Chapter 57

What should I do? The words echoed in my mind over and over again: "I love Diamond." It was a fact I could no longer deny. Deep within me, I felt it, that delicate flutter like butterfly wings in the pit of my stomach. It was a feeling I had completely suppressed due to all the events between us. There had been so much pent-up anger between us that still lingered, but this confrontation with Yaten had truly opened my eyes. I loved him.

Kaori was right, I needed to talk to him while he was still in the country. I needed to apologize to him for everything I had said in anger. I couldn't waste any more precious time. After all, I had already experienced the painful lesson of how quickly something could be over. But I wondered if he even wanted that. If I believed Kaori, then definitely yes. But considering his recent behavior, it was questionable.

By now, I had arrived in front of my house and stared up at the apartment. My heart raced as I felt the weight of my decision. No, I couldn't waste any more time. I had to talk to him, and as quickly as possible, before my courage abandoned me once again. With trembling hands, I hailed a taxi and gave the address of Diamond's apartment. A strange feeling washed over me as the taxi driver started driving, but I knew I had to at least try. It was time to be honest about my feelings and face the consequences. I decided to inform Kaori about it and pulled out my phone.

You were right. Operation Ironheart can begin. On my way to him. Are the door codes still the same? sent to Kaori. Glad you're fully on board now. Ironheart is currently playing world dominator with Kunz. They've flown out, as far as I know. Good luck. Then I'll wait. He'll have to come home sometime.

I couldn't help but chuckle at our peculiar nicknames, but she seemed to immediately understand what I meant. Very well.

He hadn't changed the security codes, at least. Jackpot.

Effortlessly, I opened the front door, entered the elevator, and went upstairs. When I stood in front of the door to his apartment, I hesitated for a moment. Should I really just walk in? Did that even count as breaking in, even though I knew the code? But I wasn't here to steal anything, I just wanted to talk to him. Gathering my courage, I typed in the combination. With a quiet click, the door unlocked.

My stomach rumbled a bit as I entered. The apartment was dark and silent. I turned on the lights and made my way to the living room, where I sat down on the sofa. My gaze fell upon the purple vase that Hotaru had ordered for him when he "visited" me at work last time. It was sitting there on the table, filled with fresh flowers. So, he was here or at least intended to show up.

I'm in his lair now, the codes were still unchanged, thanks. I sent an update to Kaori. Her response was a thumbs-up and a winking smiley.

Time passed, and it was already past 10 PM, but there was no sign of Diamond. I had been sitting here for almost three hours, waiting. The television was on in the background, but my tension was almost unbearable. He had to come home already. But eventually, I felt my eyes drooping.

I'm not sure what time it was when I heard sounds at the door. Slowly, I sat up and blinked myself awake. The door swung open, the gasp of a female voice reached my ears and jolted through me like lightning. My heart seemed to stop for a moment as I realized Diamond wasn't alone.

"This way," Diamond whispered in his typical bedroom voice, and my knees went weak. A lump formed in my throat. Damn. The woman started giggling, and I heard the door to his bedroom open.

"I'll be right with you," Diamond said softly, and then I heard his footsteps echoing toward me. Shit, the TV was still on, and the lights were on too. I quickly pressed the power button on the remote and jumped up from the sofa, but he was already standing in the middle of the room.

His hair was slightly tousled, the top buttons of his shirt were undone, his arms were crossed in front of his chest, and his eyes sparkled at me.

"You? What are you doing here?" he asked with a sharp undertone.

"I... um... I..." My words failed me, and I could hardly gather a coherent thought.

"Usagi, stop stuttering and tell me why you're in my apartment in the middle of the night," he thundered on.

Damn, this was definitely not how I had planned it.

"I... I wanted to talk to you," I finally managed to say.

"It's 2 AM, and I have company. Besides, I don't see what there is left to discuss between us," he replied coolly, looking deep into my eyes. His gaze was penetrating and hard to bear. I felt my heart race. Even though it was difficult, I held my ground under his gaze. I knew that expression; it took a lot of self-control for him to behave this way now.

"Yes, there's still a lot to discuss, and you'd know that if you would just answer your damn phone for once!" I retorted with rising anger. Even at the risk of escalating the situation, I raised my tone slightly. I knew exactly how much it annoyed him, and I hoped to provoke some sort of reaction from him. Once again, we engaged in a chilling stare-down, which was interrupted as the petite brunette entered the room.

"Diam... oh... who's this?" she asked, surprised.

"Nobody," he replied curtly.

"Did I just hear correctly? Nobody?" I pressed.

"Yes, Usagi. As you recall, I promised you that I would distance myself from you. But that's not happening if you keep following me around all the time. Thanks for bringing the security vulnerabilities to my attention today. I'll make sure the codes are updated tomorrow. And now, I want you to leave," he stated firmly.

I stared at him with my mouth agape. "Oh, so when it suits you, you maintain your distance, but when there's a problem, you're still around. Explain to me how that adds up!"

Internally, I prayed that he would tell me what he felt now. My mind screamed: Just say 'I love you!' But alas, nothing of the sort came from his lips.

"Would you have preferred freezing to death?" he retorted sharply.

"I'm not just talking about tonight! You were at the funeral, and you've surely received some information about me from Haruka over the past few months," I added forcefully.

He shot me a quick glance, and for a brief moment, I saw something hurt in his eyes before he put on his poker face again. I knew I had hit a nerve.

"Um... if you want to continue arguing with your girlfriend, I'll better leave," came the voice of his companion, whom we had both tuned out in the heat of our exchange.

"No, she's leaving now," Diamond replied firmly, turning to her and taking her hand. His gaze briefly brushed mine, but it was just a fleeting moment before he turned back to his companion. "Where were we?" he whispered in her ear.

No, he couldn't be serious. He was actually leaving me here and leading his companion back towards the bedroom. It felt like he had just banished me from his life with a single sentence. I hastily gathered my things and stormed past him. The door slammed shut with a loud bang as I left the apartment. I rushed into the elevator and collapsed there, overwhelmed by my tears.

"Asshole!" I screamed as loudly as I could before finally collapsing completely.

So much for Kaori's plan that we just needed to see each other once. I was sure that if he had come home alone, I would have been the one he dragged into the bedroom now. Instead, he had treated me like a stranger. I sobbed loudly as the elevator stopped. I couldn't muster the strength to move and just sat there.

I had no idea when or how I managed to make my way home. Luckily, I had today and tomorrow off due to the trial. I sat down and pulled out my phone.

Two new messages.

He has calmed down again. Shall we go together on Friday? from Mina. What happened last night? Ironheart was at our door shortly after 3, ringing the bell like crazy. Since then, the ruling duo has disappeared. from Kaori.

I read Kaori's message multiple times and started to calculate. Diamond had been home by 2 AM, then we had argued, which must have taken around 20 minutes. The drive to Kunzite's would have taken another 25 minutes. That meant he had only had a window of 15 minutes with the brunette. A glimmer of hope ran through my body, and my heart skipped a beat.

Given how charged he was, he definitely wouldn't have been done with her in just 15 minutes... so did that mean he hadn't slept with her and had instead shown her the door?

Coffee at my place? , I sent to Kaori. Yes, meet at Toki's before that? , I sent to Mina.

I let out a sigh. Why did things always have to be so complicated? Why did he have to be so complicated? I hoped that Kaori could explain his reaction to me.