Building The Strongest Family-Chapter 99: Love and Straw Problems

A cluster of teenage girls huddled near the restroom mirrors, transformed into an impromptu support group for the emotionally wrecked.

Maddie slumped against the concession stand, her voice shaky as she exclaimed, "I literally can’t even right now!"

She pressed her hands to her face, smearing what was left of her mascara. "That was the most beautiful, tragic, life-ruining thing I’ve ever seen! I will never love again. Never."

Alyssa munched on leftover popcorn with a mix of aggression and despair. "Shut up! Oh my goodness!"

She tossed a kernel at Maddie. "You’re making it worse! I was doing fine until you started bawling, and then I..." Her voice cracked. "Jack didn’t even get to grow old!"

Jenna, the logical one of the trio, looked at her friends crying like toddlers and said through sniffles while wiping her nose with her sleeve, "Okay, but... Rose could have scooted over! That door clearly fit two people,I did the math!"

Maddie shot Jenna an exaggerated glare. "Jenna! It wasn’t about the door; it was about symbolism! The door was metaphorical..."

Alyssa threw more popcorn in frustration. "It was literally a door,a physical door!"

As the Titanic survivors...er, viewers,spilled out of Theater 3, their puffy eyes and emotional wreckage drew curious stares from moviegoers emerging from other screenings.

The contrast was almost comical: a group of guys in muscle tees froze mid-high-five as they took in the scene.

"Whoa. What the hell happened in there?" one asked incredulously while eyeing a sobbing woman being helped into a seat by her friend.

"They played Titanic," sniffled a passing usher who clutched a wad of tissues.

"Pfft. Weak," snorted another guy as he flexed his muscles. "Our hero punched a helicopter mid-explosion, now that’s cinema."

A nearby Titanic girl whipped around, tears glistening under the lobby lights. "Oh yeah? Did your ’hero’ sacrifice himself in sub-zero waters for love?! Did he?!"

The action fans exchanged glances and muttered... "No?"

"Exactly!" she declared before storming off, leaving them bewildered.

Meanwhile, a cluster of horror fans recoiled as a wail erupted from a Titanic viewer hugging a pillar.

"Dude, our movie wasn’t even that scary," whispered one horror fan as he edged away.

"Nah man," said his friend while watching another grown man blow his nose into his shirt. "This is way worse,that’s real terror."

A teenage girl from the horror group sidled up to a Titanic mourner and asked hesitantly, "Uh... was there like... a twist death? A jump scare?"

The mourner a college kid in a "Team Jack" shirt,purchased at the concession stand mid-movie,looked up with hollow eyes.

"Worse. A love jump-scare," he muttered, still reeling from the film’s dramatic twists.

Nearby, Chad and Tiffany found themselves ensnared in a Titanic-like emotional fallout.

Tiffany, arms crossed defiantly, shot him a glare. "You wouldn’t have given me the door."

Chad paused mid-sip of his soda, bewilderment washing over his face. "Huh?"

"You heard me." Her eyes narrowed like storm clouds gathering for a downpour. "If we were on that door, you’d be all like, ’Babe, it’s cool; I’ll just tread water for three hours...’"

Chad scoffed incredulously. "That’s crazy! I’d obviously find another door!"

"There was no other door, Chad!" Tiffany yelled, her frustration echoing through the lobby.

A nearby group of Titanic fans nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Okay, first off," Chad waved his drink dismissively, "that door could’ve fit two people if they stacked...."

Gasps!

The entire lobby turned to stare at him.

Tiffany’s expression went nuclear. "I knew it! You’re exactly the kind of guy who would ’well actually’ a death sacrifice!" In one swift motion, she yanked off her promise ring and declared dramatically, "We’re done."

"Over a movie?!" Chad was dumbfounded as he looked at her with shock etched across his face.

"Over values," she retorted fiercely before hurling the ring into his soda cup and storming out amidst applause from fellow Titanic fans.

Chad stared after her in disbelief before glancing down at his cup. "...This is still a straw problem."

A random guy clapped him on the shoulder sympathetically. "Rough break, man. But hey..."

He gestured toward the Titanic poster on the wall. "Plenty of fish in the sea, just maybe avoid boats?"

Meanwhile, Arthur watched this chaotic scene unfold with an amused smirk playing on his lips. His own thoughts were racing:

"Damn! This is wild!" He shook his head incredulously as he witnessed a couple’s relationship unravel right before his eyes.

"Congratulations! Your movie successfully ruined someone’s marriage!" Ophelia chuckled beside him, her beautiful eyes sparkling with mischief.

Arthur coughed lightly, straightening his suit with a touch of mock seriousness. "I prefer to think of it as... accelerating the inevitable," freēwēbnovel.com

He quipped, glancing at the still-fuming ex-couple before turning back to Ophelia with a playful smirk. "If a relationship can’t survive a hypothetical door scenario, was it ever truly seaworthy?"

He plucked a stray popcorn kernel from his sleeve and added with a grin, "Besides, this is excellent for business! Nothing unites people quite like collective trauma, just ask Shakespeare."

"Who is Shakespeare?" Ophelia asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Damn! This mouth of mine!" Arthur cursed inwardly but maintained his composure. "He’s just a guy I met once," he fibbed smoothly.

Ophelia studied him for a moment before nodding. "Okay, let’s go!"

With that, they strolled out of the cinema and made their way to Arthur’s car.

"Should I send you back or...?" Arthur hesitated, glancing at Ophelia.

"You brought me out to watch a movie and now you’re asking if you should take me home?!" she teased, rolling her eyes playfully.

Her smile radiated beauty that momentarily left Arthur spellbound.

Noticing his dazed expression, Ophelia waved her hand in front of his eyes. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah... yeah! Ahem! I’m good, let’s go!" Arthur quickly regained his composure and opened the door for her, eager to mask his embarrassment.

Once inside the car, the Hyperion GT20 roared to life and shot off into the night, leaving the cinema behind in mere moments.