92. Doubt
310 Words
Noriko sat in the chair, quiet and unmoving, pale and fragile like a porcelain doll. The make-up artist and her assistant did not speak as they worked on her, just tiptoed around casting worried glances.
Noriko didn't know what to think. They had been going out for over a year. She knew Taiki, she trusted him, and she would not allow one stupid photograph in a gossipy magazine to destroy their relationship. She was not the jealous type and she knew many of Taiki's friends were female. Noriko knew she had nothing to worry about; her boyfriend adored her and would never hurt her.
Many people thought Taiki was boisterous, but she knew that he was dedicated and honest.
And there really was the crux of the problem.
They had been together so long that Noriko had the people in Taiki's life. And neither his sister nor any of his closest female friends had a red hair like that.
It wasn't at all like Taiki to cancel their date, let alone on the very last minute like that.
The Taiki she knew would not go behind her back, would not lie to her, would not feed her excuses. Taiki was honest to a fault, and if he was going shopping with a girl he would usually just told her that and wouldn't have tried to hide it.
And that was what hurt her most, what fed her insecurities, what made her feel sick to her stomach.
That stubborn little 'Taiki wouldn't do that', when before her there was clear evidence that he had.
And Noriko just couldn't understand why.
She wanted to trust him with all her heart, but she couldn't help the painful confusion, that little venomous voice whispering at the back of her mind.
She loved her boyfriend, but she could not help that haunting sliver of doubt.