Part 5: Leave him
Mai fumbled through the office keys in the dark, her hands frantic to unlock the door. It was proving to be difficult with the amount of tears free-falling from her face.
She dropped her keys and the groaned in frustration. She didn't bother looking for it in the floor, instead, she leant her head on the cool surface of the door.
Honestly, even she can see how much she was suffering. It was unfair, why was she the only one who had to keep getting hurt?
The door opened and before Mai could fall forward, a pair of hands on her shoulders caught her.
"Mai?" Naru's confused voice reached her ears. She sniffed and look up, not caring if she looked like a wreck. Naru had seen her look worse. "What happened to your keys?"
Mai shrugged.
Naru sighed, running a hand through his hair. He took off his coat, clearly seeing the state of her clothes, and put it around her shoulders. "Get in, I'm going to grab your keys."
Mai nodded, clutching on the coat on her shoulders. She heard the jingle of her keys as Naru picked it up from the floor and once again, Naru was in front of her. He closed the door behind her and sighed, "Are you just going to stand there?"
She nodded again.
It was quiet for some time, only the clock by the wall was heard. She heard Naru sigh again, and then she heard him put down her keys on the table. Silently, he pulled her to a hug and awkwardly patted her head.
Mai couldn't help it anymore, she hugged him tightly on his waist for support and let the tears fall again. She knew despite Naru's vocal protests, he never really cared if his shirt got soaked. She heard a door open and from the direction it came from, she knew it was Lin.
"H-he came home," Mai said out loud so both men could hear her. "With a girl, this time."
Naru stiffened and Mai sighed, her cry slowing down to hiccups. "I mean, I knew what he's been doing, I'm not dumb. I work for you and fight against spirits, for heaven's sake, of course I would see that he's been cheating on me."
Silence again. Lin seems to have turned on the kettle.
"I just, I don't know— I didn't want to accept it. This is Yuuto we're talking about. He's a sweetheart, he couldn't hurt a fly, I just…" Mai whispered, "I really loved him, you know? So much that I didn't want to accept that he's fallen out of love. No matter how pitiful I must have been, because I didn't care. I loved him, Naru."
Naru didn't say anything.
"I don't know if I still do," Mai said. "But I've had enough. I—"
Mai pulled away from Naru. She looked up at him and instantly she felt bad. Because she was suffering, she failed to see how it affected the ones she loved, the ones she loved that really mattered.
The look on Naru's face was conflicted. Mai knew it was hard for him to comfort her, but the act alone meant everything to Mai. She took Naru's hands and squeezed it, looking down.
"I'm sorry."
It wasn't her who spoke. It was Naru.
She shook her head, "No. I should be thanking you. Thank you, Naru."
She felt him return the faintest of squeeze in her hand before letting go and handing her a cup of tea. Lin directed her to the couch as Naru returned to his office, to change his shirt, probably.
"I'm sorry for barging in at night."
"I don't think you can still classify this time of the day as night," Lin replied amused, before his tone turned serious again. "And you don't need me or Noll to tell you how idiotic it was to walk the streets wearing only a pajama."
Mai winced, he's right. It's past 3am already. She left her apartment a few minutes before 3, and only managed to grab her keys before storming out of Yuuto's apartment. The nerve of that guy to bring home a woman and have sex with her on the bedroom with her sleeping!
She closed her eyes to calm herself down, a tear slipping out again off her eyes.
"I think enough tears have been wasted," Lin said. "And that you're a smart woman, you don't need anyone to tell you what to do next."
Mai laughed, "Lin-san, thank you."
"For?" He asked. She looked up at him and she saw a smile lingering.
Naru stepped out of his office with a new shirt and his car keys.
"Where are you going?" Mai asked him. Was he going back to his apartment for once?
"To get your stuff," Naru said. "The sooner we get it over, the better. I need my assistant working properly and I think she's been a wreck far too long than I'm used to."
Mai rolled her eyes, "You know that won't work on me, right?"
"Who knows?" He said, "I'll be back."
"Wait, Naru!" Mai stood up alarmed, "You're going alone?"
"Did you want Lin to leave you alone?" He asked, confused.
Mai opened her mouth but was stopped by Lin. Naru nodded at the tall guy and left the office.
He insisted she go to Naru's office and take a nap while he finished his work. She asked if she could help him, too worried about what Naru was going to do, but Lin told her she could ease his worries if she rested.
"You've heard this enough, but you look like a wreck." Lin said.
A/N: Look out for the epilogue. It will be up soon soon.