Chapter 38: Bouquet of Lies

Next morning was like any other. Tsukiko woke early to get ready for work, her belly starting to show more now, the little bump a constant reminder of the life growing inside her. She made her husband a warm breakfast and prepared him lunch for the day. They shared a quick, tender moment before she headed out the door.

"I'll see you tonight," Kai said, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Tsukiko smiled, feeling safe and loved. "I will. You too. Don't work too hard," she said, with a playful wink.

The morning had been quiet, almost peaceful, as Tsukiko drove to work. But then, at the traffic light, a sudden thought hit her like a bolt of lightning. 

She had forgotten an important document at home. Something she needed for her meeting later that morning.

Tsukiko cursed under her breath, shaking her head. How could I forget something so important? she thought, irritated at herself for the mistake. Without hesitation, she made a U-turn and drove back home, determined to get it and get back to work in time.

The apartment was quiet when she arrived, the kind of quiet that was normal when Kai wasn't around. "He must have gone to work." She muttered. 

When Tsukiko approached the front door, something caught her attention. 

A pair of high heels.

Unrecognizable. Sitting neatly by the door. The sudden spike of unease sent a chill through her spine.

She hesitated for a moment, her heart beating faster. Something about the situation didn't feel right.

Tsukiko slowly pushed the door open. The living room was just as she'd left it, but then she heard faint voices coming from the bedroom. She didn't know what to think at first, but something told her to keep moving forward.

As she walked closer to the bedroom, her hand trembling slightly, she reached the doorway. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw it. The last thing she ever expected to see.

Tsukiko's legs gave way, and she stumbled into the room, her mind racing, her eyes unable to fully comprehend what she was seeing. She stood there, frozen, trying to process the scene in front of her.

Kai, her husband, was on the bed, tangled in the sheets with another woman.

The woman looked up at her with wide eyes, but Tsukiko barely registered her face. All she could focus on was Kai, her husband, the man she had trusted with everything, lying in bed with someone else.

A feeling of disgust, betrayal, and heartbreak overwhelmed her. Her stomach twisted painfully. Her hand flew to her mouth, trying to suppress a scream that she couldn't form. Her eyes were blurry with unshed tears, and for a moment, she felt like she was drowning in her own emotions. She couldn't breathe.

Kai... The name echoed in her mind, but it felt like a foreign word now. The man she had loved so much, the man who had promised her forever, had betrayed her in the most unimaginable way.

Kai's panic was instant. He shot up from the bed, frantically trying to pull himself together as he saw Tsukiko standing in the doorway. The devastation in her eyes felt like a dagger to his chest. It was as if everything he had built, everything they had shared, was crumbling before his very eyes.

"Tsuki—" he started, his voice shaking, but she wasn't listening. She stood there, staring at him, her gaze hollow and full of disbelief.

"W—Why…" Tsukiko's voice was barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of her broken heart.

Kai took a step toward her, reaching out to her, but Tsukiko backed away, her hands trembling as tears spilled down her cheeks.

"No Tsuki…" he pleaded, his voice cracking. "Let me explain... I– I didn't—"

Tears began to slip down her cheeks, her whole body shaking with the force of her emotion. She turned abruptly, unable to stay in the room for another second, and ran out the door, unable to face him any longer.

Kai rushed after her, his heart pounding in his chest. "Tsuki! Please!" he called, but she was already too far ahead, her movements desperate and chaotic.

She fled down the stairs of their apartment building, her thoughts a whirlwind of grief and anger. She couldn't think clearly. All she could feel was the overwhelming betrayal, and she had to get away from him. She needed space, distance, air to breathe.

But as she ran, everything seemed to spin around her. The world tilted beneath her feet. Her heart raced faster, pounding harder in her chest, and before she could react, her foot caught on the edge of a step.

Her body jolted forward, and in the split second it took for her to lose her balance, Tsukiko felt the earth slipping away beneath her. Her hands flew out instinctively, but there was no time to catch herself.

She stumbled, crashing down the stairs with a sickening thud. The sharp pain of her body hitting each step was followed by a gut-wrenching, cold rush of terror. Blood began to flow—her own blood, hot and sudden, spilling out, staining the concrete as she crumpled to the ground.

Tsukiko's vision blurred, her body screaming in pain, and everything went black.

Kai's breath caught in his throat as he watched in horror from the top of the stairs. His legs gave way as he rushed toward her, his hands trembling as he knelt beside her, the sight of blood making his stomach twist.

"Tsuki! Oh god, Tsuki!" His voice broke as he reached out, cradling her head gently. "Please, stay with me... please."

But Tsukiko's eyes were closed, her body still, and Kai could feel the weight of what he had done sinking into him like a lead weight. This was no longer just about the betrayal. This was about something far worse.

The woman he had promised to love and protect was lying in a pool of blood, and he was the one who had caused it all.