Chapter 29: Birthday

Days went by until it was time for Daiki's 30th birthday. Akiko and Yuki had planned to have a beautiful family picnic at a park while Narumi assisted them in the planning process.

"Can we wake Daiki up?" Narumi asked Akiko, who gave her strict instructions not to do that. She even made her reset his alarm so he doesn't wake up at six, which was his normal morning routine. 

"Yes, let's go and wake him up." Akiko chuckled before dragging her mom and Narumi. Daiki was still sound asleep when they reached the room. He looked so peaceful lying on his bed. The sight of him being peaceful made Narumi feel warm in her chest. Her heart swelled when she thought of all the good things that could happen to him. 

"Let's wake him up." Akiko said it again. They gently nudged Daiki awake but didn't completely wake him up. He slowly opened his eyes but remained sleepy. 

"What's the time?" He mumbled with his eyes half-closed.

"Happy Birthday!" They chirped together. Akiko then handed him a gift basket filled with gifts and flowers. Narumi stood beside Daiki and smiled softly.

"This is very sweet of you guys." He said.

"That's not the only thing we will be doing together. We are going to have a picnic at Meguro Park." Akiko told him. 

"Picnic? Is that really necessary?" He yawned.

"Of course."  She said.   "Now get up and get ready. I ordered this amazing outfit for you to wear today." She said as she pointed to the clothes sitting neatly folded on his desk.

"Why did you order this for me?" He was confused.

"Because it fits you perfectly!" Akiko gushed happily. "Now get ready. Narumi you should help him."

"Me?"   Narumi's eyes widened, and her face turned red. 

"Yes, you are his wife." Akiko chuckled.

"It's a contract marriage." Narumi muttered.

"You always repeat this boring information." Akiko rolled her eyes and pinched her cheek. "Go help him out, sis."

With that, Yuki and Akiko left the room with a smile on their faces. They were ready to do everything to make sure those two stayed together.

"I woke up at eight," Daiki muttered.

"Oh, that's because Akiko didn't want you to wake up early on your birthday. She made me reset your alarm." Narumi said. Daiki nodded and stretched his arms before walking to his bathroom to freshen up.

'I wonder why mom and Akiko have to make me help him get ready.' Narumi thought.

She picked up an apple and a knife from the desk and started to slice it. While doing it, her mind wandered to the day that she and Daiki kissed; it was a mistake, so why does it keep appearing every time, every day? Narumi decided to ignore that thought.

'Concentrate on slicing the apple.' She thought about it, but it didn't happen. 

'Focus, focus, focus!' She chanted over and over again, but nothing worked. She felt like her brain wasn't wired properly, and because of that, she cut herself instead. She felt some blood running down her hand when she touched the cut on her hand. 

"Oww..." She winced. 

Narumi panicked and quickly grabbed a tissue from the drawer to stop the bleeding.

Daiki rushed out of the bathroom when he heard her cry out. He ran straight towards Narumi and saw the cut on her hands. 

"Oh my gosh! Wait let me get the first aid box." Daiki hurriedly said and opened a drawer that contained an entire set of first aid tools. He rummaged through until he found what he needed. After grabbing it, he quickly put some pressure on the cut and applied ointment to the wound.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Daiki kept asking worriedly.

"I'm alright."   She replied. 

"What were you thinking?" he asked.

Narumi could feel her cheeks heating up. She couldn't really tell him what was on her mind, so she just said it was something related to work.

"Okay, just make sure that you don't do anything reckless next time." Daiki sighed as he wrapped her hands in a bandage. 

"I'm going to leave now, so hurry up and come downstairs." She said as she started walking away but suddenly stopped mid-step. She turned around and added, "Mr. Tsukumo won't be coming today."

"Oh, that's great." Daiki smiled. 

"Akiko was the one that came up with the idea so you could have a nice day." Narumi muttered.

"Thank you."  Daiki said, and Narumi left without another word. Daiki sighed deeply when the door was shut behind him. 

'Today is going to be a good day.' He thought with a huge smile. 

When Daiki came downstairs, he noticed that everyone was already waiting for him.

 outside.  There were even a couple of flower baskets and plates of food. Even the cake looked nice. It had white icing on top of chocolate icing. 

"Let's go!"  Akiko yelled before jumping into the front seat of the car.

As soon as they reached the park, they all sat on the blanket they brought along and brought out all the things they wanted to eat.

"Daiki, you are turning into an old man." Akiko commented.   "But somehow you look so young." 

"He's only thirty years old." Yuki said. 

"Thirty is still old, mom," Akiko chuckled.

"I think you should keep quiet, Akiko, and eat." Narumi whispered harshly at her sister.

"Okay!"  Akiko giggled for a while.

"Akiko, thank you so much." Daiki said it to her gratefully. "This was such a great plan."

"You're welcome." She smiled.

"And also thank you for not allowing Mr. Tsukumo to show up. I know he is my father, but..." 

"It's alright, Daiki; today is your birthday, and I wanted you to have a great day without seeing anyone who reminds you of the past." Akiko said.  "I want you to spend it with people who make you happy." 

"Thank you; sometimes you behave like a mature adult and other times like a teenager." Daiki chuckled before taking a piece of cake and eating it. Akiko and Yuki laughed, while Narumi just stared at Daiki. She couldn't understand her feelings anymore, but every time she was with him, her heart would fill with warmth and butterflies would appear in her stomach. He is a good man and also good-looking. 

'Wait a second? Do I have feelings for Daiki?'  Narumi thought to herself. 'No way. I can't like someone that I am in a contract marriage with.'

"Narumi, are you alright?" Her mom asked.

"Yes, mom, I just want to take a quick stroll." She lied.   As soon as she was outside, she took deep breaths.

'I like Daiki, but that can't happen. I need to kill these feelings, or else our complicated relationship will become worse. She thought to herself. 'I need to kill these feelings before it's too late.'