"I can't be with you. I'm sorry." She finally said it. Haruka was simply flabbergasted. What?

"Huh? Why? I-I thought we harbor the same feeling?!" Haruka was confused. He was sure that Takane also had this feeling called 'love' towards him. Her actions, her words, her tenderness…. Wasn't it all because she loves him? Then, why? Or is it just…

… His one-sided love towards her?

Both of them were in deep silence – Takane only looked down, not wanting to meet with his eyes. She knew that he was looking at her. She could feel his intense stare staring at her. Is this the correct choice that she made?

Who knows?

Takane no longer knew what the correct choice that she should make. She loved him. She does love him. Even she wondered herself, why her mouth saying such answers.

Slowly, Haruka walked towards her. He didn't say a word. All he did was simply sitting on the floor, facing her yet he didn't look at her into the eyes. He neared his forehead towards her calves. She could felt his body temperature.

"His body is… so cold." She thought.

"Takane…" Haruka broke the silence, looking at her pair of blue snickers. She looked at him yet he didn't dare to look at her into the eyes.

"Why… why won't you tell me the reasons for your rejections?" he questioned her. She knew Haruka was deeply hurt by her answer. Imagine – the person that you love and think that the other party also harbors the same feeling as you yet it was actually simply one sided love. It was simply… cruel. She knew, by the way he asked her, he was controlling the urge of him from crying. He didn't want to look pathetic in front of her.

Tick! Tock!

Tick! Tock!

The clock kept ticking yet time somehow slowly passed by. Is it alright for her to tell him? Or rather, isn't?

"Haruka-kun." She softly called out his name. He fidgeted, didn't expect for her to call out his name. She realized that actually, she needed to clear this misunderstanding towards Haruka. She loves him. However, she wanted to hear the explanations coming out from his mouth. She wanted to cure him.

"I know everything. What actually had happen to your family, what Marry and the others had done to you and… who was actually the father of that unborn baby."

Out of the blue, Haruka looked of her with the eyes of shock. His looks towards were different. It was like as if he had just seen something terrifying. Was it perhaps, he was afraid of her knowing the truth of this incident? His looks were different. Slightly different.

His hands were trembling. His face turned blue. She even could see blue veins throbbing on his neck like he was actually trying to control himself from going rampage.

"So, because of this, you reject me? Because I just committed incest? Because I'll be a father of that child? Because I'm the cause of this incident? Is that it, Takane?" he kept repeating those confusing statements.

"Huh?"

All of the sudden, Haruka forcefully pushed her down as she was off guard. He was on top of her, panting. He was sweating. His eyes were in deep madness. She was in shocked seeing him like this. His finger quickly yet gently curled around her neck, gently pressing, closing it with his brute force. He was trying to cut off her air supply.

Was he trying to kill Takane?!

"Has he gone crazy?!" she thought. She screamed silently, gasping for breath. She tried to pull away his hands from continue strangling her yet it was all useless. She knew, at this rate, if she didn't do anything, she will die. Everything that he did right was out of his consciousness. His madness had overcome his rationality.

There's only one way to make him conscious again.

She looked at him again. Without any hesitations, she threw a slap onto his left cheek. She felt an unbearable pain on her right hand as she used quite a force to stop him from killing her. Everything happened so fast yet it felt so long. Haruka's left cheek was bright red. Finally, Haruka gained his consciousness. The first thing that he saw was his hands were on her neck. Was he trying to choke her?

As he realized what he had just done to her, he quickly released his hands from her neck. As soon as he backed off from the strangulation, she coughed, trying to catch her breath again. Haruka stared at her, looking at her suffering as she tried to breathe properly. He stared at the place where he strangled her – it was bright red on her neck.

He didn't realize it at that time but he was aware that he had used such a force to… kill her?

Killing her? Killing Takane?

Why? Why did he intend to kill her?

For rejecting her?

To vent out his anger towards her?

Why?

Somehow, he couldn't give a reason as per why he did such thing to her. He felt miserable, not knowing why he did that her. Not knowing why he can no longer control this madness inside him. Suddenly, Takane could feel a droplet of lukewarm tear falling onto her cheek.

Haruka?

She turned her eyes towards him, Haruka. Finally, she saw him; looking at her with his face had smeared with mucus and tears of his own – their eyes finally met. She knew that he felt guilty, strangling her. She wondered, despite the fact that Haruka did that to her, she wondered,

Why do you look so beautiful?

Cry Haruka. Cry till your heart content.

I know,

You kept all this sadness deep inside your heart,

Alone,

Unable to share this sadness with anyone.

"Haruka-kun…"

"…listen. The truth is…"

Without her realize, she uttered the words that she didn't even think about it, clearly. Like as if she was reciting a well-written script. Everything that she thought about this case,

"… You're not in the wrong, Haruka."

How she thought about that unborn child,

"But, even if you don't believe that that child was yours, you cannot make yourself be a sinner. That child didn't do anything wrong."

The thought of letting Marry undergo an abortion,

"You know, even though I'm not a mother, to me, undergo an abortion is just… cruel."

She said it. Those words coming out from her heart, she finally said it.

She smiled faintly, wiping out the tears coming out from Haruka. Haruka finally stopped his tears. He lifted his head to her. His eyes were red.

"I know, Haruka-kun – You cannot accept the love she harbored to you. That's why you said all those harsh words to her. You are not ready to be a father. The anxiety that you developed was because of her. You're scared of her if she ever reveals it to the media that the child she carried was yours and not her husband's. You're scared that you will ruin the image of your parent." She softly explained to him, gently helped him snorting out his mucus.

"Yeah. You're right. I'm scared. Every day, I'm worried that one day she will leak it out to the media. Accusing me that I raped her or force her in having sex with me. I'm scared that you will feel disgusted towards me. But believe me! It's me who's been force! I know it may seem weird for you but it's the truth. It… is the truth." He told her. He looked miserable – his eyes were red, his right cheek was bright red, his hair was a mess. He was like a totally different person, unlike during their first meeting. She chuckled, making him startled.

"I know. I believe in you, Haruka-kun. But you need to know, that baby is still yours. You need to protect that child. One day, if the truth finally unfolds, I want you to take the responsibility of protecting that child of yours. Don't run away.'

Every word that came out from that small lip of hers was like a spell casting to lift the curse inside him. Those words from hers were the words that Haruka desperately trying to hear from. Finally, someone finally say it.

"Beside…" she added.

"I will always be by your side no matter what." She whispered to his ears. He finally smiled brightly.

"Yeah. You're right." Then, both of them ended laughing, embracing one and another.


Half a year later…

Inside Tokyo National Court.

"Takane. Do you think we could win? We are against Marry's husband. Do you think that everything will end well?" he asked her. In the surface, his expression his wearing right now is what the people usually called as 'poker face' yet actually, he was starting to feel anxious. She smiled seeing him like that.

"Everything will end well. Beside, even if her husband is one of the most renowned lawyers in Tokyo, your family lawyer is also one of the best. Don't feel so anxious." She chuckled.

"Probably so. With you as the catalyst, well, I think that winning is on our side." He teased Takane. Both of them quietly laughing together.

Everything went well. Haruka already return his job as the head director of the hospital. He even let Kido works as the vice head director. He told her that the past is the past and he wanted to reconcile with Kido without having any argument about the past (referring to the threaten letters).

He even reconcile with Momo. Although Momo didn't expect of him being apologetic to her but well, things just turn out better than she just expected. Momo finally meet the person that she loves. Unexpectedly, it was with Seto-sensei.

The baby finally has been safely born. And as expected, she leaked it to the media that she has been raped by Haruka and probably twisted the story to her husband. That was why, Haruka has been called into the court as Marry just filing suit against him. The reason why she did that? Well…

Haruka and Takane just engaged.

Haruka finally is finally free of migraine and overstress-free also he just overcomes his trust issues towards his coworkers. Sometimes, his anxiety hits him hard but he tried to overcome it. Slowly, together with Takane and Shintarou.

During the time Takane as the psychologist, she realized something very important – Love is the cause of madness yet at the same time, love is also the remedy of curing the madness.

"Alright. We will begin now."

Everything will be alright.

It will.


A/N: Thank you for reading it till the end of this chapter! I hope that you are happy with this ending ver :) I'm sorry for not update this more than a year but still, I tried my best to finish it!

Ah! btw, remember the moment when Shintarou was talking about the painting that's hanging on Takane's office? Well, actually, it is a painting that Haruka made back in highschool. I couldn't fit it in to any plot so I decided to just reveal it here! haha XD Don't forget to visit my tumblr: phantasyreign when you have free time. Well, till we meet again!