Tainted Blossoms
Chapter One
She felt sick.
She had locked herself inside the toilet and had been throwing up for the last half hour.
The sex with the old man who she now called her husband was finally over . . . at least, for tonight.
And it was nothing short of disgusting.
So disgusting it was making her sick to her stomach.
She was relieved the old man had fallen asleep immediately after he made his release.
She had never liked sex, not even with her first husband.
She could not remember a time that she enjoyed it.
For her, it was a tedious chore that she had to do.
And each time, it was disgusting.
Tears formed in her eyes as she threw up again.
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"Where's father?" A low, husky voice asked.
Mikan lifted her eyes from her plate and looked at the newcomer.
It was a young man; he was handsome and probably only a few years older than her.
She had seen him before at her most recent wedding but only for a brief moment.
He was probably Hatake's son with his first wife.
"He had already left for work." She replied nonchalantly and resumed to her breakfast without another word.
The man took the seat across from her. She could feel him staring but she merely ignored him.
He probably thought of her as the girl who married his father for money, which was true even though it was her parents who had benefited the most; but the idea was still the same.
"How old are you?"
She heard him asked so suddenly. She lifted her head and her eyes met his crimson ones.
"You couldn't be any older than me. You're what, eighteen, nineteen . . . ?" He guessed.
"Sixteen," She answered simply.
"Good lord . . ." He muttered, his grip on his fork visibly tightened. "Was it worth it, marrying a forty-six year old man for money?"
Mikan decided she did not like this man at all.
However, she masked her anger by giving him a sickeningly sweet and innocent smile. He seemed to have been caught off guard as he almost dropped the eating utensil in his hand.
"What if I tell you I married Hatake because I am madly in love with him?" She said, her voice sweet as honey.
The man scoffed, "Impossible. From what I've heard, you were just recently widowed when you married my father. You probably needed a new source of income."
He was getting into her nerves but Mikan refused to give in to his taunts. She deliberately shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant manner and said, "That's also true; but yes, marrying your forty-six year old father was worth it. He is certainly not a bad catch. He's still so handsome and well-built despite his age . . . and still very active underneath the sheets, if you know what I mean."
She smirked inwardly when the raven-haired man narrowed his eyes at her. She continued with her food with satisfaction and ignored the guy once again as he glared daggers at her.
"You know, you should try being nice to me since I am your husband's son." He said after a while.
Mikan looked up and gave him a bored look, "Well, son, you haven't exactly been nice to your new mother either, have you?"
"Step-mother," He corrected. "And the name is Natsume. You should at least remember that. After all, we're family now." He said sardonically before he got up from his chair.
"I'll see you around . . . Mikan." He murmured her name in a seductively low voice, and then he was gone, leaving the food in his plate untouched.
She was seething in anger.
Their encounter hadn't even lasted that long but the man had already managed to leave her so infuriated.
She hated him.
That arrogant son of a bitch.
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She was so beautiful.
. . . but her beauty was only superficial.
Natsume hated her guts.
He hated how much she could get into his nerves so easily.
He hated that she was a shameless gold digger.
But what he hated the most was him.
The attraction he felt for her was uncanny.
He found it so difficult to take his eyes off of her.
She was more stunning up close.
It did not matter that she was infuriating; she still mesmerized him regardless of her rotten attitude.
He could not believe his bastard of a father took her as his wife.
She was only sixteen; he was even older than her by three years, for fuck's sake!
His father was a sick bastard.
How could that dirty old man marry someone so young . . . even younger than his own son?
He felt nauseated at the thought of his father and Mikan naked in bed together.
No, scratch that; he did not even want to think of it.
What was worse was that Natsume desired her.
He desired her so much.
And he knew, for his own sake, that he shouldn't.
She was a fucking gold digger.
She married his father for his money and that girl even had the audacity to act so laidback about it when he accused her.
But he still felt a bit of regret.
He regretted the fact that he did not meet her before his father did.
She could have been his.
But at least he had discovered early that her personality was in contrast with her outer appearance: it was ugly.
She may look like an angel outside, but inside, she was a devil.
She was despicable.
And Natsume hated the likes of her,
Because she was nothing but a high-class whore.
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Author's Note: An anon reviewer asked me what time period this story was set in. Actually, when I was writing this, I was thinking of the past; like early 1950's.
Thanks for reading and for the reviews. I'll update soon. :)
