- Mia White -

"Who's ready to par-tay!?"

"The party's not for another nine hours."

Ben blinked at me once, twice, before walking backwards and closing the door. I looked at Levi with a confused look, asking if could tell me what that was all about, but he only shrugged his shoulders. I looked back at the door, and Ben came through again.

"Who's ready to wait nine hours before we par-tay!?

I laughed as Ben walked his way over, falling down on the couch like a drunk person. Everyone was here at my house; Levi, Ben, Sarah, and even Jacob. Ace - unfortunately- wouldn't show up until it was time for the party because he was having a serious talk about the contract with his father.

He called me earlier, complaining how Mindy and her father were coming over to discuss the wedding.

"How many time do I have to fucking tell them!? I don't want to marry his fucking daughter!"

"Language."

"Whatever," he muttered.

I noticed that the more time we spent together, the closer Sarah and Ben were being. They talked more to each other than the rest of us. I don't know why but I feeling like something is going to happen between those two. The good, and bad.

Instead of being stuck in the house all day, we all decided to go out. Jacob had a horrible idea that we should all go skating at an indoor rink. I groaned, thinking of how bad of a skater I am. Jacob said that I'd be fine, but I doubt it.

When we made it to the indoor ice rink, we picked some ice skates and paid for them. Levi taught me how to tie the skates since I was having trouble.

Levi, Ben, and Ace are the only ones that know I'm terrible at skating. This is only the second time since - after I fell and hit my head in seventh grade during that field trip - I never tried again.

Ben was practically the master at skating. He used to play hockey for a few years when he suddenly stopped. I asked why he stopped because he was one of the best players on the team. He only shrugged and said he found something new he liked doing better then hockey.

Sarah was just as good as Ben, as well as Jacob.

Man, am I the only one who can't skate?

I frowned as everyone else was having fun. It wasn't only us in the rink, but also a few people. Even the kids here are better than me!

I sighed, and stepping onto the ice, but to fall. Luckily, someone caught me just before the same thing could happen to be back in middle school.

I looked up to see Levi chuckling at me. I glared at him, and a small smile appeared on his face. He helped me up, and took my hand, helping into the ice.

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem. Want me to teach you how to skate?" He offered. "I learned a few tricks when I saw Ben first skating."

I eagerly nodded, wanting to learn how. He grinned before grabbing both my hands with his. I listen carefully as he told me how to skate properly. First, he made just simply stand still to see if I have balanced. I nearly fell a few times, but he was there to catch me.

When I mastered that, he showed me how to glide across the ice. Like his brother, Levi was just as amazing of a skater. Levi made sure to stay by my side as I slowly started to glide across the ice. I couldn't stop the smile making its way across my face when I started to get better.

"I did it!" I exclaimed.

"Yes you did," he laughed. "Okay, let's see if you can skate from here, to Sarah."

I slight frowned. "You've got this, Mia!" Sarah yelled. Jacob and Ben are also with her, cheering me on. Levi said that he would stick with me just in case, and I was glad that he said that.

I took a deep breath, and pushed myself to do it. I inwardly prayed that I wouldn't end up going to the hospital after this. I know that I was only skating one half of the rink, but still.

I've got this. I've so got this.

"I did it!" I cheered.

Everyone laughed at me, but I couldn't care at the moment. Sarah gave me a hug while the guys just gave me high-fives. I know I'm not a pro at skating yet, but I'm getting there. I have to say, Levi is a great teacher. He made me learn the basics of skating in under an hour.

Soon enough, it was time to head back home. We all went back into Ben's car, and I grabbed my phone which I forgot in the car. My eyes winded at the number of texts I revived during the past two hours we were skating.

They were all form Ace.

300 texts and 164 missed calls.

Most of them at first were Ace complaining about his father and Mindy. Especially his father. Then he said how much he wanted to be with me, and how much he missed me, before he started to question why I wouldn't answer his messages.

I knew he must be more than worried—terrified even right now. I knew Ace came up with the craziest scenarios, so I immediately called him. Just after the first ring, he picked up the phone.

"Mia! Are you okay!? Why didn't you pick up? I was so worried! Did anything happen to you! Did—"

"I'm fine Ace," I interrupt. "We all went skating for the past two hours, and I forgot my phone in the car."

Ace sighed, and even though I couldn't see him, I knew he was running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Okay, but please don't do that again," he begged.

"I promise," I replied. "So, how did it go?"

"I finally got him to spill. I know why he signed the contract."

- Ace King -

"How many time do I have to fucking tell them!? I don't want to marry his fucking daughter!"

"Language."

"Whatever," I mutter. There was a knock on the door, and I knew exactly who it was. "Ugh, I have to go. But I'll call you late, okay?"

"Alright. Good luck," she chuckled.

I'll need it.

Mia hung up, and I walked over to the door to open it, revealing my father. He had his business suit on, that Mindy and her father will soon be arriving since I last saw him in casual wear.

He looked at the clothes I was wearing, and sighed. "At least wear something nice."

"Don't tell me what to do."

He sighed again but didn't say anything about my response. All he said was to make sure I was downstairs by the time they arrive and left without another word.

Today, I plan on finding out why he signed that stupid contract. I needed to find out. I couldn't take it anymore. Levi and Mia did some research for a few days, but they got nothing. I didn't want to just sit around and wait for my father to man up and confess why he did it. I'm going to make him spill everything.

Mindy and her father arrived minutes later, and my father told them they could have a seat on one of our couches in your living room. I sat on one beside my father—making sure there was a lot of space between us.

Mindy was across from me, her eyes unmoving from her phone. She was busy texting with one hand while her other hand was combing her hair.

She put her phone down when her father called her name. "Mindy's birthday is coming soon, and she'll be eighteen. I was thinking that Ace and her can do something on her birthday."

That's a horrible idea.

"That's a wonderful idea," dad said. I felt one of my eyes twitch in irritation, but I kept a straight face.

Mindy, on the other hand, looked excited. She had. Aside smirk playing on her lips as she looked at me. I just ignored her as Mr Summer spoke with my father.

I focused on my phone, texting Mia and complaining about how Mindy and her father were being a total pain in the ass. Oh, and don't forget my dad. I wish that she was here. I know that I would at least be more comfortable if Mia was with me.

I frowned when she didn't answer my texts and asked my she wasn't answering, but I didn't have time see if she replied since my dad told me to put my phone away. He gave me a warning glare, and I just raised an eyebrow, but obligated to his request.

When I put my phone away, I saw that on the table was another other copy of the contract. But the weird thing is, it looked different from the one I stole.

Everything was exactly the same, but this time you could see Mindy's signature and the bottom. And surprisingly, mine.

What the fuck? Don't tell me...

"Dad," I spoke, and all eyes turned to me. "Can I talk to you for a second."

I didn't give him a chance to reply when I stood up and left the living room. I heard him say 'excuse me' because I heard his footsteps filling behind. I walked until I was sure we were far enough from the Mindy and her father before I turned around.

"You signed the contract with my signature, did you?" I stressed.

"Yes, I did," I simply replied. "And you can't do anything about it. It shows jay you signed it, and you have no evidence that I signed it for you."

I have to say, he was right. My father knew my signature well because he was actually the one who taught me how to do it. Damn, how can I be so stupid? I assumed he knew that I was going to steal the contract as well, so he gave Mr Summer a fake in just in case.

"There's no way you're getting out of this, Ace. So why don't you just accept it?"

"No way in hell am I going to accept this bullshit!" I yelled. "Why don't you just tell me what you did? Why would you just agree to have me marry someone you know I hate? Are you too much of a coward to stand up for your mistakes?"

I saw something flash in my father's eyes. He looked angry, and I knew he was going to shout it out.

"And you tell me not to tell mom. You're own wife! Can you not trust her as well?" I continue, and that when I realized it.

"Or maybe the situation has to do something with her. Maybe you did something that would—"

"I cheated on her with my ex-girlfriend!" He suddenly shouted.

My eyes widened. "You did—what?" I asked in disbelief.

"A-After the business meeting in Spain, I went to a bar with a few friends, and I-I got drunk okay! A-And—"

"That's not an excuse!" I cut him off. "You're supposed to be responsible for making sure that doesn't happen!"

And he says I'm not responsible.

"It's not my fault!" He argued back. "Mr Summer saw me, and if I didn't do what he asked, he'd tell your mother!"

I chuckled bitterly. "Not your fault? We're in this situation because of you! Instead of having Mr Summer blackmail you into doing this, you could've just told mom! Sure she'd be mad, but you know that eventually, she'd get over this. But instead of owning up to your mistakes, you decided to cover them up like the coward you are."

I still can't believe that he'd make me marry Mindy, just because he was too scared to tell mother the truth. I know for a fact that is Mr Summer were to tell the press, the news would spread out globally, but that doesn't matter. My dad didn't give a shot about what other people think of him, but I guess he was thinking about how his wife would.

I know that she'd be mad, and upset that her husband cheated on him, but she would forgive him at some point. She can't stay mad at him forever.

"I had no choice," he stated.

I shook my head. "You had plenty of choices," I stated. "You just decided to make the wrong one."

He stood there, the look of shame in his eyes before I walked passed him. However, he grasped my upper arm before I could leave.

"Let go of me. I have somewhere to be."

"Where? Mindy's party?"

He shoved me back, making me hit the wall. "That was just a distraction," he said. "Mindy invited Sarah to come, and it took a while to convince to agree. I knew that Sarah would also invite Mia since their best friends, and of course, Mia would ask you to go."

His put his hands in his pocket, and he walked over to me until stopping just a few feet in front of me. "But, what do you think will happen if you don't show up to the party like you said you would?"

And everything happened so fast. I pushed him away and tired to run but he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me down to the floor. My dad - although I hate to admit it - had more skill in fighting than me because he taught me everything I needed to know. When I hit my head on the floor, he was quick to grab the white cloth that was in his pocket and cover my nose and mouth with it.

My vision was slowly starting to get blurry as dark circle began to show. The last thing I saw was a man walk up to us, and the smirk he had on his face.

••• - ••• - •••

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