Verbena Hills is a small neighbourhood located in the eastern tip of Vermillion City, atop a green hill that faces the sea ahead.

Generally, the residences of Verbena are simple white houses surrounded by lush green gardens that evoke serenity and tranquility. One house, however, stands out from the rest.

On the highest point of the hill, is a luxurious mansion painted in the lightest shade of periwinkle blue that it looks almost white. The gates contained elaborate and intricate designs that are reminiscent of Parisian architecture, which complemented the roses grown on the hedges.

The owners of the house, from what the neighbours saw, was a family of four; a young man with lavender hair and soft green eyes, a young woman with magenta hair and sharp blue eyes; a son who resembled his mother and a daughter who took after her father. They also owned a Meowth, who, for some strange reason or another, could walk on two feet and according to gossip circulated by several neighbours, speak.

The family was certainly not snobby, as they were willing to engage in pleasantries with the neighbours, but were certainly quiet since they never really initiated conversations with their neighbours.

Today, things were a little different.

Around late morning on a lazy and late Sunday afternoon, a fancy car pulled over to the gate of the family home.

One would assume the fancy-looking car belonged to the family, but it wasn't the case. In contrast to the white Mustang driven by the family, the car that pulled over was a sleek black limousine.

The suspicion the neighbours felt that the car didn't belong to the family was confirmed when two unfamiliar figures stepped out of the car.

The first was an elderly man with dark greyish-purple hair and dull green eyes, the other was a woman with purple hair and equally dull brown eyes. They were both immaculately dressed; the woman even carrying a parasol to match.

"This should be it, right dear?" the elderly man said in a heavy Southern accent.

"Yes, it should," the woman replied with an equally heavy Southern accent.

"I cannot believe we finally found him..."

"And we shall bring him back to his rightful place...right, Jessebelle?"

A third woman stepped out of the car, who looked nearly identical to the mistress of the house, except that her hair was worn in wavy curls and her eyes were a distinct shade of jade. "You are absolutely right, dear mother..."

"Jerome! Be careful!" James shouted at his 6-year-old son as the latter tried to reach for a toy on the top of the bookshelf, nearly causing the entire shelf to fall over him. "Do not let me catch you doing that again!"

"Sorry dad..." Jerome said poutingly. Much like how Jerome took after his mother physically, he too was like his mother in personality: stubborn and hotheaded.

"Now, now, Jerome, you should not pout. You know you would look like a Snubull if you do so," Jessie said to her son.

"Fine..." Jerome walked off grumpily.

"I don't know how to deal with him at this moment in time," Jessie remarked to her husband.

"Weren't you like that as well?" James murmured under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing…I just said that Jerome really needs to learn the importance of discipline."

"Well either way, it's my turn to cook dinner today. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

A small smile appeared on his face as his beloved wife walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

James couldn't be more thankful for his current life. It had been 10 years since he had left Team Rocket with Jessie and Meowth. After giving up a life of crime, he became a successful fashion designer with Jessie in a joint business venture, as well as a musician to supplement his income. Following that, he proposed to Jessie on her birthday 2 years after leaving Team Rocket (they started dating while they were still in Team Rocket) and they got married several months later. Jerome was born a year after, while his younger sister Janice was born 2 years after him.

James enjoyed his new life immensely. Not only was he truly free from controlling figures of authority and was finally able to pursue what he truly wanted, he was also blessed with a happy and loving family, despite their constant bickering with each other.

"Daddy, why are you smiling to yourself?"

James snapped out of his imagination and turned around, only to see his daughter Janice staring at him.

"Oh it was nothing..." James reassured her.

Janice gave her father an uncertain look.

"What is the matter, dear?"

"Daddy...can you teach me and Jerome how to draw again?" Janice asked.

"Of course!" James agreed. Janice was much like her brother in the sense that she took on the characteristics of the parent she resembled; which in this case, was her father.

"Yay! Come this way please!"

"So you start with a circle...and then you draw a line here; another there-"

"Ding dong!" The door bell rang.

"Who could that be?"

Meowth, who was sitting on the staircase and observing the entire time, hopped down from his initial position. "Why don't you get it? I'll take care of the two of them while you're at it."

James nodded and rushed off down the hallway to the security system located at the front door to see who it was.

"Meowth, who could be at the door?" Janice asked.

"Could it be Uncle Ash or Aunt Misty?" Jerome said excitedly at the prospect of their godparents coming over for a visit.

"Sorry to burst your bubble too soon, Jerry," Meowth said to Jerome, calling him by his nickname, "But the last time I checked they were outta town."

"Aww man!" Jerome was disappointed.

"Cheer up, Jerome," Janice reassured her brother. "It could be Uncle Brock and Aunt Lucy, for all we know! Ooh, maybe even Aunt May! Or Uncle Max! Maybe even-"

Janice was soon interrupted by a feminine shriek of "Eeeee!" heard from down the hallway.

"Was that mommy screaming?" Jerome asked.

"Actually...I'm pretty sure that was your father..." Meowth corrected.

"Daddy screams like that?" Janice was astonished.

"You'll see..." Meowth said.

Soon, James came running back down the hallway towards the kitchen, with a deathly white pale face, his entire body convulsing with fear.

Janice and Jerome hugged each other upon seeing their father's fearful expression. They had never seen him that terrified before.

"Jessie! Jessie! I need you to stop whatever you are doing and come out now!" James knocked frantically on the kitchen door.

"What do you want, James?" Jessie opened the door with a grumpy expression on her face, while holding a kitchen spatula in her hand. "Can't you see I'm busy cooking dinner right now? Unless you want your salmon to be burnt, of course."

"No, Jessie, this is a completely different matter!" James said frantically. "My...my..."

"Your what? Hurry up and spit it out!"

"My parents are here! And they brought Jessebelle too!"

Clang! Jessie dropped the spatula on the floor, the anger on her face turning into fear.

"D-d-did you just say your parents are here? As well as Jessebelle?"

James gave a high-pitched whimper in response.

"Well don't just stand there! Do something!"

"I can't Jessie!"

A loud rapping on the door was heard. "Jamesy-boy, are ya still there?"

"Oh no! They're here! What should I do, Jessie?!"

"You know what?! I'll hide in the master bedroom with the kids and Meowth! Meanwhile, you'll handle them and hopefully dissuade them from forcing you to marry Jessebelle!"

"But how?!"

"Just think of something! Now hurry!"

Jessie promptly picked up Jerome and Janice and rushed up the stairs, Meowth following behind.

Upon reaching the master bedroom, locking the door shut and drawing the curtains, Jessie turned to her two confounded looking children and said, "You know, your father needs to learn how to grow a backbone someday."

James nervously held the doorknob. "Well...here goes like nothing..."

He pushed open the front door, revealing his parents smiling faces and Jessebelle's ecstatic one.

"It's nice to see you again, Jimmy-boy," his mother said, referring to him by her affectionate nickname for him.

"Your house looks sprawling," his father remarked as he surveyed the exterior.

"Oh, I can't believe my darlin' looks so ravishin' now!" Jessebelle exclaimed as she hugged him.

"Eee! Get off me!" James exclaimed as he pushed Jessebelle away. "Oh I mean...it's nice to see all of you again. Why don't you...err...come in?"

"So...erm...why have you come to visit me?" James asked his parents and Jessebelle several awkward moments later in his living room, where he had prepared several cups of tea, as per his upbringing.

"We have a good and important reason for doing so," James' father said. He turned to his wife. "Evangeline, dear?"

His mother sipped from her cup. "James, you do know you're 27 now right?"

"Yes, of course!" James replied. "I turned 27 months ago in March! But what is so special about it?"

"Roseworth tradition dictates that male heirs of the family must marry by the age of 27, lest they lose their inheritance altogether," his mother explained.

"As you know, the reason for this ru-"

"Yes, dear father, I know that this rule came about when my ancestor, Wilhelm the first, needed to protect his inheritance...yaddi yaddi yadda...now it has become a Roseworth tradition, end of story," James cut in before his father began rambling about the strange and political history of his family lineage.

"Excellent, my dear boy!" his father praised. "Why you have grown a little smarter than your old man!"

But only because I was forced to listen to your boring lectures about this topic over and over again, James snarkily thought to himself.

"So because of that, we want you to marry Jessebelle as soon as possible," James' mother said.

"So that you can get your inheritance of course," James' father added on.

"Yes; and we can finally be together after all this time!" Jessebelle exclaimed happily. "I'll make sure to groom you into the perfect husband!"

James cringed when he heard that.

"So what do you think?" James' mother said.

Calm down, James! James said fiercely to himself in his mind. You need to think of a polite way to say 'no'!

"Yoo-hoo! Darlin', are you there?"

Jessebelle's words shocked him back to reality. "Sorry..."

"You haven't answered your mother's question," James' father said. "Are you going to marry Jessebelle as soon as possible?"

"Oh about that..." James cleared his throat.

"Oh dear sweet mother and father, I really appreciate your suggestion, but I'm afraid I will have to decline it. I don't really need my inheritance; I have enough money on my own to sustain myself and I'm much happier living on my own."

After finishing his response, he prayed to Arceus that he would get the response he wanted.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't.

Immediately after he said that, his mother gasped in horror, as though all the Magikarp in their fish pond back at home had disappeared within one night.

"James! What are you saying?!" She turned to her husband. "George, what has gotten into our son?"

James' father became visibly frustrated. "Have you lost your mind?! I can't believe you would dishonour our family tradition!"

Jessebelle, much to no surprise, became enraged. "I can't believe you would do such a thing to dishonour the family and abandon me; your darlin' fiancée! Do you know how much trouble your parents and I had to go through just to look for you?!"

James shook his head and buried his face in his hands, while the berating continued.

"You have brought shame to our family, James Miles William Roseworth!"

"I can't believe our son would do such a thing...it breaks my heart so much..."

"You never listen to what's good for you, James! I should've married you then and there when I saw you in Sinnoh!"

Bang! James had slammed the table, causing the teacups on it to rattle.

"I...HAD...ENOUGH!" James shouted at the top of his lungs. He had clearly snapped.

"I HAD ENOUGH WITH ALL OF YOU! I HAD ENOUGH WITH ALL OF YOU TRYING TO CONTROL MY LIFE AND DECIDE MY FUTURE FOR ME!"

James' fury came as a shock to all three of them, seeing how he was usually compliant to their wishes.

"Father, I had enough of you constantly forcing me to live up to the Roseworth family name!" James admonished his father while pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You always told me I was never good enough for my lineage! Are you not satisfied with everything I do, no matter how much I try?!"

"Mother, I'm sick of you telling me that you're making decisions on my behalf for my own sake! You never knew what was best for me, you only knew what was best for yourself and father!"

"Jessebelle, I'm fed up with your obsessive and controlling behaviour! I'm a human being with my own free will, not a plaything to be controlled by you! I don't even love you!"

James' last statement made Jessebelle gasp in horror.

"I just said it: I don't even love you," James reiterated.

There was a moment of silence before James continued.

"Don't you see now? I just want to be free, make my own decisions and most importantly: be myself; not an expectation forced upon me by other people."

"So go ahead, disown me; disinherit me from the family fortune. I don't care about family honour or some inheritance: I just want to be free to make my own decisions and carve my own future."

James' parents stared back at him in shock. They had never seen this side of their son before: the free-spirited, independent young man that was hidden deep inside the submissive, compliant son they knew.

Jessebelle seemingly remained silent for a moment as well, looking as though as she realised her fiancé was not the man she expected him to be.

This unfortunately was not the case, for moments later, she became livid with pure rage. "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME OBSESSIVE AND CONTROLLING, YOU UNGRATEFUL JERK! DO YOU KNOW MUCH I WORRY ABOUT YOU, AND YET YOU ACCUSE ME OF TREATING YOU AS A PLAYTHING TO BE CONTROLLED?! YOU UNAPPRECIATIVE, SELFISH-"

"Daddy...I heard you shouting just now…are you okay?" Janice's head peaked through the living room entrance.

James immediately panicked and rushed towards her. "Janice! What are you doing? You are not supposed to be here!" James said to her in a hushed whisper.

"But daddy, I heard you shouting and I thought you were-"

They were soon interrupted by gasps from the three of them.

"That child..."

"She looks exactly like James!"

James nervously gulped.

"Daddy! Janice!" Jerome ran towards them, his mother chasing him behind.

"Come back here, Jerome! You're not supposed to be here!"

More astonished gasps came from the visitors in the living room.

Jessie promptly stopped in her tracks when she saw her in-laws and her husband's crazed ex-fiancée, with an unsettling expression on her face.

"Daddy, who are these people?" Jerome asked innocently. "Also, why does that lady over there look like mommy?"

"Mommy?" Jessebelle stared in shock at her doppelgänger.

James knew what he had to do.

Grabbing his wife by the arm, he said to them, "Mother, father, Jessebelle, this is Jessica Paton; or Jessie. She is my wife of 7 years. And these are your grandchildren: Jerome and Janice."

James parents' and Jessebelle were speechless.

"Kids, these are your grandparents and my...erm...friend...Jessebelle."

He braced himself for the worst.

Unexpectedly, his parents' expressions changed to a gentler one, as they looked adoringly at their grandchildren.

"Oh goodness...you look so adorable!" James' mother cooed at her granddaughter. "You look almost like your father when he was a kid!"

Janice shot her father a look of confusion and disapproval. James just gave a sheepish grin in return that said, "Just bear with it."

"Come here, my grandson! Come and give your grandfather a big hug!" James' father called out to Jerome.

"No," Jerome said indolently.

"Jerome! Be nice!" Jessie reprimanded. She turned to her father-in-law with an apologetic look on her face. "Jerome can be a bit rude sometimes, so do forgive him."

"It's alright," James' father reassured. He then whispered to her. "I hate to tell my wife about this, but you make a good parent. No wonder my son chose to marry you."

Jessie turned a distinct shade of scarlet in embarrassment. "Why...thank you."

Jessebelle, who was observing the antics that ensued, silently smiled to herself.

"I'm so glad Jimmy finally found the courage to stand up for himself," Meowth said as he stood beside Jessebelle.

"Yes, indeed," Jessebelle replied unconsciously.

Two seconds after she made the reply, the realisation suddenly her: who was she even talking to?

She turned around, and saw a Meowth standing on two legs right next to her.

"Oh sweet Pidgeot! A talking Meowth standing on two legs?!"

The visitors stayed for the whole duration of the afternoon, only leaving when they saw the first orange ray of sunset and realised it was getting late.

"I want to thank you so much, James, for this wonderful afternoon," James' father said to him before he left. "It really was an eye-opening experience."

"I want to apologise, son, for all the trouble we gave you all these years," his mother said. "We never realised we were imposing on you and did not give you enough freedom to carve your own future."

"I guess we really are old-fashioned," his father admitted. "Looks like we have learned a lot from you today, son."

James laughed sheepishly. "I guess so..."

"You'll be pleased to know, James, that you'll be getting your inheritance soon," his father said.

"Why thank-wait what?! I'll be getting my inheritance soon?!"

"Yes, my dear child," his mother said reassuringly.

"You cannot do that! Wouldn't that be going against your traditions?"

"Some traditions are meant to be broken," James' mother said. "As what you taught us today."

"Oh right! I was just testing you," James said as though he was trying to compensate for his flub. "But it looks like I wasn't too obvious with that!"

He then burst out laughing, which, to Jessie and the children, sounded like a cross between a dying Rapidash and a Victreebel screaming.

Jessie nudged him to tell him to shut up. He promptly stopped and suddenly became self-aware that he was in front of his parents and looked at them in embarrassment.

James' parents simply laughed along.

"You haven't changed much," James' mother remarked. "You're still the same as always."

"If anything, we need to change," James' father said. "Right dear?"

"Yes," James' mother replied.

"But either way, we just want to let you know: no matter what happens, you'll always be our son," James' father put a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder-something he hadn't done in years.

"And we will always love you," James' mother held him in a motherly embrace.

James was surprised to see his parents' act so lovingly towards him-in a genuine fashion, no less. Even then, he managed to muster a soft, "Thank you," to them.

They walked off to the limousine.

Jessebelle, who was standing beside them the entire time, glanced as his parents making their way to their limousine, before glancing back at her now-ex-fiancé.

"What is it, Jessebelle?" James walked towards her.

Jessebelle bowed her head and remained silent for a few moments.

"Tell me everything that's on your mind now," James comforted her. "It will be okay."

Jessebelle raised her head, now showing her mournful expression. "I-I'm…sorry…"

"There's no need to apologise!" James assured her. "You did nothing wrong."

"No…I insist…" Jessebelle was clearly trying to hold in her tears. "I'm sorry, James…for all the mistreatment I gave to you for all those years."

"No, no, it's okay!" James said. "I mean…you didn't hurt me too much…"

"No, I did," Jessebelle persisted. "I clearly hurt you enough to make you run away from home. It was all because of me."

James remained silent, while Jessie stared at her husband's ex-fiancée in shock.

"I was a fool…all these years, I thought that true lovers were identical in personality, and if they weren't…you had to change them. Those were the rules of my household."

"I was so wrong…look at you and Jessie. So different in personality, yet you two love each other like the Weaver girl and the Cowherd. You two are practically inseparable."

"Jessebelle…"

"I shall not waste your time any further. I just wanted to get this out of the way," Jessebelle turned around. "Goodbye James…"

"Wait!"

"…and please take care of him, Jessie."

She ran towards the limousine, tears streaming down her face.

Jessie and James gave chase to her, but by the time they reached the gate, it was too late. Jessebelle had entered the limousine and it was starting to drive off.

The two of them were disheartened at first, but through the windows of the limousine, they could have sworn they saw Jessebelle giving a smile while tears were rolling down in her face.

The limousine drove off into the sunset, the orange rays reflecting off the black vehicle, looking as though it was emitting a warm glow from inside.

Whew! That was a lot to cover.

But anyway, welcome to my first Fic! I'll probably be posting stories in this style, one-shots focusing on one event that happens in a single timeframe.

Here a couple of clarifications/author's notes I want to make:

1) I decided to give James the full name of "James Miles William Roseworth" just because I wanted to give him the snobbiest name possible instead of the traditional "James Morgan" because it doesn't sound snobby enough. Or at least in my opinion XD. And before you ask, yes, the name was influenced by another rich character who has a lot of fangirls, Miles Edgeworth from Ace Attorney.

2)I named James' parents George and Evangeline as I thought George seemed like a fitting name for James' father and Evangeline sort of screams "snooty rich girl."

3) Jessie's full name is Jessica Paton, which was actually taken from an unused Fic I have. "Paton" means patrician, a member of the ruling class in ancient Rome. I used it in an ironic sense here, since Jessie grew up in poverty(but ends up getting rich herself).

4) I know you're probably screaming this in my face right now, but yes, I intentionally characterised Jessebelle as sympathetic even though she is meant to a deranged psychopath. I decided to do this since...well I just wanted to explore a more human side of Jessebelle's psyche, to show that she is merely a product of her own upbringing and she has to learn the hard way as to what true love really is.

5) The "Weaver girl and the cowherd" Jessebelle refers to is a reference to the Eastern legend of "Zhu Nu and Niu Lang", or if you're Japanese, "Orihime and Hikoboshi", two lovers who loved each other so much that when they were separated, magpies formed a bridge in the Milky Way so that the two could meet once a year. Which is, yes, the story behind Chinese Valentine's Day and the Japanese festival of Tanabata.

If you enjoyed this Fic, do give me a favourite and follow me for updates! And I'm sorry if this author's note came off as awkward, I'm rather straightforward with my thoughts in real life 0/0