Chapter 4

When the alarm went off, I was already awake. Still no response from Mamoru. Something must have happened. I grabbed my bag and headed to Crown Cafe, which was run by Motoki. Maybe he knew what was going on with Mamoru.

As I pushed open the door, he greeted me with a laugh. "Hey, Bunny. Out and about so early?" I sat across from him at the counter. "Yeah, I couldn't sleep. Mamoru hasn't been in touch since early the day before yesterday. Did you happen to hear from him yesterday?"

As he thought about it, he placed a latte macchiato in front of me and added an extra shot of syrup. He knew exactly what I needed right now. He was the only guy with whom it was never complicated. "Well, the last time I talked to him was over a week ago. Everything was fine then. He was stressed about work, as usual, but otherwise... everything was the same as always."

Hmm... pondering, I stirred my drink. "But you can call the clinic if you're worried. They can probably connect you with him or at least tell you where he is."

"What a great idea. Thanks, Motoki. You're the best. Can you make me a large coffee to go for my boss?"

When I arrived at the office, I enjoyed the silence for a moment and then started preparing the folders for the upcoming appointments, as I did every morning. Just as I finished, Mr. Sato arrived. But today, he didn't rush past me into his office as usual. He stopped directly in front of my desk.

"Ms. Tsukino, schedule a consultation in your calendar, around 10 am."

Surprised, I looked up at him. "A consultation about what?" Since when did he make my appointments? I was his assistant.

"If only I knew. Mr. Prince Junior called me last night and insisted on a consultation with you. Apparently, you made an impression on the younger generation. You can go to the small conference room for the meeting."

Diamond. I could only imagine what he wanted, and it certainly wasn't a consultation. He knew I wanted to maintain a professional distance at work. Why did he have to provoke me again today? He said around 10 am. That only gave me 20 minutes.

My phone rang, and I hoped for a message from Mamoru. Somewhat disappointed, I found it was from Seiya.

Your meeting took quite a while. When will you be back later?

Yeah, tough negotiator. How about 4 pm at my place?

What a play on words. Tough negotiator, but yeah, that somehow fit, and that's exactly where I was headed now. I prepared some snacks and drinks and slumped down on a chair, completely unprepared.

As Diamond didn't really want any proper advice, I didn't really care that I hadn't prepared anything. But when the door opened, I panicked. Damn, I should have at least prepared something. In front of me was not Diamond as expected, but his little brother. Damn it. I should have been suspicious when Sato said he called last night. That wasn't possible because I spent the evening with him. Shit!

I couldn't let anything show, so I friendly shook his hand and greeted him. The facial features were almost identical to his brother's, but Sapphire Prince had black-blue hair, which was an absolute contrast to his brother's white-blond hair. I had seen him briefly at the painting handover, but only for a few minutes.

"Hello, Ms. Tsukino, it's nice that you could make it."

I put on a smile. I had no other choice when my boss called, so what did he want?

"Nice to meet you too. Please take a seat. What can I do for you? My boss said it's a consultation, but he couldn't specify what you are looking for. So, I apologize in advance that I haven't prepared anything concrete." Now the tension was growing inside me. What did Diamond's brother want?

He casually sat in the chair across from me.

"It took me a long time to figure it out. My brother is good at pretending."

I swallowed. Fuck, what was coming now?

"Tell me, Ms. Tsukino, how important is my brother to you really?"

I felt the blood rush to my face. What was this about? Sapphire also had those deep black eyes that were piercing through me right now.

I stood up. "I think what's between me and your brother is only our business, and if you want to know more, please ask him yourself." Very good, I actually managed to sound confident.

But Sapphire just grinned crookedly at me. "Thank you for your confirmation. That's all I needed to know. Oh, and book me something, so your boss doesn't get upset." Then he got up and just left me standing there. What the hell was that?! What confirmation? Why the hell was he so curious?

Diamond certainly didn't know that his brother was at my workplace.

Your brother was just here! At my workplace! For a "consultation meeting."

Out of frustration, I booked the most expensive sculpture we had in stock on Saphir Prince. He had behaved so strangely and I had to find out why he was really here. Although Diamond rarely responded to messages, he at least knew what was going on.

When I finally left the office after work, Seiya was already waiting for me at the corner. He was wearing large sunglasses and had pulled his cap down low over his face. Seiya hated paparazzi and intrusive fans, but of course, I recognized him immediately. His manager believed that Seiya shouldn't officially have a girlfriend to avoid alienating his female fans. That was fine by me. I smiled lovingly at him. Of course, I would have liked to kiss him in greeting, but it was his request that we shouldn't provoke it in public.

"Well, darling, how was work?" he asked me.

"Different than expected, the client from last night has a brother, and he was here today. It was kind of strange, he asked me a lot of questions, but at least he bought something. And with you?"

We walked down the street together, and he told me about the new songs and the upcoming tour when he suddenly took my hand. He intertwined his fingers with mine, and a pleasant tingling sensation flowed through me from within. "I thought no public displays of affection," I murmured softly, looking down at our hands and then at him.

"Darling, I'm tired of hiding. We've been together for nine months now. If someone finds out, so be it. Let the whole world know that I'm crazy about you."

Damn it. Seiya wanted to take the next step too. Stay calm, Usagi, don't let anything show. "And what does your manager say about it? I thought it was important to him that you both appear as singles."

Seiya gave me a kiss on the forehead. "As I said, I don't care. He's paid to find solutions. Then he can do something for his money. No more hiding." Then he pulled me into his arms and kissed me in the middle of the street so that everyone could see. My heart pounded wildly. Luckily, we were only one street away from my apartment, and there were few passers-by who paid us any attention.

It was nice that he didn't care, but maybe I did. But I wasn't asked. As usual.

The best example was back then on the airplane: I had told him that I was in a relationship, but he wasn't interested. When I showed up for the date, he just grinned and told me that he knew back then that my boyfriend was just made up to get rid of him. I had just left it at that. Just like now.

The only problem was that I didn't have a manager who could look for solutions for me. That was in my own hands. Seiya's suitcase was already waiting for me in front of my apartment, ready to fill my wardrobe again. We had some food delivered and cuddled up on the couch.

"So, what do you have planned for Friday?" I eventually asked him. He grinned down at me.

"You shouldn't be so curious all the time. If I tell you now, it won't be a surprise anymore." "But I have to think about what to wear. I don't want to show up in a bikini and you take me on the red carpet." He poked my nose with his finger.

"Just wear normal clothes, you can't go wrong with that." I pouted and put on a puppy face, which made Seiya burst out laughing. He was quite a character, and his laughter was contagious.

"No chance, sweetie. Surprise remains surprise. You just have to be patient now." Damn it. I hated surprises that were uncontrollable. What was he planning? This question drove me almost crazy. He pulled me closer to him, and for a moment, I forgot all the chaos around me. Now, there was only him and me. I could get lost in his ocean-blue eyes, he made me feel like I had arrived.

"Are you coming to shower with me?" he whispered in my ear, and a smile crept onto my lips. "Yes, go ahead. I'll just tidy up here and come after you."

Just as the bathroom door closed, the doorbell suddenly rang. Shit, who could that be? I went through all the possibilities in my head, but I hadn't forgotten any appointments. This evening was Seiya's evening. Minako wasn't coming until Thursday, and I had been to Motoki's earlier today. As I approached the door, I heard that Seiya had already turned on the shower. With trembling fingers, I opened the door and froze instantly.

Diamond.

What was he doing here? He had never shown up at my home in person before. Shit. Seiya's singing from the shower reached me softly, and Diamond was right in front of me. Fuck. I was in trouble if I didn't think of something quickly.