Itachi reluctantly put the billions of yen worth of documents he was appraising onto the table and raised his head to look at Mikoto Uchiha. His mother was sitting on the soft sofa of his office.

"Mother..."

"Oh? The Emperor finally has the time to pay attention to his mother now?" Mikoto rebuked sarcasm. All the while drinking the tea that Itachi's secretary had provided at the guest table. Her beautiful sharp eyes looked at Itachi with an investigative look.

"Mother, how could you say that? How could this son of yours ignore you?" Itachi answered with a convincing smile.

"Right..." Mikoto answered coldly, unaffected by Itachi's rare smile. "Then give me the answer to my question. How's your relationship with Hinata?"

Itachi realized from the beginning that his marital relationships were the reason for his mother's visit this afternoon. He sighed. He knew that his mother would not leave until she got the answer she wanted.

"You know very well that I have been very busy lately..."

"Busy? So why did you have the time to go to the gym last night? Then the night before, you accompanied Sasuke untill late midnight. Then the two nights before..."

Itachi coughed, "Mother...," He almost laughed. He looked at his mother while massaging his temples; it looked like a headache would come.

"Mother seems to be very updated about my daily schedule..."

"Itachi, if you had the free time to do all that, then why didn't you used it to make your relationship with Hinata worked well? Can't you spend some more time for her?" Mikoto looked disappointed.

"Do you plan to ignore her for the rest of your life?"

"I am not ignoring my wife..."

"Are you sure? So then tell when was the last time you had sex with her?"

"Oh ..." Itachi was speechless. Did his mother really asked about that private thing?

Though the answer was... never! Yes, during the 2 months of their marriage, Itachi had not even once touched Hinata. He was so immersed in his work, and he also felt that it was not in his nature to do it with a woman who was disinterested in him.

Moreover, Hinata also seemed unaffected with their zero romance marital life. She had never complained about their interaction. Hmm... Itachi suddenly thought that she hardly ever talk, let alone complained, about anything at all.

Itachi touched his nose, embarrassed to discuss things like this with his mother. But finally he relented just to appease Mikoto.

"Alright... tonight after working I'll go straight home." Mikoto just stared at him silently, so Itachi added, "We are going to sleep together tonight."

Mikoto let out a sigh of relief hearing Itachi's promise. Her expression softened.

"Itachi, I know that Hinata is not your heart's choice, but as your mother I know that she is the right girl for you. She is beautiful and has a kind heart and personality. If you try to get to know her, you will like her."

"Mother, I know," Itachi replied. He was getting tired of hearing similar words from his mother. He knew that his mother liked Hinata very much, but Itachi didn't.

If they met or talked, Hinata always put on a cold or indifferent face. Hinata never started a conversation with him and she also never refuted Itachi's words. Their conversation was often dominated by Hinata's cold 'yes'. Itachi wondered if Hinata hated him? But then why did she accept the Uchiha family's proposal if she felt that Itachi was terrible? As a princess who was adored and had everything, Hinata could have refused their marriage.

Hinata Uchiha had been his wife for 2 months, but Itachi didn't know anything about her, and to be honest... Itachi didn't care.

Mikoto shook her head. She knew her son temper and habit. By saying words like '... I know mom...', it meant that Itachi was already at his limit and wished to end whatever conversation they were having. He only said it to appease her.

But Mikoto understood that she couldn't say anything more. After all, given the fact that Itachi didn't love Hinata, Mikoto couldn't interfere too much in their relationship as a husband and wife. She could only talk to his son and asked him to pay more attention to his wife.

Itachi looked back at the documents in his hand, trying to show her that it was time to end the conversation about Hinata.

Mikoto stood up. When she saw Itachi's gaze had returned to his documents, she knew that his patience was at its limit. Mikoto knew when it was time to stop bothering Itachi.

"I know you're busy, but remember to hurry back home tonight," Mikoto said as she left.

When Mikoto had left the room, Itachi let out a sigh of relief. He continued his attention back to his valuable documents again. After a while of work, "Kisame."

"Yes sir," a middle-aged man entered Itachi's office.

"Please adjust my schedule, today I will be coming home early."

"Alright, Sir."

Itachi tugged the bridge of his nose and thought about Hinata. He sighed, it looked like tonight will be a very boring night.

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As promised to his mother, Itachi left his office earlier than usual. In fact, it was really early. Around 6 PM he had parked his Maybach Exelero in his garage. He walked inside to found that his house was not locked. When it was unlocked it meant that someone was home. So why didn't his house caretakers greet him? Where were they?

Itachi frowned, suddenly stopped his walk in the middle of the foyer. Why did he smelt something unusual inside his house? It wasn't an unpleasant odour. In fact he liked the aroma of this sweet food. But how could it be here? And smelling so lovely like this?

Without a sound Itachi walked into the source of the aroma, the kitchen. The closer he was, the stronger the aroma. As he was nearing the kitchen door, Itachi heard voices.

"Hinata-sama, are we really allowed to eat your cooking?"

"Of course. Eat them now with me. These dangos are best eaten hot."

"Oh, I see."

"Try it now, Natsu."

"Oh... It's hot... Hot! Eh... It's really delicious! Rushi, you have to try it."

"Oh okay, oh... Yummy!"

"Hinata-sama, let me help you..."

"Don't mind me. I can do it myself. You just continue eating, Natsu."

Listening to the conversation, Itachi felt strange. He stepped through the doorway and found three women swarming the pantry table and stove. Natsu and Rushi dipped a brush into a bowl and smeared some kind of thick liquid on the dango-made on the grill. Thus a sweet aroma wafted out to tease his sense of smell. If he didn't have much self-control, Itachi would have licked his lips.

And then his wife...

Itachi felt that something was not right. His wife who was usually calm and formally dressed even when she was at home was now wearing an oversized shirt and a pair of shorts that didn't even cover half her thighs. The collar of her shirt had even slipped down to reveal one of her white shoulders - even the black bra straps were visible.

Hinata's long indigo hair was tied carelessly on top of her head. She sat haphazardly; one of her legs was even raised on the highchair. Her hand was holding a skewer of dango and she was stuffing three of them at a time into her mouth, chewing loudly.

"Rushi, give me the soy sauce dango." Hinata said even though her mouth was still chewing the mitarashi dango she had just eaten. Hinata's other hand grabbed the bottle in front of her. Without pouring it into the glass, she drank it straight from the bottle. She let out a satisfied sigh after drinking.

"This Yuzushu is so refreshing." Hinata said with a big smile.

"If you would like the Yuzushu again, we still have a few bottles, Hinata-sama. But, no matter how refreshing it is, it's still an alcoholic drink. Please don't drink too much."

"Yes, yes. I know." Hinata answered with her dango-filled mouth.

"Rushi, give me the Kinako dango!"

"Alright, Hinata-sama." Rushi smiled and turned her body back towards the grill. But doing that, she saw something in the corner of her eye and so she turned toward it to make sure. She was immediately startled and exclaimed, "Itachi-sama?!"

Hearing Natsu's commotion, Rushi also turned her head. Rushi was so surprised she dropped the dango skewer she was holding. "Itachi-sama!"

Hinata was still chewing on the dango that filled her mouth, which some of it even stuck to her teeth. When she heard the calls of her two housekeepers, Hinata looked at the door and her gaze met Itachi. She blinked. Is it really Itachi in front of her now? He usually was so workaholic that he had never came home before 11 PM.

Hinata was very surprised seeing Itachi at the doorway at this time. This had never happened before.

While continuing to chew, Hinata thought hard about a solution to the dilemma she was facing. Itachi must be unhappy to see his wife behaving like this. Was this the right time for Hinata to propose her freedom aka asking a divorce?

"Natsu and Rushi, leave us!" Itachi's tone was hard, while his gaze was locking onto Hinata.

Natsu and Ritsu glanced at each other. Even though they didn't want to leave Hinata when Itachi looked angry like now, they couldn't go against his orders. Both of them then left the kitchen.

The dim light made Hinata unable to read Itachi's expression now. She put down the dango skewer that she had finished eating and then took a tissue to clean her lips and hands. She stood up straight and welcomed Itachi's return, "Welcome home, Itachi-san."

Hinata greeted him with the exact same words as the previous days, and in that same cold voice. It was in contrast to the warm conversation, full of enthusiasm and joy, that Itachi overheard earlier. Itachi frowned a little. He didn't like it. He felt like he wanted to see and hear the warm Hinata more.

Itachi stepped forward until he finally stood right in front of Hinata. Hinata stood still and with her cold gaze, she looked Itachi straight into the eyes.

"We need to talk." Itachi's deep voice echoed.

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Author corner:

1. Maybach Exelero: One of the world's most expensive cars

2. Dango: A Japanese dumpling and sweet made from mochiko. Three to five dango are often served on a skewer.

3. Yuzushu: Japanese alcohol-based drink mixed with Juzu orange juice / slices

Thank you very much for all of the reviews. I'm so glad there are Itahina fans out there that enjoy the first chapter. The reviews mean a lot to me because they really motivate me to continue. I hope you will keep dropping the review here.

To be honest I actually forget to continue translating the story. I'm sorry. But a recent review from anonymous reviewer had reminded me. So thank you anonymous, and also seto'swifey, Ghostxxxx, IvoryxNoir, TAYYABALARAIB, and Batros 940.

Oh, and also can anyone help me in how to ask for a beta. I know my English is so lacking so I wish to use a beta. But I don't know how to ask for it here. I tried PM in someone in the beta list but I haven't got a reply yet. So, if anyone can help with the right procedure, please?

Thank you.