Some days are just meant to be filled with surprises. Of many shades and colors, some good and some bad, even destructive, and then there are some that are just plain confusing.

Skyler came barging in her office.

Sofia looked up surprised from her desk, she hadn't expected her sister to turn up today or anytime soon. It had been two days after her so-called dramatic wedding and not one of her family members had made an attempt to contact her, not to even vent out their frustration or disappointment on her and complete her degradation.

She figured that they were probably way too confused or mad to do so. The information she got from Simmy yesterday about how her aunt Marla had bad-mouthed her over the phone was upright proof as well.

"She's as good as dead for us after the hotel scandal and now the elopement. She'd at last shown her true colors after picking at my weaknesses for years," was her aunt's exact words according to Simmy.

Sofia couldn't expect anything less from her aunt, however, she had finally found the rare chance to counterblow.

And the fact that even grampa hadn't tried to contact her was something of great importance. It gave her a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Had he too lost faith in her, too? She wondered, her heart twisting painfully. Everyone else's resentment, she could endure, but not his—not her grampa's.

It was the fear that had kept her away from taking that first step to mend things. She was afraid to face her family for they had the power to break her, ultimately and thoroughly.

There was only so much she could bear at once.

And so, Sofia had decided to let some time pass, so that everything could calm down a bit.

But now, seeing Skyler barging in like that, not in anger but filled with anxiety and distress to the brink, Sofia had a really bad feeling suddenly creep up her spine.

"Skyler?" Sofia stood up hastily and walked around the desk to meet her sister midway.

"Sofi."

For a moment, neither Skyler could say anything nor Sofia herself. The two sisters just stood there facing one another, one wearing the look of an upcoming storm while the other was barely prepared for it.

And it was clear that none of them knew how to put into words what they wanted to say.

If someone is in dire need to begin from somewhere and is quite rudderless about it, then they should drop all attempts of the right beginnings and jump straight to the point.

"I don't know why have you done what you've done," Skyler started, desperation evident in her voice. "But this is something you need to know though my mom and some other outrageous people have already thought highly against it."

Sofia frowned in confusion. "What's going on, Skyler?"

"Grampa's not well," Skyler croaked out. "He's in the hospital."

Sofia stumbled back. To steady her shaken form, her hands gripped the edge of the desk behind, and a couple of files slid to the floor getting bumped.

"It's been chaos in the house since everyone knew about the scandal of you and Max in the tabloids," Skyler was rambling everything out, her hands gave out further signs of stress as they almost clutched at her own hair but then trailed back to drag down the sides of her face. Glancing at the wall, as if watching the reflection of memories of not so far, Skyler exhaled a shaky breath. "Mom had been on fire ever since, and it only increased the blazes after the phone call from the Wilders' mansion—from Max's aunt Katherine. It was grampa who talked to that woman and one could only imagine how derisive she was while inflicting her judgment about you, making a salt out of the scandal of your supposed hotel trysts. I guess she was more cross as she'd just got to know from her son, Neil, that Robert Wilder is paying back the loan to save our house."

Skyler sighed and gulped down the sob that attempted to escape her mouth. "Since then grampa's been eerily quiet until the next morning when he fainted in the bathroom—" Skyler seemed to finally notice Sofia's frozen state as she looked up. "Sofi!"

As if touched by an electric wire, Sofia zapped out of the trance. That was the moment when the pool of tears in her eyes finally spilled. She looked at Skyler through blurry vision. "And no one even thought about telling me!"

"Mom's been a pain in the ass, sounding all righteous and mighty all of the sudden. She'd even got the support of Katherine," Skyler said, looking compassionate and it touched Sofia's heart. "And I've been calling you endlessly but it's saying your phone is unreachable."

Sofia hastily got out her phone from her bag, and truly, it was turned off. She remembered suddenly she had forgotten to put it on charge yesterday.

She felt angry at herself.

"Take me to the hospital Grampa's admitted in," Sofia wiped her wet face and spoke with determination. "Take me to him."

"But, Mom and Katherine are there, Sofi. And I don't like the way they're blaming you for grampa's condition and pretty much all kinds of other disasters under the sky as well," Skyler hastily said. "Some of our other relatives have also swarmed up the waiting area as well, all cursing you to oblivion. I don't think it's good for you to go over there at this moment—"

"I don't care," Sofia impatiently cut in. "I only need to see my grampa."

Because everything else was insignificant.

Nothing mattered more than the man who'd taken her in after the harshness of life had crashed upon her in a young age. She'd seen her world being uprooted, lost her loved ones even when they were alive and ultimately when they died, she'd drowned in melancholy after they did. And then, the old man broke her walls, and then he gathered her with care and provided her shelter in his home. He had strengthened her with his wisdom and had given her the love and a sense of security she very much needed to survive back then.

For a long moment, Skyler stared at Sofia, as if trying to grasp how firm her resolve was and to calculate the consequences. Consequences that Sofia didn't care about at that moment.

--

And all insignificant things were the ones which later turned out to be the beasts, scourging away everything that wished to walk past.

"Trust me, there was nothing true in that scandal," Sofia nearly begged, staring desperately at Max's aunt, Katherine, who stood straight and firm—blocking Sofia's way.

"And the photos?" Marla's voice was so sure, indignant, and mocking as she was stationed beside Katherine. "Of you and Max lost in each other's embrace in front of that hotel? And the wedding? What about that?"

"We were in the hotel, but it is not what you think, not at all," Sofia cried looking from Marla to Katherine. "And the hasty wedding—it was Max's doing, you need to believe me." It was not a wise move, Sofia knew, but she had to see grampa. She was desperate. And all fight was leaving her body, she could feel its numbing effect slowly spreading through her veins.

But of course, no one believed her, proving that it truly was not wise on her part to try to explain herself. All she got was a disbelieving shake of heads in return. She could have stopped there with the fruitless attempts to explain herself but what she did instead was just pave another way that would ultimately mean debasing herself further.

"I was supposed to get married to him anyway, wasn't I? Then I don't understand why us being together is so much of an issue?" Sofia's shaky voice tried to hold her ground.

"Of course, it is a tremendous issue," Marla scoffed. "But being the pompous poppy you are you will close your eyes to your own faults while you've been always glaring up fire at others."

Katherine added with a sneer, "Do you even have an idea how many so-called friends and well-wishers and news reporters have been turning up at our doorstep with their disgusting questions and comments since that day?"

Arrows of accusations kept hurling in double. Sofia didn't know anymore where to put her armors, injuries seemed inevitable.

"Please, let me see grampa." She was bewildered at her own tone of voice, it sounded so much like the little girl who once begged to stay inside the morgue beside the dead bodies wrapped in white, so many years ago. She had wanted to remain where her mother would for the night.

Was it a coincidence that it was the very same hospital?

"It is you who are responsible for the condition my father is in. If anything happens to him now, know that it will be because of the curse that in the form of you he had once brought into our home," were her aunt's exact words from the many more lofty ones that were whipped upon Sofia upon her grand arrival in the hospital after that comparatively decent conversation.

Earlier, as she had arrived with Skyler, she had thrown a weary glance towards the little crowd gathered before the room her grampa was kept in for observation. Aunt Marla and Katherine were the self-proclaimed leaders of the eager and worried crowd by the looks of it. Both the women stood straight and alert like predators at the sight of Sofia. They were about to fly her way, but thankfully, the doctor appeared right then and was swarmed by everyone present over there. Sofia trembled in panic as the doctor said that her grampa had suffered from a heart attack, which luckily was a minor one. It was a narrow escape from death. However, the man lying there in the room next to them was still not out of danger completely, risk stayed that—this tiny tryst could lead to a major heart problem later on. The doctor left permitting that they could see him then—one by one, and that was when the thundering started.

Soon, some of her other relatives joined in as well—the ones who couldn't just stand back and not join the feast.

Some people find weird, sick pleasure in finding flaws in another. Perhaps because the act of belittling others makes their own blemishes seem less.

Sofia had just wanted to see her grandfather and found herself standing point blank at the face of a million, piercing bullets. The onslaught was so merciless that she was surprised that her knees never gave up.

It is true that the feelings of being hurt and lost; shamed and battered—when too much extreme—is enough to shake a heart so much to the core; and burn; and scar, that the experience altogether leaves a person unable to even shed a tear.

And that was the state Sofia was in as she walked through the door of her marital home later that night. Very later.

There was no tear, no grief. Emotions were stripped off.

With tired steps she dragged herself up the stairs, limping and stumbling all the way to the bedroom. She had just flicked the light switch on, and that was when she was whirled around harshly, the hand on her elbow which did that, however, was surprisingly gentle.

"Where the freaking hell were you, Sofia?" Max bellowed down at her. "Do you even have any freaking idea what time it is? And why is your phone switched off? I was just about to call every person you know and probably even the police, woman!"

Looking up at Max's face, Sofia noticed the disarrayed state of his hair. His mouth was a thin line of stress and anger, his forehead consisted of many lines, and his jaw clenched to an impossible extent. His eyes were narrowed, and red-rimmed.

She didn't know what exactly triggered what happened next—Max's angered chiding or the merciless treatment she'd received in the hospital earlier or her own fear and sadness considering grampa's condition. She couldn't even get a glimpse of her favorite man in the world. She couldn't see him, nor could she hold his hand. She didn't get the chance to rest her head on his wrinkly skin and let go of the burden of tears in her chest. And now she could not breathe.

Max's face suddenly tilted to an odd angle and all the furniture around her too, even the room began turning upside down in a slow spin. She saw blurrily as walls from every side closed in on her while merely being aware of a pair of hands clutching her body, but that wasn't enough to prevent her fall and the unexpected sleep that appeared alongside.

Hello everyone! Am back. The surgery went well, although I don't know when the after-effects I'm experiencing will go away. Thanks to all of you who've been praying for me and were patient while I was away.

While I'm recovering now I am going to update as fast as my health allows me to. Hopefully, I'll soon be back to giving updates every two days.

So, did you like this chapter?

It's a major turning point in this story of twists, emotions, drama, and romance. An incredible phase is about to begin. Confusion will be constant but watch out for the thrill it will also bring.

What are your thoughts about Katherine--Max's aunt? I decided to show her earlier in this version.

Also, Marla is a pain in the ass, right? I've got some plans for her, let's see how it turns out.

Skyler is a sweetheart. And grampa... poor guy. ;'(

But the most important thing here is--Sofia has fainted and Max has got her, he has held her in his arms. *heartbeat moment.

And did you like the cover photo for this chap? I made it in haste and was half asleep. :P

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, , , , , , , , ... Love you guys!

Till later,

Hugs, love, kisses,

Lara.

P.S. Lemme know if you find any mistakes, and I will fix them asap. If you hesitate, then you can always send me a PM. :)