Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 96404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Well, he has another thing coming.
“Breakfast was half an hour ago, Naomi,” my father reprimands.
“She had an emergency, Hitori-san,” Akira lies on my behalf.
“Not really. I just don’t see why I should have breakfast with you when I hate you, Father.”
His cheeks redden and he grips the teacup tighter. If there’s anything Abe Hitori despises more than being defied, it’s being disrespected, especially in public where it’s considered a humiliation. Due to his control-freak tendencies and role in the Yakuza, he’s used to having his demands met.
“Do you have a death wish?” he grinds out.
Maybe that’s exactly what I have, because right now, pressure is building inside me. Or maybe it’s been festering there for years. Either way, it needs a release.
I need a release.
I need to finally drop the mask and be me again.
I need to be the Naomi who didn’t let anyone walk all over her, because that’s what her mom taught her.
“Akira and I need to talk,” I say.
“We already talked, dear wife, and you chose to disobey me, so I had Abe here send for your lover. We don’t want her to ruin our partnership, do we, Hitori-san?”
“Indeed, Mori-san.” My father glares at me. “You should’ve known better than to test us.”
My legs shake and it takes everything in me to not fall to the ground. “S-send for him? What do you mean by send for him?”
“It means he’s in our custody.” My father reaches for a remote and turns on the TV. I cease breathing when a cell comes into view.
And not just any cell.
The same cell that Sebastian and I were locked in seven years ago.
Only, this time, I’m not there. Sebastian is. Alone.
On the ground.
Unmoving.
Oh, God.
No, no, no…
For years, I had nightmares about this same scene every single night. In my dreams, I would miss him so much and have a moment of weakness and go to him. I would kiss him, touch him, sleep in his arms, but then my father and Akira would always kill him.
Right in front of me so I would learn a lesson.
The reason I had to resist Sebastian was for this exact reason. I preferred breaking and stomping all over my own heart so he wouldn’t end up in this position again.
I foolishly believed I could change things. That I could finally be with him despite everything.
But I’m late.
Too late.
My hands tremble and my eyes sting with unshed tears as I stare at the screen. A burning sensation rushes to the surface, threatening to spill over.
No. Please.
Please, Sebastian. You can’t leave me now after I finally found you again.
“He’s not dead,” Akira announces. “But he will be if you don’t keep your part of the deal.”
A tinge of relief expands in my chest, but it’s short-lived at the lurking threat behind Akira’s words.
I knew he disliked being threatened, that he hates not having the upper hand and the control that comes with it, but I pushed his buttons anyway and now he’s making me pay.
“Neither you nor anyone else will threaten my business, Naomi. Do you hear me?” My father points at the screen, at Sebastian’s inert body. “That little bastard should’ve died twenty-two years ago for his parents’ sin, but I spared his life for his grandparents’ money. Turns out, it was never worth it and he should’ve joined his thieving mother.”
I stare between Akira and my father, dumbfounded.
“I told you. It goes way back.” My husband motions at a calligraphy hidden by the plant in the corner of the office.
My eyes widen when I read the words in Japanese.
The weak are meat. The strong eat.
Those are the exact words on Sebastian’s Japanese tattoo. The same words that he lived by all this time—probably since he was a kid.
“You knew Sebastian’s parents?” I ask in a choked voice.
“Only his thieving mother.” My father takes a sip of his tea. “She was an assistant at one of our branches that we use as a front to ship illegal paintings. When she found out about that painting which was worth three million at the time, she got greedy and stole it right after the art expert announced its authenticity. She was smart enough to replace it with a forgery and we didn’t know until the buyer hired his expert and he told him it was a fake. We figured out she was the thief and hired the truck that hit them. The cause of death was a car accident. As easy as that.”
I stumble and catch myself at the last second. The reality of my father’s words hit me hard and fast. He killed Sebastian’s parents. My father is the reason he was orphaned at a young age and turned out the way he is now.
“You’re a monster! How could you do that to a child?”
“His mother stole from me. No one fucking steals from me.”