A/N: Okay, guys....... before you throw that stone in your hand... I'm so sorry!!!!!!!!!!! :( When I'd updated the previous chapter like... millions years ago, I didn't mean for the wait to be this long, even when months had passed, I kept telling myself, you gotta finish that story!!! I'd been very conscious-stricken til now, cuz I really don't like to leave things unfinished. Excuses are that, I graduated, moved back home (across the continent), got a job driving me crazy with stress and killing any bits of inspiration I might have had.. Furthermore, my laptop died on me, with part-done final chapter in its hard, then my desktop caught some virus and had to be formatted, with the freshly written final chapter in it! And if any of you think I'd have made a back-up copy, then you overestimate me! T.T Anyways... To those of you who's stuck with me til now from the beginning, I love you. I was just re-reading your old reviews, and I'm really honestly encouraged and grateful to you. Thank you so much. And those of you who's recently reviewed and told me to upload the last chapter, thank you too! I'm glad that this little piece of writing has entertained you so far. And also in time for the final episode of Nodame Cantabile Finale anime, here is the final chapter of Cheeky Angel. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nodame Cantabile and the characters within belong to Ninomiya sensei, not me.

Chapter 13: Finale

Dressed impeccably in a black tuxedo, Chiaki Shinichi, the 33 year-old resident conductor of London Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Music Director of Royal College of Music, genius by prowess and a Demon by reputation, stood tall at the altar of his own wedding. Beside him was the bride of dream that he's been fated to be enchained to forever. It should have been the happiest and proudest day of his life; the day he made the woman who's been tormenting him for the past decade finally his. Uncomfortably, he tugged at his tie. It was too tight, made him feel like he was suffocating. Is that right? he wondered. Is it really the tie that was suffocating him?

He turned nervously and glanced down at his wife-to-be. Thank God he's got the right one this time! She was uncharacteristically timid and demure today though, which unnerved him even more. She was dressed in a beautiful white wedding dress, as the tradition goes, and indeed a vision to behold. At least for now. Chiaki was very relieved that his bride did not insist on putting on the make-up herself. He shuddered at the image that sprung to his mind of a clown-woman every time she became when she was serious about putting on make-up. He could have never married her. No, wait he was still marrying the same woman, right? Suddenly, Chiaki wanted to make a beeline to the nearest toilet and throw up. It was that scary, marrying this hentai!

He couldn't wait for the ceremony to be over. This foreboding lodged in his heart, telling him that something terrible is going to happen, was driving him mad. Like he'd forgotten something important. It was impossible that Chiaki Shinichi would forget something, not to mention something important! Nodame was acting even weirder than usual by acting normal. Chiaki felt like he was in a limbo swirling round and round in a hazy world of his mind.

"…any impediment why…" the reverend began the final part of ceremony and Chiaki had a flash of déjà vu. Something was going to happen now!

"Stop the wedding!" the door to the wedding hall was kicked open boisterously accompanied by a high-pitched female voice.

"Sylvia!" Chiaki's jaw dropped and he paled visibly. So this was what Chiaki's subconscious had been waiting for!

"This wedding cannot go on," the intruder declared gravely.

"What are you doing here?" Nodame exclaimed in a shaky voice, her hand trembling.

"I'm ruining your wedding, of course."

"But Sylvia," Chiaki began but was interrupted by his enraged ex-fiancée.

"You, be quiet."

"Young Miss," the old reverend spoke tiredly. He'd probably never had any of his weddings interrupted in his long career! "May we hear the reason for this impediment?"

"Yes," she said, holding her head up high. "This man cannot marry the woman there."

"But why?" asked Nodame desperately.

"Because," said Sylvia and everyone concentrated on what she would say next. Chiaki gulped loudly and waited for the bomb to drop. Impossible, it was impossible that this was happening to him!

"Because he is already married to me!" with that, Sylvia thrust her hand forward for everyone to see the diamond wedding ring on her ring-finger. The guests Oh-ed in surprised while Chiaki screamed in horror, and Sylvia started to laugh like a witch, high and shrilly.

"It can't be!" he cried.

"You liar!" Sylvia yelled at him.

"Senpai…" Nodame's head drooped and the bouquet fell to the floor. "I've lost faith in you, senpai…"

"No, listen you fool!" he grabbed her arm roughly.

"If you thought that you can just get married without anything to inconvenience you, then you thought wrong!" Sylvia said.

"No, something must be wrong. I already broke off the engagement with you!" said Chiaki.

"What?" Sylvia was indignant. "So would you rather marry that Animal than me?"

"What animal," said Chiaki distractedly. "I'm getting married to Nodame!"

"Look closely, Shin," said Sylvia, with eerie smile and narrowed eyes. "That's a Mongoose you are holding in your hand."

Chiaki whipped around in shock and true enough, gone was the beautiful wedding dress and there stood a giant mongoose with a face that resembled Nodame.

"Eek! Nodame!" he screamed and let go of her hand immediately.

"Senpai…. That is really disappointing…" she said dejectedly. "You let go so easily…"

"Wait, there must be an explanation for this."

"There's no excuse for two-timing, senpai…" she approached him in slow progression menacingly.

"I was not two-timing, you just listen…!" Chiaki waved his hands about to shield him. In the background Sylvia kept on laughing feverishly, like a witch on a Sabbath night. It was all becoming very surreal to him now.

"You will pay for your sin, senpai…."

"No, wait!" he was backed into a corner.

"Saa," Nodame-mongoose opened her arms with an unnatural expression on her face. "Let's march to the scaffold, senpai."

"What?" Chiaki nearly screeched. "Nodame, calm down!"

"Senpai…"

With the strange creature hovering ominously above him, Chiaki opened his eyes with a gasp. The first thing his eyes alighted on was the drooling face of Nodame sleeping with a silly smile, and reflexively he pushed her off him with all his might. She fell off the bed with a loud 'thump!'. Chiaki half raised himself from the bed and tried to calm his heavy breathing. So it was only a dream after all! His mind screamed to himself. He was sick of dreaming of his weddings being ruined! Because it may only be a dream, but every time he dreams of them, it was real enough to scare him numb nuts! He let out a long breathe and Nodame's sleepy face peeked up from the floor.

"Eh….? What is it? Is it already breakfast time, senpai….?" she asked.

"No, no…" he replied distractedly. "Come up here, get some more sleep."

""Aw, senpai…" murmured Nodame, climbing back to his side on the bed clumsily. "Your sleeping habits have gotten so bad…"

"Yeah, yeah, now sleep."

"Hmm," Nodame nestled to his bare chest and laid her head on his arm. "Chiaki senpai's arm-pillow… So comfy…."

"Oi, I'll get cramp in my arm in the morning…"

She only giggled in reply and fell right back asleep. Chiaki gazed at her face, looking rather innocent and totally unconcerned. He poked her cheek with his pointer finger. She didn't stir. He took a pinch of her cheek between his fingers and pulled hard.

"What are you doing, senpai…?" whined Nodame. "Let me go back to sleep, please. I'm exhausted…"

He sighed. He'd have to call Sylvia tomorrow.

"I refuse!" Sylvia snapped with her nose high in the air.

"You were never in love with me," asked Chiaki, horrified. "Were you?"

"Of course not!" retorted an equally horrified Sylvia and he sighed long in relief.

"I thought so."

"Don't be relieved, you jerk!" she shrieked and slapped his arm.

"But still, you answered that rather too quickly with no hesitation at all, don't you think?"

"That does not mean you can be relieved to know that I am not in love with you," she said. "Well then, let's see what your answer would be like. Were you ever in love with me?"

Chiaki seemed uncomfortable under her burning glare.

"Of course, I was…" he began. "Very fond of you…" he scratched his head. "Still very fond of you, I mean…"

"Right," said Sylvia and crossed her arms. She did not soften her glare.

"Right…" he said softly and sighed long again. "Sylvia, we both know that the whole marriage thing was a mistake. Well, at least I know it will be a mistake if we blindly went through with it. I know I cannot devote myself to you entirely and it won't be fair on you, who deserve someone more… loving than me. You are still young, very beautiful and charming. I'm sure there are hundreds of other guys who will make you happier than I ever would."

Chiaki thought he was speaking from deep down in his heart, but more and more he spoke, it became just like a textbook callous speech a guy usually makes when trying to break up with his girlfriend. He was not used to admitting he was in the wrong, and that was eating at his dignity too.

"That's all pretty and dandy, Mister," Sylvia countered angrily, her finger shaking at him in accusation. "But what are we going to do about hundreds of the wedding presents I've already accepted, huh? And the guests to whom we've already sent invitation cards? What in the name of all that's holy am I going to tell them, that I was jilted a week before the wedding?!"

"If you wish, you can tell them you dumped me…" said Chiaki, rather intimidated.

"And that will solve all the problems, right?!" she spat at him, livid with rage. "Oh, I just remembered, what am I ever going to do about the Hello!"

"Come again?"

"The Hello! you know, the Hello! magazine!"

"I still don't get it." Chiaki frowned and shook his head in confusion.

"You know, the magazine where they published the wedding pictures of Pamela Anderson and other celebrities exclusively!"

"You…" started Chiaki and squinted at her. "didn't by any chance invite the reporters to our wedding… Did you?"

"What am I gonna do, I've already received the deposit from them!" she was whining.

"You sold our wedding to a gossip magazine?" Chiaki blanched.

"They offered me fifteen-thousand pounds…" she pouted.

"Sylvia!"

"If I hadn't, then any ol' nosy tabloids could have published our pictures and without our consents at that! You don't want bad publicity, darling, do you?"

"I don't want any kind of publicity!" yelled Chiaki, his usual scruffy self finally surfacing. "Sylvia, listen, our marriage was not to be made into some kind of circus event, letting people who'd paid for the ticket enter and watch! You are not getting married just so that you can create another scoop for reporters, gossipers and heaven knows who else. It is a serious business, and you'll be stuck with me for the rest of your life. And getting married to me wouldn't really bring much of glamour and fame you may be seeking. Are you still willing to go on with it?"

"For the rest of my life…?" Sylvia's eyes widened at the implication, as if she'd just realised it now.

"Yes, until death do us part," he told her gravely.

"But people are always getting divorced, and…"

"I'm not getting married to get divorced," he was firm on this point. Sylvia seemed to slowly digest what he'd told her. Getting married had been fun with planning, wedding presents, people congratulating her, buying clothes and furniture! She'd been the centre of attention of everybody. Daddy was pleased with her beau, and showered her with presents – a new house, new car, new Gucci bag! Shin was affectionate and just as indulging as her father. It'd amused her to imagine herself the mistress of her own household. But she hadn't given a thought about what comes after that. When all the fuss and the excitement of wedding ceremony and honey moon period were over, what then? Would she still find her married state fun and exciting? She looked at Shinichi. He was as best as they come. He was tall and handsome, although Japanese, but that made him all the more exotic and mysterious. He was a world famous orchestra conductor, quite popular and high in demand in some quarters. He's always travelling to here and there for request to perform with different orchestra all over the world, and she thought… Sylvia originally thought that she'd have so much fun tagging along when he's in Paris, Prague, New York, Vienna or in Tokyo and go crazy with sightseeing and shopping… Is that all she expected from this marriage? But that was something she could still do without getting married to Shinichi. She had the money, the time and inclination. She had never wanted anything without getting it in her hands. Daddy would never deny his little princess anything. So the big question was, did she really want to get married to Shinichi Chiaki?

"Hey," she said. "Say we just go through the ceremony for the heck of it, and announce that we are annulling our marriage straight after, then maybe we can beat Britney's…"

"No."

"But annulment is different from a divorce, and…"

"No, Sylvia," he shook his head firmly. "No."

Sylvia sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"You are not conceding very gracefully, are you?"

"There can be no compromise."

"I still don't like it that you are breaking our engagement for the Other."

"I," Chiaki had grace to blush. "I can't say how sorry I am, I really am sorry, these past few weeks have been so unexpected and I'm still quite confused by my actions too, but…"

"Darling, spare me the excuses please!" she threw her hands in the air and shrugged. "It all just leads to declare what madness has driven you to ditch me and how it is a proof that you love her insanely."

"I wouldn't go that far, but if you wish…" he avoided looking straight at her. After a pause, she poked him in the side.

"So, you love her?" she asked.

"Huh?" he was startled by her question and blushed a deep red colour.

"So, Nodame was your college sweetheart but then you guys broke up a long time ago for a stupid reason, and when you met again, the old flames were set ablaze, burning hot enough to jilt a gorgeous twenty-two year-old fiancée in the process. Am I right?"

"More or less…" he looked slightly uncomfortable with the topic.

"Well, Shin," said Sylvia, amazed, and crossed her arms on her chest. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

"What?"

"Seriously. Do you know I've always felt that, while you seem to enjoy my company and indulge me, you were somewhat distant from me? You seemed cold and reserved at times, as if there was something that mere me could never touch. You've never even said that you loved me, for Christ's sake! You just seemed to go with the flow, and I believed that was just your way. But now I learn it is not, I'm rather impressed."

She said all this with such indifference that Chiaki was flustered.

"Actually, it is my way," he said hurriedly. "I don't, I mean, I'm not really communicative when it comes to my feelings, I guess, I er convey them better through music, and you erm…"

"I'm not that great on your kinds of music," Sylvia finished for him. "I see, no wonder you connect better with Nodame. She understands your music. She weeps at it."

Chiaki didn't know how to answer to that.

"Really, Sylvia, it's not you, it's me and-."

"Stop!" she yelled. "I don't want a pity party from you. Now I understand your position and I am persuaded."

"Then…?"

"I officially agree to terminate our engagement."

"Sylvia…."

He was speechless for a moment. He was trying to fight the feeling of relief and exhilaration from showing on his face, and noticing this, Sylvia glared at him. Chiaki laughed nervously.

"Maybe I said yes too easily…" said Sylvia, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, believe me, it's been a nightmare for me! Quite literally."

"You are so earnest," surprisingly, Sylvia giggled. Chiaki stared at her.

"You know," he said. "You are actually taking this much better than I'd expected. I was ready to face one or two tantrums coming from you, like last time in my flat. You are actually more mature than you let on."

"Just how many boyfriends do you think I've had before I met you?" smile Sylvia, and her smile was genuine.

"Is that right," retorted Shinichi in a similar teasing tone, "Miss Popular and Sophisticated?"

Then Chiaki realised why he stuck with Sylvia for this long, even getting himself into a betrothal. She was sassy and funny, full of young energy which he lacked at that point of time. Maybe he was on rebound since Nodame had left him, but he'd probably have ended up with someone like Sylvia had he never met Nodame. As they looked at each other, their smiles faded gradually and Sylvia noticed Chiaki's hands fidgeting at his side. He must be wondering how to say goodbye, she thought. Without further ado, she stepped in and gave him a tight hug. He was shocked initially, but soon leaned into her embrace.

"I've been very happy for the past two years, Shin. Among all the boyfriends and suitors, you were the first one that ever made me even consider marriage."

"I know."

"Still, I'm too young to be shackled for life to a middle-age man like you, I guess."

"Ouch."

"Oh, and you are not allowed to appear in public with Nodame for at least nine months!"

"Huh?" he pulled back, and Sylvia slowly disengaged herself from him.

"Well, if you go around with her right after we announce our wedding cancellation, then people will begin to speculate and gossip that I was dumped. Now, we can't have that, can we?"

"Of course…" said Chiaki slowly. He thought that although Nodame has agreed to get back with him again, it'll be months, maybe even years before she is ready to perform in public, so that won't be a problem. Then he realised his head was still full of Nodame even at times like this, and felt remorseful for Sylvia.

"Take care of yourself," he said.

"You too," she was still smiling.

"Well, then, I guess this is goodbye."

"Yup, farewell."

Sylvia patted his shoulder lightly and turned to walk away. She rubbed under her nose to hide a sniffle that was nearly building up, but she did not cry. Yes, she thought instead, perhaps it was time to buy a new Gucci bag.

A/N: Phew, finally! It was actually much more difficult than I'd thought to get rid of Sylvia! If you are any decent man, you don't go breaking off engagement days before the wedding, you know! Movies nowadays have made it look too easy... I thought of making Sylvia throw a tantrum for some comical effect, but I suddenly decided to go in this vein. As some of you have commented, Sylvia is not a total bitch, I guess. No way Chiaki'd be with her if she was...

Okay, there's an epilogue... which will be uploaded tomorrow! (Sorry!)