Episode 63
"Did you all know about this?!!!"
There was pin drop silence in the room.
"It's not that we didn't want to tell you, it's just..." Zhuang paused a bit.
"Just what?!" Akio almost growled.
"Calm down first Akio san" Alex said.
"How can I?! You all kept the fact that Kirihara Mari is alive secret from me and now you're telling me she just stood in again and took over the Kirihara estate and Kei knew about it!!!!" Akio was fuming with rage.
"It's just.. It was Kei's decision.. We basically had no right to come between you two!" Alex said what Zhuang couldn't.
"It was... his decision..?" Akio was shocked "So.. I'm that..untrustworthy for him that he'd decided to carry this burden on his own?"
"Akio san, to be frank, you're in no position to say this especially when you kept alot from him too" Alex replied.
It really made Akio silent, he stood there clenching his fists.
"Yeah but... I'm able to handle it and he's clearly not able to do so! You all know his condition! How could you just listen to him on this?!" Akio still couldn't shake off his anger.
"Again, it's not our say, you both need to work on your communication gap instead of taking out anger on others" Alex replied strictly.
"Alex is right, it's not our place to come between you two, besides him meeting up with Mari and she appearing after so many years and taking over the Kirihara estate is something that was decided between the two of them.. Even we both don't know what those siblings are thinking or doing" Zhuang finally spoke up too.
"But Aoi knew! She knew it all along, why couldn't she just... Forget it, that girl has never considered me important enough to consult things with me" Akio said a bit spitefully
"Now you're shifting your anger on Aoi... Again you're not coming to Kei, he should've been the one to tell you, not anybody else!" Alex's tone got a bit into scolding mode.
Akio didn't answer that one.
"Where are they both now?" Akio asked.
Zhuang and Alex gave each other a look.
"What? Don't hide anything from me!" Akio watched them two glance at each other.
"Akio san, he used influence on us" Alex reminded him.
"So what? I'm not just going to stop due to fear of some influence" Akio said
"No no, you got it all wrong" Alex crossed his hands before him "It's that...how to put it.."
"He did something despicable like using influence on so many omegas even as young as Adrian.." Zhuang said
"He can't face us..?" Akio realized.
"It's not that we don't want to tell you, it's just that we don't know" Alex replied "You know him, he's someone who doesn't forgive himself easily, to do something like that means he gonna crawl back into his hole again and indulge in self hatred, Aoi is most likely just stuck with his wish of not telling anyone where he's going..." Alex shrugged.
" I think I know where he is"
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"To.... Do... Something... Like... This...." Kei was all holed up in a closet in his own house while Aoi sat outside it.
"It's totally your fault this time" Aoi said.
"Aoi.." he almost sounded like he was pleading "he will... Never... Forgive... Me" he sniffled.
"He would but it's you who wouldn't forgive yourself, would you?" Aoi said sitting still against the half opened door of the closet.
"I didn't... Mean to....I just..." Kei was a sobbing mess.
Aoi handed him another box of tissue box through the half opened door. Though she wasn't really allowed to look at him, since he'd close the door if she did so. It already took her an hour or so to make him open the door slightly.
"Why'd you do that? Was it because you met her..?" Aoi asked.
"Maybe... But... I'm also... Tired..." Kei replied.
"I thought you'd worked it out already" Aoi asked.
"He..." Kei was about to say something when there was a loud banging at the door.
"Well, I think that's my call to leave" Aoi got up but Kei suddenly reached out from the closet grabbing her clothes from the back.
"Don't... Please don't... Go..." He said in an almost begging tone.
Aoi gave a little smirk.
"What are you afraid of? Has he ever treated you wrong?" Aoi said as she gently moved his hand and walked away to the door opening it.
Akio was standing with clenched fists infront of the door.
"I'll leave you two to it" She said giving a light bow.
"You're not off the hook either" Akio mumbled to her whilst passing by her.
She gave a smile as he passed by and closed the door before leaving.
Akio walked to the closet as if he'd already known he'd find Kei there.
"Come out" He said in a plain strict voice.
Kei completely shut the door and held his mouth pretending to be not there.
"If you don't come out in the next minute, I'll break the cupboard" Akio threatened.
Kei was a bit startled but still kept silent. As soon as the clock ticked onto the next minute the door of the cupboard was ripped off by brute force and thrown far off. Even Kei's eyes widened at the strength of the man before him.
"Step out" Akio said with a straight face but there was something in his eyes that made Kei almost shiver and he stepped out almost tripping forward and then standing up properly
He didn't dare look Akio in the eyes, just stood there with his bent head.
Akio lifted his face a bit strictly by his chin.
He still moved his eyes around never looking at Akio.
"In the next few minutes, you have two options" Akio walked in closer to him "Either you use your influence and try stopping me using your alpha command or..." Akio paused.
Kei briefly looked at Akio.
Akio grabbed his jaws
"Or.. You'll give me a proper explanation"
"If... I refuse.. Both..?" Kei mumbled half shivering.
"You don't want to know what happens then" Akio walked in even closer grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.
Kei clenched his fists a bit too "Why.. Are you.. Asking me... You know.. Why... I used.. It"
"If I did, would I ask you?" Akio said.
Kei reached his hands slowly and grabbed at Akio's wrists and jerked them away to Akio's surprise.
"I know it okay!" he broke down " I know... I know.... I'm so useless....I'm..."
Akio was dumbfounded by his sudden break down "What do you mean?"
"An unclean... Filthy partner.... I can't even... Make you happy... I have nothing... The only reason you... Are around... Is because of... Girls... And... Because you... Pity me... You can't.. Touch me... You can't do anything.... I know.. How you look at... Him... It's not.. The same with me... He knows so much about you... I know nothing.... You never tell me... I tell you to hold me... But you always... Refuse... You don't... Even want me... And then you said... You don't.. Even want.. To marry me... Why would.. You want a used.. Partner like me... I'm less than garbage... You're just stuck with me... But it's fine.. Even if I have to... Snatch you away by... Force.... Then... Be it... I'm... Just that... Miserable!" He ranted aloud and with a sudden gush a huge wave of pheromones surrounded him.
He looked through his teary eyes at Akio who stood stern despite the choking pheromones surrounding the room.
Akio suddenly came at him and despite the stress of the pheromones he lunged at him and picked Kei up with just a single arm putting him bent over his shoulder
"What... Are... You... Put me down!" Kei showed some struggle, hitting a bit at Akio's back " Don't... You hear... Me!"
His pheromones calmed down in all the struggle.
"I heard you loud and clear" Akio said taking him to the bedroom and legit throwing him on the bed "You unreasonable freaking brat!"
He said and loosened the collar of his shirt folding up his sleeves exposing his veiny muscled arms and removing his belt.
"Are you going... To hit.. Me?" Kei asked innocently.
Akio raised his belt a bit to which Kei tightly closed his eyes but when he did open his eyes his hands were fastened to the headboard of the bed.
"You ungrateful brat, I'd been doing everything for your sake, holding myself back just for your sake, trying not to force you or scare you and you have the nerve to give me a shitty rant about your shitty views about me and some shitty pity?!" Akio said pushing his hair back exposing his fierce grey eyes which were always covered by his dark gold bangs. He looked pretty much like a gangster or at least a thug with that look on his face.
" Akio san... " Kei couldn't even blink, he looked at the man above him with wide open eyes. The soft spoken and silent Akio had almost disappeared, for a moment it almost appeared to Kei as if someone else was before him.
"You have the nerve to do such a shitty jealousy filled rant infront of me full of shitty insecurities" He said before locking lips with the guy under him, who couldn't even struggle in shock of the change in his personality.
"Wait.. I'm..." Kei tugged at his arms a bit but they were completely tied back.
"You wanted to know about me?" Akio said ripping apart Kei's clothing making him shiver a bit.
He leaned into the guy's neck which seemed to be his most favorite place since he'd always start with that.
He did exactly that, he started with the neck, then his shoulders and collar bone while getting handsy with his semi clothed chest that was half covered by the shreds of the torn clothing.
Kei had his head tossed back, he could do nothing but arc his back and hold back his voice while tugging his bound hands as he let the beast above him devour him.
"I'll tell you each and everything about me clearly and slowly right now"
Akio whispered next to Kei's ear and moved down pushing Kei's knees back to his chest.
Akio licked his own lips with his piercing gaze locked with Kei's shocked eyes.
"So you better not pass out half way through"
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"Are you serious?"
I almost sat up with a jerk but my hurting head made me lay back in an instant.
"It was his call" She told me.
"Why didn't you tell dad any of that, he's gonna be supermad at you.." I said. It's already surprising enough that Mari san is alive let alone the fact that she met up with Kei san. This all sounds like a mess.
"Honestly, I didn't want Mari or Kei to be involved with each other anymore" She said sitting next to my bed.
"Mari doesn't have complete recollection of things she did but she does know that she did that because of some fragments of memories"
How convenient, to do things like that and be able to forget it....
"Do you hate her too?" She asked me.
I don't know really how to answer that one.. Am I not supposed to hate her..?
She didn't really get an answer from me...
"For me, she's the same as me.. Except.. I was able to turn to a different path... Thanks to you" She held my hand.
She gave a brief statement and it all came to me, why Aoi is so sympathetic to Mari despite all her evil doings...
She knows her motivation better than anyone else, she might be the only one out there who still understands what broke down in Mari's head...
"Aoi san..." I held her hand back "I don't hate her... But I hate the things she did to Kei san.. Everyone else probably deserved it, her father, her mother.. But Kei san and even Yuki san... They both didn't deserve any of that" I told her.
She smiled briefly and nodded in agreement "The reason I had to let them meet was because Mari wanted to apologize to Kei.. I hardly thought apology would mean anything at this point.."
"Then why'd you let them meet?" I asked.
"I was against it anyway.. I was not in favor of letting Kei and Mari meet ever again but something happened, Mari suddenly started insisting that she really needed to meet him.. I don't know what made her do so.." She told.
"Did you tell her about Yuki san and Ms. Sam getting together or something? Or about the secret of her son Eli?" I asked.
"None, you're the only one who knows about that.." She replied.
"Then what made her that way?" I asked.
"Don't know... But she briefly said that there was something she must do, so even if Kei didn't want to meet her, she wanted him to atleast hear her out even if by phone... I was hard to make the decision but I had to.. Unexpectedly Kei agreed to meet her.. " She replied.
" What did they talk about? " I asked her and she shook her head in a no.
" I have no idea, Kei didn't allow me to follow him in, whatever they decided was between them.. " She replied
" That's crazy..! Taking them to talk is one thing but leaving him alone with her is another.. " I felt a bit agitated.
Everyone knows how Kei san is, leaving him on his own infront of the person who hurt him the most...!
" Natsu... I thought of it too, there's no way I wouldn't think of something like that but in that moment when Kei said he wanted to do it on his own, there was something in his eyes that showed me that he really wanted to face this on his own" She replied.
"Yeah but still, that was a gut feeling, what if something had happened to him?" I asked.
"Nothing happened, he went inside and came back almost half an hour or so later... I almost didn't recognize him once he came out.. It's as if a changed man walked out.." She told.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"His aura, it was completely different.. Moreover he asked me to prepare some papers.. He officially signed the deed of making Mari the next head of Kirihara family..." She herself looked a bit shocked while telling it, it was almost as if she was still in disbelief.
I relaxed a little.
I do really wonder what happened between Mari and Kei san and what made him decide to make Mari the head of Kirihara estate but it must have taken alot of courage to do so...
I think I can only respect him and try to show some understanding...
"That still doesn't explain what happened to him in here just a little while ago" I said shaking my head trying to put some facts together.
"No, that one's purely your parents' fault" She shrugged.
"Huh, what?" I was dumbfounded.
"It's true that Kei has been under stress because of the recent things that happened to him, but Mr. Zhuang and Akio san unconsciously keep rubbing it into his face that they have had something between them.. Even I'd be mad if I'd have to constantly see the person I love flirt back and forth with an ex.. Kei even asked Akio san to marry him but he showed no interest" She said.
"That's stupid, Kei san knows better than anyone else that Dad pays no heed to father, it's completely one sided for father, even if he did reject him there must be some other reason for it" I said, almost finding it dumb.
"Ah you're so cute, I could literally eat you up" She sighed.
"Huh where'd that come from!" My face was already heated due to the fever and now this woman!
"How come you can't see through your own dad? Besides a person like Kei who has very low self esteem is even more sensitive to this, he has tons of insecurities arising from this self esteem issue... They are basically both idiots whose communication gap is ruining their relationship so even if Akio san did that for some other reason, Kei would never understand it unless he's told about it" She sighed.
"Hey don't call my dad an idiot!" That was rude, how could she call my dad that.
"Of course not, the only idiot here is my idiot sandwich" She said squishing my face in the pillow I was laying my head on.
"You're teasing me again" I said pushing her hands back.
"And I'll keep teasing you till death do us apart.. Might come back as an evil spirit and still tease your ghost.." She said and kissed my forehead and the tip of my nose.
"How evil..." I mumbled as she held my hands kissing each finger individually.
"This evil woman really loves you" She whispered with a smile on her face. Nowadays I often find this expression on her face, it's so pretty.. Such a pretty evil woman...
I leaned up a bit and closed my eyes tightly before kissing her cheek.
"What am I? Your mommy?" She said teasingly and so I had to make effort out of ego and peck her on the lips super quickly.
"That's enough, don't try your luck now!" I said being super mad out of embarrassment.
"I wouldn't dare.." She smiled taking my wrist against her face and rubbing it against her cheek..
She's doing it again rubbing her pheromones onto me...
"Aoi san..."
"Hmm..?"
"I...love...you..too"
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"Tomorrow's the day"
Mr. Strauss sat on his chair relaxing back.
Ian stood before him with a little boy sticking to his leg and hiding behind him.
"Yes father..." Ian said with his bent head.
"This is kind of devastating.. I've already promised to let Kirihara Mari take you for tomorrow but Mr. Ryan is also coming to your birthday party for tomorrow, he could be a good deal for us too.. How old is Lian again?" Mr. Strauss asked.
Ian's eyes widened as he hid the boy behind him" Father, please.. He's only 9...he's... " his voice shivered.
" You were also 9 when you took in your first customer, it's going to be fine, ask the maids to prepare Lian for tomorrow's celebration" Mr. Strauss said.
Ian literally rushed to his side grabbing his feet "PLEASE I BEG YOU, NOT LIAN.. FATHER LET ME DO IT INSTEAD... HE'S A CHILD... PLEASE..."
Ian couldn't even blink, his eyes were bulging out in horror.
"Didn't I tell you not to act this way" Mr. Strauss kicked him away and signalled the maids to take Lian away.
Ian kept sticking to his legs but no avail, the maids started taking the child away. He tried to rush after him but the bodyguards of his father blocked his path. He kept screaming and calling out for his brother watching the crying boy being forcibly taken away.
That night there was a huge thunderstorm. It was raining cats and dogs. The loud thunder almost made it uncomfortable for anyone to sleep in peace.
There was the sound of the doorbell that echoed throughout the Kirihara mansion, the furniture of which was all covered in white cloths, as if it was an abandoned place, yet there was only one room where Mari sat infront of the mirror.
The doorbell distracted her.
She stood up walking in a bit of a limp using her cane as she walked through the empty halls to the door.
She peaked through the cat eye and slowly opened the door finding the drenched dark haired boy standing infront of him.
"What brings you here this late in the night, Ian Strauss"
She asked holding the door open.
He fell upon his knees
"Please.... Save my brother..."