A WARM HEART
Disclaimer: I don't own any Maid-sama!
CHAPTER 25
Takumi came into his bedroom in angered and pained. He didn't want them to be like this. In fact, he didn't want to be like this at all.
She was his now, wasn't she? He had been the first, so shouldn't that make him happy? Shouldn't his feelings, his desires for her go away now that he had had her?
His hand came up to swipe his hair in anger.
Why did he care what she did? Why did her words stung him so? Why couldn't he just let her go when she also wanted to leave?
His eyes fall into the bed and he softened. He was her first. He couldn't believe it. He was her first. A small smile escaped his lips at the relief thought of it.
Could she had been innocent of all the things he had accused her of? Could she be someone he had wronged?
He walked over to his bed and sat down. His hand reached out to brush the pillow where she had slept on. Could he possibly love her?
He knew his heart was bruised from her hateful words and those glares of her. Did she really hated him? It did pain him to know that she could hate him.
His face tensed up at a thought. He would never allow Tora to be near her anymore for he was posing as a threat to him. If Tora convinced Misaki to marry him then he would lose her forever.
With all the anger in him, he vowed that he would keep her with him at all cost until the damn Will was read. Perhaps after then, then he could decided if he would still wanted her or not.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
Cedric watched by the car as Misaki walked over to a tombstone and placed some flowers on it.
Cedric really felt bad, for Misaki looked grave and depressed. He really couldn't understand why, when Takumi was such a kind man.
Misaki wore a dark sunglasses as she knelt down beside the tombstone and looked at it.
Though she said nothing, there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She quickly wiped it off and stood up to go.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
Misaki had Cedric drove her to see her old house in the countryside. It was for sale, and she wished with all her heart that she could buy it back. But it was too expensive for her.
So, she only looked at it in pain until she couldn't anymore and returned to the car sadly.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
Misaki seemed to be lonely as the days passed by and even Tora didn't seem to contact or visit her anymore. She wondered then if Takumi had told him about them.
She had had Cedric take the ring that Tora gave her back to him. She wondered if this had also affected Tora's inability to contact her.
She knew it was hopeless anyway, for she never would be able to marry Tora. She would rather be alone than marry someone she didn't love, she knew that.
She wondered then why she had chosen him when he didn't share the same affection or view for her?
She sighed sadly and watched Licht run around in the backyard.
She had seen some sensitivities in him. She had saw that he cared for her at times. He had taken care of her and saved her many times. She even could be sure that he had been worried about her when she was ill. And he seemed so alone that she could see it in his eyes sometimes, knowing that her presence was wanted even when he spoke such harsh words to her.
Lately, Takumi had seemed to watch her closely each day. Even she sensed that Cedric was keeping a close eye on her as he brought her to work and drove her back. She knew Takumi had instructed Cedric to do this, and though she should had been a bit angry at this, she just couldn't care anymore.
She wondered then if she would ever be able to buy herself some respect from him. She knew that it was all her heart would want. Even if he didn't marry her, if all he told her was that he cared for her, she would leave his house in happiness.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
Mr. Jaglick looked surprise as he saw who came to visit him in his office.
"Mr. Walker, how are you?" Mr. Jaglick greeted in surprise and gladly extended his hand out to shake Takumi's hand.
Takumi looked calm as he sat down and looked firmly at Mr. Jaglick, his family lawyer.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Walker?"
Takumi looked closely at him, then said, "I want to know..." He seemed to pondered on how to he was going to say his next words. "I want to know why my father had been paying for Miss Ayuzawa's education the last four years, Mr. Jaglick? And why he had paid Mr. Ayuzawa's debt?"
Mr. Jaglick looked surprise. He quickly fumbled with some paper on his desk as if to hide his hesitation.
Takumi noticed it and leant on the desk, a bit impatient.
"Why, Mr. Jaglick? You were my father's closest friend. You should know this. What is the relationship between Mr. Ayuzawa and my father? Why did my father took it upon himself to look after the daughter of his enemy, whom he had hated so much?"
Mr. Jaglick looked thoughtfully at Takumi. He seemed calmer.
"Why do you want to know, Mr. Walker?"
"I want to know the reason," he began, "because I want to know why Miss Ayuzawa is under my roof."
Mr. Jaglick thought on it for awhile, then he replied after a moment, "How much do you know about your father and Mr. Ayuzawa, Mr. Walker?"
Takumi thought about it.
"I know that my father and Mr. Ayuzawa were rivals in businesses, and that Mr. Ayuzawa had tried to ruin my father at one point," he stated.
Mr. Jaglick chuckled.
"Your father and Mr. Ayuzawa were rivals in businesses, but they were also rivals in another field, which created the hatred between them," Mr. Jaglick added, puzzling Takumi.
"What do you mean?"
"What I meant, Mr. Walker, is that why would a man hated another man so much? If you had something you wanted so much and you lost it to another, wouldn't you feel some animosity toward the one who gained it?"
Takumi looked at his lawyer firmly.
"Are you saying that there was a woman involved?" He finally asked.
Mr. Jaglick smiled.
"You don't know much about your father's life, do you, Mr. Walker?"
Takumi frowned.
"I only known from when I was home, Mr. Jaglick. As you know, my father wanted me to get the best education, that I was hardly at home."
Mr. Jaglick sighed.
"Your father wanted the best for you and your siblings, Mr. Walker. That was why he hardly told his life to you. I guess he thought that if you had the best, you wouldn't need to feel like a failure like he had at many points in his life."
Takumi still looked blank.
"Do you looked at any of your father's pictures?"
Takumi shook his head.
"I don't want to open up past memory, Mr. Jaglick. As you know, my father and I wasn't at the best term then."
Mr. Jaglick nodded his head in understanding.
"Nevertheless, if you check in your father's valuable things, you will see someone there whom your father loved very much when your father was young."
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
Takumi returned home early that day and had Cedric, Bua and the rest of the maids to opened the room where his father's belongings had been placed.
Takumi knew his father hardly took any picture. And his father hardly had any photo books or things that meant much. There were only his clothes, his watch and his papers.
Takumi made them all searched for any photo books they could find.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
Misaki was very happy that day, for Rui had said all her alphabets to her. At the end of the day, Misaki treated her out for some ice cream.
When Mrs. Yukimura came to pick Rui up, she refused to leave. She wanted Misaki to go with them as well, but Misaki promised her that she would see her again tomorrow, and she would take her out to the park to play with the birds.
Rui left happily then, forgetting about Misaki already, but thinking about the birds in the park.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
Takumi looked at the old package of photos in his hands. They were quite old, for the pictures were not very bright or in better shape.
He took them to his office and quickly looked through them.
He saw his father in his old school uniform in college with some of his guy friends.
He saw some picture of his grandparents with his father. He saw his father with his mother and them when they were small.
At the end, Takumi saw no woman whom he didn't know and was perhaps the woman his father loved when he was young.
He laid his head back in frustration. Who was this woman that his father and Mr. Ayuzawa could had rivaled over?
He rosed and went to the window connected to a part of the library where no one had bothered on going to before. There were some old books laid out there and his eyes caught them.
Those were his father's favorite books. And they were placed there so that his father would know where they were. He hadn't bothered to move them, for he hadn't noticed them before.
Not knowing what else to do, he took the first book out. To his surprised, something dropped out of it and landed on the floor.
He looked down to it and noticed that it was a photo. His heart jumped at the discovery and he slowly bent down to pick it up.
He looked at the picture in shock. It was a beautiful woman in her college uniform. Her hair was long and lovely. And her smile was sweet and young. But it was her face that stunned him.
He quickly turned the photo around. There were some writings there that wrote, "My love, Minako".
Takumi looked up in shock.
。。。。。AWARMHEART 。。。。。
Takumi stood outside, waiting for Misaki as the car parked in front of the entrance. Cedric came out and opened the door for her and she thanked him.
She saw him and stopped. Her heart pounded in nervously. He had a strange look on his face as if he was viewing her for the first time. There was no anger on his face nor desire, but a thoughtfulness, as if he was scrutinizing her carefully.
She slowly walked up the stairs, hoping she wouldn't slipped and made it more obvious that his stare had affected her.
When she reached him, he said, "I want to speak to you."
She looked at him and tried to keep her feelings neutral. But when his eyes darted to her lips and then her neck and to her dress, she hesitantly looked away.
"What is it?"
"Come into the library first."
She glared at him in distrust. He laughed then as he eyed her whole forms.
"What are you afraid of? There is nothing I haven't seen of you before," he grinned, coming closer to her.
Her blood rushed quickly and she gave him the coldest stare she could.
"Beside, this involves your father and my father, not us, Misaki," he replied after a moment.
She looked at him suspiciously.
"What about them?"
He took her hand, startling her.
"Come," he stated softly. "I'll tell you in the library."
She allowed him to pull her away with him into the library. When he closed the door and looked at her, she turned to observe the room.
"What is so important that you must bring me in here to tell me about?" She asked him coolly.
He walked over to his desk to face her.
"What is your mother's name?"
Misaki narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.
He looked at the picture placed between the book and closed the book tightly.
"What is your mother's name, Misaki?" He asked again calmly.
She didn't answer him, but looked at him as if she didn't understand where he was going with his question. He laughed.
"Is your mother's name Minako?"
She looked at him in mute shock.
"How do you know my mother's name?" She asked. She knew her mother had passed away almost fifteen years ago and her name was hardly remembered, especially by someone who didn't like her family.
He smiled.
"Your mother was a very beautiful woman, wasn't she, Misaki?" He spoke quietly as he moved toward her and stroke her cheek. She swallowed and stood her ground. "In fact, you look exactly like her."
"Why are you so interested in her?" She asked him, suddenly disliking his mocking voice.
He looked at her deeply.
"Because it tells me what I should do with her daughter," he stated, eyeing her with his eyes and a smirk on his face.
Her eyes looked at him in pain.
"Why do you want to control my life, Takumi?" She whispered hurtfully.
His hand stopped at her words. He looked at her as if her pain had moved him.
"I want you to be happy here, Misaki," he said, brushing her hair. "I want you to like this place and perhaps, make it your home."
She looked at him deeply.
"But it can never be my home," she retorted with all the pain in her. "For it is neither where I am wanted or respected."
He placed his hand on her neck and cheek.
"But I will give you anything you desire. I want to make you happy," he stated.
She looked away sadly and then returned to look at him.
"Tora was willing to offer me marriage before anything else that occurred between a man and a woman," she slowly began. "But you… you are offering me happiness, but we are not even married or related, and you can't even offered me respectability or...or love. How do you suppose that I will be happy here?"
He glared at her in disbelief. He frowned and turned away from her.
"Any woman would be willing to stay here and receive my gifts for them, Misaki. How can you not see that?"
She shook her head at his words.
"But I am not those woman, and I don't care for those gifts, unless...unless it comes with your heart."
He couldn't look at her then. His back was turned to her and his hand was on his desk as if controlling himself.
After a moment, he finally looked at her coldly.
"You women are all the same. I offer you the world and you want more. If I offer you my heart, will you take my life too?!"
He seemed to have barked those words out, and she shivered from his tensed words. She looked at him in confusion and knew that he was talking about his old love.
"Not all women are like her, Takumi. There are women who value a warm heart and house more than cold jewelries and dresses."
His face lessened in tension and he looked at her as if wanting her words to be true.
He slowly came toward her and caressed her cheek and hair.
"Will you be that woman, Misaki? Will you be the one to warm my heart?"
She nodded in aching longingness.
"I will, but you must let me go."
He looked at her in shock. He didn't expected her to say those words. He thought about Tora now.
"Never," he remarked, almost in anger.
A sob escaped her mouth as she felt him drawing the rope around her again. She knew that if he didn't allow her to go her way, she would never be able to get his respect for her. And she would never be able to get any love from him.
"I no longer owe you anything. I don't need to be there when your father's Will is read, for I won't be taking anything from your family. You must let me go and live my own life. I have given you everything," she pleaded with him.
He looked at her angrily, his jaws tensing.
"I see no reason for you to leave here, Misaki, unless you want to marry Igarashi," he spatted cruelly. "Which in that case then I will never let you go to him. I won't lose you to him, that I am sure. My father may have failed, but I won't."
She glared at him horrified. She didn't understand what he was saying.
"If you keep me here like a prisoner then this house will never be a warm house, and my heart would never be happy."
He grabbed her arms.
"Be happy or not, you will stay here until the Will is read. After that, I will decide if you can leave or not."
She backed away.
"Why do you do this?" She retorted painfully. "You could have my heart and-my love if you let me go."
He looked at her in shock. Her words had shocked him as well as it gave him a new perspective on the issue. Even she looked shocked at her revelation.
"Love, Misaki? Do you love me?" His tone was cold and mocking.
She shook her head in denial.
"I couldn't love you...I couldn't love you, Takumi if you keep me like this." she said painfully.
He didn't look happy, almost angry.
"I could have your love one way or another. Even now, I feel that your heart is mine," he replied, coming towards her.
She backed away.
"You cannot capture love, Takumi. It will only grow bitter on you. If you set me free, my love may come to you freely."
His jaws tightened. He was battling with himself.
He grabbed her back to him.
"But if I set you free, you may run into Igarashi's arm, and then what is left for me?"
She shook her head.
"Tora does not move me," she replied.
He grinned at her words. He moved his face closer to her.
"Then why fight me? When it is I who moved you?"
She looked at him silently. She knew it was true but the desire and possession in his eyes scared her, and she knew that if all he desired was to keep her for himself, then they could never live happily ever after, for she would always be someone lower than he who he could order around and bed without respect.
When she didn't answer him, he slowly bent down and slowly kissed her lip. She didn't move or pushed him, but allowed his warm lips to touch hers deeply. She knew he moved her so much that her heart was aching for his love. If only he would let her go, then she would freely allowed this love of hers to be true, even if he didn't love her.
A knock came at the door and startled them both. He pulled away from her in anger and walked toward the door. She looked dazed, as if returning to her conscious self.
Takumi came back with a letter in his hand and grinned at her.
"I will be going to the states for a very important gathering. I want you to come with me," he stated.
She looked at him calmly.
"I have work," she began.
"I will inform my friend, Kenji, where you will be for a month. He will understand," he said, coming to held her.
"Besides," he continued with a grin, "I will be very lonely and cold all by myself in a foreign land. I want to bring someone to warm my heart."