F*ck

France, Paris, more precisely on top of the Eiffel tower.

Ryan was currently standing on top of the Eiffel accompanied by his family, his "Wife," "Daughter," and "Son." If you look at his face, you could clearly see that he wasn't happy even though he had been looking forward to it for years, as the last time he came here, which was 30 years ago, having been brought here by his dad, but sadly the elevator was closed that day due to maintenance.

Anyway, his sadness originates from the information he had discovered before the trip. His wife of more than 20 years had cheated. Upon learning of this, he had immediately confronted her. Deep down, he was a really petty person. He would have blown stuff out of proportion and made her pay for her betrayal. Still, he had morals and limits as three days after he confronted her, he was supposed to take a trip with her and his kids, to celebrate his son having survived cancer.

So he gives her the silent treatment, only talking to her to keep a facade in front of his kids. You see, he was raised on clear ideals. He had grown up without a mom. It was only him and his father. Since he was young, he understood the sacrifice his dad made for him. In his head, his dad is the person he wants to be. So having his dad's ideals, he wanted to be a knowledgeable, trustworthy, and competent person, and that was throughout every aspect of his life, meaning even his marriage.

He tries to be the best husband he could be. Overworking himself for the future of his family, he worked way more than he needed to. Having only an associate's degree, he works to help his wife pay off her college loan and pay for her to earn a master's degree. As per his wife's wishes, he even pays for his daughter to go to private school. He sacrificed all his late 20s and 30th to provide and make his family happy.

It was only in his 40s that he saw his investment paying off. His wife got a well-paying job, and his daughter became independent. So he started working less and started to take time for himself, even beginning to play video games heavily.

He thought all was well, that his life was perfect, even going on top of his father's grave and happily bragging that he had built a life as proud of as he had. But now he stands on top of the Eiffel tower looking in the distance, at the sun. Tuning everything out, going, over his life, every choice he made and wondering where it went wrong. Wondering if he should forgive her, that she had only cheated at the beginning of their marriage. Convincing himself that it was his fault that he didn't give her enough time, working too much.

But Ryan was resilient. He remembered why he worked. It was to provide for her, and she knew this too. During their marriage, sure, he got approached by another woman, but he turned them down, wanting to be a loyal husband. But still, should he forgive her. There was no doubt in his mind that she loves him. They had lived together for a long time, so long that they were in sync that they couldn't see each other's life without the other.

But he felt so betrayed that he could vomit from seeing her if he did hold back. Another sad fact was that he discovered that she was cheating from watching a video resulting in him always picturing the other man on top of her every time he closed his eyes. He didn't want to forgive her. Something deep down wanted to hurt her and make her suffer.

Before he could continue down this deep hole, he was brought to his senses by his son running to him and holding him tightly. Looking down, he could see the fear on his face. Before he could say anything, he saw his wife getting close to him while everyone was panicking.

He did need to ask what happened as he quickly saw why everyone was panicking after looking around for a few seconds. Not far from him, a man was standing with his jacket open, revealing a bomb while holding the trigger in the on hand. At that moment, his heart started beating harder than it ever did as fear took over his brain. His fatherly instinct kicked in. He immediately pulled his wife and kid behind him as he started retreating, only to discover that everyone else had already piled up behind him, leaving him standing at the front of the group.

======

An hour had already passed, and there were police and all types of agencies at the foot of the tower and chopper flying around. Behind him, Ryan could see people filming the event with their phones. His daughter was also part of them, he wanted to reprimand her, but he knew it wasn't the time for this.

The guy with the jacket had been pacing around yelling and stuff, but Ryan could see he was getting more and more aggressive. Suddenly he made a mad stash toward the group while starting welling a line. At that moment, Ryan's fight or flight system activates. He felt so much adrenaline coursing through his vain. His heart started beating faster, his vision narrowed only seeing the terrorist, time slowed down, thought course through his head faster, the noise of the people moving back or their scream was ignored as his life flashed in front of his eyes, ending with a picture of his family crumbling, revealing his dad. His idol and hero at that moment, He knew what he had to do. He had to try.

"Fuck this shit, fuck me and fuck life" Leaving his final word behind, Ryan started his how mad dash. Even though he was in his late 40s, he explodes with strength and speeds greater than his younger self at his peak. Colliding with the terrorist, he picks him up and proceeds to jump off with him. As his final act, he delivers a massive punch across the terrorist's face before dying in a ball of flame.