This Chapter takes place before Cerise leaves Shinra but after the incident with the LOVELESS show. I hope you enjoy! Note that I've back tracked for a reason-I'm not just going to change up the flow to mess with you, I promise! Anyway, this chapter might be a bit shorter than the others because it has a part two. After that, we will probably have a present time chapter and then go back to where we last left off with Cerise in the past.

Also a bit shout out to everyone who has been reviewing, following, and favoriting, especially Womble619 who has never failed to leave an uplifting review that always brightens my day and makes me want to write better and faster! Please enjoy everyone!

The fact that I had an actual date with Rufus Shinra was both frightening and shocking. Though Rufus and I managed to stand each other's presence, you could hardly call us friends, let alone boyfriend and girlfriend. Apparently, the rest of the world didn't see it that way, especially Shinra. I think this may have been his plans from the very beginning, setting Rufus and I up together. I just wish I had noticed it earlier, I may have left before I got myself into this mess.

It's not that Rufus wasn't handsome-he was. Goddess knows all of the girls he's taken to his bed just from his looks, he often didn't even need to mention his money and power. It was annoying-it was so much easier to bully him when I had something to go off of-unfortunately the universe had felt that money and status hadn't been enough-make the guy attractive while you're at it, give the guy an unfair playing field! How annoying.

Still, I could have worse dates. I could be going out with Tseng, or Shinra Himself. The last one just sent a shiver down my spine diary, I'm not even joking. Cissnei has also been pouting all day. Not like a normal person though, no, like a turk. Which means I also almost ended up with a broken rib several times today.

It's almost time to go. We're going to some fancy restaurant and Shinra had gotten me a new dress and shoes. Genesis and Angeal have been making fun of me all day. I finally whacked Genesis upside the head when he started making kissy faces. He's been sulking ever since. Wish me luck, Diary. Goddess knows I'm going to need it.

I stood up, placing my diary back in it's drawer by my bedside and walking towards the mirror. I may only be fifteen, but I looked at least three years older. The dress Shinra had bought for me was much more mature than I was used to, It was much more form fitting than my other dresses, though not nearly as tight as the dresses I'd seen Scarlett wear. It was a crimson color, contrasting well with my ivory skin and light hair. It had a sweetheart neckline that made my breasts look bigger than they actually were. I wore black heels with the dress and diamond stud earrings.

My white blonde hair was pulled up atop my head in an elaborate up-do. My makeup was darker than normal, but not quite scandalous. There was a knock at the door before Cissnei walked in. She gave me a quick lookover and then nodded her approval. She still looked peeved though.

"You look beautiful," She complimented. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, and it's all for a man I hate," I grumbled. Her expression soured.

"Rufus has protected you many times, even from his own father. You should thank him." She warned. I scowled.

"Rufus Shinra only ever does things for himself. Both of the Shinra's do." I said bitterly. I moved to walk passed her but she gripped my arm, stopping me.

"You need to let what happened three months ago, go. Shinra has helped you more than he has hurt you." She reminded me. I scoffed, ripping my arm from her grip. I looked at her over my shoulder.

"I will never forget," I whispered coldly.

"Okay, so don't forgive Shinra. But Rufus has done nothing but help you." She insisted. I studied her carefully.

"How many times have you been to his bed, Cissnei?" I asked. She remained quiet. I nodded.

"Right. You would defend him to the end of the earth. Look in his eyes Cissnei, the next time you spend a night in his bed. There is nothing there. No light, no kindness. He's cold." I left her after that, walking down the hallway by myself until I arrived at the front doors, where the limo was waiting. Rufus stood outside the limo, holding the door open for me.

"Cerise," He greeted. I didn't spare him a look.

"Rufus," I responded icily. I crawled into the limo, him following soon after, closing the door behind him. We sat in silence for a couple of moments before he spoke.

"Try to be pleasant tonight. It's not as if I want to be here either," He grumbled.

"Yes, because that makes me want to be pleasant." I responded sarcastically. He sighed and turned to look at me, catching my gaze.

"We both know that at the end of our dinner, I'm going to ask you a question. And we both know that to protect yourself, you are going to say yes. You have two options; be pleasant, or be miserable. The end result is the same." I turned away from him, deciding instead to watch out the window. As if the goddess could hear the inner thoughts of my mind, it started to storm. The rest of the ride to the restaurant was silent.

The limo driver opened our door for us and I stepped out, reluctantly taking Rufus' hand to keep up appearances. We were being swarmed by reporters, all asking annoying and repetitive questions. We ignored them and continued into the restaurant. The hostess took one look at us and grabbed some menus, escorting us to our table. We were quiet as we ordered. Only when our waitress left to order our meals, did we speak.

"If you ask me that question, I will make your life miserable." I threatened vehemently. He rolled his eyes, propping his head on his hand boredly.

"We both know I have no choice, just as you do. Besides, it's not as if you'll be marrying a troll, Cerise." He said, his voice taking a tone of arrogance. I scoffed at that.

"No, more like a demon." I responded. He scowled at that.

"I've never been cruel to you." He defended.

"But you've been cruel to others." I pointed out argumentatively. "I've seen the way you treat underlings. You try to control people with fear. I'm warning you now, you won't do that with me." I all but growled. He scoffed.

"I learned that when we were children, Cerise. Nothing has to change, besides a title in our relationship." He explained flatly.

"I don't want to marry you." I said bluntly.

"You're acting like a child." He growled, eyes flashing with hidden anger. He was quickly growing irate with my behavior, but I was too upset to care.

"I am a child!" I nearly screamed. "Fifteen is not an adult, not even close! Don't make me do this, Rufus. We have respected each other's intellect for years now, please, continue to respect mine, respect both of our own wishes." I pleaded.

"Be quiet!" He hissed, looking around the restaurant quickly to see if anyone had noticed my lapse in character. " And don't beg, it's pathetic." He warned. I stopped talking after that, pushing back tears. Our food arrived and we were both silent as we ate. After dessert, he stood up, brushing himself off, and then kneeled in front of me. I fought to push back tears as he pulled the box out of his pocket, showing off a beautiful diamond ring. He asked the words. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. With the rest of the restaurants attention, I answered.

Sealing my fate, he placed the ring of my left hand. The restaurant cheered. I cried. Everyone thought it was from happiness.

I wondered just how ignorant these people were. Could no one really tell the difference between tears of happiness and tears of despair? How could they be so blind to my obvious pain? I continued to cry as we got back into the car and drove off.

"Stop crying," Rufus ordered flatly, glaring at me from the corner of his eye. I glared at him, and without thinking, brought my leg up shoved my foot into his stomach. His eyes widened comically and he bent over, clutching at his stomach and letting out a groan in pain.

"Stop crying," I mocked and nearly jumped out of the car as the driver opened our door out front of Shinra Headquarters. I ran inside to avoid reporters and anyone else nearby. Genesis and Angeal stood outside my doorway, and gave teasing smiles when they saw me walking down the hallway.

"How did it...go…" Genesis trailed off as he noticed my utter state of despair. His joking smile quickly turned into a frown, concern filling his eyes. Angeal looked the same. I sent both of them a glare, and then stormed past them and into my room, slamming the door shut behind me. There was immediate knocking on my door by Genesis, demanding to be let in. I almost laughed; just like Genesis to be forceful and harsh when in need of comfort and kindness. I didn't blame him though; It's who he is. Besides, it all came from the same place; concern for his friend. I heard Angeal murmur something quietly to Genesis and the knocking and shouting stopped abruptly.

Once they were gone, I took a deep steadying breath and tried to calm my tears. It took a while, but I finally managed to calm down. Wiping tears from my cheeks, I walked into my small kitchenette and opened the fridge, pulling out a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream. I lied in bed eating, watching cartoons until I fell asleep.

Cissnei woke me up the next morning with a scowl on her face. I instantly knew this was going to be a bad day. "You need to get ready quickly. You and Rufus have an interview with Lyssa Lancel at nine to formally announce your engagement. It's live television, so you must be careful what you say," She warned. I rolled my eyes, pulling the covers off of me and stepping up.

"Aren't I always?" I asked dryly. I was still mad at Cissnei. For the past two days she's been in a terrible mood, after we both found out that Rufus was going to propose to me. Yesterday's small argument had obviously put us both in a bad spot with the other. I'd have to talk to her tonight to settle it all out, but I was far too upset to do it now. If I said anything to her now, it'd only cause another argument. "Anything else?" I asked.

"Then you'll both have brunch with Shinra and some wedding planners. He wants you married in no more than two months time. He knows that if given the chance, one of you would back out." she said quietly. I nodded my understanding and moved towards my vanity on the far right of the room and sat down, starting to get ready. They'd probably change how I looked for the interview, but I had to arrive looking sophisticated and classy anyway. "Do you need help?" She asked. I shook my head.

"No, thanks, but could you maybe find Sephiroth? I need to talk to him," I told her calmly. She narrowed her eyes, in something similar to suspicion, but I dismissed it. Even if she did think Sephiroth and I were dating, it's not as if anyone would believe it. Cissnei's word had power, especially power over mine, but not over Sephiroth's. According to Shinra, he was too 'well groomed'. Condescending Asshole.

"Sure," She answered and left without another word. After brushing out the snarls in my hair, I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and use the toilet. Once out, I started on my outfit; I decided on a navy skirt the swished around my knees and a cream colored blouse that I tucked in. I was just finishing pulling my hair up when there was a knock at my door.

"Come in!" I called, pulling on a pair of nude pumps. Sephiroth, walked in, looking as intimidating and regal as he always did. I never understood how he pulled the two off at the same time. He closed the door behind him and held up the water bottle full of lifestream. I nearly started drooling. I jumped up out of my chair and raced across the room, nearly ripping it from his hands and chugging it down. Once I'd finished the liquid, I looked up and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," I apologized. A ghost of a smile curled over his lips.

"I'm not surprised." He replied simply. "It's been almost a week. I'm sure what happened yesterday didn't help," He said, a flash of sympathy dashing across his eyes. I scowled and then scoffed.

"Genesis?" I asked flatly.

"Angeal, actually." He answered quietly. "He's worried about you." He continued. I sighed, moving to the kitchen and throwing the plastic bottle away.

"Why? I'm not in any danger." I said bitterly. He nodded, but it didn't look like he believed it. I opened the cupboard, pulling out a box of cereal. I started to make myself a bowl and then motioned to Sephiroth, asking if he wanted any. He rejected the offer and I shrugged, hopping up on the counter and beginning to eat.

"Rufus is dangerous." He responded finally. "Perhaps even more dangerous than Shinra. You shouldn't marry him." He informed me. I nodded.

"I know. But I don't have a choice-"

"You do have a choice," He said, his voice abnormally sharp. It caught me off guard, and I looked up at him in surprise. His eyes were hard, unyielding. I knew I was in for a battle at that moment. Unfortunately for me, It was rare Sephiroth ever lost a fight, even a verbal one. "Just say no." I sighed.

"It's not that sim-"

"It is!" His voice was only a level lower than shouting. I winced-I needed to be careful. He was angry-and an angry Sephiroth was one that should be avoided.I sighed again, rubbing my temples.

"I can't do this right now." I told him flatly, setting aside my cereal. I had lost my appetite. His eyes flared in fury.

"You're just afraid; a coward," I could see that he instantly regretted the words after he'd said them, but that didn't stop the pain in my chest. What was said, was said. I wasn't so kind as to pretend it wasn't.

"Get out," I ordered between clenched teeth. He didn't move. I turned away. "Please, leave. I need to finish getting ready." I said, as calmly as I could. I heard no footsteps, nor the sound of the door. I whirled back around, unleashing my rage. "What do you want?" I yelled. "Spit it out and then leave! I don't have time for this! I don't have the patience!" I screamed. Lip wobbling, I spoke the next one quietly. "I don't have the heart for this. I'm not strong like you or Genesis and Angeal."

"Cerise,-" He started but I cut him off.

"No!" I said firmly. "You're right. I am afraid. I'm terrified. But I am not a coward." I said fiercely.

"You are," He said, after several moments of silence. I opened my mouth to retort, but he stopped me. "You would rather marry Rufus Shinra, then to even do what you want. You don't want to marry him. You don't even like him. But you'd rather remain complacent then fight back. When I first met you, you were so much stronger than this. What happened?" He asked calmly. I was about to respond, when there was a knock on the door, and then Cissnei entered. She quickly took note of our states, both of us looking a bit hostile, but she said nothing of it.

"Ready to go?" She asked. I nodded. Anything to get away from here. I moved towards the door but stopped.

"Shinra Happened." I answered, peering into gaze for several seconds over my shoulder, and then continuing after Cissnei to the interview.