Building The Strongest Family

The laughter of their little group echoed across the university courtyard as they approached the gates, the glow-lilies in Ashley's arms casting a soft blue hue over their faces.

Liz was mid-rant about how unfair it was that Billy got to graduate before her when suddenly, a voice sliced through the chatter.

"Billy!"

They all turned to see a girl standing a few feet away in a graduation gown, her dark hair cascading in loose waves over her shoulders and her cheeks flushed from the summer heat.

Clutching a diploma in one hand and a small bouquet in the other, her eyes sparkled as they locked onto Billy.

Billy froze. Then, slowly, his face turned a shade of red that could rival the university's ceremonial banners.

Arthur arched an eyebrow, intrigued.

Ashley grinned like a wolf spotting its prey.

Liz gasped dramatically. "Oh. My. Goodness."

Billy cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck, an old nervous habit he'd had since he was six years old.

"Uh, guys," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "This is Sophia."

A pause hung in the air.

"…My girlfriend."

Arthur's brain short-circuited for a moment. "Your WHAT?"

Sophia didn't flinch under the sudden spotlight; instead, she stepped forward with confidence and extended her hand toward Arthur, flashing him a smile that was equal parts warm and amused.

"You must be Arthur," she said cheerfully. "Billy's told me so much about you."

Arthur stared at her hand for what felt like an eternity before shaking it mechanically.

"He hasn't mentioned anything about you." His look at Billy clearly screamed: We are definitely talking about this later.

Billy groaned softly. "Oh, come on…"

"WAIT."

Liz suddenly shoved herself between them, pointing an accusatory finger at Sophia. "You're the reason he was always 'studying at the library'?!"

Sophia blinked but then surprised everyone by bursting into laughter, a bright and unrestrained sound that lit up the courtyard like sunshine breaking through clouds. "Guilty."

Ashley had been suspiciously quiet until now; leaning in with a devilish smirk, she purred, "So, Sophia… what's your favorite thing about Billy? His charm? His wit?"

Without missing a beat, Sophia replied with playful confidence: "His ability to put up with nosy relatives, apparently."

Ashley gasped theatrically while clutching her chest. "Oh my gosh! I like her!"

Billy buried his face in his hands as if trying to disappear from existence.

What followed was what Billy would later describe as "the most painful twenty minutes of my life."

Liz buzzed with excitement as she bombarded Sophia with questions:

"How long have you been dating?"

Eight months.

"Who confessed first?"

Billy did after losing to her in a debate competition.

"Do you actually enjoy his cooking?"

"Goodness, no! But I pretend to," Sophia replied with a playful roll of her eyes.

Meanwhile, Ashley was a different kind of danger altogether.

Twirling a vibrant glow-lily between her fingers, she leaned in closer. "So, what's your family name?"

Sophia took a refreshing sip of iced tea from a nearby vendor and answered, "Valentine."

Ashley's eyes sparkled with intrigue. "As in Valentine Biotech?"

Sophia nodded, feeling the weight of the conversation shift.

Arthur, who had been silently reconsidering his brother's life choices, suddenly straightened up like he'd just discovered buried treasure. "Wait,your father is Marcus Valentine?"

Billy groaned dramatically. "Arthur, don't..."

"The man who literally wrote the book on neural augmentation?" Arthur shot back with narrowed eyes, glancing meaningfully at Sophia before turning to Billy with an incredulous stare. "And you didn't think to mention this?!"

Billy threw his hands up in exasperation. "I knew you'd make it about business!"

Sophia smirked playfully. "He was worried you'd try to recruit me into the family empire."

Arthur opened his mouth but then closed it again, finally muttering grudgingly, "...I mean, are you looking for a job?"

Billy groaned even louder this time.

Sophia simply smiled; she knew Arthur was just joking around.

After what felt like an interrogation session that lasted forever, and after Ashley had extracted a promise from Sophia to join them for dinner, Arthur clapped a hand on Billy's shoulder with feigned seriousness.

"Alright! Now that we've thoroughly embarrassed you in front of your girlfriend," he said dryly, "I've got something special for you."

With a flourish, he pulled out a sleek black key fob from his pocket and tossed it over to Billy.

Billy caught it reflexively but stared at it in disbelief as he recognized the emblem: a silver phoenix, the unmistakable logo of Osborn Heavy Industries!

"No way," he breathed in awe.

Arthur grinned mischievously. "Limited edition Veyron Hyperion, custom matte black! Only twelve were made! I had to pressure Oscar to make this one extra special and even lost some key tech over it."

Liz shrieked in protest, "You never gave me a car!"

"You're thirteen," both Arthur and Billy replied simultaneously with smirks.

Ashley whistled appreciatively. "Damn, Billy! He must really like your girlfriend if he's bribing you to keep her around!"

With that Ashley turned her head and glared at Arthur and said," I didn't you also get me a gift as well!".

Arthur's was quite speechless,looking at Ashley he shook his head and said," You already have about ten Limited edition sports cars sitting in the garage you even stole my beloved car what else do you want!".

"Hump! I don't care just get Oscar to make me a car as well!" Ashley crossed her slender arms and snorted.

Arthur didn't bother to talk to her no more and just spoke his head.

Sophia laughed heartily as she leaned into Billy's side playfully. "I feel so valued!"

Billy stood there, still fixated on the key, shaking his head in disbelief. "I… I don't even know what to say."

Arthur shrugged nonchalantly. "How about 'thank you'? That works just fine."

Billy let out a huff of laughter before pulling Arthur into a quick, tight hug. "Thanks, you jerk!"

With a playful grin, Arthur ruffled Billy's hair again just to tease him. "Hey, don't mess it up before the family dinner!"

As they strolled toward the parking lot, Liz was already demanding a ride while Ashley made increasingly wild claims about how Billy would definitely crash it.

Sophia laughed at their antics, her joy infectious. In that moment, Arthur allowed himself a rare and unguarded smile.