Samuel Allister had followed through with the most insane plan I had ever heard.

One week after our last conversation, he sat in front of me, passing me small smiles and being the worst conspirator in history. If anyone from the entourage of people he had decided to bring in, had paid even the slightest attention to him, they would have realised what was happening.

But no one did. It made me a little mad.

Samuel, on the other hand, looked like he was in his element. Simply enjoying goofing around and cracking jokes with people who did not look like they were used to even hearing the word 'joke'.

"Let's move it along now, shall we?" An older man stepped away from the group. 

With greying hair and sharp blue eyes, he looked exactly like Christopher would in a few decades. Both of them were dressed immaculately in suits of dark green and brown. Whereas Sam, dressed in a loose-fitting white t-shirt and beige pants, looked as different from the two as possible. If it wasn't for the same blue eyes, (and holy smokes, did those genetics run strong in the family!) you could barely tell that they lived under the same roof. 

Only Sam, in his dress shoes, looked like he was dressed somewhat casually. The woman, Estelle, who sat right beside him, wore the most elegant blue blouse I had ever seen. This woman could make Rachel's Jimmy Choos look cheap.

Although in all fairness, Rachel styled everything up in a way that made even the most expensive things look gaudy and cheap, so that was more on her.

"They're certainly a sight to behold, huh?" Stella cackled in my ear piece. She had been making quips and laughing at the crowd ever since they had entered.

"How is it that you're suddenly this free?" I muttered back to her.

She tsked at me, "I am an incredible multitasker. Unlike the bride's assistant."

"There's no bride here," I reminded her. She knew everything Sam had suggested and had found his idea downright hilarious, even going as far as clearing her schedule to watch this programme.

I could feel her grinning on the other side on the ear piece, "There could be..."

That was a worry, yes. I hadn't managed to get a look at their wrists, yet. The large entourage had stumped me, and I had been too busy getting them to fit in my office, that my mind entirely slipped from paying attention to the 'apparent' soulmates.

They could be soulmates.

Not that it mattered to me either way. It would, however, be a little funny, I suppose, to watch it all unfurl if they did turn out to be destined for each other.

Sam had seemed confident enough that she wasn't his universe-approved. I had to believe that he had had a reading done previously. I certainly hoped, for his sake, that at the very least, he knew what he was getting himself into.

This could go sideways for him really fast.

"Please bring your hands forward," I smiled at the two of them. Sam grinned back at me, while Estelle just pulled her hand out without a look. 

Even before I got a look at Sam's wrist, I saw Estelle's string extending outside the room. 

She sure was somebody's soulmate, but it wasn't his. 

That son of a bitch had been right on his money.

I looked up at the original Mr. Allister and decided to add my own dramatic little flair, "I thought you said they were soulmates?"

Stella laughed in my earpiece.

Mr. Allister sputtered in shock. It was a sight to watch a man like him grapple for control as murmurs broke around the room. He was definitely regretting bringing such a reception team now, wasn't he?

 He ignored the whispers and looked over to the couple I assumed to be Estelle's parents, "Archie?"

Archie, who had been glaring at me for outing them in such a fashion, turned pale, making Mr. Allister's fears come true all at once.

Sam winked at me once, settling back in his chair, before putting up an Oscar-worthy performance. He looked so heart-broken and devastated, that even I was convinced for a minute.

"Man, he sure knows how to sell a fib," I muttered, hoping Stella would catch that over the raising voice of Mr. Allister, as he ripped Archie apart, one word at a time.

I could hear Stella hum in agreement. I also heard the crunching sound of popcorn being consumed and I shook my head, not being able to bring myself to blame her.

Mr. Allister's choice of words was extremely entertaining. He started with this loop of harsh things, and at one point, swung so high with his words, it made Sam forget he was supposed to be upset.

Archie, who had been bashfully listening so far, scrunched up his eyebrows then, and glared at him in offence, "Oh, because you're so much better, aren't you, Samuel Allister the second!"

And just as suddenly, it became a screaming match. 

"Damn, Archie got his own list of words, huh?" Stella said between mouthfuls of popcorn, "Who would have thought these oh-so-sophisticated people could curse so well? I'm totally going to use some of these when Rachel annoys me the next time."

I shook my head.

After about fifteen minutes of a very heated exchange, that nobody tried to stop- except for occasional 'come ons' from Christopher, Archie grabbed Estelle by her arm and left the room with his wife in tow.

Neither of them looked too pleased with Archie's move, but I thought I saw some relief in Estelle's eyes. Perhaps this business deal was not made with her whole-hearted consent.

But the relief...Did she already know who her true soulmate was?

Oh, that motherfucker!

Samuel Allister had known! He had fucking known the entire time; not about his own soulmate but about hers! I had been worried for no reason!

When he got up to follow his now-estranged in-laws out of the door, the brilliance in his smile made me grudgingly sigh. I suppose, I had grossly underestimated the man.

"Wait," the original Samuel Allister said, keeping a hand on his son's shoulder- who instantly morphed back into the role of the devastated fiancé. Perhaps calling him the original was also not accurate since he was 'the second'. The original Samuel would be the grandfather.

Sam the III looked up at his father in confusion, his eyes already turning moist. (Okay, this was officially getting too much) 

Stella snorted loudly into my ear, but I kept myself from flinching.

"Miss Hale, yes?" He inquired. I simply inclined my head.

"I want to know where his true soulmate is."

Sam jumped up in alarm, "Father?"

Samuel the II adjusted his tie and ran hi hand over his face, trying to return to normalcy, "I won't have such stuff happening again. We'll see if your soulmate is someone we can work with, or we shall have to remove the bond like we did with Christopher. No more variables."

Sam stared at him in indignation, "You can't do this!"

His father stared back cooly, "I thought you were upset at loosing the woman who was supposedly your soulmate," his eyes were hard, "This should be a welcome distraction, don't you think? You will get to perform the Acceptance with the new one."

Samuel II knew his son very well, it seemed. 

A sharp intake of breath let me know that Stella hadn't been anticipating this twist.

"I need time to recover from this heartbreak," Sam murmured in a pathetic defence.

Samuel II chose to ignore his son's words and wrapped his hand around his wrist, making Sam thrash away in an attempt to hide his own hands. No luck, however. 

Samuel II had muscles of steel.

He stared at me, a manic glint in his eyes, "Tell me!"

I stared right back, well prepared to turn him down. Nobody got to act like a boss bitch in my office and order others around except for me. He had tested my patience enough.

But before I could give him a piece of my mind, my eye snapped to Sam's wrist and I gasped.

His yellow soul string with flakes of gold on it was extending towards me. I stared down at my own wrist, and sure enough, an emerald green string seemed to appear on it, small silver stars standing out cooly. The two string met halfway, merging together to form the most beautiful union I had ever seen. 

The golden flakes on his end portraying the bright and warm sun, the silver stars portraying the cool night, and the the string forming life in between the two.

Samuel Allister the third was my universe-approved.

No sound came from my earpiece as the realisation truly hit me. I knew Stella saw it, too. For the first time, in a thousand years, a Hale had been matched. 

I have a soulmate.