Lost Memories of my Love

Chapter 31 – Untold Emotion

It was the morning of the engagement party, and Sera was in town for the week. Caraway couldn't make it to his own stepdaughter's engagement party because he had lots of work to do. Ashleigh was the first to greet her mother with open arms. The two of them were in the guest room of the presidential residence.

"Oh Ashleigh, how beautiful you are since last time I saw you," said Sera, kissing her daughter on the cheek. "No wonder Squall wants to marry you."

Ashleigh smiled at her mother, who was wearing a tonne of make up on her face to disguise her real age. "Thank you, mother. But I have news for you."

"Oh?" Sera sat down in a chair and began examining her nails.

"Yes," answered Ashleigh excitedly, "Remember how I told you Rinoa is still alive, but lost her memory?"

"Indeed," said Sera, a touch of annoyance in her voice.

"Well, I just found out that it was Seifer that changed her life," said Ashleigh.

"What?" Sera looked up at Ashleigh. "What do you mean?"

"Seifer nursed Rinoa when she was in the accident," explained Ashleigh, "And when he found out Rinoa lost her memory, he planted a lie on her. He made her think that her name is Sierra and he is her lover. He called himself Marcel."

Sera found this interesting. "Indeed?"

"Yes," said Ashleigh, nodding. "I told you that he had feelings for her … but I never thought he would go this far."

"Well he is that low," said Sera. "But let him have his fun. He has done us a favour. That way Rinoa won't be able to take Squall back. She's too infatuated with her own stepbrother to even notice. I assume she doesn't believe she is Rinoa, despite everybody thinking so?"

"Of course," said Ashleigh, "She's too stubborn, as usual. She refuses to believe she's Rinoa."

"I see," said Sera. "Well, that isn't a problem to us. We'll keep his little secret."

"But mother…"

"Ashleigh, if we expose him, he'll fight back by saying it was you who tried to kill Rinoa," snapped Sera.

"Yes, I know that," said Ashleigh, "But I'm just concerned that he'll confess. Knowing him, he would probably fess up and then tell everyone what we did."

"No he wouldn't," said Sera, narrowing her eyes, "He's too proud. He would never admit he was wrong. He will keep this charade up."

"But you never know … it's been three years," said Ashleigh earnestly. "He might have changed. I know for a fact that Rinoa changed Squall…"

"Hmm, good point," said Sera. "Will he be at the party today?"

"Yes, no doubt," said Ashleigh, rolling her eyes. "That twit Rinoa was invited."

"Who invited her?" demanded Sera.

"Squall did," said Ashleigh, sighing. "She and Squall are awfully close. I'm just afraid her memory would pop back any second."

"I doubt it," said Sera.

"Squall's angry at me now," said Ashleigh sadly. "I insulted Rinoa the other night."

"You fool," said Sera, "You're treading on thin ice. Squall will leave you if you keep it up."

"Yes, I know," said Ashleigh, "I'll apologise to him later."

"Fine, good," said Sera, shrugging Ashleigh's problem off. "Now we need to solve Seifer. What do you know about him?"

"I know he's an instructor at a Garden," replied Ashleigh, "And he sells 'his sister's' artworks. And that's about it."

"Hmm … he really did come up with a cock-and-bull story that would be hard to get out of," said Sera. "We'll have to get rid of him, even if it is for a while." She thought for a minute. "I know. Hand me the phone, Ashleigh."

Ashleigh handed Sera her cell phone, looking at her mother in curiosity. Sera took it and dialled. "Hello? Estharian police? Yes, I would like to report a crime. Someone is plagiarising famous artwork and selling it for outrageous prices. His name is Marcel and he's heading for the presidential residence tonight. Please put him away."


"Marcel, where are you?" Rinoa asked into her phone.

"I'm just selling some artwork," said Seifer, "I'm on a roll here."

"The party starts soon," said Rinoa, "I don't want to go alone."

"I thought you didn't want to see that bitch," said Seifer.

"I don't, but we still have to pay our respects to Squall," replied Rinoa earnestly, "He's my boss, not to mention the vice president of Esthar."

"I know, I know, you've only mentioned it about a million times already," said Seifer sarcastically. "Don't worry, just go on without me. I'll meet you at the residence later. Save me a seat, okay?"

Rinoa smiled. "All right, but you'd better be there."

"I will," promised Seifer.

"Love you." Rinoa hung up the phone and sighed. She looked into the mirror and was happy with the way she looked. She was wearing the same sparkly blue dress as the night she had dinner with Squall and Ashleigh. Squall had told her it was a formal party, seeing as how Ashleigh loved the word 'formal'. She put on a coat and began to walk to the residence, screwing 'entering in style'.

She hadn't spoken to Squall since the dinner. She hadn't called him, and he hasn't called her. She wondered how he would take her arriving at his engagement party after she walked out on his nice dinner. She hadn't told anyone she was engaged yet, not even Min. But she wore Seifer's ring with pride. Not a single person had asked about it yet.

Rinoa crossed the road, avoiding all the fancy cars and elegant people in them. She headed into the residence and into the catered hall, where she saw some of her co-workers and some other important-looking people. She took off her coat and draped it over one arm and walked in nervously, not knowing where to go or who to talk to.

"Ah … Sierra, how nice it is to see you again," said a familiar drifty voice.

Rinoa looked up to find Matron and her husband looking at her. "Oh, hello Matron."

"This is my husband, Cid," said Matron.

"Nice to meet you," said Cid in a friendly tone.

Rinoa smiled and shook his hand quietly.

"You look beautiful tonight … Squall would be glad to see you," said Matron.

Rinoa nodded with a smile and excused herself as she walked deeper into the hall.

"Yo, Sierra!"

Irvine and Quistis in formal attire headed towards Rinoa. Irvine put his arm around Rinoa and laughed. "Looking great."

"Thanks," replied Rinoa. "Sure is a crowded party…"

"Yeah, I guess it's important for the vice president to invite every single person he knows," said Quistis with a chuckle.

Rinoa smiled. "Yeah. I guess."

"Did you come alone?" asked Quistis.

"Um … yeah, I did," said Rinoa, "I'm expecting someone soon. And I have no idea where Min is…"

Irvine pointed in the direction of the catered table, where both Zell and Min were gulfing down hotdogs and drinking soda.

The three of them laughed. "They sure look happy," said Quistis.

Rinoa nodded in agreement.

"Yo, Matron!" Irvine called out and walked up towards Matron. Quistis followed. While they went, Rinoa slipped away and continued on her search for … still something unknown.

"Oh, are you Sierra?"

Rinoa looked up at the sound of her name. It was Sera. "Y-Yes, I am."

"Oh, I've heard so much about you," said Sera, her eyes shining with interest.

"Really? From who?" asked Rinoa.

"Oh, from everyone," said Sera. "I'm glad you could make it tonight."

Rinoa smiled a small smile, not knowing what to say.

"Ah, sorry Mrs Caraway … can I borrow her for a second?"

Rinoa turned around to find Squall in his black tux, looking emotionless. Mrs Caraway … Ashleigh's mother? Rinoa couldn't help but already feel resentment towards the woman.

"Oh, of course Squall," said Sera politely. And with that, she walked away.

Rinoa looked at Squall uncomfortably. Squall somewhat avoided her eyes as well. The two of them were in awkward silence for a moment, not knowing what to say to each other.

"I'm sorry," the two of them said in unison.

Both of them laughed nervously. Squall looked into Rinoa's earthen eyes and saw his reflection in them. As he looked further, he saw a hopeless boy … one with no future. He wanted a future … he forgot what it was like to be happy. But he wanted happiness again. As Rinoa smiled sweetly, he suddenly felt a little light-hearted.

"I'm sorry I walked out on your dinner," said Rinoa slowly, "I guess … I guess I lost it. Again."

"No, really … I'm sorry," said Squall, "Ashleigh … she shouldn't have said those things. I guess she didn't know."

Then why can't she come up to me and apologise herself instead of getting Squall to do it for her? "Hmm, I guess. I want to repay you … for walking out. I mean, I did kinda eat a lot…"

Squall smirked. "No, it's okay. You being here is enough to pay me back. I was just afraid that you weren't going to show up today…"

Rinoa smiled. "Well, here I am."

"So … you don't hate me?"

Rinoa laughed weakly. "Of course I don't." I hate your fiancée, that's all.

"Good," said Squall with a quiet laugh.

"Oh, Mr Leonheart … congratulations on your engagement." A middle-aged Estharian couple came up to Squall and the man shook the vice president's hand.

"Thank you," said Squall. He looked at Rinoa. "Excuse me for a second."

Rinoa nodded and stood to the side. Where is Marcel? It feels so weird to be here … usually I would be talking and having fun with everyone else … but it doesn't seem so fun without him… She walked away in search for him again.

As Squall ended the conversation with the middle-aged couple, he found that Rinoa was gone. He was about to go look for her until somebody grabbed him by the arm.

"Hey, Squall honey…"

Squall turned around but was met with a kiss planted on his lips from Ashleigh. He immediately felt uncomfortable and pulled away from her and turned around to look for Rinoa again.

Ashleigh, looking disappointed, turned him around and looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, baby."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah … I'm sorry for how I acted the other night," said Ashleigh innocently. "I mean … I didn't know what I was saying, I was stupid."

Yeah you got that right … and you decide to apologise now? You should be apologising to Sierra... "Hmm," was all Squall mustered.

"Yeah … and I hate it when we fight," said Ashleigh, playing with his fingers. "I want tonight to be a nice night."

"Yeah okay," said Squall, wanting to get away from her as soon as possible.

"Yeah…" Ashleigh noticed Squall looking distracted. "So, you forgive me?"

"Yeah whatever," muttered Squall.

"Aw … how about a kiss?" asked Ashleigh.

"Not right now," said Squall, a twinge of irritation in his voice.

"Humph … all right, maybe tonight then," said Ashleigh, winking cheekily.

"Hmm." Squall walked away from her, not necessarily to look for Rinoa but just to get away from her.

Rinoa sat down, staring out the glass doorsfor any sign of Seifer. But he still hadn't arrived yet. Where are you? You promised you'd come… It was then that the hall quietened down and Laguna was speaking.

"I would like to thank you all tonight for coming," said Laguna, "The marriage of the vice president is a very special occasion. It means something to us all. To me, to Ellone, but especially to the birds in love … Squall and Ashleigh. So tonight, we will forget about business and work, forget about war and Garden … and celebrate the uniting of two families."

Rinoa continued to gaze out the glass doors, not paying any attention to what was going on. Any second … she expected Seifer to pop in at any second…

"…I am just so happy," continued Ashleigh, "So happy to be marrying someone as wonderful as Squall. I've loved him … for so long. And I would find pleasure in my heart if I could spend the rest of my life with him."

There was a round of applause as Ashleigh stepped out of the spotlight and it was Squall. He looked calm and collected, but didn't look in the least bit joyful or excited.

"Thank you for coming," said Squall, "Out of the havoc and chaos with the new project with Garden, I never had time to be thinking about my personal feelings."

Rinoa drew her attention away from the doors and looked up at Squall.

"My feelings … happiness, sadness … love. I didn't know what's what. I look at myself, and the truth is … all I see is a boy with no future. And I do want a future. I want a happy future. And I guess, the thing that would make me happy is … to spend my life with the person I love most."

Rinoa smiled, not believing that Squall could be such a romantic. Then suddenly she looked back out the glass doors, because something caught her eye. Yes, Marcel you made it after all! She continued to look out the glass doors with a smile, waiting for Seifer to come in.

"And I'm here tonight," continued Squall, "To ask the person I love most … to spend the rest of her life with me." All right Leonheart, this is your only chance … it's now or never.

Ashleigh looked excited and braced herself.

Rinoa continued to look out the glass doors with a smile, but her smile shrunk when a couple of men came out and began to talk to Seifer.

Squall stepped out of the spotlight with the ring in his hand. And to everyone's surprise, he walked straight past Ashleigh and to Rinoa's side, his hand stretched out with the ring in it. Rinoa, however, didn't even notice as she was too caught up worrying about Seifer.

Everyone stared at Squall in shock, wondering what he was doing. Ashleigh looked the most outraged. She had never expected this to happen.

"Sierra," said Squall, "You are the one I love most."

Every person in the room but Rinoa looked extremely shocked. Quistis narrowed her eyes, as she was somewhat expecting this to happen. Edea calmly smiled, as she was proud of what Squall had worked the courage up to do. Ellone looked quite the same. Ashleigh looked very frightened and angry at the same time.

"Will you marry me?" asked Squall.

Suddenly, the men grabbed Seifer violently and dragged him down the stairs. Seifer was trying hard to pull free of them.

"Marcel," murmured Rinoa. She got up, not even glancing at Squall, and ran out of the hall. She wasn't even aware that Squall had asked her to marry him and that everyone was looking at her. She thought that nobody would notice her leaving, but obviously, everyone did.

Squall, stood there looking absolutely stunned. It was shock on the outside, but on the inside, he was breaking apart. He had been thinking about it for a long time, and when he finally worked up the courage to face his true emotions … the love of his life walked out on him for the umpteenth time, without even a second glance. Everything he ever believed in … everything Rinoa ever taught him felt like it disappeared. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be happy. No matter what he did, he would always suffer. There was no point in working up the courage to do anything anymore, because no matter how hard he tried, he was going to fail. Not only did this feeling hurt, but also he was humiliated. There had to be hundreds of people in that room, and they all witnessed it … he turning against his betrothed and declaring his love for another woman. He didn't even want to think about what was going to happen.

Ashleigh felt a great feeling of relief overcome her and walked up to Squall and hugged him as if the last couple of minutes hadn't even happened. "Squall, are you okay?" she whispered into his ear.

Am I okay? What the hell am I supposed to do now? He collected himself and looked at Ashleigh. "I-I'm fine. I'm sorry, I was being stupid. I … love you, Ashleigh." These words left his mouth dry, and the feeling inside of him couldn't be explained, as everyone left from a shocked state to the joyous one they had when the party started.

Live my life with Ashleigh … I said so myself, I'm in love with Sierra … I don't understand how this is going to work…


Rinoa ran down the stairs after Seifer and the other men. She finally caught up with them when they got outside. A police car was parked on the road, and the men who had abducted Seifer threw him into the car.

"W-Wait!" shouted Rinoa, "Stop!"

She ran as fast as her high heels could take her and started banging on the window where Seifer sat.

"Marcel!" she shouted.

One of the policemen came out of the car. "Excuse me ma'am, but I'll have to ask you to leave. There's nothing to see here."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" demanded Rinoa, "Marcel hasn't done anything! Why are you taking him away?"

"I'm sorry but you aren't authorised to be given that information," said the policeman.

"I'm not authorised?" shouted Rinoa, "I'm his fiancée. I should have the damn right to know!"

"You're his fiancée, ma'am?"

"Yes!"

"Please come into the vehicle, we'll have to take you up for questioning," said the policeman. He opened the door and made Seifer slide over.

"W-What?" Rinoa was outraged, but did as she was told and got into the car. As the door slammed shut, she looked at Seifer, who looked just as confused as Rinoa did.

"Marcel, what's going on?" she asked him quietly.

"I don't know," said Seifer in a lowered voice, "I was on the way to meet you until these guys showed up—"

"You have the right to remain silent," said one of the officers in the front seat.

Seifer ignored the policeman. "They came in and said I was a fraud. Selling fake artwork and claiming them to be real."

Rinoa gasped. "Is it true?"

"No, of course not!" hissed Seifer, "I've been selling my sister's artwork…"

"You have the right to remain silent," said the policeman again.

"I heard you the first time, officer dingbat," growled Seifer. He lowered his voice again. "But I'm innocent … you know that…"

She pressed her lips together nervously, not knowing what to say. Seifer obviously wanted to plead his innocence to Rinoa, because he was sure that he didn't do anything wrong. He could've easily punched out the police officers but didn't want to cause a ruckus or get into any more trouble. That was really weird, considering that this was Seifer, who had a passion for trouble. But he was somewhat nervous. He was sure he didn't do anything wrong, unless Ashleigh had something to do with this…

The rest of the ride was in complete silence. Rinoa just kept on looking at Seifer in worry, and Seifer gave her an unsure look back, which did not put Rinoa to ease at all. At long last, the car came to a stop and Rinoa got out of the vehicle.

"Hey, let go of me, scum…" Seifer tried to pull free from the police officer's grip, but wasn't successful seeing as how he was handcuffed. He was then lead into the Capitol police station.

"Right this way, Miss," said one of the remaining officers.

Rinoa followed the officer into the police station nervously, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger as she walked. This wasn't where I wanted to end up tonight… The officer told her to wait in the sitting room, where she was asked many questions about whom she was and what relation she had to Seifer. Seifer was nowhere to be seen.

She was then informed that Seifer was in another room for questioning, and told to sit and wait for her turn to be questioned. She was very worried, and very angry at the same time. Who could have possibly been the cause of this? She was certain that Seifer was innocent, because she saw the artwork he had been selling before and knew that he wasn't doing anything in any criminally offensive way.

She waited and waited, and her concern only grew. But she was getting restless. She looked at her watch and found that it was midnight already. She sat back in her chair and stared at the ticking clock on the wall. It seemed like every second that passed was a whole minute. Her eyes began to droop, as she grew more tiresome.

Suddenly her cell phone rang, which was in her hand. The ringing was loud and the vibrations woke her up with a start. She looked at the name on the screen and saw the words Leonheart flashing.

"Hello?" she said as she answered it.

"Sierra?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Where are you?" asked Squall.

"Uh … at the police station," said Rinoa, rubbing her eyes.

"What?" said Squall in shock, "What are you doing there?"

"Um … does it really matter?" asked Rinoa uncomfortably.

"Do you … need any help?" asked Squall.

"N-No, don't worry about it," said Rinoa, shaking her head, "I'm fine. It's nothing. Please, go home, I'm sure you'd rather be spending some time with Ashleigh…"

No, not especially, thought Squall, Way to be sensitive, Sierra… "Hmm, right. Hey, I'll get back to you, I'm getting another call."

"Okay," said Rinoa. She quickly hung up on him and switched her phone off so he wouldn't call again. The last thing she needed was talking to Squall after she walked out of his party. I was hoping he didn't notice, but I guess he did… But she really had no idea how much he did notice. And the rest of the people at the party, for that matter.

Squall switched phone lines and found that the person who was trying to call him was Ashleigh.

"Hey, baby," said Ashleigh in a sweet tone, "Where are you? You kind of … disappeared after the party…"

"Uh, just at the office," lied Squall. He was in fact sitting in his car, leaning on the steering wheel and staring out into the night sky in attempt to get rid of the painful feeling inside of him until he finally felt like calling Rinoa, just to see how she was. The fact that she was at a police station made his suspicions rise.

"At the office?" repeated Ashleigh, "Squall … it's past midnight…"

"I know, I know," said Squall, "Just … wanted to do some last minute stuff … for the Garden, and all that…"

"Oh," said Ashleigh, sounding disappointed. "Well, okay, I guess … don't work yourself too hard, sweetie. And please don't fall asleep in your office again …you're working yourself too hard."

"Hmm, okay," mumbled Squall. "Well, I'll get back to … work, then."

"All right," said Ashleigh quietly, "I love you…"

Squall muttered another 'Hmm' and hung up on her. He was getting sick of hearing 'I love you' from Ashleigh. She said it so much that it lost meaning altogether. He never really felt anything whenever she uttered those words, nor did he ever say anything in return. But as of late it was getting old, and just didn't mean anything anymore.

What's happening to you, Leonheart? You're losing it … you're going to go insane, if not being isolated and a total jackass. He sighed and buried his face in his hands. He has been hurt too many times … he wanted things to go back to the way they were before. Before 'Sierra' rejected him that night, before he met Sierra, before Rinoa 'died', before he left … hell, even before he met Rinoa. Rinoa gave him hope, she was the one who made him smile again … she said she would never leave him alone the way he had been left alone countless times. But that hope died … it died with Rinoa, and there was no hope for him. Even if he still had people who loved him, his friends, his family, Ashleigh … he still felt alone. He just wanted to isolate himself again, because that way there would be no one to hurt him anymore…

Then why? Why did he suddenly feel like some unknown force was picking him up again? He felt like there was still hope for him, still hope for his future. Even after the embarrassing events of that evening, he still sought to seek Rinoa … he still sought to find her, and talk to her.

So he started his car up and looked for her … looked for the one he loved.


Rinoa sat there for another ten minutes, and was growing even more weary and worried. What was taking so long? She just wanted to see Seifer … she wanted to know he was all right.

An office door opened, and a stern looking, middle-aged policeman came out. He stroked his greying hair and cleared his throat.

"Miss Hearten?"

Rinoa stood up and walked towards him, her heart thumping in her chest. "Yes?"

"I'm Chief Inspector Andrew, sorry to keep you waiting," said the officer. "Your fiancé has been accused of cheating."

"Well, that's a false accusation," said Rinoa firmly.

"What makes you say so?" asked Andrew.

"Because I've seen what he sells, they're works of art drawn by a young girl," said Rinoa, "We sell them starting from fifty gil a piece."

Andrew began jotting things down on a notepad. "Why were you selling them?"

"To make our way around," said Rinoa, "We were in financial trouble."

"Were?"

"Yes, now we both have decent jobs," said Rinoa.

"But just today, he was selling some more artwork," said Andrew. "Do you deny that?"

"No, I don't deny that," said Rinoa, "He was because we aren't from Esthar. I'm just working here and he came to visit. He felt bad because I've been working and he's just sitting around doing nothing."

"I see," said Andrew. "Now, tell me, Miss Hearten … what's the most expensive artwork you've ever seen? Not necessarily one your fiancé has sold, of course."

Rinoa thought about it for a second. Most of the artwork Seifer sold ranged from twenty to eighty gil. Then she suddenly remembered something Squall bought for ten thousand gil.

"Ten thousand gil," replied Rinoa.

"Ten thousand," repeated Andrew coolly, "And where did you see this?"

"A poor girl from the slums sold it," answered Rinoa.

"A girl? Didn't you say your fiancé sold artworks drawn by a young girl?"

Rinoa hesitated. "Yes, but it probably has nothing to do with each other…"

"Are you sure about that, Miss? It's not very often you see young girls selling artwork for ten thousand gil each…"

Rinoa thought for a second. Now that I think about it … Marcel's sister is from Deling, and so is the Sierra Squall bought the painting from … could it be…?

The door to the police station opened, and Rinoa turned around. To her surprise, she found Squall at the door, and her thoughts suddenly vanished from her mind and she felt confused and somewhat embarrassed that he was there.

"Leonheart!" said Rinoa, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"S-Sir." Chief Inspector Andrew straightened up, obviously not expecting the vice president of Esthar to show up in the middle of the night at a place like the police station.

"Is there a problem here?" asked Squall, walking up to them. "If Sierra's in any trouble…"

"No, I'm not in any trouble, I told you that already," said Rinoa, narrowing her eyes at him. Damn, why did I have to tell him I was here? This is embarrassing!

"Yes, that's right … she's only here for questioning," said Andrew, nodding.

"I see," said Squall, "May I have a word with her in private?"

Rinoa looked at Andrew, who seemed to be very confused. At last, he nodded. Rinoa and Squall went into the far corner of the sitting room and began to speak.

"What are you doing here?" asked Squall coolly.

"He told you already, I'm up for questioning," answered Rinoa.

"Right," said Squall, "Questioning of what?"

"C'mon … does it really matter?" asked Rinoa. "Why are you here anyway? I told you not to come."

"Yes, you told me not to come, but it doesn't mean I won't come," replied Squall. "I thought you were in trouble."

"I'm not in trouble," said Rinoa, folding her arms. "I told you that a million times already."

"Actually, you told me three times," said Squall, "And I didn't believe you. And I was right."

"But I'm not in trouble!" cried Rinoa. "It's Marcel … he's been accused of something he didn't do."

Oh, that guy …I kinda forgot about that guy… "I see. Are you sure he didn't do it?"

"Leonheart! How dumb do you think I am?" exclaimed Rinoa, "Of course I'm sure! But things aren't really looking in my favour…"

"Do you need my help?" asked Squall.

"No, I don't need your help," said Rinoa childishly.

Squall raised an eyebrow, not believing her.

Rinoa sighed. "All right, I could kinda use your help right now."

Squall nodded in understanding. He began to walk off to speak to the inspector, but Rinoa grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

"And Leonheart … I'm sorry for just leaving your party and all that," said Rinoa. "It was because Marcel was in trouble…"

Yes … THAT guy… Squall shrugged. "It's okay." No, it's not really okay, but I can't stand to bring myself to be depressing. "It wasn't really important anyway…"

Rinoa frowned slightly in guilt. "I'm sorry. Truly." She smiled again. "But your speech … it was touching. I never knew you loved Ashleigh so much like that … and be man enough to express it. I'm really happy for you."

Hyne… Those words were like arrows piercing through Squall's heart. How much I love Ashleigh so much? I was talking about you … and you couldn't even notice … hell, what's the point anymore? Why do I even bother? Why am I so damn emotional anyway? I can't believe I even admitted to liking Sierra … well, that was a mistake … but at least she doesn't know it so she can't hate me for it. I mean, I kinda forgot about her boyfriend … how stupid of me…! Well, at least now I know … not to tell her … that I love her … maybe things are better being kept this way…

"Thanks," muttered Squall. Yeah … thanks a lot. "Well … I'll go see what I can do for Marcel."

And he turned away from Rinoa, not standing to look at her face anymore … because it made his heart bleed to death…

After a short talk with the inspector, Seifer was let off. As he came out of the room, his face lightened up when he saw Rinoa. Rinoa ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Hey, I'm fine," said Seifer, letting go of Rinoa, "They didn't beat me or anything…"

Rinoa smiled. She turned to Squall, who looked as if he were about to leave. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Thank you."

Squall shrugged. "It's okay…"

Seifer eyed Squall suspiciously, but when Squall looked at him, he simply smirked. "Yeah. Thanks for bailing me out."

"Don't worry about it," murmured Squall. "Hmm. I'll be going now, I've got work to do."

Rinoa smiled at him. "Okay. Don't work yourself too hard."

Squall nodded. "Have a good night…" He turned around and walked to his car. What made me come here tonight? Why did I follow her? It's obvious that she doesn't care about me … she has someone already. God, I bet I looked like an ass … just standing there, with that ring out to her … and all she did was walk away. What's everyone going to think? What if she'll never see me in the same way again…?

Rinoa watched Squall disappear into the darkness, and couldn't help but have a heavy feeling inside of her. She slightly frowned. Oh Leonheart … I can see hurt in your eyes ... but why? I thought you getting married was a good thing. Why can't you be happy, like a normal person...?

"C'mon Sierra, let's go home."

At the sound of Seifer's voice, she looked away from Squall and forgot about him and smiled up at Seifer.