Yuto clicked his tongue, growing angrier."I told you earlier, I want to fix our marriage. I want us to stay together. Isn't that reason enough?" Yuto began to shout."Why didn't you immediately agree and feel happy? You should be glad that we can be together again. I'm willing to sacrifice wealth and reputation for you!"Akiko clutched her coat tightly, out of regret. She regretted asking them both to leave the Nakamura house because it made Yuto see it as a burden rather than a way out. When Yuto mentioned sacrifice, Akiko was, of course, furious."Why are you questioning my decision to be with you now?" Yuto accused. "Don't tell me this is all just an excuse, and that you've actually gone mad and are in love with your uncle."“Yuto-kun!” Akiko shouted in anger, standing up.Ignoring the pounding in her head, Akiko leaned on the adrenaline and stared sharply at Yuto."You talk about sacrifice but only feel like a victim after doing this? That’s funny. What about me?” Akiko hissed, t
Akiko opened her eyes and suddenly sat up. She remembered something important. Last night, Akiko had come home utterly exhausted—because of her headache—and ate as quickly as possible.Kenji's ramen was delicious and warm, and Akiko finished it all. Then she went to sleep. She slept soundly without any dreams and only woke up a few minutes ago.Akiko was still feeling lazy, so she decided to think while keeping her eyes closed, as her alarm hadn't gone off yet. And that's when it hit her. A thought she had forgotten yesterday. The hanko and the divorce papers.Akiko threw off the blanket, leaving her futon spread out on the floor, and walked down the house's hallway. It was still very early, as it wasn't fully light yet when she passed by the garden in the middle. But Akiko didn't care. The anger that couldn't surface last night due to her headache was now boiling inside her."OJI-SAN!"Akiko slid open the shoji door to Kenji's room with a rough push, and at that moment, her anger was
Akiko felt uneasy. The obstetrician they visited was extremely busy, which made Akiko feel very uncomfortable. Akiko didn’t mind waiting in line, but when she had to wait with other pregnant women, she felt very awkward.While waiting, there would inevitably be light conversations about the pregnancy's age, how many children they had, the baby’s name, and how long they had been married.These were questions Akiko didn’t want to answer because she had not planned for this pregnancy. Akiko had never considered naming the baby, nor was she particularly concerned about the age of her pregnancy.Because they were not legally married, she was unable to answer the question of how long she had been married to Kenji. Akiko’s name had reverted to Tanaka, obscuring that fact. Automatically, they were assumed to be husband and wife.Luckily, Kenji was very skilled at projecting a dark aura around him. So after a few brief and cold answers—which were, of course, lies—the other mothers or parents s
"I want to be grateful for that, because maybe it's for the best." Hayashi wiped his face, looking more relieved, but not Kenji."I... A few days ago, I tried to remind Akiko about it." Kenji spoke very slowly, knowing that what he had done was wrong.Hayashi hissed. "That was very careless, Tanaka-san. I'm not a psychologist, but you shouldn't disturb that peace. You also worked hard to create new memories for her. Don't ruin them."Kenji lifted his head. "Can't you...""You know that's not possible. I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker. I removed the tumor from Akiko's head, and that's it. All the chaotic memories and other issues are side effects of the trauma, Tanaka-san. That's no longer my expertise. You need to talk to a psychiatrist, not me." Hayashi looked regretful again, and then asked. "Have you seen her psychiatrist?"The answer was no, so Kenji chose not to respond. Hayashi knew what his silence meant."You need to see the psychiatrist if you really want to know more abou
“Not surprising.” Kenji now understands why Yuto sent the divorce papers so suddenly.He needed the divorce to legitimize his marriage to Karin. It was clear that he kept the marriage a secret from Akiko, as she would not have behaved normally if she knew.It was better to keep it that way. If Yuto even mentioned his marriage to Karin, Kenji would consider ripping his lips off. Akiko wouldn’t be able to accept it easily. Being betrayed by two people at once was incredibly awful.“But why did he meet with Akiko?” Kenji mumbled again, not understanding why Yuto felt the need to meet with Akiko last Friday. Instead, he should have tangled with that gold-digging snake.But then Kenji shook his head, not caring, not wanting to think about another headache-inducing problem.It wasn’t his business if that spineless man wanted to associate with a stinky flower. Kenji couldn't stop him—in fact, the sooner, the better.“Tell them to stop monitoring Nakamura. It’s done,” Kenji said.They had eac
"Eh..." Akiko pulled her hand away from Kenji, silently cursing herself. That was unintentional."What's wrong?" Of course, Kenji was confused, just like Akiko, who hadn't expected her hand to act on its own.Akiko had wanted to stop Kenji from leaving, but it shouldn’t have gone that far. She wanted Kenji to delay his departure because she didn’t want all the food she had prepared to go to waste. If Kenji just left, all her hard work setting up the event in the living room would be worth nothing."Hmmm..." Akiko murmured hesitantly, tucking her hair behind her ear."What's wrong with you?" Because of her anxiety, Kenji could tell that Akiko was hiding something.But then Akiko shook her head. "I... I just wanted to know when you'll be back." Akiko tried to sound normal."Maybe in two or three days. Is that all you wanted to know?" Kenji thought Akiko shouldn't worry if that's all she wanted to know.Akiko nodded and awkwardly stepped back. She truly regretted it now, making an alread
After Kenji got out of the car, the entrance attendant ran to open the door. He could have opened the door himself, but he chose to wait out of a sense of propriety.He removed his sunglasses, buttoned his suit to appear more presentable, and then walked inside.“Tanaka-sama*,” someone greeted him, bowing.“Are you alone?” the person asked, surprised to see no one behind Kenji.“Inoue won’t be coming, and Sato will arrive later,” Kenji replied.The man who greeted him smiled in understanding. “This way, please,” he said, leading Kenji towards the elevator.He was about to attend a meeting in a conference room on the upper floor of the building.If he could, Kenji would have sent someone else to represent him at this meeting, but unfortunately, his presence was mandatory—at least to ensure that he was still alive. The matter to be discussed today was quite important. Kenji didn’t really care, but it was his duty.Kenji entered the conference room, where two others were already present.
"Then why? All women usually suffer at their in-laws' house, but not all of them ask for a divorce." Masaki hissed."She endured humiliation and mistreatment! That family doesn't deserve anything. We don’t need them!" Kenji retorted."Don’t be so foolish! Nakamura may not have any political connections right now, but you know very well that his name has been mentioned several times as a ministerial candidate from other Ichizoku*. Sooner or later, his name will rise.""I will never support them!" Kenji replied harshly, unable to hold back. When he heard his father consider supporting someone from that vain family, Kenji couldn't agree.BAM!Masaki slammed his chopsticks on the table."How dare you! I'm still alive, and you're already dreaming of making decisions? I’m still the one who makes that decision.""That’s not what I meant. Forgive me." Kenji immediately bowed, admitting his mistake."I just want you to reconsider. He's a coward—the heir to that family. He is unsuitable for any
Kenji glanced around, squinting in the dim surroundings. A few people stared at him—understandably so, as he towered over the others. Those who recognized him bowed immediately, pausing their movements, ignoring the pulsating music.The club wasn't far from Kuryugumi's main house, so it was no surprise some people knew him. However, Kenji did not reciprocate their gestures or show any concern. His focus was on one person he had been looking for.That person stood surrounded by at least three women, laughing as they offered him drinks."I haven't seen you like this in a long time," Kenji said."Hey! You came! Look!" Ryu shouted excitedly, raising his glass—likely filled with brandy judging by its color. Ryu, walking unsteadily, rushed toward Kenji and clung to his shoulder."Look who's here, everyone! Isn't he handsome? This is one of my friends."Ryu proudly introduced Kenji to the women who quickly gathered around him. Some of t
"What's going on with them?" Kyoko asked Akiko, glancing at Kenji and Ryu, who hadn't spoken to each other during breakfast.Now that the breakfast table had been cleared, Kenji still hadn’t said a word to Ryu—or vice versa.Usually, even if it was just a question about work or plans for the afternoon, they would talk. They never stayed silent like this. Akiko noticed it too. Yui was as quiet as usual, but Kenji and Ryu seemed odd."Did you two have a fight?" Akiko asked, sipping her tea and looking back and forth between Kenji and Ryu."Yes.""No."Kenji said yes, while Ryu said no. The two contradictory responses only made it clearer that something was going on between them.Ryu angrily glared at Kenji, to which Kenji responded with a defiant look."What? I'm just being honest," Kenji shrugged."Since when have you cared about being honest?! Choose the right time to be honest!" Ryu snapped."I was ju
"Are you leaving?" Akiko inquired, observing that Kenji was still wearing his shirt, even though his jacket had been removed. He clearly wasn't ready to sleep yet.Akiko herself was already under the covers. Today had been exhausting for her, especially after experiencing such extreme emotional shifts from fear to joy."Yes, I need to talk to Ryu. There are some work adjustments I need to discuss with him," Kenji said, sitting beside Akiko."Should I stay with you until you fall asleep? I can postpone it," Kenji offered, noticing the disappointment in her eyes.Akiko thought for a moment, then nodded. She did want that."But are you sure it's okay? Whatever you need to discuss with Ryu, can it wait?" Akiko asked.Kenji nodded. "Of course it can. If it was something urgent that couldn’t wait, I'd ask Kyoko or Yui to come stay with you. But this can wait."Kenji grabbed a pillow and placed it beside Akiko, who was lying down
"But that’s a lie. I just pretended to be pregnant," Akiko replied, shaking her head. She sensed that the doctor in front of her was making fun of her because the outrageous lie was too much for her.“What?” Rin was, of course, confused by Akiko’s reaction. She understood Akiko might find it hard to believe, but the confession was strange. She had no idea Akiko had ever pretended to be pregnant.“Yeah, she didn’t ask for mochi or anything,” Kenji chimed in, expressing disbelief.“What?”Akiko and Rin asked at the same time because Kenji’s response was even stranger.“She wasn’t nauseous or anything; she looked normal,” Kenji said, still trying to steer the conversation away from Mochi.“Pregnancy without nausea is quite possible. It’s likely Tanaka-san is experiencing such a pregnancy. You don’t remember when your last cycle was; that’s prob
"Are you sure you're not experiencing dizziness or nausea?" Kyoko inquired, observing that Akiko was dismissing the symptoms."Not at all." Akiko shook her head and moved on to the next question.Akiko was sitting on a hospital bed, filling out a questionnaire to narrow down what was happening with her body. Akiko had already undergone several tests, including CT scans and more, with Dr. Hayashi earlier in the day. But the results were negative.Dr. Hayashi had confirmed there was no recurring tumor—for the second time. So, he concluded something else was causing the nosebleeds, though he didn’t yet know what.Hayashi asked Akiko to answer a series of questions to better understand her condition. It was a somewhat strange method, but necessary since Hayashi was still in Tokyo and couldn’t come immediately as Kenji had requested. He had a few surgeries to perform and could only fly to Osaka the next day.So, Akiko had been answerin
"Is this the last one?" Akiko asked as she stepped out of the car and looked at the building in front of her.The large building was shaped like a church, with towers and a European-style design in a reddish hue. But Akiko didn’t see the name of a church on the sign attached to the gate. The sign read "Akarui Hizashi," which roughly means "bright sunlight.""Yes, let's go inside." Yui opened the iron gate and entered as if the place were very familiar to her.Akiko understood the building's purpose after seeing its huge yard. Children were running around, playing with the fallen leaves scattered everywhere. Akiko noticed a broom lying near their feet; they were too busy playing to finish their chores."This... is an orphanage," Akiko finally understood."Yes, this is the orphanage where Ryu and I grew up," Yui said."Oh, Ryu was here too?" Kyoko stepped forward to observe the surroundings."Yes. This is one of the orphanages man
"What is that?" Ryu asked, intrigued as Kenji suddenly stopped moving."A letter." Kenji snapped out of his daydream, startled by seeing the name Ishida. It was his name; there was no doubt about it, but seeing Masaki write that name felt like something unpleasant was looming.Upon opening the unsealed envelope, Kenji discovered several documents of varying sizes and thickness. He chose one particular piece of paper that stood out—it was sealed in a plastic clip and folded. Kenji opened it.The document inside was a marriage certificate, with the names Kenji Tanaka and Akiko—Ishida. The certificate also included their photo, stamped with a hanko seal."What does this mean?!" Ryu exclaimed, staring at the name Ishida following Akiko’s name, confused."What kind of crazy joke is this?" Kenji was furious. He had no idea what the letter meant, especially with Akiko being referred to as Ishida.Kenji grabbed another sheet, sligh
Kenji drummed his fingers on the table, staring at Murakami, who was bowing deeply before him, clearly displeased."Is that all you have to say to me? Don't make me regret sparing your life! I want information, not nonsense about how you don’t know anything!" Kenji hissed as he stood, and Murakami immediately recoiled in fear."I truly don’t have any information about the other ichizoku involved in that business. Everything was handled by Nidaime himself. I only found out by accident that there were other clans involved. Nidaime unintentionally let it slip."Murakami explained, glancing at Kenji's feet, which were now positioned close to his face. He bowed again, his body trembling as he imagined those feet flying toward his head.But Kenji was in a far better mood than before. He simply looked down at the back of Murakami’s head."My father couldn't have handled this on his own! He must have—""Maybe he did. Nidaime
Akiko, together with Kyoko, followed Yui down the unfamiliar corridor of the house. Even for Kyoko, who had been there longer than Akiko, the place felt foreign. Eventually, Yui led them to the second floor.The large wooden staircase, a deep brown, appeared sturdy, though it likely had been there for many years."I’m taking you upstairs so that you can have a better view of this place and what you now possess," Yui said, directing her words specifically at Akiko."Yes," Akiko nodded. As Akiko was now Kenji's wife, she understood that Yui was referring to ownership."We’ve arrived." Yui spread her arms, leaning against the wooden railing of the second-floor balcony.Of course, Akiko gasped in awe. From the balcony, they could see the entire area surrounding the large house.In addition to a garden, Akiko could make out the roofs of smaller houses scattered around the estate—houses she had seen when she walked in the day bef