Chapter 23: Meeting Him Again

All through the week, Narumi tried her best to take care of Daiki; she ensured that he had a reduced work load at home and at work. She was behaving like a typical wife, and Daiki found it really cute. 

"Ma'am, Mr. Tsukumo has arrived," a maid announced. 

"Thank you for informing me." Narumi said before closing the door to her room. 

"Who was that?" Daiki asked; he was wearing a trouser but his shirt was unbuttoned.

'Shirtless …'   Narumi's eyes wandered around, and she swallowed hard. 

"A maid came here to say that your father has arrived." Narumi cleared her throat. 

"Oh, he has arrived." Daiki muttered.

"Yes, but if you don't want to see him, then don't force yourself." Narumi gave Daiki a pointed look.

"It's alright."  Daiki said.  "I want to hear his excuse." He shrugged; he was not feeling up to seeing his father again. 

Narumi sighed.  "That's good."  She wanted to say something, but she noticed how Daiki was finding it hard to button his shirt up; every time he tried, the bandage on his left arm slipped from its place.

"You could ask for help." Narumi muttered. 

"It's alright. I don't want to bother you." Daiki smiled at her, but Narumi wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure?" She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You could cause your injuries to bleed more." 

"You are right, so can you help me with my buttons?" Daiki requested.  

Narumi came closer to him, and she started buttoning his shirt, but it was really hard for her to do it without looking at his chest. Her eyes kept drifting around it, and she felt her cheeks heating up. 

'Damn it.'   Narumi cursed inwardly. 'Why am I behaving like a teenager?' 

After she managed to button up his shirt, Narumi cleared her throat again.

"Let's go downstairs now." She said, her voice wavering slightly.

"Alright."   Daiki nodded and grabbed his jacket.

The pair walked downstairs to see Daisuke and Yuki waiting for them. 

'I really don't feel like seeing this man, but sometimes you have to do it because of people.' Daiki thought; he knew that if his mother was alive, she would want him to speak to his father, even if it's just one.

"Good morning, everyone." Narumi said. "The last time Mr. Tsukumo came over, things got messy, but I hope everything works out today."

"Same here," Yuki muttered.

"I am Mrs. Tsukumo Narumi, your son's wife." Narumi introduced herself. "That is Mrs Hinode Yuki, my mother, and my younger sister Akiko, but unfortunately she's not around today." 

"Nice to meet Narumi." Daisuke smiled.

"You said that you wanted to speak to your son and explain some things, but you couldn't do that before, so you can do it now." Narumi suggested.

"Of course," Daisuke said, then he looked at Daiki, who had clenched his right hand into a fist and seemed ready to explode at any moment. 

"Daiki  I know that you hate me, and to be honest, you have every right to hate me. I wanted to have a large family so that I could brag about it when I met my fellow men. Ayame was a beautiful woman. Our marriage was an arranged one, but she was always supportive from day one. Unfortunately, I'm a horrible person, so I couldn't see her value. When she gave birth to three girls, I was so angry that one day I went to have a drink at a bar, which is where I met Chidori. We had a good time, and one thing led to another. Eventually we became lovers, and things were perfect until Chidori got pregnant." Daisuke took a deep breath. "Having a child outside of marriage is a wrong thing, so I ensured that nobody found out. A year later, Ayame gave birth to you, which made me so happy. I was satisfied at first, but I wanted another child. The doctors warned us not to have another child again or else it could cause death to the mother, but Chidori was able to convince me to just go ahead." 

"Wow, your mistress convinced you to have another child with mom despite knowing the consequences. Amazing."    Daiki snorted.

"I'm ashamed of myself because of that. Ayame got pregnant again; she was always looking weak and pale as snow. You all were worried about her, especially Misaki, but I brushed it aside; when it was time for her to go into labor, she didn't make it." Daisuke looked down. "I was so sad but also happy because I could bring the woman I loved into my life. After a year of moaning, I brought Chidori and Banri home, your stepmother and stepbrother." 

Daiki looked away and clenched his fists. Narumi bit her lip; she could tell that Daiki did not want to hear anything again.

"You were happy when my mom died because you wanted to bring your true love into your life. Do you know how much that woman tortured Misaki, Emiko, and Mio? She turned them into slaves in their own father's house." Daiki gritted his teeth, and tears were running down his cheeks. "How will you know? When you were busy drinking and gambling, you never realized that they were suffering. It was easy for you to just push them into marriages that would cost them their lives." 

"Daiki …."  Narumi put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. 

"Where are they?" Daiki asked.

"Who are you talking about?" His father looked at him confusedly.

"Chidori and Banri." Daiki growled.

"Bani stole all my money and ran away from home while Chidori is no longer alive; she had cancer and passed away two years ago." He replied.

"Oh, I can see what's going on here. When your beloved wife died and your son ran away with your money, you remembered that you had a son from your first wife who left your house ten years ago, then you decided to go and find him." Daiki said sarcastically. "I don't need to listen to this nonsense or speak to you, but I respect my wife and her family; if they let you live here, then that's your business." 

With that, Daiki stood up and looked at Narumi. "I'm going to wait for you outside." Then he walked out of the room.

"Mr. Tsukumo, you may be my father-in-law, but I'm going to be honest with you. I don't respect you at all; a man who did all this can't be respected." Narumi folded her arms. "If you are really ready to make up for your mistakes, then feel free to stay here, but if you are going to hurt Daiki one more time, I promise to be your worst nightmare." 

"You don't have to worry about that, my dear." Daisuke said. 

Narumi didn't reply to him; instead, she looked at her mother. "Daiki and I will be going to Nagoya for a meeting; we should be back tomorrow. Please take care of yourself; Akiko will be back soon." 

Yuki smiled.  "Of course I will. Take care of yourself and Daiki."

"Yes mom."