An Unwavering Love (A Yuri Plisetsky Fanfiction)

Chapter 12: Slap in the Face

[Marina Bay Sands, Singapore— 2 weeks before]

"GAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

Yuri's body was shaking as he pulled at his hair, anger written all over his face. He was in Viktor and Yuuri's hotel room after the two initiated a 'movie night' with Mila and Phichit. They said it was to help "relieve some stress", but little did he know that line was directed solely at him.

"What's wrong, Yurio?" Yuuri asked, worriedly glancing at the Russian currently throwing a temper tantrum. He did not respond. He was fixated on the phone he held crushingly in his hands.

Ayumi has been distant for two weeks already, and it was unlike the times she was merely busy. She was almost never around, often coming back to the hotel for only a couple of hours before leaving again. On the hours he did see her, she refused to speak. She never looked at him in the eyes, and she seemed almost terrified to be in the same room as him. Trying to coax her did not work, either—she was always gone before he even had a chance to.

At first, he thought it was because of what happened that night. When he saw her in that nightgown, his body twitched. There was an intense feeling of need he never felt before. Eros. It was so wrong. They were still teenagers, and he let his hormones get the best of him. He thought she was upset with him because of that and needed time to forgive him. But when he checked social media after weeks of steering clear of it, he realized what was really going on.

Society pages and gossip blogs were filled with news of Ayumi and Ethan Khoo. They have attended several events and galas that week, and they were present at the press conference announcing the collaboration of the Matsumoto Corporation and Khoo Financial Group. It seems like Ayumi's father ended up pushing through with the project, and the two of them were there to show their support to their families.

But it was not just that. They have been seen spending a lot of time together and were even caught having dinner at an expensive restaurant. In the photos, they were holding hands. There were even photos where Ethan's arm was wrapped around her shoulders. Yuri felt like he got slapped in the face.

Everyone was loving the recent development. Yet another article from TheInsider.sg was becoming viral, with many Singaporeans sharing and retweeting it with '❤' signs. It read:

Here's the latest scoop from Singapore's most trusted society columnist, Ginger Wong:

Remember what I said before about how sparks could fly for Ayumi Matsumoto here in Singapore? Well, it turns out I was right! The corporate princess has been seen getting cozy with our very own hottie Ethan Khoo, and get this: they went out on a date at Jaan! Sources tell me Ethan even gave her a gazillion red roses and serenaded her on their dinner. Ahh, the joys of young love!

It looks like we can relax knowing Ayumi is now in VERY capable hands (God, if I were her I would have Ethan's hands all over me. But let's avoid making it M18 for the sake of the teenagers, shall we?). This may be the beginning of something magical—and perhaps the collaboration between their companies may end up being a merger. Wouldn't that be lovely?

And if it wasn't bad enough, the tweets made it a lot worse:

@FineChina93 OMG!!! The roses! Where can I get my own Ethan Khoo? #RelationshipGoals

@TheRealDrewLee Damn, Ayumi's a babe! Ethan is one lucky ass...

@BBYap Gosh, they look so good together! Love them <3

@xoVictoriaox So... who was that irrelevant bloke Ayumi dated before? Good riddance! #sorrynotsorry

It was at that point when he started screaming.

Yuri was perfectly aware that no one among Asia's elite liked him for Ayumi. Heck, he has known that ever since he stepped foot in Singapore. To them, his world championship medals as a figure skater meant nothing. It did not matter because on one simple fact:

He was not rich.

They never failed to make him see how incompetent he was, and their words cut deeper than anything skating critics have ever used against him. While he could prove his critics wrong by winning (and he always did), there was nothing he could do about the cruel sentiments of socialites. He felt ashamed of himself for the first time in his life. There was nothing he could do... because it was true. He was worthless, and he had nothing to offer to the heiress of the Matsumoto Corporation.

"I don't need any of that. I just need you."

All this time, the one thing that kept him sane was knowing Ayumi loved him. He held on to her words from the day he admitted his feelings and ignored everyone else. It worked for a while—they were perfectly content with each other. But Ayumi was slowly starting to see the light. She deserved better, and no matter how much he wanted to punch Ethan Khoo in the face... he WAS better for her.

"Yurio!!!"

Ignoring Yuuri's calls, he stormed out of their room. He didn't know where he was going. All he knew was that he wanted to get as far away as possible and scream.

"Y-Yura?"

He looked up, and there Ayumi was. Her face was contorted in pain and guilt, her phone trembling in her hands. She saw the article, too. She rushed over to him and held his hand desperately, tears forming in her eyes. "Please... let me explain."

Nothing came out of his mouth. He glowered at her: hurt, frustrated and angry. He roughly pulled his hand from her grasp and started walking away.

"No, Yura... believe me. It's not what it looks like. Please, just talk to me..."

Ayumi's voice cracked, but he did not give a damn. Did she really think that stupid cliché line is going to work? He didn't even spare her a glance as he stormed down the hallway and into the elevator.

"Yuri," a voice greeted. There with him inside the elevator was Otabek. "Wow. You look terrible."

By then, his hands were still shaking. There was so much going on in his mind—he needed to mouth off to someone about them. He and Otabek didn't know each other for very long and did not see each other that often. However, they do message each other a lot. The Kazakh skater was just as cool and sensible as he assumed he was when they first became friends. He knew he would be the best person to listen to him bitch.

"Otabek!" he snarled, rage never leaving his voice. "Where are you headed?!"

"I was just about to grab a bite to eat at the food court, why?"

Yuri did not stop himself from shouting. "FORGET THAT!!! You're coming with me!!!"