-

Things didn't get any better for your family the moment you left. While gossip was still flying around the guests once you were gone, the rage and anger inside many of your family members did not subside. It was rising.

They were realizing what your words meant, the intentions behind you proposing to Levi in front of everyone, and what you getting Grisha's inheritance really meant. Especially for them. You getting his will meant far more to some than others.

You walking away, with cameras flashing, people talking, news airing; it boiled their blood. They were seething. You thought that you had embarrassed yourself far more than your family because of what you did, but the truth is, the impression you made on people at the memorial wasn't as negative as you thought.

Your actions immediately got people talking about what you were going to do next, if you'd become chairwoman, speculations about you and Levi, and it made their curiosity about you rise the moment you left. That's all it is. Curiosity. You were the center of attention and those certain family members of yours absolutely hated it. They hated that you had the power now

Sure, people were definitely talking about it, but the ones who put themselves out there with their reactions and hissy fits to them not getting the inheritance were nearly half of your family members.

They had even more attention on them because beforehand, they'd assured everyone they knew that they were certain they'd get either full or a big portion of the inheritance, so the shock of the guests from you getting it suddenly transferred their focus over to your family members who didn't get any of it and weren't hiding their distaste about it. They embarrassed themselves and tarnished their own image all on their own and they knew it. They needed to do damage control, quickly.

Now, the first ones to flee away from party once things started to calm down amongst the guests, somewhat, were Gabi and Falco. They had taken the first opportunity to bolt out of there and just started going back into their own little world.

And somehow, during all of that playing and running around, Gabi had snatched a bottle of wine in one of the tables out at the memorial as a joke, since they're so young and to them it was fascinating for some reason to be able to hold one and Falco immediately started running after her, wanting to hold it too.

They were running around until they entered through the back door of Grisha's office, clamoring about who should hold it, wanting to take turns. This was all without any supervision from the adults because they were caught up in other issues at the moment.

Gabi stopped running and turned back to look at the young blond boy. They were standing next to Grisha's desk. "No, Falco! I found it first!" Gabi said as she held it up in the air and saw how Falco stopped running as well and stood in front of Gabi with an upset look on his face, despite he was from running around and playing.

"I want to hold it, too!" Falco said, crossing his arms and thinking Gabi was being unfair. They were just kids and didn't know how pointless and trivial their argument because arguably, neither of them could do anything with that wine. Gabi shook her head in response.

"No! I'm holding it!" Gabi said as she lowered the bottle and held it close to her, while Falco stepped closer to her and tried to pry it off of her, but Gabi only held it tighter. "It's not fair!" Falco continued as the two of them continued to just bicker back and forth about this issue that will probably result in them forgetting about the bottle altogether and running off together again.

But that didn't happen. Both of their heads snapped to the side and stopped fighting when they heard footsteps approaching through the same backdoor they came in through. Gabi and Falco both looked at each other in panic as they started looking around for places to hide if anyone came in.

When both of their eyes locked onto the desi, Gabi quickly grabbed Falco's hand and she started heading towards it, tugging Falco behind her and leaving the wine bottle on top of the table.

The two of them quickly found refuge under the desk, and as they heard the footsteps get closer, they started giggling and laughing to themselves in mischief. Though, when they heard voices along with the footsteps, they made sure not to make a sound. They couldn't be found in Grisha's office of all places or they'd get in serious trouble.

Once the kids were hidden, shortly after, all that could be heard reverberating the office was Karina's screams of frustration. Karina had rushed into the office, with Zeke and Yelena following close behind.

They'd taken a moment to step out of the memorial so that they could all find a place to let out their frustrations with each other and not having anyone hear them. Well, they weren't completely alone since Falco and Gabi were still hiding under the desk.

Karina slammed her purse down on the desk and put her face in her hands while Zeke walked past her and settled for leaning against the same desk. Yelena had opted for sitting down on a chair in a corner of the room.

"Can you believe what she just did? She's unbelievable! How could she just propose to him like that right in front of us? She just wanted to rub it in our faces, didn't she?" Karina exclaimed with bitterness deep in her voice.

But she didn't notice that neither Zeke or Yelena were contributing to Karina's anger. Both of them were just staring forward, blankly, emptily. They had come to terms with what was happening a long time ago and the bitter acceptance was kicking in.

They both watched as Karina noticed the wine bottle sitting on the desk, not knowing that Gabi and Falco had put it there, and saw that she raised it up to her lips and took a big gulp.

Even if Zeke knew that there was virtually nothing they could do now to change things, and had come to realize it, it didn't mean that he was happy about.

Yelena noticed the silent rage in his eyes and it made her think about what she could possibly say to raise her boss' spirits, despite her knowing well that what's done is done. Everything that happened back there was setting in and it didn't feel good. Not one bit.

Karina noticed how still Zeke was, and her anger rose. "Zeke, how can you just stand there doing nothing? We all just got stabbed in the back by your father. Don't you think we should do something?" Karina said and Zeke continued to look ahead, not moving a muscle.

His lack of a response only annoyed Karina further because to anyone else, the fact that she was actively racking her brain to see how this can be swayed in their favor was very obvious and desperate.

"We should take legal action! This isn't fair and you know it!" Karina said, clearly nothing thinking straight. She spent years trying to butter up Grisha, even if Grisha himself never actually fell for it and saw right through her act, so now, all she felt like all of that was for nothing. You weren't even related to Grisha and you still got everything without having to ask for it or try to hint at it at all.

You weren't even expecting it, as opposed to them, who had been and were predisposed to it. And that angered Karina to no end. For Zeke, it was more the disrespect and resentment he felt for not getting a single thing from his father, despite having had a rough patch with Grisha in the past.

He thought his father would see past that and let him take over the company and get what he always thought rightfully belonged to him, but now, the reigns are being handed over to you and it felt like a slap in the face. It was hard to process at first, but now, all Zeke could feel was bitterness inside him for this. It felt like a betrayal.

Zeke turned his head back briefly to look at Karina and then looked forward again with a huff. There was a dead and numb looking his eyes that Karina was taken aback from. "It's useless. There's no point," Zeke said, and the fury in Karina's eyes grew as her fists clenched at her sides and she resisted the urge to have a full breakdown.

"Why? Why is that such a bad suggestion? We could turn this around for ourselves. We have to make her pay!" Karina said with indignation, visibly shaking as she continued to try and hold back her anger.

"You want to know why? Because we've both already received our statutory shares from my father," Zeke said, and that fact alone was harder to admit. They didn't even have a good case to try and get back the inheritance from you. They already have their equal share, and they just can't go after you like that.

They have no compelling or convincing arguments to try and change that. Karina just looked at Zeke with horror. "We're not getting another dime," Zeke said, and even saying that felt like a dagger to the chest. It was a hard pill to swallow.

As much as he didn't want to give up either, it was out of their hands. Karina began to pace back and forth as she tried to think of a solution for this because she couldn't let it end like this.

In her chair, just hearing Zeke's words made her sigh and lean her head down to press her hand against her temple as she rubbed back and forth.

"Okay, j-just let me think. Alright? Um..." Karina said, and Zeke closed his eyes as he exhaled through his nose with exasperation. Karina wasn't making it any easier to just accept things how they are and turned out.

Suddenly an idea popped into her head, and a look of recognition but with hints of hesitation, came onto her face. She knew in her head it was stupid but she was grasping at straws now. "What if we claimed that Grisha wasn't in his right mind when making the will or something? While he was creating the will. Won't that help?" She started, making Zeke and Yelena both fight the urge to groan.

Karina was just saying anything now. "If we claim that, the will becomes invalid since he was mentally unfit for it. What about that?" Karina said as she looked back and forth between Zeke and Yelena to see what they thought of it. Zeke crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

Noticing how unable Zeke was to continue feeding into Karina's delusions or try to get her out of them, Yelena decided to step in. "That won't work. Even if we claim that, his attorney assisted him in the will. It was legally reviewed before it was read out," Yelena said, and that seemed to be what did it for Karina.

Her face twisted as if she was about to explode and her fists clenched even harder at her side. She was panicking and she actually looked she was on the verge of crying out of frustration. Her realizing that you got the inheritance fair and square was destroying her and she refused to accept any of it. It couldn't be possible, right?

Karina raised her hands to tangle them in her hair. You already embarrassed Karina enough when you made her take down that article and you'd caught her in the act, that wasn't even her idea but she had still jumped on board for.

And now, you were getting the biggest reward of all. It was like the universe was punishing them. "So, that's it? We just let her win? Just like that?" Karina said as she dropped her hands from her hair and made her way around the desk so she could sit in Grisha's chair.

But she couldn't even get a second of peace from just wanting to sit down, because as soon as she did, she looked down and her eyes widened at what she saw. Falco and Gabi frozen on the spot.

Knowing they were caught, they looked at each other, screamed and ran out from under the desk and straight towards the exit while Karina's blood boiled further. Zeke and Yelena were completely unfazed when they saw Gabi and Falco run out and with Karina standing up from her chair, starting to follow after them.

"These damn kids! Come back here!" Karina's voice echoed out and trailed off she left the room. Gabi and Falco's screams as they ran were also drowned out until there was nothing but silence in the room. only Zeke and Yelena remained as it seems like their fates were sealed now.

"What are we going to do now, Zeke?" Yelena suddenly broke the silence, knowing that even if she was only right hand, these news would affect her just as much as him. If anything happens to him or he does something out of anger or spite, who's to say people won't turn their heads to her next?

If he crumbles because of this, knowing what it entailed for his reputation and his branch in the company, Yelena will be forced to come down with him. After hearing his Yelena's question, Zeke simply waited a couple seconds before he leant away from the desk and then turned around to look at everything that his father left behind on that desk. And the biggest reminded of him, to Zeke, were those same glasses that Zeke has known his father to wear since he can remember.

Zeke stared down in silence as his eyes focused down on the glasses. And just from looking at them, Grisha was suddenly transported in his mind back to a different moment in time where the relationship with his father had hit rock bottom.

It was a low point and it all went downhill from there. Zeke should have known that his father wouldn't continue to cover up his mistakes forever, and the memory that resurfaced in his mind was an exact example of that. It was a time where Zeke feared what his father would do.

But now, he was anything but that. He wasn't scared anymore and now that he was gone, Zeke knew that deep down he would go to any lengths necessary so that things can go his way.

-

16 years ago, it felt like that was the defining moment where Grisha had lost all respect for his own son, not being capable of trying to help him come back from this.

It was a rainy, thunderous, and stormy night, and Zeke was in his father's office, with the man in question sitting across from him, not being able to look at his son once. Grisha had his gaze locked ahead, with disappointment and wrath just waiting to be unleashed. His fists were clenched so tightly against the couch that they were nearly turning white.

Grisha had his phone up to his ear, on a phone call in front of Zeke, because he wanted his son to see first-hand what his punishment was going to be.

This was a time where Zeke felt deep intimidation from his own father, and it was moments like this where it felt like all he could do was just keep his head down, feeling like he was shrinking on himself with shame and guilt eating him up inside, and not wanting to move a single muscle. At that time, despite all of the mistakes Zeke made, all he wanted was to get up to the standards his father set.

As he grew older and embraced a new side of him after those mistakes, it only taught him lessons in how to survive in the world, and that he had to get his hands dirty to get what he wants and know to use power to your advantage.

He stopped being afraid of his father years after this, but he wished he wouldn't have spent so much time trying to appeal to the rules his father constantly set and that were also incredibly hard to live up to. He could see his father was incredibly upset with him, and this time, it was beyond repair and Zeke knew it.

There were no second chances anymore and Grisha was done taking the fall for his son and trying to make amends for him in hopes he learned his lesson. But once again, that didn't happen. Just the sound of thunder made Zeke tense up, and feeling like his father's gaze burned into him while he was on the phone, was not helping his case.

If he was being honest, he was afraid to look up and make eye contact with his father, knowing that he'd only look more foolish.

"Don't mess this up, do it by the book, and make sure to do it right," Grisha said, and Zeke kept his head down, knowing his own father was glaring at him as he made that phone call.

He just continued to listen and prepared himself for what was in store for him. "My son has to pay for what he's done, one way or another," Grisha said coldly, and that made Grisha's eyes widen as his head whipped up to look at this father in horror and confusion.

Once Zeke made eye-contact with his father, he'd been right as to how Grisha was looking at him. His father's eyes were dark, his expression that said just how merciless he was capable of being towards his own son. There was no chance of redemption.

Grisha continued to look directly at Zeke as he pulled his phone away from his ear and hung up the call. Zeke was becoming more and more desperate to get his father to give him another chance, but Grisha could see right through that.

Zeke hurriedly scooted to the edge of his seat and put his hands together, pleading to his father to let him off the hook. "Father, you have to believe me! I made a mistake! I was drunk and I didn't know it was a person!" Zeke exclaimed pitifully, but Grisha only stared down at his son, wondering when Zeke resorted to stooping so low that he was begging now.

He'd pardoned everything else he'd done, but this was where Grisha drew the line. He got Zeke used to having his mistakes forgiven time and time again, but it wouldn't be like that anymore.

But Grisha didn't listen. He wouldn't listen to what Zeke had to say or let himself be swayed anymore by his pleading. He knows where that led to; to giving in and letting Zeke get away with it.

Sure, his son was begging now but the moment Grisha forgave him, that look on his face would be wiped off his face and it would go back to normal. The cycle would repeat itself all over again. Grisha looked away from his son, and without a word and while avoiding eye contact, he stood up and started heading towards the exit of his office.

"Father? Where are you going? Come back!" Zeke exclaimed as more thunder rumbled outside and he watched his father walk away in silence, ignoring his pleads. Grisha walked away, blocking out and muffling the calls his own son was screaming out to him.

He needed to learn from his mistakes and he hoped Zeke would thank him someday, but right now, this will help him mature once and for all. If he hated him for this now, then he would be okay with that, because Grisha knew it would be worth it to endure his son's resentment towards if it meant that Zeke grew from this and tried to excuse his actions on the alcohol.

Zeke watched with teary and red eyes as his father opened the door and left the office. He was left alone to stew in his mistakes, knowing what awaited him and being aware that his father was no longer willing to believe a single word that came out of his mouth.

It felt like his future had been sealed after that and that he wouldn't be able to come back from this if what his father had in store was as severe as he'd said and made it seem. From that day on, he wouldn't be the same.

He knew that from that moment on, his relationship with his father had changed forever, Grisha had never let Zeke forget what he'd done, and Zeke's heart grew colder, closed off, power-hungry, resentful and greedy.

Grisha trying to teach his son a lesson meant that Zeke would do it in his conscience even years later, and that the coldness of his father shaped him into who he is now.

Even though Zeke's relationship with his father had been rocky before, that moment had been the nail on the coffin. Just watching his father walk away like that, awakened something inside of him and the person he was before was shattered from that day on.

-

Zeke was brought back to reality and continued to stare ahead as he suddenly came to a conclusion in his head. If this was the last move his father wanted to pull on him to 'teach him a lesson' and after years of a broken relationship with him, then Zeke had no problem in making a move of his own as well.

His father wasn't around to stop him anyway anymore, and if Grisha somehow knew that handing his inheritance over to you would spark any sort of reaction from him, Zeke would prove just how much he has up his sleeve.

If this was what his father wanted, then why not do exactly what his father would've expected? There is no one around anymore to seek approval from, especially his father.

Yelena looked at the way Zeke's stance changed entirely. There was something in the air now that made it feel uncomfortable, cold, unwelcoming, and it was all coming from Zeke. She cleared her throat and leaned forward in her seat.

"If this was his last attempt into trying to drive you into corner, what are you going to do now?" Yelena said, knowing that announcing that the inheritance to you would affect certain family members in different ways, and this is exactly the way that Grisha knew that Zeke would act, knowing that there would be no telling what his eldest son would do the moment he realized that this was becoming a battle for power, control, greed, pride, and status. He knew it's what consumed Zeke's head.

The weight of the pressure that his father used to constantly put on him, or how his 'lesson's were supposedly for his own good, has left him to seek status at any cost. It only sharpened his resolve.

He would no longer live in the shadows of his father's expectations anymore or his approval. His father's death was the last obstacle that needed to be removed for Zeke's ambition. The scars Grisha left on him would never be healed, but Zeke would embrace them, knowing this is who he is now because of those scars that he will never truly recover from.

Now that you had the power of being chairwoman and could have all the power that Zeke could've only dreamed of having, it told Zeke that there was no other choice but to start tweaking his methods. No more pretending, no more trying to put up a front, and no more trying to hide his intentions.

No matter how much his father used methods in the past to break him, that he insisted were to 'teach him a lesson', Zeke knew there was no need for that anymore. He knew exactly what he was going to do now and he wasn't going to regret any part of it.

Zeke becoming as cold and calculated over the years was only a result of how much his father damaged him. Now, going to any lengths necessary to get back what was ripped away from him was the only way to fix where he feels he was wronged.

If this is the game his father wanted to play, Zeke will play it by his rules. A new chapter was about to be written in this family's power-hungry struggle, and Grisha's death was all Zeke needed to have all hell break loose.

Zeke put his hands in his pockets and slowly turned around to face Yelena, who was waiting for his response. She almost shrunk back at how empty his eyes looked. "This is what my father was hoping to get out of this, right? If that's the case, I have no problem in following suit. If war is what he wanted, then that's what he'll get," Zeke said coldly, taking his eyes off Yelena and turning his body start heading towards the exit of his father's office.

Yelena blinked a couple times, feeling a bit dumbfounded, but when she came back to her senses and realized Zeke was leaving, she quickly stood up and started following after him.

And Zeke and Yelena weren't the only ones reveling the fact that the head of the family wasn't around anymore. Despite how much you expressed your wishes to Floch that he shouldn't be smoking inside the greenhouse, because of all of the damage it'll do to Grisha's hard work with his plants that he left behind or just his presence that could still be felt in the room, at least to you, Floch refused to listen.

He was doing exactly what you'd warned him not to do. He was standing right where you'd had the argument with him and as faced the entire greenhouse, a cocky smirk creeped on his face as he realized he was doing this now to spite you and because he knew there was nobody around to stop him anymore.

He flipped open his lighter and raised it up to the cigarette on his lips, lighting it up. He then closed the lighter shut, put it in his pocket, took a puff of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke from his lips as he took out his cigarette from his mouth.

He watched as the smoke spread out into the greenhouse and he only became even more smug than before. If only you could see him right now. But he wasn't only using this as an opportunity to feel like he was getting one over on you, but also to let off steam.

The only thing he was regretting was being so overly confident before and making a fool on himself, truly believing Zeke would get all of Grisha's inheritance, but you ended up getting on it.

It was eating away at him. He needed to use this space to feel sane and wrap his head around this situation, much like Zeke, Yelena, and Karina, who could barely believe it themselves.

Floch continued to look around as he raised his cigarette back to his mouth and took another puff. He kept wondering what alternate reality he was in that any of this was happening?

How were you, of all people, getting Grisha's position and everything he ever owned? He couldn't grasp it, or wrap his head around it at all, as opposed to everyone else who was on your side, like Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Erwin, Reiner, the list goes on.

Its one of the reasons him and nearly everyone else in the family didn't exactly get along. They had different views on what was actually important.

Floch scoffed as his thoughts were starting to overwhelm his head and let go of his cigarette, letting it drop on the concrete floor while it was still lit just before the grass area starts.

He looked down at it and his eyes hardened once he noticed that his cigarette wasn't the only thing on the ground. He tilted his head to the side and his eyes narrowed when he saw a dead butterfly on the ground, right where he dropped his cigarette.

But it wasn't just any butterfly. It was the same butterfly that had appeared when you'd begged the universe to give you a sign that Grisha was still there, by your side. And now, Floch's smoke killed it. The one sign you had from Grisha that left you at ease, to know that he was still there by your side, was gone.

But Floch didn't see it that way, instead that same smirk from before grew on his face, all the while satisfaction bubbled inside him. With no remorse, hesitation, or doubt behind his eyes, he lifted his food and stepped on the butterfly bitterly, pressing the front of his foot on it further to put more pressure on it.

As a sadistic look on his phase began to emerge, he started to move his foot from side to side as his shoe continued to put all of his frustrations on it, almost as if he was tormenting it even if it was already dead.

And even if no one was around, anybody would see that the reactions some of Grisha's relatives, like Floch, were having to the news were very concerning. It was easy to see that this was the beginning of something far bigger than anybody was ready for. Not even you.

-

After you and Levi left the memorial, you were completely aware of your surroundings but at the same time it felt like everything was distorted and nothing made sense. You'd come to the realization that what you did was clearly not your best idea and didn't think it through at all.

You were fine with the fact that Levi would at the very least remain as your bodyguard but that didn't take away from the fact that sooner or later, you'd be seeing headlines of this. But at least you held out the hopes that they wouldn't be that negative. That's what you hoped.

But you didn't want to think about that in the slightest. You needed to focus on coming back down to Earth, try to forget you ever did that and move past it. Yes, it was stupid, but your adrenaline was running high and Levi was just the first person you saw in your vicinity. That's all.

But you knew that would be easier said than done because your mind still likes to taunt you for mistakes and embarrassing moments you had years ago, making you remember them in the most random times and you haven't been able to live them down. So, you knew that because of that, it wouldn't go away that easily and you'd just have to live with this.

Besides, you already had too much to think about. There was the issue with the inheritance—Grisha's company, everything he left behind. But the more you thought about it, the more questions that came to mind. What was he thinking leaving it all to you?

Was it about a deeper goal he had in mind for you to fulfill? Was it about money? Or was it all just a setup so certain people didn't get it? Was it some kind of trap? You could be the new chairwoman of his company.

Not only that but the fact that the person who was after you and trying to kill you could be very well associated with the person who killed Grisha too.

With all of these murders, family drama, and suspicions you had swirling around in your head, that stunt you pulled was the last thing on your mind if you were being completely honest.

You could easily move past that if you really wanted to and tried to focus on what was really important. And Levi seemed to understand you weren't in your right mind and didn't seem to be commenting too much on it, which you appreciated.

Now, Levi was driving you back to your apartment. The whole car ride has been silent because you couldn't trust yourself to be completely coherent right now and have a conversation, pretending nothing happened back there.

So you resorted to just sitting in the car, closing your eyes, leaning your head back against the headrest and letting your mind clear on its own. But not only that.

Levi found it very odd how you weren't sitting in the passenger seat next to him like you usually were. Instead, you were sitting in the backseat next to the window, leaning your head against it.

He wondered for a bit, if you were testing him, or if maybe you were more unpredictable than he thought. His hands stayed firmed on the wheel, replaying everything that has happened to you over the last few days and clearly led to a moment where you lost all sense of clarity for a second. He wanted to understand.

But after a couple minutes, you finally started to feel fully sane again. At least, for the most part. What you did back there was out of character and unusual for you. You didn't mean it.

You still knew that you had to marry someone to get the inheritance but it doesn't have to be Levi. You have time to start getting out of your comfort zone and pick someone, despite how against it you were before.

You were doing this for Grisha, even if the reasons for him having you marry someone to get his inheritance were still a bit of a grey area for you. But if that's what he wanted, you would start your search and would do it with no hesitation. Its what he would've wanted for you.

Feeling like you finally settled on something and your mind was clearing up, you decided to trust your voice and let yourself express what you were thinking to Levi, with a part of you wanting him to know that you weren't out of your mind and you were just being impulsive, but to Levi, that ship sailed a long time ago and he didn't really care.

He knew who he was getting into a deal with from the beginning and he didn't care. Or at least he's come to terms with it. He was just sure on the fact that as far as this agreement goes is that he'll be your bodyguard and that's it. Nowhere did he agree to marriage and he was planning on keeping it that way.

"I feel a lot calmer than I did before so...I think I might be over it," You started, raising your hand and rubbing it against your temple. Levi looked back at you through the rearview mirror and was still wondering to himself what you were doing all the way back there. If you were over it, you'd be sitting next to him like before.

There was still something there. You were still thinking about it. "If you're already over it, then why are you back there?" Levi asked as he continued to drive and keep his eyes focused on the road.

He had a feeling you were just saying that to yourself so that you could start to slowly believe it and make yourself feel better.

You opened your eyes and looked at Levi, even if his back was facing you. You inhaled sharply and straightened yourself up in your seat, crossing your arms over your body. "I don't always sit at the front. My seat is back here," You said simply, referring to all the times that Hange has driven you around and you've always sat at the back.

With Levi, you've sat the front the entire time but you didn't know he payed attention to that, or cared. Or maybe you were just annoyed he was figuring you out so quickly and easily. Either way, you had a feeling where this was all going.

Levi felt like there was a lot missing as to why you did what you did, but he can still understand on some level. He didn't know much, solely because you've been silent the entire time since the two of you left.

Even if your proposal wasn't bothering that much and he was in fact already over it, he still wanted to know what was going on through your head then and now. "Alright. I can understand that. But I think I deserve to know why, don't you think?" Levi asked, and he looked at the rearview mirror again to see you avoiding eye contact with him, looking out the window.

He could tell it wasn't that hard to put behind as you were making it seem, so he wouldn't try to push you. It's not like he was dying to know or anything, so if you didn't want to answer or anything, that was fine with him too. But it did surprise him a little when he heard you speak up and that your voice was as sure as it was.

"Look, I'm sure you want me to explain why I proposed to you. I wasn't thinking straight. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, just a reflex, and I can't explain it. You were the first person I saw, okay? It seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm fine, okay? I'm totally fine," You reassured defensively, but Levi knew that the last part is one you were mainly saying it to yourself rather than to him.

"So, let's not make a huge deal about it. You don't have to explain yourself or why you said no, because I get it," You said, still not looking at him but at least telling him what you knew for certain in your own head that you couldn't deny.

"I wasn't going to-" Levi started, but he should've known that you weren't done because you cut him off and continue trying to make things very clear to him. "The fact that I haven't been sleeping well lately, especially after Grisha died, is the only logical explanation for this. I can't even explain any of the things i've done lately and that has to be the reason, right? Not getting enough sleep," You said, and Levi could tell that you still weren't done and he stayed silent as he listened to you.

"Trust me. This just snuck up on me. I thought it was the right course of action at the time, but it wasn't. So, can we just forget it ever happened?" You concluded, and the only response you got from Levi was a slow nod of his head.

But just as you thought you were done, another thought snuck into your head and you tilted your head to the side so that you could get a better look at him. He was still looking ahead, focused on the road, and not another word was said.

You didn't know if you should ask him and voice your doubts out loud, but you thought, hey, you were embarrassed enough already, what's one more? "Hey. You didn't think I was serious about that. l, did you?" You asked, and that seemed to get Levi's attention quickly enough. His eyes moved to look at you through the rearview mirror as he let out a scoff and looked at you dead in the eye to respond to you.

"The proposal? Of course not. I'm just as against marriage as you are, you know that. And I'm pretty I've made it clear that you're not my type," Levi said and you blinked back a little as you heard his last statement. 

That was an unnecessary shot at you, but it's okay, because you felt the exact same way about him. You weren't interested either, he wasn't your type, and you weren't his. It has just been embarrassment after embarrassment lately, hasn't it?

That was fine. "Well, you had that bullet in the chamber, huh? " You said as you fell back against your seat and took a couple seconds to try to salvage this conversation because it didn't seem to be steering in your favor. He had that answer ready to go.

You wanted to feel like you were in control of yourself again and it hasn't felt like you have been since Grisha died and it has led you to make many questionable decisions. This conversation was making you unwillingly go back on things you'd already settled on. Its frustrating.

You huffed through your nose and looked at him through the rearview mirror again, trying to appear as unbothered as you could. "Besides, none of it matters because I wouldn't even call it a proposal," You said, and Levi raised an eyebrow at your words as he looked at you again through the rearview mirror, skeptical about your words.

"You wouldn't? What else would you call it then?" He asked as his tone had a hint of smugness to it, knowing his words were having an effect on you. He could have a little fun with this.

"An accident. It happened by accident. In the heat of the moment. You saw how chaotic things got back there. And it's a lot easier to explain it that way," You said, and even if your tone remained confident, your words weren't and Levi could immediately tell.

You wanted to believe and convince it was an accident, a moment of weakness once everything had built up until you couldn't hold it in anymore, that's what it was. It was a slip of the tongue, a reflex. You were going to move on. Eventually.

Your thoughts were too jumbled to know what your goal back there really was, and he was having fun poking fun at you, so he continued.

"How can you propose to someone by accident?" Levi said, and he resisted the urge to chuckle and express how amusing it was to se you go silent after he asked you that.

"Either way, it doesn't matter to me," Levi chimed in, watching as it took you a couple seconds to realize what he said and how unclear that sounded. Your eyes narrowed at him in suspicion as you registered what he said.

"Wait. What doesn't? Calling it an accident? That I wasn't being serious? Or that I proposed-" You started, but immediately cut yourself off when you realized what you were about to say. You couldn't even pretend not to care. You obviously did. 

You huffed and turned your body in your seat to face the window again. But Levi? His smirked with satisfaction when heard that. He was really enjoying getting under your skin.

"Do you care? I thought you were over it," Levi continued to dig deep into this, knowing you were going in circles now. He saw how you were keeping your eyes fixated on the passing cars and nodded with certainty.

"I am. I'm very over it. I'm calm. In fact, why don't we put on some music for the rest of the way?" You said, straightening yourself up in your seat so you could tip your head back, put your hands in your lap and close your eyes.

The only reason you suggested that is to move away from this topic. There's clearly a lot more self evaluating you had to do, but for now, maybe just listening to music the rest of the way would help.

The weight of the conversation was pressing down on you and the silence before the conversation started had been just as suffocating, so you wanted to fill that space in your head with anything else but your thoughts, this conversation, or silence.

Trying his best to hide his amusement, Levi simply nodded and extended his hand out to the car's touchpad and went to the music streaming app, tapping on the first playlist he saw with new hits and have it play at random. But what you didn't expect is to have the universe try to rub it in your face even more.

"Will I ever get married?" A female voice sang in a soft and gentle tune.

Your eyes snapped open and your head shot up as you looked ahead, back and forth between Levi and the touchpad. You glanced at him through the rearview mirror again, seeing the slight twitch at the corner of his lips being the only confirmation you needed.

He knew exactly what he was doing. Did he do this on purpose? Or were you really that unlucky? Anyway, you'd continue trying to land on a song nonetheless.

What are the chances it would land on that song? "Next song, please," You asked, crossing your arms in front of you and sighed, closing your eyes and hoped that the next one wouldn't verbally remind you of the predicament you were currently in.

Levi nodded and pursed his lips slightly as he pressed the button on the steering wheel to change the song. But it didn't get better. You shouldn't have expected anything less.

"All I want to do is marry you!" A much upbeat and rock-type song suddenly came on.

You fought the urge to groan and dropped your crossed arms to your sides, raising one of your hands to rub your forehead. What was going on with the universe? You just wanted to listen to some music until you got back home. This cannot be real. 

Was that too much to ask? You could've sworn you also heard Levi snort in the front. He was propping his elbow on the door and covering his mouth discreetly with his hand as a smirk tug on his lips. But you knew he was fighting every urge not to continue teasing you about this. This was too ironic not to do that.  

You just wanted to see if you could finally land on a good song to listen to the rest of the way, at the very least. This also completely diminishes your attempt to prove your point about this whole thing. It's not looking good for you. You dropped your hand from your forehead and opened your eyes, looking at Levi again.

"Change it again, please" You asked, feeling more of your pride slip away with every second. Once again, despite his urge to laugh, he suddenly got an idea.

With a slight smirk, he reached over to the screen this time and selected the next song without a word. The current song stopped, and then automatically playing another one. There was silence for a couple seconds, until you heard the lyrics.

"Will you marry me?" Another mellow sounding song sounded through the speakers.

You nearly groaned as you closed your eyes shut. "Okay, you have to be doing this on purpose now," You said, annoyance laced in your voice as you looked over at Levi, but he looked completely unfazed.

"Looks like everyone's got marriage on their minds," You heard him say, hearing the teasing tone in his voice loud and clear and you rolled your eyes. "You're hilarious. You're not subtle," You mumbled, turning away from him and looking out the window.

He noticed your expression through the rearview mirror, making his smugness grow. The more the voice and the lyrics of the singer continue to mock you, it wasn't so lost on you anymore.

This was no accident. He was definitely doing it on purpose now. He was enjoying your misery far too much now. You just wanted to get home already.

Maybe you could make it the rest of the way in silence? You could do that, right? You'd been doing that before you started up a conversation with Levi, so you could do it again. "Just...turn it off. Maybe I just need some peace and quiet," You said leaning your head against the window. You had no energy left to give focus to any of this anymore.

You could be alone with your thoughts, right? Just for a couple more minutes. You just wanted to shut it all out for a second and be at peace for a bit, thats it.

"Sure thing," Levi said as he pressed a button on the wheel again to stop the music altogether. He could tell you were finding ways to put off thinking about everything that has happened, whether it was just by listening to music, or maybe just that conversation from before kept your mind occupied from driving yourself crazy.

Either way, he's trying his best to understand this. He's not good at this, but with every day he spent with you, he felt like he was getting better at it. He'll get the hang of it.

The rest of the car ride was like that. It was just silent. You just kept your eyes closed and tried to focus on the sound of the car engine running or cars passing by. During the entire car ride, Levi kept sending worried glances back at you.

He wanted to know what was going on in your head, if you were truly okay, aside from all the teasing before. He hoped that from poking fun at you innocently, he could maybe take your head off of it for a couple of minutes. He hoped it didn't hit you too hard. That wasn't his intention.

A lot has happened over the last couple of days and he could tell it was becoming harder and harder for you to bare on your own, leading you to make decisions like the proposal.

But even if you didn't want him to intrude, Levi swore that he'd stay by your side and help in any way he could. In his own ways. Just sticking by you, never letting you out of his sight. He knows you trust him, but he hopes that you can lean on him too.

He hasn't known you for that long, he still struggles to get along with you and you two weren't that close yet to a point where you were ready to confide just yet. Though he hoped you did eventually.

He knows now for a fact that this will be for the long run, or at the very least, for the coming month until he gets his powers back. He hasn't quite thought about how things will be after that, but that was a worry for another day. Right now, he didn't know if he could do or say anything that would change a single thing.

All he could do now is just remain by your side so you don't have to take it all alone. You've automatically made even more enemies with with inheritance announcement and you needed all the support and help you can get with all of these responsibilities dumped on you that could make you crumble at any second. Levi was willing to be exactly that person for you. He already decided, and neither you or anyone would change his mind.

The car ride felt like it was lasting an eternity, but thankfully, eventually it was over and Levi was driving down the ramp that lead down to the parking lot in your building.

Both of you were still silent, but as soon as you opened your eyes and realized that Levi was driving across the parking lot and heading towards your parking space, your mind immediately prepared to leave. You reached over for your purse just as Levi started to reverse into the parking space. You suddenly felt the need to bolt as soon as you got the chance.

Levi had barely had any time to turn his head when he pulled into your parking spot, opening his mouth to say something when he saw your hand already gripping the door handle as he turned his body to look back at you.

"Y/n-" He started, but the door slammed behind you before he could even get a word out. The sound of your shoes against the pavement was all he could hear as he watched you start heading straight for the elevators.

A part of him hoped he could get in a real conversation with you today. He exhaled sharply, shaking his head, raising one of his hands to press against the ridge of his nose. Why are you so stubborn? You just weren't making this easier.

No matter what you said, he didn't believe you were as fine as you were saying and that you didn't care that he said no. He could definitely tell that there was a part of you that was still annoyed he rejected you back at the memorial, even if you tried to say it didn't bother you and that you were seeing things clearly.

It definitely did, but he couldn't tell if you were made at him, made at yourself for your decision, or maybe it was both. It very well could be.

Even so, what you've made perfectly clear is that you didn't want what you did to come in the way of your agreement with him, and that was one thing he could agree with you on.

He dropped his hand from his nose and opened his eyes, turning his head to the front of the car to see that you had finished putting in the code to get into the elevators and were disappearing between the doors. Levi didn't know what to do.

Should he just head back to the Scouts Foundation now? Should he stay? What was his role here? You clearly didn't want to talk to anyone and he seemed to be the last person you wanted to talk to.

But just as he was about to settle on what to do and he was about to turn back around in his seat, he did a double take when something made look back at your seat. You'd left behind Grisha's letter.

His eyes focused on it and your name written in Grisha's handwriting on the bottom corner of the envelope. Levi hesitantly reached over to grab it and felt the letter between his fingers, quickly realizing that he couldn't leave just yet.

His face creased a little with conflicted as he settled back into his seat and looked down at the letter in his hands. He had to hand this to you, despite how he was probably the last face you wanted see right now.

Maybe he wouldn't have to directly hand it to you. He didn't know he would do it just yet. He could just leave it at your door. He didn't know when he became so intimated and nervous to approach you, because why was he debating this so much?

What is it about you that is making him want to stick around when you're driving him insane? Especially when it was to just hand you a letter, but he wasn't going to dwell on that now. All he know is that he couldn't leave and hold onto this.

Levi unbuckled his seatbelt, turned his body and opened the door. He stepped out and closed the door behind him. He started to head towards the elevators but knew he had to put in the code to open the doors.

When he got to the touchpad, he racked his brain to remember what the code was, since he saw you put it in a couple days ago when he brought you home a couple days before.

When he finally remembered, very vaguely, he put in the set of numbers and hoped that it would work. When he put in the last few digits and he heard a beep, following by the sound of the doors opening next to him, he exhaled in relief and didn't hesitate in start heading straight for the elevators and to your apartment.

Meanwhile, just as Levi was heading up, you had just been stepping into your apartment and closing the door behind you. Just feeling like you were in your space, your home, where you felt the most safe you could be, you finally felt like this weight was lifted off your shoulders and you could finally get your thoughts in order. Somewhat.

You were feeling all sorts of sensations coursing through you. You didn't know if you should be upset at Levi, at yourself, at this whole situation, the universe or maybe all of the above. Were you looking for someone to blame? Why was this all happening to you? When did it all get so complicated?

As you stepped further across the small hall that led into your apartment, you began to realize that you were probably a lot more hurt by this than you thought. But not because Levi rejected you or you had any feelings for this.

Yes, Levi was the first person you saw, and just jumping into what you did while having it backfire as horrendously as it did is probably what's leaving this unsettling feeling inside you. If he was the first person you saw, did you ever really mean it, then?

Maybe you could find someone else to marry from now in a years time, and just like it would've been if Levi had accepted, it would have all just been part of an arrangement. A business deal of sorts.

That's how this worked. You could just marry the next best option, and call it a day. Who needs romance, right? It was way overrated anyway. The perfect business partnership is what you needed.

And, there's no way someone could reject your proposal twice...right? Then again, this all complete nonesense and no random person would agree to it.

That's how you'd get the inheritance, it would be secured to you and made sure it didn't land in the wrong hands, like certain people you knew. But you didn't want to think about that right now.

You didn't want to jump right into finding another person to marry. You didn't want to rush this because that's how you got into this mess in the first place. You were going to be rational, composed, and think this through.

But just as you were about to step into your living room, you paused when you realized something. No, you know what? Why didn't he say yes?

Now that you thought about it, even if he never wanted to get married, and neither did you before today,  it wasn't like the two of you liked each other, right? Why was it so important for him to reject it? Why did it matter to him that much?

So, what was the problem? There would be nothing behind it. The two of you would never have to see each other again after this was over and he got his powers back. It would be temporary anyway. Right? Why couldn't he have done this for you?

It would just be a public marriage, just an arrangement that proved you were married to anyone else, and that would be enough. It's not like it would mean the two of you liked each other. The two of you have made it clear to one another.

Your eyes narrowed as you replayed the scene of earlier today in your mind. You do admit that you were rash about this, but he could have at least seen through what you were trying to do."If he isn't going to marry me..." You started as your mind started to put together a conclusion. You put your hand on the wall and tapped your fingers against the wall. You were wrestling against this rejection a lot more than you thought you would and it was driving you crazy.

His face suddenly flashed in your face and you only for more annoyed. "...then what happened to just letting things flow? Didn't he say he was in this with me? So where's all that commitment now?" You asked yourself out loud, but then again, you did have to admit that you failed in communicating your true intentions even when he asked in the car.

That was on you. But, you were still too prideful to truly admit that to him just yet. You should probably work on that.

You turned your body around and started heading back towards the door and turning the corner, now being face to face with the door. You put your hand against the wall again and your fingers continued to drum against it.

"Yeah, okay, I get it. He's got this whole 'I'm never getting married' thing going on. Whatever. I was the same—literally yesterday—until I got hit with this will dumped on me, then everything went to hell and now my family's trying to wait until the moment I mess up so they can jump at the chance to take this from me and see me fail," You started, running your hand back through your hair and scoffing at how ridiculous this all is. You don't even know how you managed to end up in this kind of situation. 

"But here I am, trying to get a little help securing this inheritance that was dumped on me all of a sudden that I'm supposed to fight off my own family for, all while trying to find who's trying to kill me and all I get is a big fat no? A no! Not even a 'maybe'. It's not like I was signing us up for a damn honeymoon. Just a signature. It's paperwork. Just proof of marriage on paper and some loyalty. That's all I ask," You said to yourself, running a hand down your face frustratingly

"Is that so much to ask? Why would he even say that he'd stick by me if he can't even do this? This is supposed to be temporary! I'm not even that attracted to him either! Who does he think he is?" You ranted to nobody in particular, but you just needed to vent. Do anything to get these thoughts out of your head and push them away so they don't taunt you. Even so, you knew in your head who your words were directed at. You were venting with no one around but that was enough.

Everything that Levi told you in the car was coming back to you and none of it was making you feel any better. Why did he have to keep showing up in front of you? Would you have asked any other guy there the same thing if Levi hadn't been in your vicinity?

You had no idea. But what you didn't know is that as you vented, the very person that you were speaking of, was right outside your door. Levi had just been about to ring your doorbell but his finger hovered over the button and paused as he heard your words on the other side of the door.

What were you talking about? His eyebrows were pinched together and his face was twisted in confusion, not daring to press the button for the doorbell. You were clearly very...fragile, right now.

And it didn't get better the more he heard you talk and air out your grievances. He knew it. This was all bothering you a lot more than you had been letting on. You weren't fine. Not even a little bit.

"If you ever do that to me again, I'll drag you to the altar myself," Levi heard you mutter to yourself through the door and he felt himself have to blink back when he heard that. Wow, his nickname to you was coming back in full force now, huh?

The name he has you saved on his phone is 'Y/n The Nut-job', from the first time he met you in that restaurant and after the whole tattoo transferring incident. "And the worst part? This is all about principle. Principle! Why does he get to reject me like that in front of everyone like he's some big shot," You continued to vent to yourself and Levi couldn't believe what he was hearing. Your words didn't bother him that much, but just your intensity.

You were a lot angrier about this than he thought. Sure, he knew as well that the marriage wouldn't mean anything either, but it just wasn't his thing.

He's never pictured himself marrying anyone, or being in a serious relationship. He thought you knew that. But he also knew that you weren't quite yourself right now, and that anything coming out of your mouth right now was just you airing your doubts and outrage, whether it was coherent or not.

Levi sighed, shaking his head. He couldn't possibly walk in there right now and give this to you or trust you'd get the letter if he just left it on your doorstep. You needed to cool off. Levi huffed, and started walking away from your door.

But then the weight of the letter in his hands made him pause in his steps, look down at it, tighten his grip on it and realized he had to go in there somehow, right? Since when was he so scared to just ring the doorbell and face you head on? Why did he have to wait a couple seconds to gather up the courage? He wasn't afraid of you.

Levi tilted his head back and groaned lightly, turning on his heel and heading straight towards your door again with assertiveness in his steps, feeling determined to ring that doorbell.

But as soon as he got back to the door and was about to ring the doorbell, his finger hovered and stopped right over the button when he heard your voice again. Oh, you weren't done yet?

"No, you know what? I'll get him there one way or another. I could use some sort of tranquilizer or something. He'll be fine. He's not even human," You said to yourself, putting your hands on your hips, starting to pace back and forth in the hallway. But Levi? He felt his face go white and he gulped at what he heard.

You sounded completely serious. Or was that just your anger talking for you? He didn't want to stick around to find out. He needed to run for the hills. Part of him already knows that you're just running your mouth even if it didn't make any sense at all and you didn't mean it. At least he hoped you didn't

He heard you hum to yourself, starting to like your idea more and more. "Yeah, that sounds good. Like the ones they use on elephants or something," You said and Levi's eyes went wide outside. That decides it. He needs to stay out of your sight right now or he'd be on the receiving end of your words.

And just to be clear, he wasn't scared. He was just...oh, who was he kidding? He was terrified of you right now and he never thought he'd admit that. Levi didn't have a death wish. He'd rather not have projectile items flying at him the moment he rang that doorbell.

Even as he looked down at the letter, he decided to hold onto it until you were rational again. In a way, he didn't blame you at all for finally expressing your thoughts out loud after everything that's happened, even if they terrified him to his very soul.

He didn't want to be the first person you saw right now. It was like you were planning to include him in your death note or something. So, with cautious steps, Levi stepped away from your door and headed straight for the elevators. Yep, this was for the better.

But just as soon as Levi bolted the moment he had the chance, you had finally finished your rant. Your breathing was heavy and suddenly, everything that you just said registered in your head and you groaned out loud, raising both of your hands up to your face. You didn't know what to think anymore. You had no idea what you really wanted or how to go on from here and that was very concerning.

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