Chapter 5: Sin in the name of love

We had already agreed to separate,

But somehow or other,

We couldn't forget one another.

Even if this is a kind of forbidden love,

Are we in the wrong to fall in love again?

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" All right… it's a wrap. Tell them to pack up and go for lunch." Fuko took off her headphones. " It's been a long morning."

" You joining us Fuko?" Miyuki asked as she took Fuko's headphones.

" Sure, why…" Fuko was about to answer when suddenly, Miyuki exclaimed

" Oh my god, he's here!"

" Who's here?" Fuko asked

" Mr. Mikagami! Did he really come to see us! Oh my god!"

" All right, don't get so excited, he might think you crazy…" Fuko replied, smiling at how excited Miyuki was.

" And he's coming over here!"

Fuko looked behind her, and true enough, Tokiya was making his way towards them. In every sense, he fitted the image of the director, the way his suit fitted snugly on him, the air of ease in which he greeted his colleagues, the coolness in the way he spoke. As he neared them, Fuko gave him a slight bow and greeted him

" Good Morning Mr. Mikagami, I'm surprise that you made it here."

" Well, I had to take a look for myself this new venture that you're trying out. I heard that everything went smoothly."

" Yes. It did." Fuko's eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed the glint in Tokiya's eye, which disappeared in the next second. She recognized that glint anywhere. He was amused at the way she was treating him like a total stranger!

After that night when he had kissed her at the staircase, and she had kissed him back. Fuko realized that she could no longer keep her feelings for Tokiya a secret. However, she had come to some conclusions about their relationship.

It was to be a secret. No one, not even Recca was to know about it. They had to continue acting like they didn't know each other at work. People were just too sharp nowadays, especially if they were in the media industry. Work and personal relationships were separate. Anyhow, just to mention, a few days later, Tokiya had called another board meeting. In it, he had announced that each show managed to increase their ratings by 25% by the next quarter, he would think twice about the retrenchment list. Apparently, it was not only Fuko, but other producers as well who had made a complaint, so it not because of her that he had made the change, which made Fuko quite happy that he was not compromising work and personal together. And that was how Fuko came up with a new idea for the show, which was to go for an outdoor look, like a variety show, but more intense. Not only that, she had told Yutaro about his case, which stunned him quite a bit, but he had picked himself up after that, though he was rather prepared now, if called for." Miwa. (It was a very tough problem. Fuko left it to Tokiya to solve.)

Right now, it was quite weird for Fuko, she standing next to Tokiya and Miyuki right next to them, listening to their every word.

" I see that you have just finished your work. Would you like to have lunch with me?" Tokiya asked

" Oh well…" Fuko looked at Miyuki, who immediately said

" Oh no it's all right Fuko, I'll tell them. Well, I'll see you later then."

" Yeah, tell them I'm really sorry all right." Fuko said, as Miyuki walked away.

When she turned back to face Tokiya, he was already grinning.

" What's so funny?" She asked, folding her arms at him.

" You're so uptight!" Tokiya pointed out.

" I can't help it all right I…"

" All right, come on, I made reservations already…" Tokiya said and turned around

" You planned this!" Fuko asked incredulously. " Oh my god, I can't believe this."

" More of like lucky me…" Tokiya said, and then suddenly he stopped short. Fuko looked to the side of him and saw Miwa walking towards them.

" Maybe this isn't a good time." She said, but Tokiya caught hold of her arm and said, " No, Stay."

Thus, they walked towards Miwa, who approached them with a big smile on her face, her engagement ring glittering on her finger.

" Tokiya! I called your office, but they said that you were here, so I came down to meet you. I just finished my practice, do you want to go for lunch now?"

" Well, I just asked Miss Kirisawa to have lunch with me…" Tokiya began.

Fuko was afraid that he was going to turn her down, so she quickly said, " Perhaps another time Mr. Mikagami…"

" Oh no, if both of you don't mind, I would love to have lunch with both of you. I would really love to get to know Fuko better, we didn't have much chance to talk the last time we met."  Miwa said

" I don't mind." Fuko quickly replied, and looked at Tokiya, who nodded his head in agreement.

" Shall we go then? I'm starving!" Miwa exclaimed, as she took Tokiya's hand, leaving Fuko to walk behind them.

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It was quite an awful lunch for Fuko, to say it in the least. She sat opposite Tokiya and Miwa. Miwa talked the most, while Tokiya was very quiet. Fuko tried to act as lively as she could, smiling as she told Miwa more about herself and quizzed Miwa in return. However, the big blow came when Miwa suddenly took Tokiya's hand and said to him,

" Tokiya, I just spoke to Daddy. He has agreed to let us marry anytime soon. Isn't that great!"

Tokiya put down his wine glass and said, " We'll talk about that later."

" Why? I thought that you would be happy?" Miwa said.

That was enough for Fuko. She got out of her chair.

" Excuse me, I need to go to the toilet."

Before anyone could reply, she had run out of the restaurant. In the toilet, she spent a few minutes at the sink composing herself. When she was ready to go back out again, she hoisted her handbag on her shoulder and walked out. To her surprise, Tokiya was outside waiting for her. She tried to walk past him, but he reached out a hand and pulled her towards him. Their bodies collided against one another and Fuko sprang back in horror.

" Don't do that. What if Miwa sees that." She said

" You're upset." Tokiya observed.

" I'm not. And I wish that you would stop being so cool about things. I don't like it." Fuko muttered furiously. She was beginning to tear, for god's sake.

Tokiya didn't answer, but instead he used his thumb to silently rub away the tears that were gathering on her eyelashes. That was enough for Fuko. Crying softly, she leaned against Tokiya and let him hold her. Thank god they were hidden in the shadows, if not they could have been spotted easily in the dining area.

When Fuko had calmed down, Tokiya lifted her chin so that she was looking at him.

" I won't marry her. The only person that I'll marry is the one who is wearing the other half of this." In answer, Tokiya lifted up his hand, where Fuko saw that he was wearing an ID bracelet. The one she had given him years ago.

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" Fuko, call for you!" Miyuki called out " Line 2"

"Got it." Fuko replied as she picked up the phone, "Hello, Fuko here, who is this?"

" Fuko? Are you free now? I need to see you." A voice whispered at the other end.

" Hello? Who is this? You need to speak louder, I can't hear you." Fuko replied as she cradled the phone between her head and shoulder, and reached for a notepad behind her.

" It's Miwa."

Fuko almost dropped the phone. " Miwa? What's wrong?"

" I need to see you please…" Fuko could hear her sniffing on the other side.

" I'll see you in half an hour at the café across the street." Quickly, Fuko gave her directions and once she put down the phone, she was deep in thought.

What on earth had Tokiya said to her?

She looked at the ID bracelet she wore on her wrist. After a moment's thought, she fingered it slightly, but left it there on her wrist.

*********************

Miwa was already there when Fuko arrived. At first Fuko didn't recognize her. She was dressed in a pale cream suit and wearing a pink scarf and black sunglasses. A huge hat hid her from the view of many and it wasn't until she called out to Fuko that she realized that it was she.

" I'm really sorry to have called you out in the middle of work, but I didn't know who else to turn to…" Miwa began…

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" Oh Good Afternoon Mr. Mikagami…" Miyuki spoke as she saw Tokiya enter the studio. " Are you looking for Fuko? You just missed her, she has gone out for a while."

" Out? In the middle of work?"

" Yes, apparently it was quite an urgent call. Personal problems I believe. I think that she went to the café opposite the street."

" Thanks." Tokiya replied

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" It's Tokiya. He called me yesterday, wanting to meet for dinner. And then…" Miwa began to sniffle and lifted a tissue to her eyes, " He told me that he couldn't marry me."

Fuko felt very uncomfortable listening to all this. She didn't really know how to react. Miwa carried on

" I asked him why, and he told me that he wasn't in love with me. He told me that he could never love me."

Before Fuko could say anything, Miwa grabbed her wrist, " Fuko did you know about this? If you do, can you please tell me? Has he found another woman? Please tell me!"

" I…"

Miwa broke down sobbing, " I was so broken! I never saw it coming! How could he do this to me! I loved him so much. If I ever find out who is the woman who took him away from me, I'll never forgive her!

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" Thanks Recca. So nothing happened at your side?" Tokiya spoke on his mobile phone to Recca. " Thanks. No, nothing's wrong."

Tokiya ended the call soon after and turned and walked towards the entrance of the building. He hoped that Fuko wasn't talking to her.

********************

By now, Miwa had calmed down a little. She was still holding on to Fuko's wrist. Her fingers slid over Fuko's ID bracelet, and she examined it casually.

" This is a nice bracelet. Who gave it to you?"

" Well…" Fuko hesitated and pulled her wrist away.

" Fuko?"

Fuko looked up and saw Tokiya staring at her and then at Miwa. His face-hardened and he said to Miwa, " We talked about this yesterday."

" I cannot accept it Tokiya, I really cannot. How can you not love me? Have you forgotten what happened in America?"

" Still, this is no excuse for you to call Fuko out. It has got nothing to do with her." Tokiya replied, his voice the iciest that Fuko had ever heard. He was getting angry.

Quickly, she stood up and said to Tokiya, " It's all right, I was just leaving anyway. Miss Miwa just wanted to ask me some questions."

Big mistake. Miwa's eyes narrowed on Fuko's wrist, and then on Tokiya's. She stood up abruptly and crossed over to where Fuko was. She grabbed Fuko's wrist and then Tokiya's.

Slowly, realization dawned on her face, followed by disbelief, then anger, extreme anger, hatred. Lifting up her hand, she slapped Fuko hard on the cheek. When her hand came away, there was a deep red imprint on Fuko's cheek.

" How dare you lie to me? I won't ever forgive you ever. I won't let you off for this."