#5 Unwanted Wife

Akiko quickly retreated to the corner of the bathroom, clutching her phone tightly. There was nothing she could do. Her body was tense as her eyes remained fixed on Kenji, who looked extremely angry.

With a trembling voice, Akiko whispered, "Oji-san..."

"Oji-san!" Akiko screamed as Kenji's rough hand snatched her phone away.

Without blinking, Kenji threw the phone against the bathroom wall, shattering it into pieces.

"Why did you do that?" Akiko wailed as she fell to the floor, gathering the fragments of her phone that were irreparable. The phone wouldn’t turn on, and the screen was cracked.

"I told you to stay here! You don't deserve to go back to that family!" Kenji hissed and tried to force Akiko to stand, but she pushed his hand away.

"No. I want to go back. I need to be with Yuto!"

Kenji pulled Akiko’s face close, gripping her cheeks with his hand. "What do you like about him? He's weak! And he doesn't make you happy at all!"

"He's not weak. I’m happy with him! I’m---"

"LIES! If he had some balls, he wouldn't have let his mother humiliate you. You have to stay here!"

"I can't! How could I remain after what transpired between us?!" Akiko screamed out the horrifying truth with disgust. Akiko wanted to return to Yuto, but her desire to leave Kenji's house wasn't only based on that.

Akiko couldn’t bear being in this house because it reminded her of the shameful act she had just committed with Kenji. It was a terrible disgrace. Karina was right; her parents would be deeply disappointed and saddened if they knew she had done something so disgraceful with Kenji. 

"Do you remember what happened between us?" Kenji's hands, which had been holding Akiko's cheeks, loosened slightly.

He stared at Akiko with his dark eyes. "Do you remember what happened last night?" Kenji pressed for an answer.

Akiko turned away, unwilling to respond. She might not have remembered at first, but now her memory is slowly coming back. The recollection made Akiko want to vomit. She remembered how she had been the first to undress in front of Kenji.

"So, you remember?" Kenji correctly interpreted Akiko's silence.

"If you remember, you should know that you can't go back to that man. Your body is mine!" Kenji hissed. Kenji’s memory of what happened was also very clear. Seeing Akiko in front of him brought back all the sensations he had experienced the night before.

“NO!” Akiko roared and shook her head, pushing Kenji away; however, Kenji had already grabbed her waist.

"If you insist on going back there, then I will repeat what we did last night. I'll make you scream with pleasure until you forget that useless man!"

"No!" Akiko struggled, but Kenji easily overpowered her. Her body was less than half Kenji’s size. Kenji's hands easily reached for the front of Akiko's blouse, tearing the buttons open.

"Don’t do this, Oji-san!" Akiko pleaded, trembling with fear, but continued to resist, screaming and moaning while pushing Kenji’s face away as he tried to kiss her again. 

Kenji still smelled the alluring scent from the night before on Akiko’s neck and chest. The aroma lingered and brought back memories of Akiko’s body.

“Oji-san!” Akiko screamed with all her might, and eventually, the sound penetrated Kenji's mind, snapping him out of his lust.

Kenji froze, closing his eyes and clicking his tongue, trying to steady his breathing. The image of Akiko’s body was difficult to erase from his mind. Finally, Kenji managed to pull away from Akiko and release her.

Akiko curled up beside the bathtub, hugging her knees and covering her face. She sobbed once again, with her shoulders shaking. Akiko was even surprised that her eyes could still produce tears, considering how many had already been shed since yesterday and today.

"I will take you to that man!" With a cold expression, Kenji made his decision and turned to leave the bathroom. Akiko’s pleas continued, even though they conflicted with Kenji’s own desires.

Akiko, feeling nearly insane, welcomed this decision with a sliver of hope. A bit of warmth emerged after seeing only storms before.

Akiko stood up unsteadily, looking at her disheveled appearance. She wanted to cry again when she saw her torn clothes, but she took a deep breath, steeling herself. She found solace in the fact that her uncle had consented to return her to Yuto's house.

After gathering the remnants of her phone, Akiko returned to the room. She took clothes from one of the wardrobes, which she assumed was Karina's, but she didn't mind. There was no way she could go out wearing such a tattered outfit.

Carrying her small bag, Akiko left the room and met Kenji, who was waiting by the front door. They were silent as they headed to the garage. Kenji drove, and Akiko waited by the gate until Kenji stopped the car. 

The drive to Yuto’s house was also filled with the same silence. Akiko occasionally wiped the tears that still stubbornly fell. She had washed her face earlier, trying to make her appearance look normal to avoid raising questions if Kaede and Yuto asked. 

But Akiko found it challenging to calm herself. Her body still trembled as she thought about what Kenji had almost done to her. It was difficult to hide her fear.

Akiko knew her uncle was kind—well, he used to be. In her memory, Kenji had been very kind. But what he had done in the bathroom terrified her. 

Akiko continued to clench her hands on her lap during the journey. She kept her gaze down and didn't look at Kenji. Finally, Kenji stopped the car.

Akiko looked up gratefully, as Kenji had kept his promise. She was back in front of Yuto’s house. Without saying goodbye, Akiko ran out toward the gate of Yuto’s house.

With trembling hands, Akiko rang the bell several times. The gate was always locked, so she couldn’t just enter. When she saw the gate move, Akiko stepped back slightly, and her body froze when she saw who came out: Kaede, her mother-in-law, with a smile that resembled an Oni (demon in Japanese belief) with fangs.

"So, my daughter-in-law, who is also a slut, has come back?" It was a sharp and painful jab for Akiko. Her eyes quickly filled with tears again. Her already fragile spirit faced another trial from the person she had always feared.

"I didn’t expect that, besides being barren, you’re also a cheap woman. Don’t tell me you’ve been sleeping with many men and betraying Yuto all this time!"

"No! I haven’t done that! Really, Oka-san*. I truly haven’t..."

"I don’t care anymore. It's clear that I was right all along. You are barren, because even though you opened your legs for any man, you still haven't become pregnant! Perhaps it's karma that brings misfortune!" Kaede opened the door wider, then threw two suitcases onto the street.

"Leave this house! I don’t want to see you again. And don’t ever see Yuto again! Your marriage is over. I am ashamed to have a daughter-in-law like you. UGH!" Kaede spat on Akiko’s face, then slammed the gate shut.

"Wait! Oka-san! Don’t kick me out! Oka-san!" She pounded on the wooden door for a while, but Kaede wouldn't open it. The woman wouldn’t listen to her pleas or explanations.

"Yuto? Are you going to just stand by? Anata*?!" Akiko didn’t even know if he was inside, but she didn’t want to believe that Yuto would let this happen.

But, of course, the door didn’t open. Akiko’s fate with that house and Yuto had come to an end. Akiko slumped, unable to scream anymore, while one hand wiped her face, smeared with sweat, Kaede’s spit, and tears.

"I’m not…" Akiko couldn’t even defend herself right now because what Kaede said held some truth. What else was she, but a cheap woman? It was clear she had slept with her own uncle, destroying her marriage.

Suppressing her sobs to avoid turning her cries into wails, Akiko crouched in front of the gate while her hands gripped the suitcases that Kaede had thrown.

The small warmth and hope Akiko had felt when Kenji agreed to take her home turned out to be an illusion. In the end, Akiko had to face a bitter reality. She had become a cheap woman in one night, but she had also become a widow in a short time.

***

Note ;

Oka-san ; Mom

Anata ; Husband