Chapter 10: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Stardust Side-chicks?

In which Takumi is busy and Misaki is insecure. Chapter 10:

A 7k words long chapter in celebration of crossing 11,000 reads! I love you guys! I'll address all previous and future reviews, ideas and discussions in the next chapter since I'm kind of in a hurry. Just wanted to update before I go for exam prep. Write your favorite lines in the review section. READ REVIEW FAVORITE FOLLOW

"Congratulations on winning the case!" Ayame squeaked in happiness as soon as she saw one Ayuzawa Misaki enter the building, she wore her formal lawyer uniform and the aura around was of professionalism and seriousness, leaving no room for tomfoolery, but it felt like the squeaking girl couldn't sense it. The girl literally had the nerve to hug the femme fatale that stood in front of her, but a slap, which would make sense at the moment, never came. Instead came a pat from the said woman. "Thank you" she spoke, finally when she became too suffocated by the hug the other woman was giving her.

Ayame finally let go, excitement still evident in her high pitched tone, "The whole office is talking about how you killed it! You're damn good, Misa!" She said as her eyes rounded into hearts. Now, at any other moment, Misaki would have found this to be a matter of pride, or laughter since the woman clearly behaved like her high school friend Sakura. Or maybe both. But today was turning out to be a different kind of day for her. She merely sighed, an apologetic smile on her face "Sorry, Ayame. I'm tired, can we talk later?"

"Uh, of course we can! You rest now, Ayuzawa-san. I'll see you later!" with that said, the girl was out of Misaki's sight. She paid no heed to everyone else that was looking at her. So, news did travel fast. She won the case five minutes ago and everyone already knew about it. She held her files in one hand and swiped her key-card to unlock her office. The moment she was inside, she had turned the blinds and switched off the lights—allowing herself one moment of utter silence and privacy.

She took a moment to free herself of everything. Unbuttoning her blazer and throwing it aside, she let out the hair-tie that was keeping her hair in place and sat down on her seat. She put her head down on the table, under her arms and closed her eyes. Her throat was heavy and her felt like it was going to burst out from all the emotions that she currently felt. How had she allowed herself to be so consumed by her anger that she didn't even realize where her hand went? She knew she was guilty the moment she heard the echo of a slap and finally comprehended what she had just done. But she had been angry. Too fucking angry, at the situation, at herself, at him!

But still, even if she was sleep deprived, angry, tired, or anything—nothing could justify what she had done. By this time, the sleeves of her shirt were thoroughly drenched—a far cry from moist. She knew getting eye liner on a white shirt could spoil it beyond damage, but she hardly cared about that. Right now, she could only hope that she didn't ruin her relationship beyond damage.

She stared at the sparkling ring that seemed to taunt her. He had been nothing but loving, and caring towards her since the time they had met. He always came to save her when she was in danger, he had always proved his love for her again and again. Hell, he had even moved back to Japan only for her. And what did I do? Slap him across the face for worrying about me. By now, she had crying so hard that she had started to get hiccups. "My damn…ed wr…etched self" she stared at Takumi's contact image saved in her phone, "How do you manage to tolerate me?" She smiled looking at the image, as if waiting for him to answer. Her fingers hovered over the call icon in the screen, but they never touched the screen…

The vibration of the phone caused Misaki to snap out of her daze. She even got scared that she had accidently hit the call button. What would she have said to Takumi? But instead, she saw the number of her client flash on her screen. She coughed a little and adjusted her voice, "Hello, Mr. Nakamura. How can I help you?"

"Miss Ayuzawa!" there was happiness in the man's voice, and Misaki forced a smile as she waited for him to speak.

"I must say you were amazing today! I'm so thankful to you for getting me rid of that cheating gold digger" the cheerfulness in his voice was replaced by malice for a moment, but he was back to being happy within the fraction of a second! "Anyway, I would like to properly thank you!"

Misaki raised her eyebrow, how? "I was merely doing my job, Mr. Nakamura—"

"—A job you're indeed very good at! Which is why I must thank you appropriately! I am throwing a dinner party to celebrate my freedom and of course, to honor you! I think a formal invitation wasn't enough so I called you to invite you to dinner! I did want to invite you personally but you left in a hurry…"

"It really wasn't necessary" she spoke apologetically, these rich people had so much money to waste on dinner parties…

"Nonsense!" The merry man cooed "I shall personally wait for you this Saturday! The invites have been emailed. It will be a small dinner with my daughter and a few more acquaintances!"

"Thank you for inviting me, I will try my best to attend" she enforced politeness, she didn't want to go to some dinner party when her own life was in pieces…

"I will look forward to seeing you!" With that, the call ended and Misaki sighed.

A glance towards the clock made her sit up straight. It was 7:30pm already, she didn't even know how the day passed so fast! She bit her lip, she was dreading this moment when she would have to go home and face Takumi. What would she say? What if he was mad at her? What if he…

She didn't finish the thought. I'll apologize…I'll talk to him… She stood up, not wanting to be late again, "Yeah, I'll apologize. I'm sure he'll listen to me…" She reassured herself and forced a smile. Now all that was left was to fix herself.

Misaki put her things in her the backseat of her car and took a deep breath. Maybe she should call him before leaving? She opened her inbox to see if there were any messages from her and got disheartened when she found none.

She drove slowly. There was no rush on the road, her heart hammered in her chest as imaginary scenarios played in her head. She couldn't imagine how he would react to her. She hoped it would be different than what all took place in the morning.

A yawn caused her to rub her eyes irritably, she hadn't slept in the last forty eight hours and the emotions, the tension, and everything was weighing her down.

The security guards opened the gates as soon as she reached the front gates of his mansion, Takumi had always preferred to live in his old apartment but Gerard had forced him to move in the mansion since apparently that's how CEOs lived.

The main house was awfully quiet. She saw gardeners watering the plants. Evening breeze hummed as Misaki stepped out of the car. She climbed up the stairs that led to the main doors of the mansion and went inside the double doors only to find it…empty.

"Mrs. Jones?" She called out, her own voice was small but it still echoed in the empty living room. Everything was untouched and the same as she had seen in the morning, the only difference would be the glass shards—that were no more scattered on the carpets.

The kitchen was empty but when she opened the kitchen door which led to a kitchen garden, she found Mrs. Jones picking out strawberries. Wasn't it too late to be picking strawberries right now?

"Misaki dear!" the woman said as she stood up with strawberries in her hands. Misaki handed her a small basket from the side and kept the strawberries. She forced a smile but then there was utter silence. Misaki realized that everyone had seen or heard what all conspired the night prior and didn't know how to talk to her right now.

She felt guilty and ashamed, how could she be such a bad person?

"Right, I guess I'll go find Takumi" she spoke and turned on her heels. Before she could be stopped, she was gone.

"Wait, Misaki!" The voice of the middle aged woman echoed in the kitchen garden, but there was nobody to listen.

Misaki walked up to the main stairs of the living room that led to the study room and his bedroom. She walked in the dark and switched on the corridor lights while walking towards his room.

With a deep breath and a hammering heart, her hands went to twist the doorknob and Misaki went inside the bedroom…but there was nobody at the other end. She stared at the empty, neatly made bed. The bed sheets were crisp and untouched. She went inside the bathroom but found nobody.

Next up was the study room, library, guest bedroom, kitchen, gym, balcony, gardens, and every other place where Takumi could possibly have been.

"I was saying that he wasn't home, Misaki" Mrs. Jones' voice came from behind and followed the scent of green tea and cookies. Misaki sat in the swing bench placed in the garden with her hands in her hair, Okay, not a big deal. He's not home yet. He's just busy, she told herself.

"Yeah. I totally forgot, its fine. I just got free from work earlier than I expected" Misaki forced a smile and Mrs. Jones sat next to the girl, the swing hummed slowly—back and forth. Misaki held the warm cup in her hands, which was soothing to her nerves.

"You just missed him, dear. He had a flight at six"

"Flight, to?"

Funny right, his own fiancé didn't know he was flying to someplace…

"He spoke about a business convention in New York" Mrs. Jones said as she sipped her tea.

Oh.

"It must've slipped right off my mind. Did he say when he was going to be back?"

She looked away in the opposite direction, a few fireflies were flying over the flowers…Misaki got lost in the sound the crickets emitted and a few tears escaped. The voice of Mrs. Jones was a blur, and she was sure she didn't even know what they were talking about anymore.

A pat on the back snapped her out though, "You just need some time alone, kid" and with that, the woman left her to her own devices. Misaki placed the cup on the ground and sat on the swing rocking back and forth, staring at her fingers that gripped the chains of the swing. Her ring sparked in the dark of the night. The summer breeze soon welcomed the raindrops and by the time Misaki realized that it was raining, she was already drenched. She stood up to walk inside the mansion and went straight to Takumi's bedroom.

Her white shirt had clung to her body like a second skin and when Misaki took if off it made a slouching sound. The wet clothes lay in the washing machine and Misaki started it after putting all of her wet clothes inside, she also found a few of Takumi's gym shirts and placed them in the washing machine too.

The cold shower water made the hair on her body stand up, Misaki closed her eyes and let the water work its way through her body. She hoped she could wash away the emotions she currently felt. She knew he was mad at her, but she didn't know why he hadn't informed before going on a business trip. Normally, showers helped her gather her thoughts together, but right now everything simply messed up her brains. She wanted to call him and talk to him, but she didn't have strength to. Maybe it was for the best, maybe they both just needed sometime away, maybe this would cleanse her thoughts…she reasoned with herself the best way she could, but it didn't really help her anyway.

When did we become like one of those couples that had to stay away from each other to gather their thoughts together?

Her hands went straight to one of his shirts that were neatly folded in the cabinets by the washbasin. She took off the towel and slid on the shirt wordlessly, this—was the closest she would get to Takumi while he was away. Whenever he was away on a business trip and she would miss him terribly, she would find herself lying down on his side of the bed, wearing nothing but his shirt which came so loose on her that it would just fall off. This was tradition for her, no matter how utterly ridiculous it was. She played the part of a good girlfriend who didn't want to annoy him while he was busy, his pillows were soft—nothing like him so she did have a hard time pretending that she was lying in the arms of her love but it was the closest she could be to him.

"I should have brought the damned teddy bear along" she laughed to herself like a crazy girl as she buried her face in the pillows, she felt like writing one of those infamous notes (that he always left for her) for him this time. And like the crazy person she was being right now, she got up and fetched a notebook from the drawers and started writing. At least it kept her occupied till she fell asleep.

One: I'm sorry for ruining your pillows tonight, but they're the closest thing I have to you. Don't worry, I'll buy you new ones…

Two: I now understand the reason why you leave me notes, I wish you had left one this time too. God, I never thought I'd want to see a piece of paper so badly ever in my life.

Three: Just because you're not here, doesn't mean I will not live up to my promise. I said I was going to stay over for a week, so I will. Even when you're not here.

Four: It's soothing to my core to write useless stuff on this notebook even when I know that you won't be able to read these…and that somehow calms me more than it should.

Five: I know I am an aggressive woman, I don't think before acting and I'm not the best in the love department, I'm not a very lovable person Takumi. I have never known love—except for you. How did you manage to fall for such a pathetic person like me?

Six: I wonder what you're doing right now. Well, how can I know what you're doing right now? You're not texting me in the middle of a very important meeting, so there's no way for me to find out.

Seven: I've got to be incredulous and incredibly lucid to be doing this at three in the morning, why can't I just call you instead? Tell me, Takumi? How can you have so much control over me even when you're a thousand miles away from me?

Eight: in case you're wondering, I won another case. They invited me to a dinner…but I don't want to go unless you come with me.

Nine: You've saved me from so many things—hate, despair, danger, and even ghosts…tell me, Usui…can you save me from myself right now?

Ten: Until I was with you, I didn't know I was able to feel all the emotions that common girls did, I also didn't know I could cry so much over a stupid mistake.

Eleven: Right now, I'd do anything to hear your voice, except hit the call button…I don't have the strength for that, Takumi.

Twelve: I hate you. I hate your scent, I hate your pillows, I hate your bed-sheets, I hate how I feel right now, but most of all? I hate myself.

Thirteen: I should've brought MR. TEDDY along…you're very thoughtful when you buy presents, aren't you?

Fourteen: Why didn't you tell me you were leaving tonight? Do you hate me, Takumi?

Fifteen: I don't know how you always managed to come to my rescue at the right moment, can you do that right now?

Sixteen: How can I be mad at you for worrying about me? How can I?

Seventeen: My hands can't stop, I hope I remember to burn these first thing in the morning (:

Eighteen: I just imagined the look on your face if you ever got your hands on this. You would kill me. Haha.

Nineteen: I have loved you more than my own existence, my love for you runs deep in my veins and that scares me sometimes, but what scares me more is the fact that you deserve someone better than me to love.

Twenty: You don't hate me, right?

Twenty one: I can now proudly say that I know how much my slaps hurt, from experience. I'm sorry for hurting you, will the fact that my cheek hurts ten times more than yours did, make you feel better?

Twenty two: I'm going to go completely insane if I continue this stupidity, Good night my imaginary reader, don't tell Takumi. Or I think I should say good morning. The sun is beautiful today, which is why I closed my curtains to catch up on my seventy two hour sleep deprivation.

With the notebook and a pen in her hand, her eyes closed tiredly. The curtains were closed, hence the room managed to be dark, allowing her to sleep. And amidst all this chaos, a sticky note on the night lamp lay unread which said:

I know for sure that you'll be here, but by the time you read this, I'll be in New York. I'm sorry for this, I'm helpless right now, I have to go. But maybe it is for the best, I guess, since you're so sick of me right now. I'm sorry for my behaviour; we'll talk when I'm back. I love you with my entire self, Ayzuawa Misaki. Scratch that, Misaki Walker.

-x-

"Rise and shine!" a voice echoed from outside of the door.

"It's noon, are you okay in there, Misaki?"

"Misaki? Maybe I should come back later." Mrs Jones spoke through the locked bedroom door as she held a tray of breakfast in her hand. She turned around to walk away but the doors opened and came a coarse voice, "Sorry, I kind of slept funny, heh.", Misaki smiled awkwardly as she stood in between the bedroom and the corridor. Her hair was a mess, eyes red—clad in a thin button down, she smiled apologetically in the lady's direction.

"Are you okay?" Mrs Jones asked worriedly as she held a tray in a single hand and touched Misaki's hand from the other, she ushered the girl inside and placed the tray on the glass table.

"I'm fine, just tired" Misaki confessed, yes, she was indeed tired from pulling up all-nighters for the sake of an important case. Now that she thought about it, the case wasn't that important—the client was.

"You're heating up, let's get you all nice and comfortable" Mrs Jones spoke softly as she made the girl sit down, "You shouldn't miss out on your sleep."

"I know, which is why I took a leave today" Misaki smiled, the said woman sure reminded her of her own mother. Now that she thought about it, she really did miss her mom. Funny, she didn't even get the time to think these days.

"That's good, you stay here, I'll prepare you a bath" she placed the tray of breakfast on the bed, "Now eat up before it gets cold. You need your energy kid." She smiled.

"It's okay, I'll do it myself, Thanks for the breakfast" Misaki spoke in a coarse voice, she was thankful.

"You shouldn't thank me, dear" The middle aged woman spoke from inside the attached bathroom. "The bath will be ready in five minutes", Misaki sighed as she poked fruit sitting on her plate uneaten.

-x-

"Just one last photograph!"

"Mr. Walker!"

Takumi sighed as he got out of the car, the paparazzi surrounded him but the security kept them all at bay. He didn't take off his sunglasses, and decided to head inside the hotel and ignore everyone. Kayla walked behind him, he was ushered inside the reception and Cedric went straight to the receptionist while Takumi walked towards the elevators, in the back of his mind he could hear Kayla talking about something. He decided to ignore all voices the moment he got on the damned plane. He stood straight—stoic, as he waited to reach his floor.

At the fifth floor, Cedric stood in front of a suite with his arms crossed in the front, Takumi sighed looking at him; he never understood the need to be so uptight all the time. And how the fuck did he reach before him when clearly he had taken the elevator first? What's the rush? It's not like he would have died if he would have to wait for a moment for his key card? Gerald clearly turned the poor man into a robot.

"Mr. Walker, your suite is here" A man said standing behind him, he had eyes, didn't he? He scowled as he opened the stupid doors and stepped inside, of course, these people didn't know when to leave him alone. They came inside and a man checked the entire suite. As if someone would have planted a bomb in here. The urge to roll his eyes was hard to ignore right now. He sighed as he loosened his tie and sat down on the couch.

"So as I was saying, you have nothing scheduled till dinner, so get some rest, oh! And I want a few pictures to post on social media" he decided to address Kayla, whose voice was getting more than annoying to him now. He ran a hand through his hair, "Kayla?"

"After dinner is another meeting with an important client, you know wine after dine. Hahah!" She said as she stared at her tablet.

"Kayla?"

"Oh, yes!?" she looked up and stopped using the tablet as soon as she stared at Takumi. He didn't look very happy with her at the moment. The excitement in her voice went straight to zero.

"I don't want to be disturbed for the next few hours." he ran a hand through his hair again "Unless you want me to do something which I shouldn't. Convey that to Gerald too, so that he can stop sending me overseas on short notice, to cover up for him." His voice was absolute, and he went back to ignoring everyone standing in the room.

"Um, okay. Whatever you want, boss." she said as she took the tablet and walked out of the room, the rest of the people followed and only Cedric remained.

"Cedric?"

"Yes, master?"

"Get some rest. Leave the key card here. I want to be alone."

"As you please" he spoke, bowed and left.

Finally, he was alone.

Takumi took off his blazer, he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his waistcoat; all these people suffocated him. He went to the balcony and pulled off the curtains, only to see the press and media standing in front of the hotel, some even spotted him standing in the balcony and began to click his pictures. He sighed again, and turned on his heel, he closed the curtains using the remote and went to the bedroom. He stared blankly at his iPhone screen, Misaki's picture was his wallpaper, as always, ever since high school and he couldn't help but frown as he saw no messages or calls from her.

He felt the strong urge to call her, just to listen to her voice. But he decided against it, she was mad at him, she needed time away from him. He knew just how much of a possessive bastard he could be, and that night he had crossed the line. He shouldn't have gone crazy like that, but what could he have done? He found himself watching the videos he'd managed to make secretly without Misaki's knowledge. He looked at her with a fond smile, she was so beautiful, so lovable. He was a damned lucky bastard, wasn't he?

He looked at his bruised hands, from where did he pick up the habit of breaking random things in a fit of anger? And what about driving all around the city like a madman? And what about yelling at her like that? What about drinking and panicking for no reason?

He laughed, he probably deserved that slap from her.

-x-

By Saturday, Misaki was back to normal and more than ready to take on the world. She had rested and recovered, cleansed her mind and freed herself from bad thoughts. Who knew a day off from work could have helped her to that extent? She had participated in gardening along with Martha and other maids, also learnt a thing or two about vegetables. She stayed in Takumi's bedroom and even made a simple salad with the maids. Hell, she even got to learn a few chopping tricks from Martha.

The girls had been adamant about meeting up and going to shopping together later, which is how Misaki found herself standing in front of a spa. She smiled in the direction of the two naughty girls who dragged her from the comforts of her bed—Sakura and Chiyo. She was just fine picking vegetables from Martha's garden so that they could use them for pie later, but clearly, they weren't. Even Martha had given her a nudge from behind, and that is how she found herself heading out.

"I'm so excited! Let's get full body waxes too!" squealed Sakura as they walked inside the Spa, Misaki looked around—genuinely curious. The spa was quite modern and sophisticated—you name it and they had it; swimming pools, gym, rejuvenation centre (whatever that meant!), massage parlour, and a beauty salon too! Misaki read the brochures in wonder and awe, Sakura jumped up and down in excitement and Chiyo merely sipped her wine (Tora was sure a bad influence on her!).

"W-Wait! What did you say?!" Misaki gasped in horror as she finally registered what Sakura had said.

"Waxing? I'm in, Tora would be surprised" Chiyo said merely, sipping her wine.

"I love you, Chiyoo!" Sakura said gratefully, "Misaki-Chi! You have to as well!"

"What! N-NO!" Misaki shrieked, there was no way in hell she got up from bed to get her body waxed on a lazy weekend. Sakura merely pouted, and then looked at her with puppy eyes that were about to tear up, "Please, Misaki-Chii! I'll do anything you want in return!" She clutched the hem of Misaki's shirt and made a pitiful face. Misaki sighed, Takumi had taught Sakura well. She laughed, an idea just came to her.

"So you'll do anything I say?!"

"S-suure!"

Chiyo finished her glass and placed it on a table placed in the lobby, "Whatever, I'm in"

"Okay ladies" Misaki cracked her knuckles, "We're so having fun today!"

-x-

"I thought we were having fun, Misakii!" Sakura cried as the gym instructor made her stretch more, "This hurts!"

"Sakura, relax" Misaki cooed as she lifted up the weights, "It's just a small workout!"

"I am so getting a massage after this" Chiyo sighed as she stretched as far as she could. Misaki laughed, "Okay!"

"I'm going to get you all waxed and mani-pedi-ed! Just you wait, Misaki!" Sakura said in a croaky voice as she stretched further, Misaki's sweat dropped as she ran on the treadmill, "It can't be that bad, can it?"

And two hours later,

"I was wrong! This is so much worse!" Misaki cried as the attendant took off the wax-strip, Misaki shrieked, why women did that!?

"Just think about Takumi and hang on!" Sakura cooed as she closed her eyes when the attendant took off the strip from her arm.

"Why didn't we go for something less painful?!" Misaki said as she relaxed when her attendant went off to get something.

"Because this is has the best results!" Chiyo said with a smirk, she was having a field day here, beauty treatments never scared her.

"Kuuga-kun is so handsome! Kuuga-kun is so hot! Kuuga—" Sakura chanted as she got her waxing done, if Misaki had not found herself in the same situation, she would have laughed, a tear of happiness escaped her eyes as the attendant took off one last strip and told her she was done.

After a long session of massages and mani-pedis, the long torture was over for Misaki. She sighed looking at all the useless stuff she had bought with the girls today. They were currently having lunch in the late-afternoon at restaurant.

"My skin feels so soft" Chiyo sighed as she touched her arm with her fingers, oh the wonders of spa!

"Mine too"

"Mine too"

The three girls laughed as they clinked their glasses together.

"Hey, how about we just have dinner at my place tonight? We can just inform the guys" Chiyo spoke as she ate her pie. Sakura nodded and Misaki sighed, "Sorry, can't. Takumi's not home." She went back to sipping her iced tea but both of the girls stopped eating altogether.

"Where did he go?"

"Well, he's in New York for a business convention." Misaki said as she played with her straw, unexpectedly, a hug came from Sakura's direction and Chiyo looked at her sympathetically.

"What?" She looked at both of them awkwardly.

"It must be so hard for you, when Kuuga-kun had to leave without me once, I was so sad!" Sakura said as she buried her face in Misaki's shirt.

"I agree, it's weird to wake up without Tora next to me." Chiyo nodded.

"Well," Misaki smiled awkwardly as she patted Sakura's head. How was she supposed to explain?

"When will he be back?" Chiyo asked, and Misaki was silent.

"Well," Misaki sipped her iced tea, thinking about how she should reply to this.

"Well?"

"He'll be back soon" Misaki smiled, "We can have dinner together some other time"

"Misaki, don't tell me that you don't know when he's coming back" Chiyo raised an eyebrow, Misaki kept aside her iced tea, "Well, I didn't get to talk to him much. He left in a hurry and we haven't talked much because of the time difference".

"Is everything okay or are you hiding something?" Chiyo asked as she leaned in, Sakura nodded, "You can share with us, you know…"

"Geez, everything's fine" Misaki laughed, she had decided that she would talk to Takumi once he was back.

"Okay, if you say so" The two eyed her suspiciously.

"Shit! I forgot!" Misaki yelped as she stood up from her seat, luckily no one noticed much and saved her the embarrassment.

"Forgot what?" The girls raised an eyebrow again, why was Misaki behaving so strangely right now?

"I have a dinner to attend! I almost forgot!" Misaki sighed as she checked the time, she had plenty of time if she still wanted to attend.

"Where?"

"I'd won a case last week, so the client has thrown a dinner party and invited me. I really don't feel like going but it's an old client and I don't want to disappoint him".

"Congrats, Misaki!" Sakura smiled "I'm proud of you!"

"Cheers to that!" Chiyo smiled as she sipped her wine.

Misaki looked at her watch uneasily, "I don't feel like going"

"Why, is it because of Takumi?" Sakura asked out of curiosity.

"Nothing like that" Misaki muttered, it was true that she wanted to go with him. But well, things didn't seem to be working in her favour these days. She traced her engagement ring with her fingers thoughtfully.

"You should just spend some time with us, Misa, you really look so low" Chiyo spoke sensitively as she hugged Misaki.

"My phone's ringing" Misaki excused herself, it was Mr Nakamura. Just great. Wasn't the man going to great lengths just to invite her? To her, it felt like there was no way she could back out. Okay, she had probably saved him millions, but wasn't he too grateful to her? She pouted when she ended the call.

"He's hell bent on inviting me. God, I feel so annoyed!" Misaki looked at her iced tea gruesomely. She just wanted to hole up in a corner and spend eternity there. Was that too much to ask? Apparently so.

"Sorry guys, I'll catch up later" Misaki sighed as she drove in opposite direction to Chiyo's home, well, Chiyo and Tora's bungalow. They had moved in together. She had dropped Sakura and Chiyo there and headed towards Takumi's mansion.

-x-

Misaki sighed looking at her face in the mirror, sure, the spa had helped her relax and her skin was literally glowing after what all it had gone through today, but she really didn't feel like going. She wore a navy blue evening dress that reached her knees, she'd let her hair down. She put on a bit of perfume which Takumi had once gotten for her from Paris. But still something was missing. That idiot, he spent money so recklessly!

She glanced at the room once more, and decided to proper it up so that Martha didn't have to. She folded up the sheets that were sprawled all over the bed, placed the pillows in their place. When she took the bed covers and made them, a notebook fell down on the carpets. Misaki frowned looking at the notebook. She had to put it away… but she didn't have the time to hide it, so she just tossed it under the mattress, she was going to be back soon anyway. With one final look in the mirror, Misaki was out and away.

Misaki smiled as she talked with a few of her colleagues that were also invited to the dinner. She smiled on the outside and scowled on the inside. Small dinner my arse, she thought. She could see her reflection in at least twenty of the chandeliers right now. Why didn't these people donate if they had so much money?

Being alone, Misaki found the evening to be turning out to be quite boring and uninteresting. She saw Mr Nakamura who waved in her direction. She waved back with a smile as the man approached her.

"And here is my superhero!" the man laughed as he planted a small kiss on Misaki's cheek, who only smiled. Talk about exaggeration. The man laughed and talked, and the ladies and executives around him hung on to his every word as if he was God. His arms were wrapped around the waists of two ladies who looked more or less like models. Misaki laughed inwardly, looks like the new Mrs Nakamura was right here somewhere. She nodded and laughed with the man as much as she could and hoped the night would get interesting.

-x-

With a glass of wine in hand, and other hand in the pocket of his pants, Takumi Walker smiled as he conversed with another stakeholder in his company. He had just landed from New York and was swept right into another event which, to him, was as good as any. He conversed with the people as if they had his full attention, but the reality was quite different and only he knew it. Oh how he wished to go straight home and sweep his girl right off her feet. He had to apologize and make up with her. She must have been quite mad at him, but he wanted to make things better. He had spent an entire week away from his raven haired, hot headed girl and it had been excruciating for him.

He didn't know how he had managed to stay away from her without a single word for so long. It had been so long. So fucking long since he had felt her, touched her, kissed her, or held her. He stared at his wrist watch blankly, he needed to get out of here.

-x-

This man sure could talk.

Misaki sighed, tight-lipped, as she tried to stifle a yawn. How were these people hanging on to his every word? The answer would definitely be money.

"And here is my lovely daughter! Miss Ayuzawa, I want you to meet my one and only daughter, Natasha Nakamura!" He spoke merrily as he hugged his daughter and planted a kiss on her cheek in a similar way that he had done to her. The girl smiled and gave Misaki a hug.

"Hello there" Natasha spoke, Misaki nodded and smiled. Now that she looked at her closely, she felt like she had seen her somewhere. But where?

"Natasha-san, if you don't mind me asking, what is your profession? I feel like I have seen you before." Misaki asked, where had she seen her?

"I'm a model by profession, but I don't model much. I do charity for hobby and help dad in work" Natasha smiled as she took two wine glasses from a waiter and gave one to Misaki, who took it with a smile. Great, another glass of wine.

"By the way, I have to thank you for getting me rid of my—" Natasha made a weird face, "my ex-step mother. God, I hated that gold digger!" She gasped dramatically. Misaki's sweat dropped, should she address her former step-mother like that?

"I was merely doing my job" she assured her and the two continued conversation until the other girl was distracted by something she saw in the main hall. Misaki raised an eyebrow as she saw the model transform into a fan girl.

"Wait! I'll be back, Misaki!"

"O…kay?"

Another glass of wine later, Natasha Nakamura finally arrived back. She dragged him along by holding his arm, she laughed and giggled as she traced his cheek with her hands, "Nice beard" she told him, and then looked at Misaki.

"Misaki! I want you to meet my friend, Takumi!" She smiled as she presented before Misa, her own fiancé. Misaki's smile faltered the moment the saw the woman touch his cheek so lovingly. He had always hated physical touch from strangers, hadn't he?

However, she did regain her composure moments later, "Hello, I'm Misaki Ayuzawa. The lawyer of Mr Nakamura" she had smiled professionally. She was, after all, a highly respected lawyer.

"I…" He had stood there, looking at her speechlessly, to this, she merely ignored him and sipped her wine. Her smile was vibrant, she had been clearly enjoying herself—after all this hair and makeup and waxing and whatnots, she was supposed to enjoy herself right? She saw him exhale, and run a hand through his hair. The girl was clinging on to Takumi still, but he had paid no heed to her, his eyes were focussed on Misaki.

The two continued to stare at each other without actually saying a single word, who needed words? Misaki noted his appearance, what a strange coincidence, he wore a navy blue three piece suit which matched her own attire. His hair was a mess as always but what was notable was a week-long growth on his chin. He hadn't shaved, how uncharacteristic. The beard had made him look a bit more mature, his boyish features almost disappeared under this manly appearance. He looked grown up, dangerous, very, in this attire. Oh how she had missed him, but when flashbacks of what all had conspired the week prior till moments ago played out in her mind, specifically the moment when Natasha had so fondly traced his jawline with her fingers, she lost it. Misaki didn't know she had a jealous streak in her until now.

She turned around to leave, it hurt too much. Looking at him was heart breaking. He hadn't tried to even talk to her once since the time he was away, or told her that he was leaving, or when he was coming back. All the raw emotions and the feeling of abandonment ate her up, she decided to leave as soon as possible.

"Misaki? Are you leaving?" Natasha had inquired, she had to justify her behaviour after all, "Yes, I've had a long day today, I should just head home. It was a pleasure to meet you both" she spoke, practiced professionalism finally coming handy. Takumi had tensed upon hearing her words, she knew, but ignored him. Hadn't he done the same? He could have at least have told her that he was back, couldn't he?

"Let me walk you out," he finally spoke, and Natasha smiled "I'll wait for you right here.", but Misaki had wittingly ignored him. She walked towards the main hallway, towards the corridors that led to the elevators.

"Misaki…" he breathed her name as soon as they were alone, his hands found their way on her back, tracing the neckline of her dress, his eyes hadn't missed the way she had sharply inhaled, at his touch. She had turned around, brave face on.

"Nice beard" she had told him, with a smile.

"Thanks" he had spoken in a low murmur, his eyes were currently on her empty neck, searching for the heart shaped pendant, but didn't find any.

Misaki had stood straight, his hand currently traced her collarbone, and she wasn't liking where these things were heading. She was hurt, lonely and furious, "Had a nice trip?" she had asked with a smile on her face, how uncharacteristic of her teenager self, who would have yelled at him instead.

"Barely" he spoke dryly, she knew he was getting annoyed of small talk, she quickly took his hands off her neck as she saw Natasha walking towards the two of them. She pressed the elevator buttons and smiled, "Wouldn't want to ruin the bachelor image, right Walker-san?" she addressed him, with a smile. He had had enough of that fake smile. Before he could protest, or stop her, the elevators opened; she stepped in and left, and as always, all facades broke in the dark of the night later on.