Trembling hands clung onto the floral perfumed, crisp off-white envelope seemingly for dear life. The pristinely stamped red wax insignia had seemed to turn back the hands of time. Although Misaki loved reminiscing about some parts of his past, there were some aspects he would rather forget. One of which being the unexpected demise of his parents and the other of course being his arraigned fiancé his fiancé. Unlike his relationship with Usami, there was no romantic spark. Even before Usami stormed into Misaki's life the student did think of what it would be like to propose, but given his family's wishes he knew that there would be no bending on one knee or verbally asking the love of his life for forever. Just a secret pact between families, one he had no idea existed until it was revealed to him at the age of fifteen.
To add to the burden on his shoulders, he didn't hate his fianceé. He had fond childhood memories of her. She was kind to him, but in a platonic friend sense. As much as he would love to make the woman his bride to impress his brother, he couldn't. Sure his fiancé was beautiful, wealthy, and a close friend of the Takahashis, but was she really worth losing the man he loved? Even if he were to choose the latter and spend forever with Usami, was it worth being the disappointment of the family? It was more than enough keeping his relationship with Usami a secret, but to look his lover in the eyes and admit to being engaged to someone else the entire time would be too much to bare. It would break the both of them and destroy what the foundation that the couple had hoped to keep sacred forever. To Misaki, the keen memories of this princess-like woman carried not a shard of romance. She was merely a remnant of a genuine friendship.
With the pull of his lamp switch, the once dark room was penetrated by an influx of light. After peeping from around the corner for any sight of Usami, Misaki finally gained the courage to open the letter. With a heavy gulp, the brunet removed the folded letter from the perfume coated envelope. The delicate handwriting read:
"My dearest Misaki,
There hasn't been a night where you haven't ran through my mind before I close my eyes. You are the first thing I think about the moment I open them. My friends at uni ask me how could I withstand being away from my love, my fiancé, my future husband for so long. Do you want to know what I tell them? I tell them that distance has both cursed and blessed us. My love for you will forever grow fonder. I will be returning from England for holiday soon. I cannot wait to see you and catch up. I hope you are as excited too.
Sincerely yours,
Hanako"
Guilt welled up within his stomach as he eventually became misty-eyed. This girl seemed so hopeful for their future. All she wanted was to be an obedient wife and Misaki was the only key to her destiny. Her entire life practically revolved around learning how to be a wife. In fact, once she announced that she planned to go away to university, her traditional family labeled her decision as blasphemous to their name. However, they grew used to the idea of having the first female college grad within their family, especially since they were alerted that Misaki was also attending school. A degree was destined to make Hanako a more desirable woman, they thought. Little did they know, the idea of marriage was a burden to her as well, for she too harbored a secret.