Chapter 62

Completely out of breath, we held each other in our arms. If I had thought that sex with him was fantastic before, then this just completely overshadowed everything. My head rested on his chest, and I effortlessly felt his strong heartbeat. His eyes were closed, but he was smiling contentedly and stroked my back gently.

"Admit it, it was worth the 16 days of waiting," he said, quite pleased with himself. Unfortunately, he was right. Due to my restraint, I had been even more sensitive and irritable.

"Maybe," I replied playfully, to which he opened one eye. "Just maybe? Do I need to go again to convince you?"

Instead of answering him, I stretched up and gave him a kiss. There was still a fireworks display of emotions in my stomach. I had actually managed it, cracked this tough nut. He was mine now. If it had been possible, I probably would have been grinning from ear to ear.

However, a loud knock on the door startled us. "Yes?" Diamond shouted.

"Boss, your father requests your immediate presence at the villa," Massaru's voice reached us. Annoyed, Diamond ran his hand through his hair, and his good mood suddenly vanished. He gave me a kiss on the forehead and stood up, then he reached out his hand to me and pulled me up. "We're coming. Give us 5 minutes."

Confused, I stared at him. Had he just said "we"? We, as in him and me? He wanted me to go with him to his father?

"We?" I croaked softly.

He took my hands in his. "Yes, we. You belong to me now, and so you'll accompany me."

"To your father? At 11 PM?"

"Even if it were 3 in the morning. You don't need to be afraid of him, he won't harm you."

I swallowed. He was really serious about this. "Are my things still in your closet?" I asked hesitantly.

"Of course, where else would they be?"

"I don't know, we haven't seen each other for almost half a year..." I turned out of his embrace. I didn't want to mention the woman he had with him two nights ago, even though it was on the tip of my tongue.

I opted for a dark blouse and simple black pants. Diamond also chose black attire. It was the first time he took my hand, interlocking his fingers with mine, and we left his apartment hand in hand. The feeling was simply breathtaking, even though our destination triggered panic in me. I focused on this moment.

During the drive, I dared to glance at my phone. It was almost overflowing with messages.

Usa, how are you? , Taiki And? How did the conversation go? , Mina There were shots fired at the courthouse! Are you okay? What happened? , Motoki Ice block successfully thawed? , Kaori

Just as I had Kaori's message open, I noticed Diamond stretching his neck to see who I was texting with. "Ever heard of privacy?" I said playfully and put my phone away. Diamond suppressed a chuckle. "You don't need that. What did the red witch want?"

I also had to smile now; it seemed that these affectionate nicknames were present on both sides. "She wanted to know if the iceberg has melted yet."

Diamond let out an annoyed snort and rolled his eyes. "This could be quite entertaining for Kunz and me with you two." Then he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him.

As we drove along the long driveway to the villa, my stomach felt queasy. I hadn't had much contact with Diamond's father before, but he always radiated an immense presence that activated my natural flight instinct. I thought back to his penetrating gaze in the courtroom. He had lost his son just a few hours later, much like how I had lost Seiya back then.

"Usagi? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm just a bit nervous about your father," I confessed, twisting Seiya's ring out of excitement.

"You don't need to be. I'm with you," Diamond said, and then Massaru opened the car door.

His fingers tightly intertwined with mine again, giving me some reassurance. Together, we walked through the large door; Diamond seemed to know exactly where we needed to go, and I followed him. With every step, my excitement grew. We had already traversed several corridors when he stopped by a partially open door. His expression suddenly became tense; he nodded briefly at me and then opened the door without letting go of my hand. We stepped inside.

The room was dimly lit, and a heavy haze filled the air. Diamond's father sat in a large armchair. As he heard us, he stood up. His eyes fixated on me once again, just as penetrating as they were in the courtroom. An uncomfortable feeling washed over me, and I could sense my tension growing stronger.

"You summoned me, Father," Diamond's voice echoed through the large room.

Finally, those probing eyes turned away from me. I felt somewhat relieved, but the uneasy feeling persisted.

"Have you survived everything unscathed?" "It still hurts a bit when I move, but it's hardly more than a scratch."

It hurts when he moves? Did I just hear that right? Given that it supposedly hurt, he had certainly been keen on experiencing pain quite a lot in the past few hours. Good thing no one could hear my thoughts.

"Would you take care of the funeral arrangements? I'm flying to see your mother tomorrow morning; I want to tell her in person."

Diamond stood beside me, his poker face flawless as always. "Yes, understood, Father."

Then the senior stepped closer, critically appraising me from head to toe before turning back to Diamond. "So, it's her." "Yes." "And are you really sure about this?"

Um... Hello? I'm right here! I can hear what you're saying! I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying it out loud.

"Yes," Diamond replied curtly again. "Then you need to brief her on everything. I expect the same from her as I do from you. We mustn't have anything like what happened with your brother again. Our name is already in the media once more."

I raised my eyebrows in confusion. He expected something from me?!

"I will do that. Is there anything else?" "No, I think that's all... Mrs. Tsukino, now it's your turn." He turned slowly toward me; my grip on Diamond's hand tightened.

"Yes," I squeaked softly. "First, I want to apologize to you again for what my son has done to you. It's unforgivable. Furthermore, I apologize for not adequately protecting you and your surroundings as a family. That will never happen again. Especially not now that you seem to be part of this family as well. Diamond will explain everything to you that is important." Then he extended his hand, which I hesitantly shook. "I welcome you to the family."

"Thank you," I croaked hoarsely. "Is that all then, Father?" Diamond interjected into the conversation.

"Yes. You may go."

Without much ado, Diamond turned around and led me after him. The large door of the villa closed behind us, and I abruptly stopped. "What was that in there? No mourning, no emotions over your brother's loss. He has expectations of me? You want me to organize the funeral? And all of this at this hour?" All the questions rushed out of my mouth at once.

Diamond placed his hands on my shoulders, causing me to look up at him.

"There was never much room for emotions in this family, and this with you is entirely new to me as well," he began, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "But this world will also be new for you, and if you truly want it, we both have to learn to deal with it. You still have the chance to step out if you want."

Was he trying to get rid of me again? I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him closer to me. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Forget it, you won't get rid of me anymore. But what do you mean by 'your world'?"

"I used to call it the world of perfection. Emotions have no place in public. Of course, my father and I are suffering from Saphir's loss. After all, he was my brother and his son. Even though the past 6 years were difficult, we still had good times together. But that's none of an outsider's concern. Everyone has found their own ways to deal with it. Still, we can't show any weakness. In our circles, showing weakness is tough. Plus, we have to follow my father's instructions. The next few days will be hell. It's not just about the funeral; I also have to read all the press articles before they're published and negotiate details with reporters, as their versions are often exaggerated."

I stared at him slightly incredulous. So, he knew about Yaten's plan back then and could react quickly. My mind was racing.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" he asked, seeking my gaze.

"I'll definitely try. But I have one more question. Your father just said he's flying to see your mother. Where is she? I've never seen her."

He wrapped his arm around me and led me to the car. "You're damn curious. She and Father have been separated for many years; she lives somewhere in America. But to maintain the perfect facade, they're still married and appear together at major events."

Back in the apartment, I could feel his gaze on me, and suddenly I realized what he meant earlier. Everyone had their own methods to deal with it... of course, why didn't I think of it much sooner? His outlet was sex, and he clearly wanted to use it again now. I could already feel the solid wall behind me as he kissed down my neck and held me close.

"I thought you were in pain when you moved your arm," I tried to tease him and lighten the mood.

"Maybe I'm into that," he retorted and began to free me from my blouse. Oh man, does this guy ever run out of steam?

My heart raced as he touched me so passionately; I felt completely consumed by him. I immersed myself in the fireworks of emotions that ignited between us and forgot the world around us.