XL – Wishes
The next day, Light called his friend on a date. The robber hijacked the bus, he tried to play hero, and just as planned – his follower revealed his identity by legitimating himself in front of him. The hijacker touched the Death Note paper, saw Ryuk, made a commotion, then jumped in front of a truck. The plan carried out perfectly, with the precision of a second – even so, Light wasn't pleased. He let the girl go home, pretending to stay and wait for the police there. As soon as she was out of sight though, Light couldn't wait to get away as well.
This time, he went straight home. "Wasn't Caterina with you?" his mother asked as soon as she heard Light went out with another girl.
"No, mom." His answer was brief and cold, almost bitter.
"Has she left you?" his sister asked. "Ha! See? I told you no girl would stay with a nerd like you. There's no one in this whole world who would put up with your 'aw, look at me, I'm the best and you're all trash' attitude," the girl mocked him, but instead of a response, her brother walked upstairs to his room.
Light sighed when he saw his bed. Some time ago, he saw Caterina there, crying so badly, it seemed her entire world had crushed into tiny pieces. Two minutes later, she was washing her face, talking calmly and acting as if nothing had ever happened. He couldn't help but wonder if that wasn't the only time she cried. Perhaps she saw things she never told him about, just for the sake of some fake harmony between them. After all, her father never talked openly with her mother. Caterina must have grown up assuming the tension between her parents was normal.
He sat down and held his head in his hands. "I can't believe this…"
'Which part of it?' Ryuk asked. 'Can't believe the plan went so smoothly? Or that Caterina left you for good?'
Light wanted to punch him, but knew the shinigami wouldn't be affected – Ryuk would even make it worse by mocking his failed attempt to shut him up. "Are you going to find Caterina, or not?"
'How exactly is this going to make things more interesting? I've already seen you together, now I've seen you fighting too. What's the point?'
Light hated the reasoning, but there was a trace of truth in it… Sighing heavily, he stood up and called the girl from before. "Midori, how are you? I hope the incident today didn't scare you too much." When the girl asked whether he was in trouble, he shrugged it off. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little tired. Still, I should make up for today, so how about meeting up again? Let's eat somewhere and later, if it's not too chilly, we can walk through the central park or sit by the lake." Needless to say, he didn't have to ask twice. "Great. I'll pick you up in an hour."
Ryuk was confused, to say the least. 'Midori? I thought she was just an excuse for you to be on the bus.'
"She was," Light agreed shortly.
'What does it mean? Are you taking her on a date?'
"Isn't it obvious?" Kira asked back, only to receive an even more confused stare from the shinigami.
'I don't get it. I thought you're sobbing over Caterina.'
"Think again," Light brushed off his comment as we went through his closet to find a casual top and a jacket he could do without. "Caterina will come back to me, eventually. She's madly in love, but who could blame her? I can have any girl I want – all I have to do is ask her out. They'll all bathe me in affection, and serve me more than Caterina. She's too much of a bother, anyway."
'Yesterday you were all over each other and today you're replacing her? What if she does come back, but finds you with Midori?' Ryuk had a point, but Light decided to ignore him. 'Hey! Aren't you gonna answer me? …Or what if she doesn't come back?'
The last question earned him a glare. "She will come back to me, Ryuk. Just you wait… I'll make her beg for me to help her. Then, I'll do whatever I please with her. She will be mine, completely, because she'll be stepping on her own pride and crush it in the process. It's as simple as that – she'll come back begging, and then I'll have her."
That day, Caterina woke up late. It wasn't an exceptionally sunny day, but the sun shined every now and then. It was around midday when she realized she had no chance of going back to sleep. Though she had been awake several times that morning, she always found her sleep again and slumbered for another few minutes, slowly turning into hours. Now she could hear a vacuum downstairs and remembered Namikawa telling her about a maid.
The sheets had a strange scent. It was nice, of clean laundry and detergent, but it was a foreign scent all over the room and now, all over her as well. It made her feel like a stranger, like some kind of intruder breaking into somebody else's space. Hotel sheets didn't have any specific scent – simply clean, with no perfume of any kind.
Smiling bitterly to herself, she found her thoughts amusing… somewhat. Of course hotel sheets had no perfume – people don't usually live in a hotel long enough to leave their own scent in the sheets and into the room, in the wallpaper and the curtains and in the carpet on the floor. Every house had a specific scent, just like every person.
Sighing, she thought of the first time she noticed Light's subtle scent. It must have been the first time he held her close, but she couldn't remember. Instead, she remembered the first time they met, several times when they went out, and the first time he visited her and he caught her wrists so tightly, pressing her against the cold glass wall. She liked that at the time, though now it seemed disgusting and revolting – a gesture of possessiveness and impulsiveness… 'childish and impulsive,' like Namikawa described him so well without ever having met him.
Had Anastasia fell in love with the possessive, impulsive behavior of her father? Caterina couldn't believe she was comparing herself to Sia and Light to her father, but it came so easily to her mind, it almost seemed like the natural way to look at the scene. The thought she might end up like her mother made her sick.
Standing up, she put her only pair of jeans back on and walked out of the room. There should be a bathroom at the same floor with the bedrooms, so she took the freedom of looking around. She found an empty guest room and the bathroom, but instead decided to close that door and sneak into Namikawa's room. There were many things that could be guessed based on the way someone's bedroom looked. She sneaked in quietly, careful that the maid wouldn't hear her.
Caterina remembered how Light's room had something about it that made it feel as if he was all around her, like he was just about to wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly once again. Now, she could close her eyes and feel Namikawa's presence there. She was almost scared to try it – she felt like he was about to walk through the door just as quietly as she did and surprise her in the act, incapable of explaining her behavior.
His room was quite neat and very well organized. The bed had been made in a rush, but it contrasted well with his very ordered bookshelves and small desk. On one nightstand, she saw the cable of his charger. He had a really good phone, but two generations behind. Considering he could probably afford much more, it left her wondering why. There were two wall lamps above each night stand, symmetrical and contrasting in a soft gold with the metallic blues and the dark wooden furniture. His sheets were blue, just like the carpet – perfectly aligned with the legs of the bed and the edges of his desk and wardrobe. There were three doors of the wardrobe completely covered in mirrors, which made her wonder if he enjoyed staring at himself. She even wondered if it was simply a design made by someone else, or if he specifically ordered the mirrors facing his bed.
Just then, she heard footsteps and sighs coming from the staircase. Panicking, Caterina hid herself into the closet – she kind of felt bad because his clothes were so neatly arranged on hangers, but she couldn't risk the maid busting her. Being there was wrong, but she wanted to know this man who her father had trusted enough to consider an option for her.
By the time the maid entered Namikawa's room to see if there was anything to clean and to open a window, Midori was just walking out of her house in a green loose blouse and a pleated black skirt. She had caught her hair up into a tiny ponytail and seemed to have gone out of her way to look nicer than usual. "Hi," she smiled brightly once she saw Light.
'I don't think this is the best thing to do…' Ryuk has been trying to talk Light out of it since he called this Midori girl earlier, but Light has been ignoring him.
"I didn't realize you were going to dress up for tonight," he chuckled, pretending to look down at what he was wearing briefly. "So, where do you want to go?"
Midori gladly held his arm. Her eyes were shining with joy, as Ryuk sighed. "Anywhere you like!"
'Light, I don't like her,' the shinigami tried to warn him again, but it fell on deaf ears.
"Did your parents give you a time when you should be back?" Light instantly took on her. She was shorter than Caterina, softer, and with less authority. Midori was clinging to his arm like her life depended on it, and preferred looking at the sky or at something exposed in some store's window – she was counting on Light to lead her so she won't trip or walk into another person.
"Umm… I think dad mentioned something about 10 o'clock, but I'm not sure. My mom will call, anyway." Light watched her as she rested her pointer on her lower lip and looked up, only to turn on her heels. "Look! A blue butterfly! Isn't it pretty?"
Light looked in the direction she pointed, but didn't see anything. "It is, and so frail…" Caterina would have noted that feature before its beauty, or maybe she would have made a comment about the short lifespan of the butterfly. She would have started a philosophical debate from the sight of a blue butterfly… and all Midori saw was something pretty.
"Are you alright?" Midori asked after a moment. "It's been on the news, you know? But I didn't see you there. I hope you didn't get in trouble with your dad."
Light nodded. "I'm fine, just thinking far away." He put on a smile as they walked through the crowd. "My father asked me to stay where the cameras won't see me. I'm not yet working with the police, I just volunteer every now and then, when I'm needed."
The girl nodded. "I see. But you do get experience that way, right? I bet it will be a piece of cake to follow on your father's footsteps. Studying was never a problem for you, and you're so good at sports too… Now that you have the chance to see the policemen in action, they could hire you as soon as you graduate!" She giggled, looking up at him with sparkling brown eyes.
Light smiled a little and shrugged. "Who knows? My father doesn't help me in any way, so if I'll be good enough for them, they might recruit me."
"Might? More like will!" she laughed, correcting him.
But another girl drew his attention for a few moments. She was tall and thin, walking with purpose in her steps and making her way through the crowd with a coffee cup in her hand. She had some beautiful auburn curls jumping up and down on her shoulders, but her hair was too short to be Caterina's.
"Light? Is something the matter?"
Smiling, Light immediately came up with a way to turn the situation to his advantage. "I thought I saw someone… There's a man wanted for robbing three gas stations and attempting to rape a woman in one of them. I thought it was him, so I was waiting for him to turn around, but I was mistaken."
"Really?" she gasped. "Oh, wow…! It takes me at least a few days to remember someone's face. I'm much better with names, though!"
"Practice makes perfect, you know…" he replied, barely holding back a sigh. "Let's go for sushi. Is that alright, or do you prefer something else?"
"It's fine," she smiled happily as they entered a small restaurant. "Do you have a favorite?"
There was something almost annoying about her enthusiasm. Light couldn't help but constantly compare her to Caterina, correcting Midori every time she said or did something that made her look inferior to Caterina. In a way, he felt bad for it – Midori was a nice girl, very optimistic, very open, and quite pretty. She lacked something else though… She lacked the mind and the tongue of Caterina. How could Midori possibly find something interesting in a small talk based on their food preferences?
After what seemed like forever, Midori had made up her mind and they could order. At the same time, the maid was walking out of Namikawa's room and knocking on Caterina's door. When she didn't receive any response, the woman went on to clean the bathroom. Caterina could tell by her heavy footsteps.
She walked out of the man's closet and made sure his shirts and suits were as ordered as before. Looking both ways and listening closely for any sign of movement, Caterina sneaked back into her own room. She did her bed and opened a window. Looking at her phone to check the time, she noticed that there were no clocks in either her room or his own. Did it mean Namikawa was a light sleeper, bothered by the ticking of a clock in the middle of the night? That could prove to be some valuable information in case she needed to walk out at night. It meant that waiting for the man to fall asleep was not going to help her the slightest.
Sighing, she sat on the bed. Her stomach was grumbling and she felt so weak, she was starting to doubt the strength of her own legs. Soon enough, Caterina heard the maid's heavy steps going down the stairs and she neared the door, opening it ever so slightly.
"Good evening, sir! Home so early?" she greeted someone.
"Yes. Has the lady met you yet?" she heard Namikawa's voice.
"Not yet, sir. I knocked on her door several times, but she did not answer. I didn't bother her."
"Very well. You may leave early today. Thank you!"
"Thank you, sir! Have a nice evening!"
Caterina opened the door and walked into the hall, leaning over the railway of the stairs. "If 5 p.m. is early, what time do you usually come home?"
The man looked a little surprised to see her there. He immediately knew she had been listening to their conversation, but didn't mind it this time. "After 6, sometimes 8… It depends. Let's go pick up your things and then, we can stop at a restaurant and have dinner. You haven't eaten anything today, have you?"
Walking down the stairs, Caterina shrugged. "Only if I can change before going to dinner. I can't be seen like this at a restaurant and I doubt you'd like to be seen with a girl in a pair of jeans and a wrinkled tank top."
Chuckling, he nodded. "Very well. I'll wait for you to change when we reach your apartment. Why haven't you talked to the maid yet, if I may ask?"
Caterina quickly threw him a look of confusion. "I'm sorry, was there something I should have done?"
"I was just asking for my own curiosity. I doubt you've spent the whole day sleeping." He walked to a dark car parked just outside the house and Caterina followed him. The car must have been in the garage last night, she thought.
"I wish I could, actually…" she sighed. "I woke up a few times and went back to sleep. When I realized I couldn't sleep anymore, I laid in bed, pretending to be asleep. Sometimes it's better to just waste a couple of hours more. It's not like I had anything better to do, anyway."
He let her open her own door, but waited calmly for Caterina to choose her seat. She sat in the front with him, but seemed a little confused. "You don't have a driver," she stated her curiosity.
"No," the man smiled. "I am perfectly capable of driving myself, my dear."
"Isn't it tiring?" Caterina asked. She's had a driver ever since she could remember.
"On the contrary – I find it very liberating. At times, I drive through the city without any real destination, or visit other towns nearby. It helps me clear my mind sometimes." He smiled as he started the engine. "Also, the driver's wedge can be spent on more useful things, like dinner at a restaurant every now and then."
"I see…" she said, watching the road and how well Namikawa was driving. "Our driver, Diego, used to say the same thing. He sometimes drove a little too fast, especially when he had to come pick me up from somewhere. He'd ask me to cover him, but I'm sure Padre knew."
"Definitely. But as long as the driver is attentive, calculated and experienced and the car is in a good shape, nothing unfortunate can happen. I could let you try, if you wish. Then, you can go take your license."
Caterina wanted to refuse him at first, then began to doubt her answer. "We'll see about that."
"You've never sat in the driver's seat before, have you?"
Caterina shook her head. "It never tempted me." Before she knew it, they were already in front of her building. She realized then just how much the cab from last night drove her in circles before leaving her at the requested address. "That thief…! I never realized we were so close."
"Do you want him to lose his taxi license?" Namikawa asked her casually.
"…No," she sighed. "It won't change anything. Hopefully, I'll never need him to drive me anywhere." Caterina got off from the car and took out her keys from the pocket of her coat. "I'm sorry, but aren't you coming?"
Namikawa simply shrugged. "You haven't invited me."
"Please, but I doubt the apartment will be as ordered as your home." Caterina invited him in. On a first impression, Namikawa wasn't bad at all. He seemed to like her and relax around her, acting less stiff and more human. She noticed that, and began to lower her guard as well. It was hard to put her trust into someone after everything that has been happening since her mother's death, but Namikawa seemed to have good intentions. Sure, the fact that her father had trusted him was a bonus, but she didn't count on that alone.
On the other hand, Light was already tired of Midori. For the last half an hour, she kept talking about fish, condiments, sushi recipes and soy sauce. He's been dragged into a spiral of random small talk that didn't help him in any way. It didn't make him more relaxed or detached, and it definitely didn't help him solve the FBI or the Mafia problem. He wanted to escape this pointless date and fast forward to the part where Midori would throw herself at his feet and take off her clothes.
When they were finally done with the food and Midori took a break from all of her pointless talking, he felt a relief. While the girl went to the bathroom, he asked for the check and paid. Turns out, she even had cheaper taste than Caterina…
'Light? Midori is talking on the phone… With a man.'
He immediately threw the shinigami a sharp look. Midori? No, it couldn't be. She was too innocent for that and too much of a giggly girly girl. But on the other hand… No! He shook his head slightly and looked at the clock. She's been in there for nearly ten minutes now.
Ryuk sighed. 'If this is your way to keep busy when Caterina isn't around, I don't like it. Light? Are you even listening? Hey, Light!'
Kira sighed heavily. "What now, Ryuk?" he mumbled under his breath.
'Look around you. Do you notice anything…?'
Light did as he was instructed. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
'Look again. Usually, he would be following you, that Rye Pember agent, right? He's still alive and not here.'
Suddenly, Light began to understand… "You could've told me earlier," he quietly protested.
'I tried!' Ryuk quickly washed his hands clean.
Just then, Midori walked out of the restroom and approached him with her never-fading smile. "Hope I didn't take too long."
"Not that long," Light smiled in return and stood up as well. "So, where to?"
"Umm, I think you said the park, right?"
"I did… but it looks like it's about to rain. Would it be too early to ask you to come over? We could watch a movie, if you'd like." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked out of the restaurant and into the street.
"I-I don't know, I don't want to be a bother… What will your family say?" Midori was a little agitated. That wasn't part of the plan.
"Then, let's go to my apartment. I rented one for times when I wish to be alone. I study there, most of the time – it's much quieter than a full house." Light saw her still hesitating. "I'm sorry, it probably sounds wrong… I just thought that we've known each other for years, so maybe you'd find it easier to trust me. I'll take you home, then."
But the girl stopped, slowly shaking her head and with her cheeks flushing a soft pink. "I-I'm sorry, it's not that I don't trust you, I just… I don't know, this wasn't part of what you said earlier."
"I know, but I didn't check the weather. I should have, probably, but I forgot about it." Smiling, Light held her in his arms and rubbed her back with one hand. "Are you cold?"
"No… Well, a little, but I'll be fine." Just like he thought, Midori was incapable of lying when they were this close. He even thought she looked on the verge of tears. Could it be guilt starting to show, or something else? Midori had been crushing on him for a few years now.
Light took off his jacket and set it over her shoulders. "So, what do you say? Do I take you back home, or do we go to see a movie?"
"Um… W-would it be too sudden if we went for a movie now? It's just a movie, right?"
'What are you doing, Light? You're supposed to stay away from her, right?' but Ryuk didn't receive anything in response – not even a look or a gesture.
"Of course," Light smiled, keeping the girl close to him. She couldn't lie to his face when they were acting like a real couple. In truth, once Ryuk helped him understand her intentions, the girl was as good as dead – though he wanted to use her first. If it was a higher order or if Pember had contacted the girl on his own, he didn't know. Either way, she was his new follower, which meant there might be some suspicion hanging over him.
Initially, Light planned to take down the FBI agents tonight. Midori simply bought them a little more time, but at the same time, she could be his alibi. There was a little trick he could do using the clocks – by controlling the environment, he will control Midori. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing she was only average in thinking.
They took a taxi. Light kept his hand on the girl's back, sometimes on her shoulder. It made her slightly uncomfortable – enough to draw her attention on him alone. In his mind, Light already had a plan and a list of theories and guesses he needed to check, and this was one of them.
'What are you trying to do?' Ryuk asked, this time a little more interested in the outcome.
When the taxi stopped in front of the building, a dark car was just leaving. It was a luxury brand, one that Light has been admiring from afar whenever he saw it in traffic. However, he usually saw such cars in the economic center or close to the airport and the business quarter. To see one of these here was unusual…
After paying, Light led Midori up to the seventh floor, but was surprised to find the apartment empty. There were a few of his things there, a bed without sheets and a table without the laptop. Laying there instead was the Death Note, in all its glory and in full sight. Quickly, Light took it and threw it in his school bag, among many other notebooks.
"Well, um… what are we going to watch?" Midori asked after a few moments.
Sighing heavily, Light rubbed his face in frustration and ran his hands through his hair. "…I can't believe this! I broke up with a girl and she took everything!"
"Oh…" she said in a tiny, broken voice. "I see. So this is where you bring all of your girls, right? And I'm probably just… filling a void."
"It's not like that. I've been noticing you for the past few months, since my relationship with this girl has been… on the verge, to put it like that. I helped her as much as I could, but she was looking for money and thrill."
The girl looked at him and began to feel bad for what she'd said. Light looked so sad, so honestly ravished, she couldn't just leave him there on his own. "I'm sorry," she mumbled in a low voice, walking up to him and wrapping his arms around her own waist. "You probably loved her… But she's gone now and I think it's for the best. Know I'll be by your side, if you need me."
"You don't know how I need you…" he whispered in a low voice, holding her tightly – just the way he used to hold Caterina when she was worried about something. If he bought Midori the same perfume Caterina used in the past few months, he could close his eyes and imagine her there, clutching his shirt as desperately as Midori.
Caterina never did that. And she probably never will, but that was alright for Namikawa. He was past the boiling desires of the early twenties, becoming much more patient – even calculated, some may say. But that is exactly what helped him observe every little change Caterina probably thought unnoticeable. "You've been looking in that mirror since we left. Did you see something familiar, maybe?"
She looked at him for a long moment, but Namikawa seemed to keep his eyes on the road alone. "I think I saw Light with another girl getting off that cab…" she sighed. "I just wasn't expecting it so soon. I thought he'd wait for me, at least, but I should have known…"
"If he let you go the first time, there shouldn't be a second time. I know it's not the prettiest of truths, but that's the way it is. If you don't care about someone, you won't stay in their way when they leave," he began to explain. "It's the same in business, too. If I value an associate and they decide to leave a project, I will stop them. If I can replace the associate, I won't stop them. Even if I don't openly encourage them to leave the project, it's still the same intention I have."
"I know. I've seen it before, I just… I wasn't expecting it so soon." Caterina sighed. "We had more than just one project. He got involved in mine and I, in his. We shared a vision, pointed out each other's flaws while planning the next move. I think I began to expect him to put me first, just like I did." Caterina looked out the window. "It happened so suddenly, it makes me wonder if it's something I should have done earlier, in a more thoughtful way."
"Experience is crucial. It's better to go through heartbreak now, in this context, than later in life. You don't have to go through it alone, though." The man stopped the car in front of a renowned restaurant and gave the keys to a boy Caterina had to see twice.
At first, she thought she'd seen Light – though that was impossible. He'd never wear a uniform, and he'd never accept a job that means he has to serve others. Still, she kept staring at the poor boy until he turned to give her a confused look and she saw for certain that wasn't Light. Blinking, she shook her head slowly. "…Just wonderful," she mumbled under her breath.
"I'm sorry?" Namikawa asked her, not sure of what he had heard.
"Nothing. My thoughts aren't the most coherent, that's all. I still can't believe what I'm doing… You know? I almost expect Padre to wait for us at some table reserved since the early morning." It wasn't a lie, even if she first wanted to come up with a clever lie. Instead, the truth came out and it took her a moment to comprehend it. Caterina needed to hear it said eventually, because it's been whispering in the back of her mind ever since Namikawa suggested dining at a restaurant. For once, she felt like time had somehow gone backwards to some better days, when her father was still there to keep her safe.
"My most sincere condolences. You are the only one regretting his early passing more than my father and I." A waiter led them to a reserved table and Caterina was waiting for the man to look at her.
"You reserved a table? When?"
He smiled his usual smile, refined and a little ironic. "Remember I asked you how long do you need to change?"
Caterina chuckled as she sat down. "Not as precise as Padre, but close enough. Still, I'm afraid I'll have to ruin the moment and bring up what we didn't conclude last night." As soon as they were both comfortable in their seats, Caterina plugged in her phone and left it on the side of the table. Namikawa was waiting patiently for her to continue, since there were at least two problems she may want to discuss. "It worries me so much, you might see me with gray hairs in a couple of days," she tried to joke about it. "I'm talking about the American and about the Italian. It's constantly on my mind…"
"Did the latter of the two ask for anything as payment other than money?" Reiji asked calmly.
Caterina sighed heavily. "Me."
The man frowned ever so slightly. "Only to be expected from a low class like him… Does he have other offers?"
"35% and me, again. From the first one. But from what I understand, he wasn't pleased, so he turned it down. There's a chance they might renegotiate if 'Victor' thinks I'm taking too long to make up my mind. The problem is that since I'm still seventeen, I can't access Padre's accounts for another six months, meaning I can't possibly deliver such a sum – even if I were to accept. The only good side to this is that he may not be as interested in me as 'Robert'."
Namikawa nodded. He understood that Caterina was using aliases for Vitto and Ross, based on the first letter of the name. "Perhaps he can be bribed with something. You still need to verify this hypothesis, but I think he will find the offer very interesting. I can obtain the account number and password of a wooden puzzle from the Ming Dynasty. It's Chinese, of course, but my father knows at which bank it's being kept. I believe I don't have to convince you of its value – it's priceless. A legend among the 'treasure hunters'…"
"Are you sure? It's a very tempting offer, but how will I ever pay it back? I'd be forever in debt to you and to your father." She immediately saw how Reiji and Kira were alike – both would offer to help her, but expect her to be submissive and loyal for the rest of her life in return. At the same time, being hunted down by not one, but two or possibly even three Mafia heads at once and possessing such an enormous fortune wasn't exactly the easiest puzzle to be solved.
Suddenly, Caterina remembered a late night talk with her father, swimming in the rooftop pool of a hotel. She forced it out of him, but he was right – a son would have had a much easier time taking over the empire.
Reiji just smiled. "I'm not interested in money, my dear. What I'd appreciate more than any transaction is if you could at least tolerate me and see me as your partner. I can't imagine any reason why you'd reject me, other than perhaps being pressured to make a decision."
"I'm immature. You can say it – I know it's been sitting on your tongue since last night. One condition to be considered mature is to make the right decision under pressure – the more difficult, the better; while I'm just stuck in between you – the picture perfect prince – and Light, the inexperienced rebel in great need of cash and influence. It seems incredibly easy from the outside, but while I don't know or trust you as much as I wish I would, Light has been by my side for the past… two years, I believe. And yet, you offer me a way out of my most pressuring situation, at the cost of my love. I'm flattered, but at the same time, offended. What you're trying to do sounds more like trying to buy me while I'm vulnerable. I don't like that…"
Caterina looked up at him once she was done exposing her mind, a little afraid of his reaction and mentally cursing herself for spilling everything out like that. Yet, none of them seemed like a good option at the time – Light had already replaced her, and Namikawa was trying to ensure his ownership of her. She didn't know which scenario to be more afraid of – being on her own in a bloody war between Mafia organizations, or ending up in her mother's shoes for the rest of her time on earth.
Sighing, Reiji held his forehead as he leaned against his left hand. "Caterina… I did not call you immature. The age difference is quite obvious now, but it will become less and less noticeable over time. I regret it as well, but I regret the way you decide to look at this aspect more than its mere existence. I could ignore it without any effort, but you seem to remind me constantly of these eleven years."
"You were eleven. Have you attended their wedding?" she suddenly changed the topic, choosing to ignore the real subject they should be discussing. "Did Anastasia look happy, knowing she'll be owned like an object for the rest of her life? Or did she only realize it once it was too late?"
Author's Notes:
Here it is, another chapter proofread by AbandonedSock.
I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying the story. If you think it's not getting enough recognition, please share it or recommend it among your friends. The recognition of a story is given by its readers, after all - and to me, to see new reviews as positive as those is more than enough recognition to keep me going. Sadly, my time is short and I have a month of exams in June, but I hope I can update soon. You make my day when you review!
