Chapter 15

"Sagae. I'm sorry I missed your call. I had a family function to attend to for the whole day. I assume you have good news for me?" the silky voice said.

It was late at night when Haruki received this message from Sumireko. She had been calling the heiress the whole day to talk about the deal they made. When Sumireko didn't pick up her call, Haruki had texted her that she wanted to talk to her about the deal and asked her to return her call.

Instead, she received a text from her. She grabbed her phone and went out of her house to make the call.

"Hello," Sumireko's crisp voice said on the other end of the line. "You seem to be in a hurry to talk about this. Can't this wait until tomorrow? We'll talk about your progress then."

"No, I don't wanna talk about the progress," Haruki said. "I don't want to go through with it anymore."

That got her attention. "You want more money? I'll pay you double."

"No, it's not about-"

"Listen, I'm in the middle of something right now," Sumireko said. "We'll talk about it after school tomorrow. Same time, same place."

"No, wait…" Haruki began, but the line on the other end had gone dead.

"Ah, fuck!" Haruki cursed under her breath.

Just as she was about to go inside her house, her phone dinged with a new text. It was from Isuke asking her if she had gotten home safe. Shit. She had forgotten to text her when she reached home.

Before entering her house, Haruki typed a quick reply to Isuke: "Hey yeah, I just got home not too long ago and I'm really tired now. I'll see you at school tomorrow yeah?"

She wanted to talk more to Isuke as she really missed her but she didn't know what to say to her after how she had left her like that.

Usually, Haruki could easily fall asleep. However, that night, she had trouble falling asleep. This is the second time that she almost had sex with her amazingly hot girlfriend. She had always fantasized about this moment, but it seemed like it won't happen as long as she hasn't cleared her conscience. Then there's that talk she had to go through with Sumireko tomorrow, which she hoped will be successful.

Haruki sighed. She was so sexually frustrated and couldn't get Isuke out of her mind. Sighing, she slipped her hand into her pajamas pants to take care of herself while fantasizing about her girlfriend.

Isuke had been waiting for Haruki's text the whole day the moment Haruki bolted away from her house. She didn't know what she had done wrong for Haruki to be reacting that way. When it was almost midnight and there were still no texts from Haruki, Isuke started to wonder if she should just call her and ask her what's wrong. How do you call someone and start a conversation with them, especially after you had humiliated yourself baring it all for them but they ran out on you?

So, she decided to send Haruki a text instead. "Hey, just wondering if you got home? You said you'd text me once you got home and it's almost midnight already. I miss you."

When she received a less than enthutiastic reply from Haruki, she did not know how to react. She typed a reply but then she deleted it. This happened a few more times until she tossed her phone onto her dressing table. There were a million questions she wanted to ask Haruki, like why she ran away, did she do something wrong, did she scare her, was she being too direct and why is she giving her a cold shoulder right now, among many other questions, but she didn't want to sound too clingy. She is Inukai Isuke. Clinging onto someone? Pfffttt… That's so unlike her.

Sighing deeply, she plopped down on her bed to try to fall asleep. It had been a long day, but the ending of her day was not what she had expected and anticipated. Suddenly, a dark thought came into her head. What if Haruki suddenly got a cold feet because she couldn't handle her past? Had she shared too much with her in such a short period of time? But Haruki was so supportive of her back at the centre and in the limousine on the way back home. Or did Haruki find her undesirable? Had she grown tired of her? Or did Haruki suddenly realize that she's actually not into girls?

As more and more questions popped into her head, Isuke's mood worsened. Deciding that she won't be falling asleep anytime soon, she went downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of wine. Maybe alcohol can clear her head and help her sleep. She would have to confront Haruki and ask her what happened tomorrow at school.

Things didn't get any better at school the next day. Haruki missed the first period, so Isuke couldn't even get the thing that had been bothering her since last night out of the way first. They didn't share a lot of classes today, so Isuke had to wait until there is a period break for her to talk to Haruki.

Finally, when the time came, Isuke waited for Haruki at her locker. She didn't miss the way Haruki faltered in her footsteps when she saw Isuke at her locker. As soon as Haruki arrived at her locker, Isuke immediately pulled her into a hug and gave her a kiss. She could feel that Haruki returned the kiss half-heartedly.

"What's wrong?" Isuke asked, her lips pursed.

"No, nothing's wrong," Haruki said as she put on a smile. "I'm just tired, that's all. I didn't get enough sleep last night." She opened her locker and took a book out.

"Tell me about it," Isuke muttered. "I stayed up all night worrying about you because you did not text me."

Haruki didn't know how to respond to that, so she kept quiet. Isuke couldn't stand it, so she slammed Haruki's locker shut and scrutinized her.

"Are you gonna tell Isuke what's wrong, or are you going to keep lying to her? Or should Isuke force it out of you?" Isuke asked dangerously. She was done playing this game.

"Uh… look, Isuke-sama. Like I said, nothing is wrong," Haruki said with a forced laugh. "You're overthinking things too much. I had lots of clients yesterday and I didn't get enough sleep last night. That's all there is to this."

Isuke crossed her arms and eyed the redhead up and down suspiciously. She didn't believe a word Haruki said. She knows when the redhead is lying. They stayed like that until the bell rang for the next class.

"Fine," Isuke said. "Be that way. Unless you are ready to tell me what's wrong, don't come looking for me for lunch today." With that, she flipped her hair and sauntered away.

"Trouble in paradise?" Nio asked Isuke during recess as Isuke didn't have lunch with Haruki, upon her own request.

"I didn't invite you to lunch for you to be poking your nose into my business," Isuke replied coolly as she took a spoonful of rice.

"Yeah, you don't want to be sitting with them, and yet you chose a table that is strategically placed so that you can still spy on your girlfriend, but she won't notice you," Nio said, referring to how Isuke kept on looking over at Haruki, who was sitting with Haru, Tokaku and Aimi. Haruki was seen laughing at whatever Aimi had told her. "Whatever problem you have with Haruki, better settle it fast otherwise the next person will jump on her as soon as she is single."

"You know what?" Isuke suddenly said as she stood up walked away without finishing her food. "You can have lunch alone."

As Isuke walked out of the cafeteria, she had to walk past Haruki's table. She glared angrily at their table as she walked past it, especially at Aimi and Haruki, who were still talking and laughing away. However, as soon as Isuke walked past them and was no longer glaring angrily at them, Haruki turned away from Aimi and looked at Isuke longingly. It's like there's a magnetic pull between them and no matter where Isuke is, Haruki would know.

"What did she do now?" Tokaku asked flatly, without looking up from her food. "Suddenly gave you a cold shoulder? Well, you should know her by now."

"Tokaku, don't say that," Haru said. "We don't know the real story."

Haruki just smiled and excused herself, before exiting the cafeteria to go after her girlfriend. Tokaku was wrong about Isuke. She didn't do anything to hurt Haruki. Quite the opposite, actually. Haruki would end up to be the one hurting Isuke if she didn't immediately call things off with Sumireko. She needed to talk to Isuke, so she quickened her pace as she exited the cafeteria. Once she was outside the cafeteria, she saw Isuke halfway down the hall. She ran after her and caught up to her.

"Hey, Isuke," Haruki said breathlessly as she caught her arm.

"So, you ready to tell Isuke what's been bothering you now?" Isuke asked harshly, causing Haruki to recoil from her. Ok, maybe she needed to change her approach since doing it the hard way didn't work for Haruki. She softened her expression and asked, this time, more sincerely. "Look," she began, suddenly crossing her arms and looked around self-consciously. "If I scared you off with my past or you think we're moving too fast in my room yesterday-"

"No! You didn't scare me, Isuke-sama," Haruki said. She looked around her surroundings too and lowered her voice. "I was going through something yesterday and once I settled it, I promise you, all will be good."

"Ok… is it about your deals with your clients?" Isuke asked. "That two million yen deal you made with Sumireko?"

Upon seeing Haruki's face, she knew she got that right. "Don't think I didn't notice that both of you had been giving each other weird looks all day at school today."

"Ha… you got me there, Isuke-sama," Haruki said sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"So, was that what you had been thinking about when we were together in my room yesterday?" Isuke asked. How someone could think about work when they have Isuke all over them, is what Isuke couldn't wrap her head around. Shaking her head, she continued shyly, "Well, when are you gonna settle it? I want my old Haruki back."

"At the end of the school today," Haruki said, suddenly walking closer to Isuke and pulled her into her arms. "I'll settle it with her by then. And then…" Haruki leaned towards her and gave her a peck on the cheek. "… my old self will be back. I miss you too, babe." The rest of the words were left unspoken as they leaned closer to each other until their lips were brushing against each other's, with Haruki closing the gap between them.

Hiding at the corner of the hallway, unseen by the two lovebirds, was Otoya, who was smiling devilishly while looking at them.

Finally, the last school bell of the day rang, signaling the end of school. Haruki left her class and without wasting anymore time, she walked towards the direction of her meeting place with Sumireko. Once she reached there, however, Sumireko's limousine was nowhere to be found. She checked the time on her phone, thinking she was early. Suddenly she heard footsteps approaching her and she turned around. It was the heiress walking towards her.

"I thought we're meeting in your limousine," Haruki said, raising her eyebrows.

"Change of plans," Sumireko said, her voice eerily calm. "My dad told my chauffeur to bring the limo for a wash, of all days. So I had to carpool today."

"Ok," Haruki said disinterestedly, and if she sensed that something was wrong, she didn't show it. She didn't care where they were meeting, as long as she could get her message across.

"So, let's cut to the chase," the queen bee said. "You were telling me that you don't want to go through with making Isuke fall in love with you and then break her heart and humiliate her in public anymore. Why's that?"

"It doesn't matter," Haruki replied curtly. "I just don't wanna do it."

"Two million yen is a lot of money to be thrown away just like that. What if I double the pay for you?"

"You can keep the rest of the money. I'm done and it's final," Haruki said firmly.

"So, it's not about the money, then?" Sumireko inquired. "What is it then? You know I won't let you break our deal without a valid reason from you."

After the last bell had rung, Isuke left the class and made her way towards the school main entrance. Haruki had promised to meet her at their spot after she settled her deal with the heiress. As she was walking out of the school building towards the school field, she was suddenly stopped by Otoya appearing in front of her.

"Hiya!" Otoya waved, a devilish grin on her face. "Long time no see, yeah?"

"The longer the better," Isuke said, a sardonic smile on her face. "What do you want? Or rather, what does your queen want from me this time?"

"Oooohhh why did you think that whenever I look for you, it's gotta do with her? I got a life of my own too, you know?" Otoya snarked back.

"I don't know. Probably because you're her right hand woman who is always at her every beck and call," Isuke said dryly.

"Ouch, that hurt," Otoya mocked, as she placed her hands over her heart. "But nah… it's not about her. Actually, it's about your girl, Haruki."

"What about her?" Isuke sneered, her eyes narrowing dangerous at Otoya.

"Oh, nothing. I just saw her leaving with some girl just now. Her partner in the Science project. Aimi, is it?" Otoya said nonchalantly as she leaned against the wall and smirked. "They both had their arms around each other as they left school. But I'm sure they're just going to collect some more 'samples'. Saliva samples from each other, maybe?"

This couldn't be true. Haruki had told her that she was going to meet Sumireko after school today. Did she lie to her and go meet with Aimi instead? Is she cheating behind her back? Was that the reason why she couldn't continue what they were doing yesterday? Because she is seeing someone on the side? But on the other hand, why should she trust Otoya? That girl is nothing but trouble.

"I know what you're thinking," Otoya said. "Why should you trust me, right? We were friends once, Isuke. And think about it. What do I gain by telling you this? I don't even like Sagae. But what have you got to lose, right? I'll bring you to the location I saw both of them disappeared off to. If both of us are wrong and there's really no funny business between them, then it's my bad for being protective of my friend."

Isuke knew that she should just trust Haruki and her own instinct over Otoya. But Haruki had been acting strange since yesterday and she really couldn't understand why. Even though Haruki had told her the reason, but she still had her doubts because Haruki had never let her work get mixed into her personal life. With a nod of her head, she let Otoya lead the way.

When Isuke finally arrived at the destination that Otoya had brought her, Otoya told her to stay behind some bushes and wait. Isuke could see that Haruki was standing alone a few feet away from her, as if waiting for someone. A few minutes later, Sumireko approached Haruki from behind and both of them talked.

"Is this a joke?" Isuke whispered sharply to Otoya. "You think I don't know about her deal with your queen bee? Haruki had told me everything. So looks like you're wrong about her cheating on me."

"Hey, aren't you curious about what her deal with your former girlfriend is?" Otoya asked cunningly.

"No, I don't need to know. I trust her," Isuke said, but suddenly she heard her name being spoken out loud by Sumireko. She couldn't help but to hear the rest of their conversation.

"So you don't have a reason for not wanting to go through with it anymore, other than out of sheer goodness of your heart?" Sumireko scoffed. Adapting an intimidating stance, she continued. "As if. You'd rather let your family suffer because you will never be able to pay off your debts and feed them over Isuke?"

Haruki clenched her jaw stubbornly, determined to stand her ground.

Isuke decided that she had heard enough. She stepped out of the bushes to confront both of them.

"What's going on here?" she asked, looking at Haruki.

"Isuke? What're you doing here? Have you been following me?" Haruki asked accusingly.

"Oh, so now you have trust issue with me, when I shouldn't have…" she trailed off, shaking her head. She didn't want to quarrel with Haruki in front of Sumireko and Otoya. Especially, not in front of Sumireko.

"Isuke!" Sumireko exclaimed sweetly. "Fancy you joining us here. Haruki and I were just talking about our deal. You see, she wanted to-"

"Hush!" Haruki hissed sharply at Sumireko.

"I've heard everything," Isuke said, her tone unusually calm. "But I want to hear it from you, Haruki." She turned and look at Haruki pleadingly. "Tell me it isn't true."

"Isuke, I can explain," Haruki began. Isuke closed her eyes because the last time someone said this to her, everything went from bad to worse.

"So, it's true then, huh?" Isuke interrupted. "You were just using me. I'm actually your victim in your deal with her. I'm your ticket to the two million yen."

"I've already broke the deal off!" Haruki said defensively.

Sumireko tutted. "My dear Isuke, of course it's true! Do you think me and my cliques can stand by to watch you trainwreck yourself and date someone like Haruki without intervening? Why do you think we have kept quiet all this time? It's because it was my plan. I made a deal with Haruki to make you fall for her and when you do, she would break your heart in public and humiliate you. I told my cliques to keep quiet when both of you started dating. The dates she brought you, the expensive birthday gift she bought for you…" Sumireko said as she glanced at the bracelet on Isuke's wrist. "… was from the upfront cash I paid her first."

"Why?" Isuke asked quietly as her body trembled and tears were threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Why do all these!? We were never even real in the first place!" she shrieked.

Now, Haruki was confused. Both of them were never really girlfriends? What the hell is going on?

"Yes, we were never real, but nobody can get away with humiliating me in public without getting what's coming to them," Sumireko said, her lips curling into a sinister smile, which sent a chill down Haruki's spine.

"You're a sadist," Isuke said, shaking her head. "And you!" she shouted, turning her head to look at Haruki. "Of all the people, I wouldn't imagine you capable of doing something like this to me. After everything I've shared with you. You've betrayed me!"

"Now now, let's not get so dramatic. Betrayal!" Sumireko gasped dramatically. "And everyone is capable of doing the worst thing; you just need to find out what motivates them. For Haruki, it's simple. Money. Lots and lots of it. Well well well… seems like both of you have something in common. It's no wonder that both of you are so made for each other. Looks like you've finally met your match, Isuke-san, because someone else is so much more greedy for money. More than you."

When Isuke narrowed her eyes dangerously at the heiress, Sumireko chuckled. "What? Are you going say that you never enjoyed the one hundred thousand yen that your dads transfer to you every year on your birthday, instead of celebrating it with you? Even though you're already rich, you still thirst for more money, instead of for their love. Milking your adopted parents dry after what they had done for you. Tsk tsk. How ungrateful. Everyone thought that you love your image and popularity, when in actual fact, you love money more than anything else. Which is ironic, because you've fallen for someone who is dirt poor. I know you more than you know yourself, Isuke-san," she finished, her tone of voice carried a hidden meaning and a warning that only Isuke understood.

"You're wrong, Sumireko," Haruki said. "You're wrong about Isuke. You don't know the first thing about her."

Isuke couldn't stand it anymore. She couldn't stand being here a second longer and so she started to turn to leave, but was grabbed by Haruki on her wrist.

"Isuke, please…" Haruki begged. "Don't listen to a word she says. Please let me explain."

"Ha!" Sumireko suddenly scoffed loudly. "I didn't believe it when Otoya told me, but now that I see it with my own eyes, I know your reason, Haruki." She laughed hysterically. "You've fallen in love with her! That's why you couldn't go through with it! I wanted to get you to say it out loud yourself, but you just wouldn't admit it to me, huh?"

"Otoya?!" Isuke asked.

"Yeah, I knew that Haruki is meeting Sumireko-san, dumbass. This was my plan, actually," Otoya said cockily. "I knew if I sprinkled in a little Aimi, you'd follow me. You're so easy."

"You are crazy," Isuke said. "But I guess I shouldn't expect any less from both of you." Smiling smugly, she turned to Sumireko. "So, I guess you are ok with everyone knowing about your little secret now, huh?"

"Actually, I've sorted out my differences with my parents. They approve my relationship with whoever I want to be," Sumireko said as she walked closer to Isuke and twirled a strand of her pink hair, her sinister smile never leaving her lips. "Not so tough now, huh?" Her eyes glinted in a way that told Isuke that she had won and Isuke had lost. Isuke kept her composure, not wanting to show her weakness to the queen bee.

"Anyway," Sumireko said as she stepped away from the pinkette. "It's been fun. It was nice working with you, Haruki." She turned to Haruki and extended her hand for a handshake. "Though I wouldn't recommend anyone to deal with you in the future 'cause of your flightiness. And although I didn't get the outcome I desired, it was still a win for me. Oh well, since I only paid you four hundred thousand yen, this is as good an outcome as any, no?"

When Haruki didn't accept her hand for a handshake, Sumireko just retracted her hand in a graceful manner. "So, see you tomorrow at school, my two little lovebirds." She blew both of them kisses before sauntering away.

"You didn't think I would let you get away so easily after you bullied and humiliated my Shiena-chan now, did ya?," Otoya taunted Isuke. "I wanted to get back at ya when I first heard about how you humiliated her, but Sumireko-san talked me out of it. Good thing, though, because this is ten times better than what I had planned for you."

"Who the hell is Shiena?" Isuke asked angrily. "You know what. I don't care. Just go before I kill you."

"Shiena is the girl at the basketball court whom you have accidentally bumped into and made her fall," Haruki explained, before turning to face Otoya. "However, that episode is over. Isuke had gotten publicly humiliated too afterwards, and I'd suggest that you leave this matter behind now, Takechi-san.

Haruki's firm but polite tone of voice made Otoya stand down. "Fine. Now's not the time for it, anyway. Besides, I've already promised my Shiena-chan that I won't hurt you, so…" Otoya said and began to leave. "Have fun catching up with each other now," she taunted, right before walking away, leaving them alone.

"Ah… my knight in shining armour," Isuke said sarcastically as soon as Otoya was out of earshot. "What would Isuke ever do without you."

"Isuke, please don't be like that. Please hear me out."

"Don't," Isuke hissed. "I don't want to hear anything from you."

"I've cancelled the deal," Haruki protested weakly, but even she knew that it wasn't a good excuse.

"The problem isn't even about you cancelling the deal or not, Haruki. It's about you accepting the deal in the first place!" Isuke screamed as her body seethed with rage. "I get it that money means a lot to you. I listened to you talking about your money problems more times than I could count. But you could've chosen a different client or a different victim. Even though we weren't together yet that time, I thought we were friends! And friends don't lie to each other! Or are we even friends in the first place, or our friendship is just based on lies?!"

"What was I supposed to think? You've always said we're not that kind of friends!" Haruki blurted, and immediately regretted it.

"Okay…" Isuke forced a laugh. "So, that's a fucking flawless excuse then, huh? Why don't you just go ahead and say that you're in it for the money?! You were just using me, just like everyone else! People only want to be with Isuke because she is rich and famous! How stupid of me to think that you're any different!"

Haruki didn't know what to say.

"So!? Go ahead and say it!" Isuke challenged, her finger jabbing at Haruki's chest.

"I don't know what to say, Isuke," Haruki began, her voice trembling as she winced in pain at Isuke's jabs, but did nothing to stop it. In her mind, she deserved it. "I accepted the deal because I am really in need of money. But it wasn't part of the plan for me to… to… fall in love with you."

"No! You don't get to say that to me!" Isuke said as she stifled a sob.

"Don't you get it?" Haruki said brokenly as she reached out for her. "I love you. That's why I cancelled the deal. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I let you down, Isuke."

"No," Isuke protested while slapping Haruki's hands away and wiping her tears. "Don't you dare touch me! I don't even know what to believe anymore. Is your love for me even real, or everything we had is built on your lies."

"I wouldn't be breaking the deal off if my love for you is not re-"

"Shut up! I don't wanna hear it. And since you accepted the deal with Sumireko, do you even know the reason why we broke up? She asked me to be her fake girlfriend! I didn't want to at first, but then she blackmailed me. She didn't even love me, nor I her. We were never even real lovers, and yet she went through all these just to satisfy her little game of who gets to sit on the invisible queen bee throne, which I don't even care for. Well, she won because her parents had approved her sick relationship with her maid! I have nothing to hold against her now!"

"What? What are you talking about?" Haruki asked, confused.

"Since you worked for her, I'll tell you what sweet little Sumireko is capable of! Everyone thought that I'm an evil witch for breaking up with an angel, but do you know that she is actually in love with her maid, who has this scary split personality?" Isuke said spitefully. "Whatever, I don't care and don't judge, but that Friday night, I saw both of them fucking and her maid was talking to herself while they were fucking and Sumireko was enjoying it. It was like they were having a threesome with an invisible person, who happened to live inside her maid's head. That's when I realized the reason why she asked me to be her fake girlfriend. Her parents, especially her dad would never approve of her relationship with someone with a low social class, let alone a deranged maid. She just used me as an image for her parents to see that she has a proper girlfriend who is of the same status as her so that they won't fire the maid. She managed to convince her parents that her relationship with her maid was just a fling, but lo and behold, she's still with her while fake dating me."

Isuke took in a deep breath and continued. "They caught me staring at them fucking, so Sumireko asked me to join. I had to go along with it, but it was a scary experience that I never wanna go through ever again. When I went home that night, I told her that we're done and threatened her to let me go, otherwise I'll expose her love affair with her maid to the whole world. She didn't want to let me go, caused a big scene at school and made it like I'm the villain and she's the victim. Of fucking course the whole school bought her little act and sympathized with the sweet little angel."

"I'm sorry," Haruki said. "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't know. Why would you?" Isuke said sarcastically. "So, thanks to you, you've managed to let her take control of my life again and our relationship. And now that her parents had somehow approved her relationship with her maid, she has nothing to lose!"

"I'm sure she won't do anything to you," Haruki said, her voice small.

"You fool. If you didn't catch the hint when she said she knows me more than I know about myself, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought," Isuke said angrily as she shook her head. "She knows about my past life and everything else! She has the photos and documents as the proof that my brother has a mental health issue."

Realization dawned on Haruki when she heard the last part. "Yes, you finally get it now, don't you?" Isuke spat when she saw Haruki finally understanding the hold Sumireko had over her. "That's the fucking blackmail she used against me! Do you think I fucking care if she does anything to me? If she exposes my brother to our school, they will call him a retard, and it's all your fault! You let her played us! You're an idiot, but I guess I'm the biggest idiot of all for letting you manipulate me!" She pointed her finger at Haruki accusingly, making the redhead feel worse.

"No… please don't say that… I'm really sorry, Isuke. Please… can you give me a chance to explain myself?" Haruki pleaded as her eyes began to water.

Isuke glared at Haruki's beautiful eyes that are now filled with tears, wishing that she could go over and wipe them away. But no, she will not do that. Forcing herself to feel nothing, she finally said in an emotionless tone. "What more is there to say? You're just in it for the money."

"No… I'm not-" Haruki said weakly.

"You know, I thought you were different. I thought what my biological parents and my dads did to me was bad. I'm used to people using me to boost their image, but you…" She had to pause to collect herself as her voice started to tremble. "You're the worst. At least Sumireko had the decency to straight up tell me we are fake dating. Well, I guess I should congratulate you for successfully playing the playgirl," Isuke said venomously, a sardonic smile on her face. "It must feel so great winning my heart, huh, and then crushing it in your palm."

Although they were standing in an open space, Haruki could feel the space getting smaller and smaller. She could feel like they were both standing on the precipice of breaking up. "Isuke, I'm sorry. I haven't won anything when I feel like I've lost you…" Haruki said as she suppressed a sob.

"Even if you're sorry, so what? We won't be able to go back to like how things were before." Isuke yanked the necklace from her neck, letting the beads fall at Haruki's feet, her expression hardened. "I don't want anything you bought using Sumireko's money. And don't flatter yourself." She leaned in and whispered in Haruki's ear, her voice cold. "How can you lose me when you've never even had me in the first place?"

As she turned to walk away from Haruki, her façade crumbled because she knew that was a lie. Haruki had owned her heart and then broke it into a million pieces.

Haruki let her tears fall freely as she helplessly watched Isuke walking away from her, before bending down to pick up the beads and the broken necklace.

Sorry for the long wait.

And sorry for breaking them up... temporarily, I hope.