The following Saturday, Miyuki arrived at her lover's apartment in the early afternoon.
"How are your arms?" Shizuma asked after greeting her.
"They're better. The bruises are a nice shade of yellow."
"Miyuki, I'm worried. What if he does something like that again?"
"He won't. He promised not to hurt me again after our party on Wednesday."
"Let's hope he keeps his promise."
"I think he will. And I think life will be a bit easier for me. I found out that he's definitely been unfaithful."
"Oh?"
"He admitted it. Then, we had a little chat and I told him I'd overlook the fact that he cheats if he leaves me alone when I don't want him. He was quite tame after that and also promised not to hurt me again."
"Okay." Shizuma still didn't seem convinced. "Where is he now? Another business trip?"
"No, he's out with some associates, probably looking for women. I told him I was meeting you and might not come home till tomorrow."
"And he was okay with that?"
"Yeah. He said he didn't want me out partying all night, since it wasn't the proper thing to do for a married woman. But he's okay with me meeting with a friend and staying overnight." Miyuki grinned. "He thinks you and Hiro are a couple."
"I wonder how that idea got into his head."
"Well, good thing it's there. He doesn't see you as a single woman who could lead me astray anymore."
Shizuma laughed.
"If he only knew…" She softly kissed Miyuki.
Three days later, Shizuma phoned Amane. They hadn't had the chance to talk for a while, because Amane and Hikari had had a lot to do. Also, Amane had been training very hard for an important horse show, in which she and her team had been very successful.
"Hey, Shizuma! I'm so glad you called. How are things with you and Miyuki?"
"Well, her husband gave her pretty bad bruises on her arm. She wasn't compliant enough when he came home and wanted relief for his hard-on."
"Oh no! Did she go to the police?"
"No. Her mother fed her some crap about how a woman has to obey her husband and Miyuki could be thankful that she only got bruises on her arms. I told her to leave him, to come and live with me, but she says she can't. It's too big a step for her and she's scared."
"Hm, I can kind of understand her. Not that she puts up with his abuse, but the part about her being scared. I wonder what my family and Hikari's family will say when they find out that we're a couple."
"You'll be able to deal with that. And you know I'm always there for you and Hikari."
"Thanks. It's good to know that."
They talked a while longer about school and college, then hung up again.
Shizuma and Hiro were sitting in a bar, enjoying large, fanciful, fruity cocktails. Four weeks had gone by since Miyuki had been hurt by Asuna, without any other incident.
Shizuma and Hiro had joined the couple for dinner at various expensive restaurants. Asuna seemed very interested in doing business with Hiro's firm and seemed willing to spend quite some amount of money in order to reach his goal.
"You know, as much as I hate to admit it, you were right. Asuna's been treating Miyuki a lot better lately." Shizuma smiled.
"Well, I guess you should listen to me more often. But I'm glad things are going better for her. I really like Miyuki. And…she doesn't seem as broken as she used to. I bet that's thanks to you." Hiro took a sip from his cocktail. "By the way, your semester is almost over. Do you have any plans for your break?"
"Nothing definite. My dad said I could work in his company if I didn't have anything else to do. He wants me to learn everything there is before I take over the Hanazono corporation. But considering that I grew up breathing and eating business, there's not all that much to learn. Anyway, my dad won't retire when I'm done with college, so he'll have a lot of time to teach me. Why?"
"I was wondering if you'd be interested in working for me. You'd be in the office for a couple of days a week and you could accompany my firm's lawyer."
"Hiro, I'd love to! Thanks! That's a wonderful offer!" Shizuma beamed at her friend.
"Great. I'd hoped you would do it."
A few hours later, Shizuma returned home and crawled into her bed. She was looking forward to seeing Miyuki the next day. Her lover would come over and then, they would see how the day would continue.
Punctually at 11, Miyuki came, wearing a pair of sunglasses.
"Hey, beautiful." Shizuma kissed her lover. "What's with the sunglasses? It's not really all that bright in my hallway."
Without a word, Miyuki removed her shades, revealing a black eye.
"Oh my god! What happened?"
"Asuna happened." Miyuki said quietly. "He came home drunk and frustrated."
Shizuma hugged her tightly.
"Will you stay here?" she asked quietly.
"Not right away. I have to take care of some things, then I promise I'll come."
"What do you have to take care of that you couldn't do here?"
"I need to get my grandmother's jewellery out of the safe at home. It's the only valuable property I own. And I want to pack my things, make sure I have everything…and I have some appointments I need to go to. Asuna knows about them. I can't leave him before that, he could find me too easily."
"I understand that, but…I'm so worried about you! I don't want to let you go back to that man."
"I'll be okay, Shizuma. And in a few days, I'll be here to stay, I promise."
"What kind of appointments do you have?"
"A doctor's appointment tomorrow because I've been so tired lately, a luncheon with some wives of business associates and a dentist's appointment."
Shizuma bit her lip. "Okay, but you'll come here after that?"
"Yes, I will."
Miyuki stayed until the evening, then went home.
Shizuma spent the evening watching TV and worrying about her lover, hoping that Asuna wouldn't hurt her again. Miyuki had to get out of there, as quickly as possible. She went to bed late and slept fitfully, waking every few hours, from various nightmares.
The next day, she was totally beat, not concentrating on her classes. She decided to ditch her study groups and go right home. Hiro had promised to come over and keep her company.
The two friends had just eaten their first piece of pizza when Shizuma's telephone rang.
"Hello?"
"Shizuma, it's me."
"Miyuki! Hi! I…"
Miyuki interrupted her. "Shizuma, I can't come and live with you. I went to the doctor's today, Asuna came with me. I'm pregnant. There's no way Asuna will let me leave now. I'm so sorry." She hung up.
Speechlessly, Shizuma stared at the telephone receiver in her hand.
"What is it?" Hiro asked.
Slowly, his friend turned her head to look at him.
"Miyuki's not coming to live with me. She went to her doctor's today, with Asuna. She's pregnant."
