This is the last chapter guys.

I don't know how to begin explaining why this chapter is so late. You guys know that my life has been busy from the last couple of chapters, but that hasn't been it. I've never been against sharing my personal life here because number one, there's anonymity, and number two, you guys are my readers, and you deserve an explanation as to why a chapter is late. I've never lied as to why before. When it's because I didn't write I say so. But that isn't it this time. And for once I don't feel comfortable putting this online. It's been months but maybe it's because I haven't fully come to terms with what happened. Just know that I'm sorry. I really am. Over the last months after what happened, words don't flow easily anymore. Writing has become stilted. Everything has. But I will finish what I started.

Daylight

Here I am waiting. I'll have to leave soon. Why am I holding on? We knew this day would come, we knew it all along. How did it come so fast?

Funerals were the worst kind of gatherings. And despite this not being the most traditional kind of funeral, it didn't make Usui hate it any less.

Rows and rows of people dressed in black sat down in front of him, most of the people's faces were nothing but a blur of tears and sniffles to him. His thoughts were nothing but an incoherent jumble that he couldn't make sense of and he just couldn't seem to focus on anything.

Was he suppose to be crying?

He didn't know what to feel.

He was responsible for the reason why this funeral had to be held. He was the reason why that young woman was lying in that coffin. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to feel anything.

He stared at the coffin numbly. It was an open casket funeral. And he could see her pale and lifeless body clearly even from the distance.

He felt empty as the pastor began to speak, the words fading to nothing but a mumble in the background.

Finally, as the ceremony drew to a close and the coffin descended into the ground, people began trickling away. As they passed him, they all shot him looks, some sympathetic, and some full of disdain. And he supposed he deserved them.

When everyone had left, he stood alone by her gravestone, head bowed.

He didn't know what to feel about the situation at hand, but he did know it was his fault she was dead.

Guilt washed over him but at the same time he knew it had to be done. He didn't have a choice.

Sighing, he lifted up his head and walked away from the grave, but not before turning back and giving the headstone one last rueful glance.

Here lies Lucille Hamilton

Beloved daughter

Loving friend

May she rest in peace

Usui sighed tiredly as he reentered the house he shared with his girlfriend. While Misaki had been discharged from the hospital after a long week of being quarantined, Usui had insisted she stay at home and not attend the funeral despite Misaki's constant protests. He knew she didn't need the guilt crushing her like it was doing to him.

Though he may have felt guilty about taking a life, he definitely didn't regret his choice. Or lack thereof.

"I'm home," he muttered under his breath as he kicked his shoes off.

He expected to see Misaki laid down on the couch sleeping for resting in her nightwear, but, he received a shock when instead she was sitting on the armrest of the couch awkwardly, fully dressed and bags packed by her feet.

Usui's blood immediately ran cold at the sight. Why was she leaving?

"Hey Misa-chan, whatcha doing?" he asked tensely, though he was trying to keep the atmosphere light.

Misaki's eyes widened like a deer caught in the headlights as she tugged on the sleeves of her sweater nervously.

"I-I just thought that since I've been cleared from the hospital and all and the whole fiancée fiasco has died down…well…I guess this is the end," she said stiffly, desperately trying to keep the emotions that were consuming her off her face.

"The end of what?" Usui asked confusedly as he approached her.

"You're free," she said with a shrug, "There's no need for us to keep up this act."

Usui frowned, "Act?" he said in disbelief, "Misaki, this stopped being an act for me a long time ago. And I know it's the same for you."

Misaki looked away, "You can leave. You don't have to feel bound to me if you don't want to," she said, clenching her fists.

"Don't do this," Usui growled as he walked towards Misaki, grabbing her in a secure embrace, "Don't act like this has been nothing to you. Don't do this to us."

She pushed him away, "I'm giving you a choice. I want you to make this decision for yourself," she bit her lip and shielded her face from him, "I don't want you to regret this," her voice drifted away till it was barely above a whisper and Usui could hear the clear insecurities in it.

Usui laughed harshly at that, "You're doing this because you think that I'll regret this?" he scoffed, "Misaki, I've loved you since we were sixteen, and I'll love you until the day I die. I won't regret this," then, his tone softened as he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "I could never regret you."

Misaki smiled up at him through her tears and he kissed the top of her forehead gently.

"I love you, Misaki," he whispered and hugged her tightly again.

This time, she didn't push him away and instead clenched on to his shirt, burying her face in his chest.

"I love you too," she choked.

They hugged tightly, their arms wrapped around each other in such a secure embrace that neither of them wanted to ever let go of the other, but, soon Usui pulled away as he looked deep into Misaki's eyes.

He slowly began to lean it and she reciprocated. Timed seemed to slow down for the duo and as he drew nearer his eyes fluttered shut as hers did.

Just as their lips were about to meet, however, the shrill ringing of the doorbell interrupted them and Misaki jumped away from him, a dark blush covering her features.

Usui groaned lightly as he glared over at the offending door before marching over to it and yanking the door open.

"Can I help you-" he began but the words died in his throat as he saw exactly who it was standing in front of him.

Cold, dark eyes greeted him that were filled with rage and disdain.

Usui immediately stiffened up as he bowed curtly, "Grandfather," he greeted with the same amount of warmth those eyes had for him.

The Grand Duke's nostrils flared angrily at that.

"You do not get to address me with that title after the absolute disaster you created!" the old man spat angrily as he stormed into the house without even waiting for an invitation.

"What do you mean?" Usui asked as calmly as he could.

"This !" the Grand Duke sneered as he slammed a tabloid magazine on their kitchen counter top.

On the magazine splashed in large red font read 'WALKER HEIR'S OLD FLAME THREATENING TO CONSUMING EVERYTHING?'

The article that followed it gave a thorough outline of Usui's and Misaki's entire past, from how they met in high school to their horrible scandal whereby they both jumped off the balcony of the Walker mansion. Both of their family's history was covered extensively, sparing no detail to Misaki's less than average background and her father's shenanigans.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Misaki pale visibly and worry immediately washed over him.

"Are you ok?" he whispered gently to her as he turned to face her, wanting to wrap her up in an embrace.

Before she could respond, however, the Grand Duke cut in.

"Who cares about whether or not she's okay?" he bellowed, "It's this peasant's fault that we're even in this mess! This affair that you have been having needs to come to an end right now!"

Misaki tensed up even more beside him and blood roared in Usui's years.

This was like a sick reenactment of the predicament he had been caught in years ago. Once again he was forced to place his relationship with Misaki at risk all because of his narrow minded family. His whole life seemed to have become nothing but an endless, tiring cycle ever since he rejoined his so called 'family'. Everyday was nothing but a rinse and repeat, making his life have no meaning whatsoever.

It was Misaki that brought light into his life. It was Misaki that made him happy. And he would be damned if he let her go again.

"Did you hear me?" Usui's Grandfather roared, "You either leave this unworthy woman or you leave this family!"

Rage Usui didn't even know he was capable of flared up inside of him as he stood in front of Misaki, protectively and instinctively shielding her body from the line of sight of his Grandfather.

"I will not leave the only person who has ever made me happy," Usui hissed, "The only person who has truly cared about me."

"You want me to pick between your little Empire and the love of my life? You have got to know that choice is a joke," Usui chuckled mirthlessly, "But incase it isn't clear enough for you; I'll be terminating all sort of contact will the Walker family at the next possible convenience," the blonde mocked.

Both the Grand Duke and Misaki gaped at him upon hearing those words, though the former was out of anger while the latter was more out of shock.

Usui smirked, "Good luck running your business now. You're weeks away from your last breath and Gerald is long gone, you've lost all your possible successors, and I'm going to have fun watching this company burn to the ground," Usui taunted haughtily.

The Grand Duke looked positively livid and ready to murder but Usui did not back down.

"You will regret your insolence, you ungrateful bastard," he hissed as he stormed out of the house, slamming the door harshly behind him.

As soon as the man was gone, Usui immediately whirled around to face Misaki, gently cupping her face in his hands.

"Are you alright?" he whispered urgently, "Don't let what he said get to you. He doesn't know what he's talking about. He doesn't know the real you. He's nothing but a idiotic bigot who-" his ramblings, however were cut off by Misaki.

"Why?" she croaked out hoarsely and Usui furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Why what?" he asked gently, afraid that pressing her too much might cause her to close off from him.

"Why now?" she elaborated, her voice shaking slightly, "Why would you suddenly give away everything? You didn't the first time," she said softly.

Her concern shocked him but Usui quickly snapped out of it as he smiled warmly and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I made the mistake of placing my obligations over you all those years ago. I lost you the first time because of that and I'm never going to repeat that mistake ever again. You are my world Misaki, as cheesy as this is going to sound, life without you would have no meaning. It doesn't matter if my family accepts me anymore. Because they aren't what matters to me. You are my family, Misa, you are my home. And I only wished I realized this years ago; you are all I need."

Tears welled up in Misaki's eyes once again and had this been years ago she would've been cursing at herself to be stronger and to not start bawling at every small thing.

But they weren't teenagers anymore. They weren't jaded and guarded and inexplicably afraid to fall in love. They had grown, they were older now, vastly different, and yet, still the same. They retained the best part of their youth; their love for each other.

"I love you, you perverted outer space alien" Misaki smiled.

Usui laughed, "I love you too, demon pres."

The weeks following that were a blur of lawsuits and unnecessary drama as Usui denounced his claim to the Walker Empire and cut off all ties with the Walker family, keeping true to his word.

Misaki spent the entire time in a numb haze, not daring to believe that they could be finally free of Usui's family's tyrannous rule. The facts only really started to settle into her when Usui came back one day from court, looking decidedly more happy than he had in a while.

Usually when he returned home, he was bone tired from spending the entire day arguing over legal matters, this time however, there was a brilliant smile painted across his features and Misaki dared to let her hope.

The blonde held up a brown envelope in triumph, his green eyes twinkling with mirth and excitement.

"It's done," he said almost breathlessly, "I'm free."

The words took a while to process into Misaki's system, but when it did, an earth shattering grin spread across her face as she leaped into her boyfriend's arms, pressing a searing kiss to his lips.

Their lips moved against each other's effortlessly and both of them would've been contented just to stay there, kissing each other forever but Usui seemed to have other things on his ind as he pulled away from her.

"Wait, wait," he said, mostly collected but a bit breathless - something Misaki couldn't help but be proud about.

She raised her eyebrows at him but otherwise let him continue.

"I want to do this the right way. I want to do this properly," he said, and Misaki almost couldn't tell whether he was talking to her or mumbling to himself.

"What do you mean do it properly?" she asked suspiciously as she pulled back from him, "I don't like where this is headed."

He glared at her playfully, a small smile tugging out at the corner of his mouth, "At least hear me out first, always so untrustworthy, even of your own boyfriend" he grumbled teasingly and reached into his pocket.

From inside, he pulled out a small box and tossed it to her. And, out of pure reflex, she caught it nimbly.

When the soft velvet box landed in her palm, the feeling of deja vu washed over Misaki. With her hands trembling slightly, she reached inside and pulled out a familiar silver band just as she had done so many months back.

Upon seeing her shell shocked face, Usui smiled cheekily and got down on one knee.

"Will you marry me, Misaki Ayuzawa?" he asked gently.

Misaki's body reacted for her before her mind could really process what was going on as she found herself nodding immediately, happy tears springing into her eyes.

Finally, her brain seemed to have stopped short circuiting and she was able to voice her thoughts.

"Yes," she laughed as she threw her arms around him, effectively sending them both toppling to the ground.

Usui chuckled in relief as he hugged her tight.

Misaki slipped her wedding band back onto her finger as she faced Usui with a teasing glint in her eyes, "Did you steal by ring so you could propose to me using it?" she joked.

Usui grinned sheepishly, "Well, you seemed attached to it so I didn't see the point of buying a new one," he defended.

The blonde was oddly shy and out of character as compared to the confident and suave man that Misaki has come to know and love throughout the years. Not that she didn't love every aspect of him. It was a refreshing change, actually.

"Or maybe you're just attached to the person that gave it to you," he smirked confidently at her.

Misaki merely rolled her eyes at him, "I can't believe I just agreed to spend the rest of my life with you," she groaned, though they both could hear the fondness in her tone.

"You love me," Usui grinned happily as he pecked her on the nose.

She pretended to scrunch up her face in disgust, "Unfortunately, I do."

The ended may seem a little weird but I thought it was appropriate to end the story with an 'I do'.

With that said, thank you so much to everyone who has patiently stuck by my side through all the long pauses and still continued to read this story. Thanks for everyone who reviewed and gave their constant support. I'm really thankful for everything.

This series drawing to a close is kind of bittersweet, especially considering this is probably the last Maid-Sama fic I will ever do. And I'm sorry for leaving off with such a serious author note to begin the chapter.

I love you guys so so much.