know and realize how severe all of this really was.

"Hey!" You called out to them, and when they heard your voice, every single one of them looked back at you just before they reentered the party, and once again, you were met with very different expressions. Some full of worry for you, others annoyed at your presistence, and others who looked completely unbothered. But you didn't care. Not one bit.

"Grisha was murdered," You blurted, and it didn't take long for your words to be met with gasps and whispers from afar, but your mind couldn't was in too much of a frenzy to tell who it was from.

"You can't keep pretending it was a heart attack or that it was medical negligence. We can do something about this now. It was murder. It's as simple as that," You said as your chest heaved with exhaustion from your own breakdown before and having to race after them.

You know you've had problems with your own family before, but if they still had an ounce of care for Grisha and what he did for them to get them to where they are and who he was as a person, then they'd do the right thing. Even if you knew that the bar was very, very low. You had to try, though.

And apparently you hadn't been as discreet as you thought you were because once you became aware of your surroundings after you said that, you cursed at yourself inwardly when you saw that the guests had turned their heads at what you said, out loud, to everyone. All the people that were at the memorial had heard you and you felt the embarrassment flood through your body. But you would never take back what you said.

You'd bare the stares, the whispers, everything. Only if it meant that your family would do something about this. Pixis and Nile looked each other in shock and surprise and then back at you once they heard what you said.

Hange, who was sitting at their table with your employee's, Connie, Sasha, and Jean, suddenly shot up from their seat as they heard your words. What the hell happened in that room that this is what came out of it?

Connie, Sasha, and Jean started whispering amongst each other as they looked back and forth between themselves and you. Everyone started to speculate on what you said. Grisha had been killed? He didn't die from a heart attack?

You did exactly the opposite that Zeke asked; to keep  your mouth shut about the truth and keep it from everybody else in this party and the rest of the world, and now you just advertised it for everyone to hear. Which is why he was the first one to direct his glare toward you. First thing he says and its the next thing you do. But you unlike hime you weren't going to hide behind the truth.

You looked at every single one of your family members in the eye as you took slow steps towards them, but especially the ones who were looking at you with hatred in their eyes. Others, like Eren, Erwin, and the rest of the trio, were looking at you with pride.

They promised that no matter what, they'd stand by you, especially now since they'd come to the same conclusion back at the meeting but none of the ones who were supposed to be 'role models' and figures to follow in the family were willing to step up and do it.

So now, knowing that the very same person who killed Keith, and Grisha, was the one after you too, you had no choice but to take charge, and lead.

"I know the reason why Grisha got killed. I'm sure you all know it too, on some level. And it'll be the same reason why I might get killed, too" You said as you looked at them with all the seriousness in the world.

You truly believed that if Grisha met his demise, it will be a matter of time until you met yours soon too if you didn't do anything to fight back. Karina heard your words and her face was flooded with rage and anger.

"You little brat! Are you drunk?" She snapped at you, but this time, you didn't budge one bit at her words. In fact, you found her words very ironic. Eren said exactly what you were thinking

"Look who's talking," Eren mumbled, earning discreet snickers from Erwin, Reiner, Armin, and Mikasa. Armin nudged Eren slightly, having liked his friends' little quip. Karina had heard it too and her snapped to the side to look at Eren, but that only made the brunette smirked in victory, knowing that her words had no meaning or value on anyone anymore.

She had no credibility. Karina bit back on her words and instead, Yelena opted to be the one to get you to stop. Which made you remember that Zeke was still staring at you with a piercing glare that made you realize that you really had stomped on his plan and it was taking everything in him not to react.

"Y/n, I advise you to stop making a scene. Look around you. People are staring," Yelena said as she tried to approach your outburst with a much calmer, yet hostile tone to her voice.

You shook your head in disbelief, looking at every single one of the people in front of you who were looking at you with so much distaste and annoyance in their eyes just because you uncovered what they wanted to hide. And they knew it would be a lot worse for them if they tried anything right now, so just standing in place and only be limited to their words and body language was probably driving them crazy.

"I could care less if people heard. In fact, let them. They deserve to know the truth you're all hiding from them," You said, and they visibly looked more irritated and exasperated with you by the second, but you didn't mind that.

All you could think about was your mind trailing over each other faces in this family that you suspected the most. Was it Yelena? Floch? Karina? Zeke? You didn't even doubt the trio, Erwin, or Reiner for a second because when it came to your gut feeling about a person or situation, you've learned to never turn your back on it.

You'd trust all of them with your life, and they've proved time and time again that they were on the right side of this, and that's all the proof you needed. The trio has been beyond immersed in trying to finish college, Erwin has barely been able to leave his office, and Reiner is barely around.

That alone narrowed it down to the people who would be most capable of doing something like this. And that was easy enough. They have never given you a reason to think they would be responsible for this. Never had any problems with Grisha, they were all leading their own lives and it would be very unlikely.

The people who have actively rejoiced in Grisha's death, who have had grievances with him, who wished on his downfall, who had a reason to do something so horrid, and who are just awaiting to get all of his fortune.

The more you glanced around at the people who you suspected the most, the more you began to think; were all of them in on it? How many people were involved outside of the family? You had so many questions, but you wouldn't just stand here and do nothing. You'd fight for this, just as you promised you would.

Before you could continue speculating, you caught the hardening of Zeke's glare. He eventually scoffed and finally spoke up. "Get her out of here," He said plainly, turning on his heel and walking back into the party, all while Floch smirked at the situation you'd put yourself in and followed after Zeke.

Karina and Floch also started to follow after Zeke You didn't even have time to think before a swarm of guard appeared in front of you and pushed back the rest of the family back into the party.

Having a swarm of guards suddenly start to enclose on you made you step back cautiously and it left the trio, Erwin and Reiner all trying to peek through the barricade of guards to see if you were okay. "Hey! Don't touch her!" Eren yelled out to the guards, letting his body move first before thinking as he started to head towards you, but Armin and Mikasa, held him back.

This was still their fight, but one wrong move now and it would make things worse. Besides, you already had someone looking out for you. Erwin heard this and was fighting every muscle in his body to stay in place, even if he wanted to do exactly what Eren wanted to do just now.

And as if on cue, just as you were staring to get surrounded, your knight in shining armor arrived. Levi suddenly appeared and came into the scene and stepped in front of you without hesitation, sending deadly glares, with venom deep in his eyes, their way.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Step away from her if you don't want me to break every one of your damn limbs," He threatened, his voice low, controlled, menacing. The weight of his words were enough to make the guards pause. His lethal gaze flickered over each and every one of the guards, calculating, like a predator sizing up its prey.

His intimidation tactics seem to work because many of them shrunk back, but they were still sticking around and remained in position. Levi watched the way they sent uneasy glances to each other, even if none of them dared to move a muscle or step towards you.

His piercing eyes and his words were enough to assure them that the man in front of them could be capable of doing serious damage if he wanted to. His eyes were a silent promise of violence if they even dared try to come close to you.

But now, as you remained frozen in place, unable to get past the barricade and as you realized that there was nothing you could possibly say to make your own family see the situation for how it is, then there's was truly nothing else you could do.

Nothing would ever make them change their twisted minds that were filled with so much greed and shriveled hearts and you would have to accept that. If you had to do this on your own, then that's what you'd do. You're strong enough to do it, you know you can.

Zeke walked over to the attorney Grisha hired to read over the will, with Floch, Karina, and Yelena all following after him.  "Let's get started. Read out the will," Zeke ordered, and the attorney blinked in surprise at what the eldest Jaeger brother just asked for. This was a legal matter and the entire family had be present for it. But it was also a matter of intimidation.

It was clearly chaos right now and the attorney needed the entire family's presence to be there as its read out, including you. "I was told to wait until Ms. Y/n was here," He said, and Zeke was slowly starting to fail at hiding just how put off he was by this whole situation by the way he didn't hesitate to turn around just as he'd gotten back to his table and then glared at the attorney. As a warning. The man gulped and fixed his glasses, nodding, giving in.

The attorney watched as Zeke sat down, as well as Floch, Yelena, and Karina, all at the same table. The attorney turned his head to the side and saw just a peek of you in between the wall of guards surrounding you, so he supposed that if you were technically present, he could start to read it now. You were frozen in place. You didn't know if you wanted to be around to hear that Zeke or Karina get everything they ever wanted at the expense of Grisha's death.

It was tearing you apart. They'd be able to gloat, brag, and hold it over your head for who knows how long. You inhaled sharply and closed your eyes as you started to hear the attorney start to read out the document in his hands that contained what everybody was waiting to hear. You needed to leave.

"Grisha Jaeger left a will that detailed explicitly his assets, including shares and convertible bonds, that can only be acted upon if a suspensive condition condition is met," The attorney started, and your eyes widened as you felt your heart rate start increase yet again, beating against your ribcage painfully in a way that you could hear it in your ears and it distorted everything else.

Meanwhile, everyone was starting, including your family members were starting to wonder what the attorney meant by 'conditions'. Karina and Zeke wondered in their heads if getting the inheritance wouldn't be as easy as they though it would be. They should've known Grisha would make it harder for them.

Now, for the moment of truth. You knew that the attorney was about to read out the will and who it went to, and you didn't want to stick around to find out anymore. Its been enough for one day and you just wanted it to be over already.

"His will is as follows..." The attorney started, and it seems that Zeke was already expecting it to be him who gets it all or at least the bigger portion of the inheritance, because there was a cocky smirk on his face that you just want to wipe clean off his face.

But just as the attorney prepared to continue, you looked up at Levi with pleading and pained eyes, hoping he understood that you wanted to do nothing but get out of here. He nodded silently instantly, and you smiled tearily at him. You shook your head and finally started to get your feet to move.

"I, Grisha Jaeger, bequeath all real estate, including the mansion in Paradis City, and cash to be donated to the Eldia Welfare Foundation," The attorney started, but you had already started to move.

Once the guards started to notice you were going to walk past them, and that you were no real threat, they opened a path to you, as well as Levi who was right behind you and glaring at anyone who even looked at you wrong.

As Levi and you headed straight towards the exit, you had many eyes on you. Hange's, Erwin's, your employee's, the trio, the rest of your family who were watching you walk away with victory written all over their faces, but you kept your head down and continued walking forward, ignoring the judgement, the stares, the whispers. None of it mattered to you anymore.

"I also bequeath Eldia Group's management rights, as well as all shares of its affiliates, to the designated legatee," The attorney continued, and at this point, you were just a couple feet away from the exit and you were starting to walk faster.

You'd passed by far too many people but you didn't make eye contact with any of them. You already know what the outcome of this was going to be, and everybody else knew it too.

You knew the attorney was about to read out the name of who the inheritance will go to, and you hoped you'd be out of the party by then. Seeing that you were heading out, Hange didn't hesitate for a second to leave their table and start heading over to catch up to you, too.

But just as everyone was starting to get antsy at the long pause the attorney was taking to say who the designated legatee would be, people like Karina were already starting to fix their hair and their clothing, Zeke started to fix his suit, and Floch started to get ready to hear the answer and rejoice in pride.

Erwin, Reiner, and the trio were off to the side, preparing for what the answer would be, because after how much Zeke flaunted the fact that it was practically his, they wish they could leave the party right then and there too.

Nobody else was as excited about this but the two people who wished on the worst for Grisha the most. And who wanted to stick around to see that? Just as you were about to reach the exit, you knew the name was about to be announced and your heart started racing against your chest. But nothing could've prepared you for what you heard next.

"The designated legatee is Eldia Fashion and Beauty's CEO...Y/n L/n," The attorney finalized, and after that, you froze. Your entire body froze.

Your blood ran cold. You felt like you were about to faint. Did you imagine that? You were letting out shaky breaths, your gaze was set forward but not looking at anything in particular. Did you just hear that right?

What brought you out of your stupor and forced you to realize that what you heard was real was when you heard murmurs of surprise amongst the guests. Both Levi and Hange halted immediately in their steps and turned their heads to look at each other in shock and then over to your figure, and you appeared to be stuck to the ground.

Eren, Mikasa, and Armin's eyes all widened and their mouths dropped open in sync. Erwin's eyes were the same and he couldn't help but let out a laugh of disbelief in victory for you. Not a single drop of Grisha's money or possessions would go to Zeke, Floch, Karina, Yelena, or anybody else.

And it went to the person who deserved it the most. You. You won, and they no longer had anything to hold over you anymore. The part of your family that had been sitting down at the table didn't react any better.

The moment they heard your name, Zeke shot up from his seat as he slammed down his hands on the table as an indignant and enraged look took over his features, and that cocky smirk was wiped off his face.

Karina gasped and covered her mouth with both hands as her eyes widened with horror. They were thinking the same thing you were. Did they hear wrong? The betrayal from his own father started to bubble up inside him with unimaginable anger.

They must have, right? Meanwhile, Falco and Gabi were both sharing shocked looks as well, that turned into smiles as they tried not to laugh.

Neither of their parents were happy about this either. If it affected Zeke and Karina, it affected them too, knowing you won't be willing to give up or share any of the inheritance with them.

Everybody was looking at you. You couldn't have heard that right, could you? Grisha never ever talked to you about the possibility of you inheriting it all to you. You always assumed it would go to the eldest, like Zeke had been assuming, but no.

Grisha left this world and left you with 100% of the inheritance, and not a single part of it would go to his flesh and blood except for the evenly distributed and required statutory shares he left for each family members. His biological family. Everybody was wondering if they had heard the same thing. Nobody expected it.

Especially because Zeke had practically auto-declared himself the inheritor, so hearing your name was sparking gossip among everybody in that memorial. It hadn't even occurred to you... that he'd leave all of it to you. You never considered it.

The flashing of cameras and the sound of pictures clicking just by the exit made you realized that this was reality. Grisha really had left it all to you, no exceptions. Their disloyalty and manipulation against Grisha over the years backfired on them spectacularly in ways anybody could barely fathom.

Hange finally came into the realization that this really should not have been a surprise.  A smirk came onto their lips as they crossed their arms in front of them. "You had one last trick up your sleeve, didn't you, Grisha?" They muttered to themselves. Levi had been noticing how much attention you've garnered over the last couple of seconds, and a smug look started to take over his face as well.

The assholes in your family wouldn't get what they wanted after all, and you had all the power now. Ironically. But a smirk of his own came to his lips as he realized that you had all the leverage against them now. And it gets better, because the attorney wasn't done reading the will either. There was more.

When you heard the voice of the attorney again, you slowly started to turn your head to look back and saw all the people there already looking at you, including your family. You turned your body fully to face everyone, and your eyes darted all over the place, you didn't know where to look.

"The inheritance will only be contingent upon Y/n L/n registering her marriage within one year following the passing of the testator, Grisha Jaeger," The attorney said and you nearly let out a gasp of disbelief. This was really the last trick up his sleeve, wasn't it?

That was the suspensive condition. You could get absolutely everything Grisha left to you, you'd become the new chairwoman of Eldia Group, as long as you got married from now in a year.

Even if he wasn't there to witness you getting married like he always wanted, he wanted to make sure that you still did it after he died and he could make sure you could have the happy ending he always thought you deserved.

And it didn't end there. It only got worse for the family members who continued to seethe the more that the will continued to be read out. Bet they regret having it read out in public now, huh? You only felt even more eyes on you after that. Erwin's eyebrows and his blue eyes wavered as he started to think about what this meant.

Levi also turned back to look at you and saw that the look on your face indicated you still weren't believing anything you were hearing right now. "If the condition is not met, her share will be automatically bequeathed to the Eldia Welfare Foundation in its entirety" The attorney said, so that meant that if you didn't get married by then or rejected the inheritance, not a single part of it would go to any of your family members that were hoping to get it.

Hearing this, Zeke's eyes narrowed dangerously and his jaw clenched, not being able to look back and face all of the people he'd practically bragged and made certain to that everything that was getting listed would be his, and now, it was the farthest thing from the truth.

Yelena looked up at Zeke, not saying a word, not knowing what he'll do if anybody tries to talk to him right now. Karina's teeth were clenched in anger as she let her hands drop from her mouth and muttered your name bitterly. "Y/n...will be our chairwoman..?" Karina muttered to herself in absolute horror, realizing what this meant. This is her worst nightmare and you were the one taunting them in the most torturous way possible.

"Grisha Jaeger also wrote letters to all of her family members. He imagined the news would be quite a shock to many of you," The attorney concluded and you didn't know why, you didn't know how, but even if you wanted to leave before, your feet started moving again and you walked past both Levi and Hange and started to head back towards the front, with all eyes still on you.

You were still only focused on one thing, and you could see the way that Karina rushed to get the letter addressed to her from the attorney, as Zeke grabbed his as well and the attorney handed Floch his letter as well. The others hadn't come up yet to get theirs just yet, but it was only those two who wanted to get to the bottom of this and see if there was some kind of mistake.

With every step you took, you could hear cameras clicking and flashing even more, wanting to capture every angle of you. Of the newly announced inheritor of all of Grisha's will. The expectations of the public, the judgement, the pressure.

You didn't even want to know what the news articles would look like tomorrow. Levi was sure that being up there with just your family members, who were clearly enraged with you, would be a shitshow so was quick to start following after you to make sure they didn't try anything.

The close you got, Karina's desperate words quickly reached you. You silently watched the way that she practically ripped her letter open. 

"There must be some kind of mistake. There has to be more to this He would never do this to me! He would never-!" Karina said hurriedly and hopelessly, but eventually cut herself off when she read the contents of her letter and she froze.

She began to read out what she was seeing, in complete disbelief of what was happening to her. "Money ruined all of you. You don't deserve an ounce of my inheritance, and I plan to keep it that way-" She started but couldn't even finished before she just couldn't read anymore and crumpled up the paper into a ball with a frustrated yell, sitting herself down in frustration.

Zeke was a lot better at hiding what he was reading, acting as if rage wasn't coursing through his body just from reading what his father had left to say to him in that letter. Yelena noticed the way that Zeke's face was neutrality, but there was a clear crease in his features that indicated that he didn't like one bit what he was reading.

She rose up from her seat and stood next to Zeke with concern written all over her face. "Zeke. What does it say?" Yelena asked, and it took a couple of seconds for Zeke to be able to rip his eyes away from what he was reading, but when he did.

He folded up the paper again, slammed it on the table, which startled Yelena, sat down as he propped up an elbow on the table, and put a hand over his mouth. His hand dropped from his face and looked up at Yelena.

"Its done. You don't want to know," Zeke muttered as he tried his best to contain every emotion that was coursing through his body and Yelena's eyes widened. Was it really that bad?

What was on that paper? On his, Karina's and Floch's that indicated the very reasons as to why they didn't get the inheritance. But then Zeke's attention was directed towards something else, and so did Karina's and the rest of the family.

You'd made your way across the party and were now walking up, with slow and measured steps up to Grisha's memorial picture. Levi was still behind you but a good distance between the two of you.

You stopped just in front of Grisha's picture and looked at it with so much pain in your eyes. Why did he do this? Why didn't he ever say anything about it?

You didn't understand any of this You know he liked to surprise you but this was a little much, right? You were so focused on the picture in front of you and al the racing thoughts in your head that you didn't feel the glares boring into the back of your head. Glares from Zeke, Yelena, Floch, Karina.

All at once, but you didn't notice any of them or how the fury inside of them was growing from just seeing you stand there, as if you didn't just rip away everything they've ever wanted, what they were hoping for. It pissed them off even more.

Zeke was staring at you with a eyes that looked deadly and they spoke volumes. Just seeing you standing so close was really a test to his self- restraint.

Meanwhile, all you could was feel your own eyes brim with tears, struggling to get any of this to make sense in your mind. He wanted you to succeed him all this time, become the chairwoman, get everything he earned throughout his life and give it to you so suddenly like this.

"Grisha...what did you do?" You muttered to yourself, and when you heard slow and hesitant steps getting closer to you, you turned your head to the side to see the attorney standing next to you.

He looked at you with condolences and with apologies underway for your loss. "You should know that he made this decision after a lot of contemplation," He said, and you nodded numbly at his words, but then you looked down and saw that he was extending his hand over to you, with Grisha's letter to you in his grasp.

Your eyes widened and your vision got glassy at the sight of it. He left you a letter, too. You didn't know why you were surprised at all, because he left everyone a letter, but you just didn't know what to expect to read in there.

Would he explain why he gave you his entire inheritance to you? Would he reminisce? What would you find in there? What kind of reaction would you have? You know you needed to read that when you knew you were alone, because otherwise, you'd breakdown on the spot.

You shakily raised your own hand to take the letter from the attorney, and once you held it in your grasp and the attorney retracted his hand, your body didn't stop trembling. You didn't know what to do now.

Just looking down at his handwriting of your name made you want to cry on the spot. You didn't even have nearly enough time as you would've wanted to contemplate when you'd read this letter, what you'd do from here on out, or how to react to any of this because your thoughts were all cut off by Karina's loud, shrill-sounding voice.

"You!" You heard her yell out, and you whip your head to the side to see that Karina was charging towards you. You took several steps back and multiple people gasped at what Karina was trying to do. After that, all hell came loose.

"Oh, shit. Come on!" Eren said as he immediately went into fight or flight mode for you. Erwin and the trio's eyes all widened and immediately started to race towards you, not knowing what she'd be capable.

As everyone raced towards you, Karina got to you first and grabbed ahold of your shoulders. "What the hell? Let go of me!" You yelled out at Karina as you felt her tighten her grip on your arms and you yelped, feeling that her hands were digging into your clothes, all while you were trying to wiggle yourself free.

"You little bitch! What did you do? You were in on this, weren't you? This is all your fault! You screwed us all over!" She yelled in your face, and soon enough, you were ripped away from her, and not because Karina let go. You knew it wasn't because of that. She wouldn't let go on her own.

You blinked for a second, and while you still felt pressure in your arms, and also gentle hands on your back but not the kind of hold that Karina had on you.

You turned your head on both sides and you gaped when you saw Erwin on one side, and Mikasa on the other. They were both looking at you in concern, silently asking with their eyes if you were okay. You nodded shakily and looked at both of them with gratitude.

You were still a little disoriented and everything has felt like a blur from the moment you left the office, but it was getting easier. You looked forward and saw three people standing in front of you like a barricade, and you could recognize all of them even from behind.

It was both Armin and Eren standing in front of you as Zeke had to hold back Karina because she was letting herself get carried away with her emotions and making a fool of herself. Levi had been keeping his distance, not knowing if he should step in too, seeing as you've already been surrounded and protected by so many.

"Karina, pull yourself together! You're making a fool out of yourself," Eren said as he watched Karina still fight against Zeke and Floch's hold. She wasn't thinking straight and it was clear she had been relying entirely on this inheritance for herself, and that's probably why she's losing her mind over it.

You haven't had a chance to think properly for a second and all of these voices you're hearing at once weren't making it any easier. You couldn't even hear yourself think. How could you coherently make a decision about any of this. You could barely see past your teary vision.

You suddenly heard another set of hurried footsteps rush towards you and you looked up to see Yelena standing in front of you with panic all over her face, as if she was pleading for compassion.

"Y/n. You're not going to accept the will, are you? It's not right? You know it," She asked, in a tone that she was clearly using to try to sway you while you were vulnerable. But before you could even try to think about how to answer, since you were still trying to comprehend it all yourself, Mikasa stepped in.

Mikasa glared at Yelena and brought you closer to her. "Why wouldn't she? Stop getting in her head. This is none of your business, Yelena. Back off," She shot back, not giving Yelena an ounce of sympathy for her, Zeke, Karina, or anybody.

This was yours and everybody who didn't see it that way didn't deserve to be asking for any favors. Mikasa turned her head to look at you to see that you were already looking at at her with nothing but gratitude in your eyes. She knew you weren't at a state to give anybody a straight answer right now, and she said exactly what you would have.

But just as everyone halted in their chaos and turned to look at you, waiting to hear what you had to say. Not from Mikasa, not from anyone else, and only from you.

Even if it was hard to try and figure out what this meant, you still knew one thing. That you had to continue fighting to make sure that Grisha didn't die in vain, or that what he gave you after his death didn't fall in the wrong hands. Like Zeke's or Karina's.

The person who killed him was still in your vicinity, in this memorial, and you knew it was one of the people who were hoping to get even just an ounce of the inheritance, or most of it, who were responsible.

And whether they were the one who killed Keith or Grisha themselves, or if they were the person that was after you, or even if they were just the ones who called the shots for someone else to do their dirty work, you were now willing to put yourself out on the line.

You didn't know if it was the all the adrenaline talking, but you knew that you couldn't remain in the sidelines anymore. You did not want to be passive anymore.

You needed to risk your life, in order to be able to save it. There was no other way. You're going to get your hands dirty, and you wouldn't think twice about it this time.

And who would be the best person to have by your side to do just that? You got your answer when you looked down at your hand that was holding Grisha's letter to you, and then your eyes trailed over to your exposed wrist, with Levi's tattoo on it.

To fight demons, you needed one by your side too. Everybody was looking at you, expecting an answer and hoping it would be what they were praying for in their heads. But you'd do the exact opposite. The more you looked down at that tattoo, an idea certainly crawled into your head.

You had to get married to get the inheritance, right? That's all you had to do. What was the best way to get under your family's skin, to really rub it in their faces that their tyranny and control over everything was over? To show them that you weren't scared of going through with this and that you'd go head to head with them if it was necessary.

The more your mind convinced you that this was remotely a good idea, the more another part of your brain started to tell you how crazy it really was. Were you really about to do this?

All you had to do is get married, right? Then, you'd be in complete control and find who did this to Grisha with nobody to stop you or hold you back.

God, you were really about to do this weren't you? You weren't sure if you would regret it later, but a part of you knew you would. Maybe just doing it, even if you didn't get the outcome you were hoping for, would be enough to show everyone that you meant business.

That you weren't scared of any of them and that you'd go to any lengths to show that you were going to defend what Grisha left behind for you with every last shred of energy in your body.

So before you jumped into the lion's den, and made a choice that you hoped you wouldn't regret, you stepped away from Mikasa and Erwin, walking away from them, stopping and then turning around just so you could stand on your own, look at them all dead in the eye, so they could all see you and hear what you were about to say.

This was something you had to do, and whether you were going about it the right way...well, the jury's still up. So, you were about to find out.

"The only way that you'll get me to give this up..." You started, raising your voice so they all heard you loud and clear. The ones who were most desperate for you to hand over your inheritance were the ones who perked up the most at your words, while the others who believed you should keep it all to yourself were awaiting your words with utter puzzlement in their faces.

Before saying your last words to them today, you turned your head to look at Grisha's picture and your face hardened. You swore, you'd make him proud. You swore you'd avenge him and do everything your power to do just that. You'd work with the very same person who entrusted his loyalty and commitment to you.

From wherever he was, you hoped he was watching. You would reveal the truth and make that person pay. And if you had to leave all of your morals behind and join hands with a demon, then that's exactly what you'd do. Fight monsters with monsters, right? And then with confidence suddenly surging through you, you found the courage to speak, yet again.

"...is to kill me," You said, and you didn't even want to stick around to see the looks on their faces as soon as you said. You turned your head and made eye contact with the exact person you needed in this very moment, and who was also looking straight at you, raising their eyebrow and narrowing their eyes at you. They wouldn't get you to give this up so easily either. They won't get rid of you that easy.

Erwin, the trio, Reiner, Zeke, Yelena, Floch, and Karina all watched you walk away from them as mixed reactions came across their expressions. What were they supposed to do with that?

All they could do now was watch as you walked with certainty towards something, or rather someone, not knowing what your goal was here. "Y/n..." Erwin muttered as he realized that you would truly go through any means necessary to make sure Grisha was avenged, even if it costed you your life. And that...that terrified him.

Every guest, every single one of your family members, your employee and every reporter and photographer watched your every move as they noticed that you weren't heading towards the entrance, but more toward someone. Levi.

Your eye contact with him didn't waver for a second as you walked towards him and it truly felt like the world was slowing down the closer you got to him, and he waited in place for you to get to him with a light smirk tugging at his lips while he kept his hands at his pockets.

But once he realized that there was a certain spark, a dangerous spark, in your eye. Levi's entire face changed. His brows furrowed ever so slightly, a faint flicker of something in his eyes. Was it confusion?
Surprise? Acceptance?

Whatever it was, you caught it, and it made you feel more certain than ever. You made a choice, you know its reckless, maybe even incredibly insane. But you couldn't go back now. Not after everything that's happened.

You truly couldn't even look away from him if you wanted to, with how hypnotizing and enticing his eyes really are as his bangs well over his face and his subtle, pale complexion drew you in further the closer you got to him.

All you could think about is that if Levi had promised his commitment and loyalty to you you hoped this would be one of those moments where he stood by your side no matter what happens.

All eyes were on you and Levi as people started to catch on that he was the person you were walking towards and were looking at with such decisiveness and confidence, or maybe it was just the urgency raging inside of you.

Every step you took toward Levi felt like a drumbeat, each echo that became louder than the last, pulling you closer to whatever your next step was. People were staring- no, staring. But you couldn't turn back now, not now. You were already committed and in too deep.

Levi himself didn't know what was going behind your eyes right now, seeing such certainty and sureness behind him made him start to wonder if he should be worried or not, or if he should prepare himself at all. What were you thinking?

What were you planning? What was going on in that head of yours? Levi didn't speak, but the look in his eyes was more enough to know that no matter how much he tried, he couldn't tell what was compelling you to walk towards him with a clear yet unknown goal.

And when you stopped right in front of him and Levi realized that something very, very real was happening right now, aside from any suspicions he had before.

You weren't just heading towards him to tell him that you wanted to leave and you wanted him to come with you, but you had another intent swirling around in your head amongst the chaos flooding your mind. Levi's face contorted into one of confusion, not being able to hold his facade anymore.

You wanted something, from him. What could you possibly want from him? Aside from everything else that the two of you have already agreed to do for each other? Should he be worried that you were looking at him like that? What were you planning?

In front of every single person in this memorial that was watching the both of you like hawks. Nobody knew what was about to happen; not the guests, not Levi, or anybody. Just you.

Or maybe not even you, because even you were aware that what you were about to do, was going to sound really stupid and reckless to anyone here and you were only doing it on the hope that it would work out.

And absolutely nothing, could have prepared Levi for what you were about to do. But hey, this was a day full of surprises, wasn't it? Your heart was pounding against your chest so hard that you felt like it would leap out of your body and you were standing tall despite all of the voices in your screaming at you not to do this. But you had to.

Even if it was just to assert your newfound power over the people who looked down on you since you met them and only wished on your downfall, then you would do it. And you wouldn't hesitate.

Not anymore. You knew deep down that it was just the adrenaline talking, but if adrenaline is what you needed to finally act on this, then its fine with you. Which is why you refused to break eye contact with Levi, as much as you felt his gaze burning into yours that told you that he had no idea what you were about to do.

You kept your focus on his sharp, narrow, and gunmetal eyes, ignoring the chills it sent up and down your body as you held your hand that had the two rings that Grisha gave you. Were you really about to do this? Throw away every sense of reason and dive into the unknown? No. As far as you knew, this was the only way. if you didn't do it now, you will never have the chance again.

Without giving yourself a moment to think it twice, you pulled off one of the rings, the one that you had on the pointer finger, and you kept the one that was on your ring finger. You exhaled shakily and held it up to Levi as you swallowed and watched as his face dropped in realization on what you were doing right now. What are you doing right now?

You were choosing him, to have him continue standing by your side, who you knew would help you take this to a new, and dangerous level.

People started murmuring amongst themselves more when they saw you holding up that ring. Were you really about to do what they thought you were about to do? In such a public and exposed setting?

And you knew you had reached the point of no return when you opened your mouth and allowed the first few words to go out into the world without a chance of ever taking them back.

"Levi Ackerman," You started, saying it loudly enough for everyone to hear, as you held up the ring higher for him to see and you swallowed hard, locking your gaze on his despite the hesitation and confusion in his eyes.

You ignored every voice in your head that was telling you to stop before it was too late, and continued. You were about to make the biggest bet of your life, on this man in front of you.

So despite all the eyes on you, all the murmurs that were wondering what you were about to say, all the cameras flashing, and feeling like you were holding the world on your shoulders, you decided to just go for it.

But before you did, as if your mind was protecting you from the reactions of everybody else around, the world surrounding you suddenly became distorted, muffled, and to the point where it felt like it was only you and Levi and nobody else who were there. It helped tremendously to help you finally speak.

You inhaled sharply and just said it. "Marry me," You finally said, letting out a breath as you did. The moment you said those words, at the same time you felt like a weight was lifted off your shoulders but that you had entered a new phase in your life that was too late to attempt to get out of. You almost closed your eyes shut to avoid his reaction but he needed to know you were serious about this.

A new issue that you were willing to fight for no matter what and that you entire life would turn upside down for. But you didn't care. Not one bit. This decision to ask him this had nothing to do with feelings, and it was all part of your plan.

You thought things between you and Levi would stay simple, just him being your bodyguard, given that it was so hard to get here at all in the first place. But that was before everything changed. You were following his words. You were letting things flow.

Both of you had to adjust The dangers of you being killed just like Grisha did are higher than ever, and you had to take measures like these, to make sure you and Levi were more united than ever.

You may regret it later, but right now, you didn't Despite you saying those words and tightening your hold on the ring in your hand and Levi's eyes narrowing dangerously at you from your words, you didn't regret it. Even if this backfired, you can at least tell yourself you tried. And it's really all that mattered to you.

Levi didn't even think he heard you correctly. Did you just ask him to marry you? In front of all these people? What was your goal here? Levi didn't mind the stares, the whispers, the gasps, but he knows deep down that you do.

Was it out of spite for your family or did you actually have a plan in mind? He was definitely shocked, that's very clear. But his eyes darkened as he realized if this relationship between you and him was about to go farther than the realms of him just being your bodyguard.

He could see that from the way you were holding up the ring with your right hand, the one where his tattoo sat on your wrist, that there was something far deeper here that you were trying to do.

He'd heard that attorney loud and clear before saying that you could only get the inheritance if you got married a year from today, and perhaps that's what you were trying to do now. What you were planning to do after that was still a mystery to him.

He could also see that behind the look of confidence in your eyes, there was hope, panic, and distress swirling around and you were fighting every part of your body to let you keep up that wall of sureness and certainty you were putting up in front of everyone.

There was desperation behind it, and being this close to you right now made him see that clearly. You asked him to marry you, before he could even decipher what you were trying to do, and he could see that even if you wanted to take it back, you couldn't. It was this or nothing in your head.

After you finally got the words you wanted to say out into the open, the world around you cleared and you could hear the reaction your words evoked from the people around you. The guests, your family, your employee's; everyone reacted, albeit in very different ways.

Levi hadn't responded to your proposal and everyone could see that the two of you were just holding silent eye contact with each other without saying a word. Hange's jaw had dropped and their eyes went wide. Their glasses nearly fell out of their face and they were frozen. But behind that look of shock, a smile was tugging at their lips as they held their squeal.

Connie, Sasha, and Jean's forks dropped from their hands onto their plates with a clatter while their mouth's went agape too in utter shock, all the while Sasha still had a mouthful of food.

It didn't help that the flashing of the cameras intensified even more from the moment your proposal was heard by the reporters. As for your family, Zeke turned his body fully to look at you and Levi, his body stiff with indignation. The audacity of it. Was this some twisted form of payback? Were you rubbing it in their faces? Were you doing this to ridicule them further?

A public humiliation in front of everyone to let everyone know you can make the inheritance yours in a second. His jaw was clenched as he stared at you with disbelief and anger coiling in his gut. He hadn't expected this from you, and he hadn't expected to be outmaneuvered this way. It stung and it was humiliating. He was disgusted and appalled.

Gabi and Falco were looking back at you and Levi in shock as well, mirroring the expressions of their parents. Karina trembled with rage, with her fists at her sides. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing.

Your defiance, your need to challenge them. It was an attack and a declaration of war against your own family. Floch looked at the scene and scoffed as he looked away, crossing his arms in front of him. He couldn't believe any of this was happening either. To him, the world must've turned upside down and none of this was real at all.

The trio all had different reactions as well. While Armin's jaw definitely dropped and his blue eyes went wide, Eren on the other hand had a smirk on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, and Mikasa could barely hide her own shock either.

As for Erwin, he saw your proposal at Levi and his jaw tightened as he tried to look away, but he couldn't, ignoring the pang in his chest. Reiner's eyebrows raised and he looked at the scene in complete disbelief.

As for other people around, Nile and Pixis had still been present at the memorial when they watched the whole thing unfold. And while Nile was certainly shocked, he turned his head to the side when he saw Pixis chuckling proudly at the scene. Nile's face twisted in confusion and Pixis turned his head to look at his partner pointing over to you and Levi.

"See? What did I tell you?" Pixis said, happy to have suspected from the moment he saw the two of you together back at the police station that there was something going on. Nile sighed and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest and looking forward again waiting to see how this ended.

That's what everybody was doing, waiting to see what Levi would do. You more than anybody. Your heart was pounding against your chest, your eyes were starting to waver as you were slowly starting to lose confidence. Levi could tell.

He studied your facial expressions and body language and he saw that the courage you had to do this in the first place was crumbling, so, he was going to give you his answer as simply as he could give it. He looked down at the ring you were holding one more time and then went back to looking at you directly in the eye.

Levi could tell that this was a very spur-of-the-moment decision. With the meeting, you revealing to everyone why Grisha died, the inheritance being announced, Karina trying to lunge at you, trying to get swayed into giving up the will.

He could see it was too much. But this wasn't what the two of you had agreed to. He wasn't about to rush into something like marriage. But even so, part of him couldn't help but wonder if there was more to this than you were letting on.

He could see that a part of you wanted to do this to assert your newfound power over your family, to make them realize that they couldn't step on you anymore. That you had leverage against them. If he was being honest, he respected that a lot. But he can't agree to a new proposal from you aside from what the two of you have already established.

The deal was for you to let him use his powers, and he'd protect you in turn from any threats. That was the deal. But whatever was starting to brew now that the truth was out, even if he was still willing to do his job and protect you from any escalation of this issue, was he really ready to take that leap and jump into this whole new realm of this problem?

No, he wasn't. Which is why it was easy to know what to answer, knowing exactly what he agreed with you in the first place. He was firm on the fact that he doesn't get into relationships, and that includes not getting married. Even if it was just part of your plan.

Levi took in a large inhale and he could quite literally see in the corner of his eye the way people were on the edge of their seats to see what he'd say. So, just like you did, Levi decided to remain as neutral as he's been this entire time and say it as simply as he can, despite how much the pleading look in your eyes nearly made him take back everything he just decided on.

"No," He said bluntly, and after that, nothing but silence followed. You were frozen in place, the ring still held high in your trembling hand after that. Your gaze was locked onto Levi, trying to make sense of the words that had just left your mouth.

Your heart pounded in your chest to the point you could hear it in your ears, but you couldn't bring yourself to move, to say anything. His words hung in the air, thick and heavy as it felt like the world had stopped yet again. Time felt frozen. Levi's rejection echoed in your ears, but there was nothing else.

You could feel every pair of eyes on you, like an invisible force waiting for you to do something, anything at all, but you just couldn't. Even if you were outside, the air around you began to feel suffocating, and the silence that was being tainted with the murmurs of everyone around was deafening.

Your hand was still holding the ring but it felt heavy, in an almost absurd way as your hand didn't stop trembling. You started wondering if your fingers would start cramping from holding it so tightly, but there was nothing else from Levi. No movement, no explanation, nothing. It was just that simple, blunt refusal. You could feel heat rise to your cheeks in embarrassment as your stomach twisted into a knot.

You blinked at him a couple times and saw the way he remained completely still and motionless. Like saying those words meant absolutely nothing to him. Your mind was completely blank, you didn't know what to do or say now.

You didn't know if you wanted to move either. So many people were still staring awkwardly, waiting to see what would follow that rejection. You continued to look at Levi blankly and his eyes were unwavering and fixed on you with an intensity that made your heart start to race in an entirely different way.

They held no emotion—just that sharp, cold edge that made you feel like the fool you were. Just for a moment that maybe, if you blinked, you'd disappear.

It looked like everyone was hit with an electric jolt. Everyone was frozen, waiting, but no one knew what to do. Hange's glasses did end up slipping down their down nose as they blinked in disbelief, trying to find some logical reason behind what they just witnessed.

Jean and Connie exchanged awkward and dumbfounded glances, unsure on how to react. And Sasha? Sasha was practically choking on her food, wide-eyed, as she tried to swallow.

Your family looked like they just witnessed a trainwreck, but in all honesty, this whole memorial became a trainwreck a long time ago. Karina's lips trembled, and her whole body was shaking as she stared at the scene with sheer disbelief.

Even Zeke had his brows furrowed in confusion as his expression darkened the longer the silence dragged on. They still had irritation deeply laced in their faces and couldn't just forget that you tried to claim your inheritance right in front of their faces when they clearly told you not to accept it.

The trio, Reiner, Gabi, Falco and their parents. They were all trying to figure out if everything they were witnessing was real or not. Everyone was. How was all this happening at the memorial?

Even if Levi rejected you, your attempt had struck a blow. Your family was angrier than they've ever been. That was a win...right? That was the only thing that was keeping you sane right now as far too many pairs of eyes were on you and you couldn't bring yourself to turn your head and look at anyone.

So...you admit, that maybe...your bet was just a little off. It was as if Levi's rejection made all of the courage you had before to carry out your plan suddenly crumbled and you were only left with the reality of the situation.

You truly did want to continue with your need to want to avenge Grisha and fight for that, that hasn't changed whatsoever. Though, you might have been a little too rash, feeling like you had a point to prove in front of everyone here.

You didn't even hear the sound of hurried footsteps coming your way until you saw Erwin stop right next to you, panting slightly. He noticed that your eyes had moved away from Levi, but you were still looking ahead, in shock.

His blue eyes darted back and forth between you and Levi, realizing that there needed to be a way to salvage the situation. "Y/n-" Erwin started, but he got cut off when you raise moved back your hand with the ring that you were holding up and held your hand up in front of him. "Don't say anything. Please," You said, almost like a warning, all while still looking ahead, but not at anything in particular.

Now more than ever would be a good time to get out of here. Erwin looked down at your raised hand you had been using to get him to stop talking, and then back at you. He could see you were clearly very shaken and you didn't want to stay here more than you needed to. But he needed to know if you were okay.

"Alright, but-" Erwin started but once again, he was cut off when he saw you start to take hesitant steps forward. "Don't. Just- let me walk away," You said, in a scarily monotone voice that made Erwin nod, realizing he couldn't intervene right now and if you needed time, then what's he'd give you. It hasn't been an easy day at all.

Erwin simply watched you walk away, even walking past Levi, and slowly lowering your hand down to your sides as you headed straight towards the entrance. As Levi gave Erwin a brief glance, your bodyguard then turned on his heel and started walking right behind you.

You could feel everyone's eyes on you as you walked across the backyard in silence all while feeling Levi's presence behind you. He rejected you and was now doubling down by still following after you? You could not handle any more embarrassment today, even if you did it to yourself. Why did you think that was going to work? You felt like an idiot.

"Why are you following me out? Couldn't you have waited? You're making this look worse," You said to Levi as he caught up to you and was now briskly walking next to you. The two of you were getting closer to the exit, and leaving the party behind, so the stares behind you felt less impactful now which you were grateful for. You could barely feel them anymore.

You suspect that just talking to Levi was making it easier. But you just know that you wouldn't escape this that easily. You needed to prepare yourself for news outlets tomorrow or even later today. You still had a very long day ahead of you.

Levi turned his head to look at you for a second before he looked forward again and he could spot the next incoming challenge the two of you had to go through before really being able to leave. There was a swarm of reporters by the entrance being held back by security and you knew you'd have to pass through them to be able to get to your car.

All of those photographers and reporters were seeing you coming and were desperately trying to get a picture or get you to answer their questions.  "Why else? To protect you. It's still my job, isn't it?" Levi said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Just because he said 'no' did not mean that he would stop being your bodyguard. He just wasn't on board with taking it to the level of having to involve marriage. It was absurd to him in every way.

But as soon as you heard him say that, you stopped walking and turned your body to face him as your face expressed your disbelief. "I'm your bodyguard. My ability to keep my work and personal life separate hasn't changed," Levi said simply as his face remains unchanged and you looked at him dumbfounded for a couple seconds before you slowly turned your head back to look forward again and started walking and of course, with Levi following after you.

"I must've lost my mind..." You muttered to yourself. Were you really that hung up on adrenaline that you couldn't have seen another way out?

At least you hoped that the act of what you did was enough to scare your family members into realizing that you were serious about this. But you do know that you should've probably done it another way.

As you and Levi reached the exit and the photographers took this opportunity to start flashing pictures of you in rapid fire, while reporters swarmed you with questions, the security helped to open a path in the middle in between the photographers and reporters so that you and Levi could go through.

You decided to keep your head down as your hair covered your face while walking past, all the while Levi was right behind you and raising both of his hands up in the air to cover you and to prevent the cameras to get any pictures of you.

But as the two of you finally made it out, the ones left at the memorial were left numb and trying to process what just happened, what they lost, and what to think. Erwin watched as you and Levi were out of sight as conflicting sting settled in his chest, while the rest of your family was left to collect themselves and realize that things were going to be very different from now on.

That you weren't going to try to stay peaceful and passive anymore. You had more than enough resources now to make sure that even if more attempts to kill you were sent your way, you had the courage to fight against them. You had a reason bigger than yourself.

And once you and Levi finally made your way out of the memorial, you were headed straight for your car and not looking back. You knew that while you not have handled that very well, your alliance with Levi hadn't changed.

He was still as much your bodyguard as he was before and you were still as willing to help him as you were. In a way, the only thing good that came out that stunt you pulled was that Zeke and the rest knew well that you had power at your disposal and you weren't afraid to use it to fight back.

Even as you're walking out now, you're realizing that while you were willing to get married just to make sure that Grisha's inheritance was safe with you, you should take a little more time to think things through and make a plan.

As Levi and you walked side by side, still hearing cameras clicking and flashing, the clamoring from the reporters, you were content enough to know that you still had him by your side and at least that didn't change. You were ready to take as much time as you needed to think about what your next move will be.

You were ready to start finding the person who killed Grisha and who was most likely out for you too. You weren't leaving it up to the police anymore and waiting for the best and you'd do an investigation of your own starting now.

You needed to act, do something, and today gave you more than enough proof that you've sat around waiting for things to happen on their own for too long. Waiting for the detectives to solve it while you hide.

Getting a bodyguard to protect you while you wait for the detectives to continue their investigation wasn't enough, and while its helpful, you know now that it's time that you take matters into your own hands. You promised Grisha that you were going to fight until the very end, and that's what you'll do.

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Hello! This chapter had me stressed from just writing it- I went through a rollercoaster of emotions lmao I know things may seem really rough and crazy right now, but just trust me! I promise it will get better!

And I know the end must have been painful to read but it was painful for me to write too lmao I did love writing the messiness of it all!

I'm sure you guys can see now why I had to divide the chapter into too, because it was just too much shsj It also took me a while to get done because I got really sick all of a sudden when I started writing it so it delayed me even more.

Now, I'm going back to uni in a couple of days so I'm glad I was able to get this chapter done before that!

It also took me a while to get it done because Ive had an idea for a while on how I wanted it to go and I really hope you guys liked how it turned out!

This whole proposal thing is very important so while it might be hard to read, it'll pay off I swear lol those of you who have seen the show know exactly what I mean-

But, anyway, since I'm going back to uni, we'll go back to our regularly scheduled program! I'll see you guys next Sunday with the next chapter! Love you all so much! Thank you for reading and see you in the next one! Love you all! XO
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