Chapter 34

"Should I get all the options?"

Fuyumi looked at her little brother quizzically. It seemed rash for someone as calculated as Kyouya. They were surrounded by glass cases of the finest jewelry in the middle of Ginza. The very place she chose her own engagement ring when she was brought here by her now husband. The boutique was appointment-only and catered to only the top 1%. Fuyumi managed to get her little brother a last minute viewing and was absolutely thrilled when he said she could join him. She later learned it was because Kiyoko was busy playing Go at a nearby club - likely on one of her missions to win over another board member.

"And let her choose between them?" Fuyumi's eyes squinted at how everything sparkled.

"No, she can just alternate between whatever she wants to wear."

Fuyumi blinked. Even she was only given one ring - a beautiful 4 carat solitaire with a platinum band. There was a hidden halo of smaller diamonds which encrusted the gem to make the whole piece even more luxurious. Her wedding band was intricate with the finest small stones, engraved with her wedding date.

"Is that excessive?" Kyouya asked, seeing the hesitation in Fuyumi's face. God, why didn't Kiyoko just tell him what she wanted? Tamaki was right in that choosing a ring was one of the most stressful things he had ever done for Haruhi. Kyouya just thought the man was being dramatic, as usual.

"You can always buy her more jewelry on anniversaries," the sister suggested. "Or just because," Fuyumi winked.

"But that doesn't answer the question of which one?" The younger Ootori narrowed his eyes at all the stones displayed in front of them.

"Why don't we decide on the right shape?" Fuyumi decided that her brother was not going to make much progress if he had succumbed to just buying them all.

The marquise had a sharpness to it that made it seem so wonderfully fitting for Kiyoko. But the oval was a classic and flattered all kinds of designs that went along with it, allowing it to be the largest carat - if she cared for that sort of thing. Kiyoko had mentioned a pear stone in passing, which was a lovely marriage between both cuts. Kyouya hesitated on it because he knew she had said she was joking and even worse, she said she already had a ring like that.

Fuyumi listened to Kyouya's ramble with intent. The sister shot down the pear shape - it was asymmetrical and difficult to balance if her hand did not suit it. To which, Kyouya shot back with a comment that her hands were perfect and Fuyumi stifled a chuckle.

"Let's go with the marquise," she decided. "You said it yourself, it was fitting for her."

"Alright," he agreed. "Should I buy all three–"

"No," the sister put a hand on her brother's credit card. "Let's not be hasty here. What's the rush?" It seemed all rather too fast.

Kyouya frowned. "I want to marry her."

"I know," Fuyumi smiled, ignoring the way her brother's face furled at her. "But where is this sudden urgency coming from?" And in a hushed whisper, "Oh my god, is she pregnant?" Fuyumi clapped in delight with a large grin on her face.

"No," Kyouya glared. The sales associate was thankfully a few feet away, giving them the privacy to discuss their options. He lowered his voice. "It's the best way we can maximize our chances of success." Success being, his succession to the company.

"And here I thought you were marrying for love," Fuyumi raised an eyebrow.

"Well yes," he perched up his glasses. "I do love her," Kyouya added flippantly.

"Clearly, since you love her enough to buy her 3 rings," Fuyumi quipped.

"I'd buy the entire store," the Ootori shot back. "But she would chew me out for it," he sighed. "I thought this would be simple."

"It is," Fuyumi patted her brother's back. "We can revisit the stone later. Let's choose the bands for now."

Kyouya could not believe this ordeal took the latter half of an afternoon. Fuyumi had to hold him back on various decisions, dialling back on the carat size but insisting on the highest quality diamond with the best possible cut and clarity, a stone that could match with anything: nail colour, clothing, and the best for daily wear, explained dutifully by the feminine insight.

The rings would be expedited and set to be picked up next week. The speedy delivery was something only money could buy. Now all it took was convincing the woman to agree, a distinct detail that Kyouya omitted to Fuyumi.

Kiyoko mulled over his proposal days later and hated that he made sense. But the whole point of this plan was to earn him. It felt like cheating, going against every grain of what she had intended to do.

The two had finished dinner and were now sitting on the couch over a glass of wine. She fit comfortably beneath his arm while they faced the television, mindlessly watching the news. The drone of the TV always soothed the two after a long day. Kiyoko's head rested on his shoulder as she held onto her wine glass and his free hand draped over her body. She sat cross legged, snuggling into him for warmth. Kiyoko felt like she could finally breathe, organizing her chaotic mind into a semblance of a big picture that made sense.

As per their usual routine, Kiyoko had summarized the intel she had gathered, noting that Kyouya had been right. The board members were mostly neutral towards her father's leadership, but since the committee had been formed two generations ago - the band of elders had formed a union that essentially catered towards her grandmother for now. Their neutrality was dangerous, meaning they were willing to sway to either side. Her father was an easy choice when everything crumbled, and stability was needed. But as CEO, he was disposable and with the little rumour mill of embezzling, it was not difficult.

The matter became who would replace the man. Most board members already had their own picks, ranging from their sons and nephews that were groomed for the mere possibility of this occurring. And that of course, meant that Kiyoko had sat through many unwitting hours of pitches of marriage, even if they all knew she was cozying up to the Ootori as per her grandmother's orders. It wasn't over until it was over, apparently.

"You're thinking too loud," Kyouya pressed a thumb in between her eyebrows.

"Do tell, Ootori-san. What is it that you hear?" Kiyoko drily answered before taking a small sip of her pinot.

"Just marry me already," he smirked. Kyouya listened intently to her updates over their usual dinner. His marriage proposal made the most sense, and with the acquisition that the Ootori Group was planning underway - he was giving everyone on the board a hefty retirement payout. This win-win situation could only be fully executed if they married to truly guarantee his succession to the Hibayashi group, thereby proving his ability to lead the Ootori conglomerate too.

Kiyoko moved her head away from his shoulder and shot him a glare. How did the man possibly know that she had even been considering his proposal? If it was even considered one at all. It was certainly not how proposals went traditionally. But Kiyoko never really saw herself as a woman who yearned for tradition.

She hated how smug he looked at her.

"Unless…" he trailed off, grabbing his own glass of wine from the coffee table. "You don't want to."

Kiyoko stayed silent, putting her glass down on the coffee table so she could cross her arms. She scooted away by a hair, giving them some distance. To which the Ootori shook his head and pulled her back to face him.

"Talk to me," Kyouya coaxed. "Why won't you go sign papers with me tomorrow? I already filled out the form for the marriage license." One could pay extra to not have to wait for the license. All they had to do was to show up for it, receive the documents, and head over to the courthouse. The Ootori had looked into it.

"You what?" Kiyoko could not stop her jaw from falling. She nearly pushed him off the couch with that statement, if it weren't for the wine he had been holding.

The Ootori shrugged. "I like to be prepared."

"I…" She was speechless. She knew he wasn't joking, per se. But his eagerness was something she did not take seriously. Eventually, yes, Kiyoko had toyed with the notion of marrying the Ootori - it was a someday sort of thing, not a tomorrow sort of idea. She never wanted to get ahead of herself so the thought never lingered for very long.

"Do you not agree that marrying me would be a good idea?"

"Please tell me you have an ironclad prenup," she diverted the conversation to a more practical facet.

"Do you?" he shot back.

"I don't own enough things for you to care to take from me," Kiyoko was honest. And if she called up the Hibayashi estate lawyer, her father and grandmother would be blowing up her phone. It could only mean one thing, after all. "I don't want to marry you for money."

"Quite the contrary," Kyouya smirked. "I'm marrying you for money. And besides, the prenup is there in case we divorce. I do not plan on it."

"Great," Kiyoko pursed her lips. "How romantic of you," she scoffed.

"Kiyoko," his voice stern. The woman's sarcasm was not appreciated right now. He put down the wine glass and reached over to hold her hands. Why were they always so cold? She was warm enough when she tucked her body under his - where she very much belonged, all the time, every day.

"You've earned me long before you tried to blow up your family business," Kyouya gently confessed. "I love you - all of you, everything about you. I don't know how much more I can spell out the logic of why we should get married. Even without the business, I want you to be my partner in life."

"I don't want to ruin you," Kiyoko mumbled. "I want to give you time to back out or–"

"Kiyoko, please," the Ootori was near begging. "I could have backed out any moment."

"You're being insane."

"I learn from the best."

"Marry me?" he tried again.

Kiyoko sighed. "Someday, yes," she could give him an answer for now. "When the dust all settles and you're absolutely sure it's me you want."

Kyouya shook his head. He nearly sighed in relief, knowing that the answer was at least a yes. "While no one is looking, this is the best time to do it. We won't tell a soul unless we need to and still move forward with the plan," he pressed on. "You can do everything you've wanted to do and marry me."

She was thinking again, weighing the options. It seemed wholly unrealistic to have the cake and to eat it too. The metaphorical cake being Kyouya, his succession, and the scramble of power to settle straight into their lap.

He could see the way her eyes stared into an abyss of nothing. Kyouya nearly pressed out the furrow in her brows to bring her back to him. His heart beat faster as the minutes went by, anticipation building at the thought of her saying no once again. He could live with her saying not yet, he told himself. She said someday. She even said yes. That was enough. He would just have to be patient. Good things happened to those who waited. He would wait lifetimes for her, if he needed to.

Kiyoko gnawed on the inside of her lip and shook her head, looking distraught over something that he could not pinpoint.

"I don't have anything white in my closet," she admitted.

He broke out in laughter, the sound echoing through the tall ceilings of her home. He had been going through an entire rollercoaster of emotion, teetering over disappointment and gratitude. Disappointed that perhaps, he wouldn't be able to convince her to marry now. But grateful that she still reciprocated his love for her, even if she did not agree with his logic for urgency. She made him feel alive, sometimes in the worst and the best of ways.

"That's a big deal!" Kiyoko shoved his shoulder. "What am I supposed to wear to the civil ceremony?"

"Wear whatever you want," Kyouya couldn't have cared less. "It doesn't matter, as long as you're there."

She frowned. "I don't want to show up like I don't care."

The reality was that she cared a lot. She wanted to do this right with him, for him. All this time, she had been thinking about herself - what would it take for her to make her feel deserving of him? To not fall back on the crutch of an inheritance to sway the Ootori into a partnership with her. But ultimately, what good was their plan if they did not maximize their chance of success? They were bound together because of this transaction in the first place. Kiyoko wanted him to be happy. She wanted his succession to be a viable, tangible piece of worthiness that she could gift him. Kiyoko had a twisted way of showing it and he would have let her do it in any way she wanted.

He wanted this. He wanted her. He loved her.

And she wanted him, so so so badly that she would go through ridiculous lengths to prove it. Even if the solution would have been as simple as signing some papers tomorrow. She had been too blinded by her own insecurities to see it.

"Showing up is enough," the Ootori would take what he could get. "You're gorgeous, love. You look good in everything and nothing at all."

"Your Host charm doesn't work on me," Kiyoko rolled her eyes.

"Something seemed to work on you," Kyouya pointed out.

"You wore me down, what can I say?" she shrugged.

The Ootori beamed in pride. "I would do it all over again. I would find you. Wait for you. Stay with you."

"And I'd fall all over again, even with your stalker tendencies," Kiyoko answered lightly. She leaned into his hand as he cupped her cheek, taking in how tender this man was to her. Her whole life, she had been conditioned to weather the rage of the world, to learn to navigate a maze of high society that had been pitted against her, and she had accepted that she was alone in this battle where the only choice was to become a hurricane herself.

"Thank you for never being afraid of me, in all of my idiosyncrasies. For loving me endlessly. I'll try to remember that I deserve it too." Only he decided to stay in the eye of the storm by pure curiosity, and tamed her in ways she never knew possible.

"So," he ran a thumb over her cheekbone, sweeping away the tears. He made no comment on her vulnerability. Kyouya cherished her in every form. He placed a stray hair behind her ear before pulling her into his chest and kissing her temple. "Tomorrow?" It was a Wednesday. He could make time during his lunch break, or shift around his lunch break so that the municipal office would be in service. "Or whenever they take the earliest appointment."

"Tomorrow," Kiyoko agreed with as much courage as she could muster. If she dawdled any more, she would find reasons not to do it at all. "Tomorrow, it is," she repeated to herself.

Kiyoko looked at herself in the mirror, apprehension brewing in her stomach as she could not recognize herself. Her nails were no longer red, still clawed but now adorned with pearl French tips. Her hair was down, curled in loose waves that were held in place with a simple crown of diamond florets. She was still deciding if it should have been pinned up - an updo would be more elegant, right?

She shuffled back and forth in her heels, tugging on the fabric of her short dress with a draping bow in the back. Was this too much? Too little? Should she have gone for the long sleeve gown? Kiyoko was running out of time to decide. She was due to meet him in two hours from now at his office as she had his car to run this feat of an errand.

It was nothing like a real wedding and much more so an elopement. But even so, Kiyoko felt like she stood on the precipice of a happily ever after, even if the unknowns were swirling about. If there was one certain thing: it had to be him. It was Kyouya or no one at all, and nothing at all.

"My my," A sharp voice drawled behind the fitting room. "Where are you going with that little garb?"

Kiyoko's blood ran cold. She looked into the mirror to find a familiar figure leaning against the doorframe to the fitting area, banishing all the salespeople to the front as if they knew not to come within 30 feet of the pair.

"Why are you here?" Kiyoko became conscious of the way her chest heaved thanks to her exposed collarbone of the v-shaped neckline.

"Can't a mother watch her daughter pick out a wedding dress? It's only tradition."

"No," Kiyoko shook her head. This was more of an elopement dress, but there was no time for semantics as her heart picked up the pace. Kiyoko hated how her body betrayed her like this. "Why are you here?" she tried again, staying as calm as she could. "How did you find me?"

"I keep tabs on you," Asami responded nonchalantly. "As a good mother does to support their only child. I always have with every gallery exhibition you have opened." Kiyoko thought back to Nami's call months ago, when she informed her of her aunt stopping by. Of how even the Ootori somehow got wind of Asami's presence and tried to warn her of it. It was enough to make Kiyoko paranoid too, her mother-aunt figure had always loomed in the shadows. Every time she came around, it was always some kind of threat to the family. She had been conditioned to believe it her whole life.

Kiyoko stepped off the pedestal with her pristine Jimmy Choos, turning to face the woman that made her stomach queasy and her chest heave for no other reason than innate childhood fear of a broken plate, vase, and/or knife hurled across the room, not usually aimed at her but generally came close. Of all the times she tried to stir things up for the family, trying to claw her way to expose Haru's existence and stopped each time by her grandmother.

"You look like a carbon copy of me at your age," Asami gave the girl a once-over. Those sharp glaring eyes were passed onto each Hibayashi from their grandmother. Her small pointed nose was just like Asami's. She was the same height as her too. It was like looking in a mirror of time.

"Only that I was betrayed by my whole family," Asami ended bitterly. "Your father was nothing but a cockroach the family could not kill, infesting himself into the claws of the women of the family to supplant his selfish desires. My sister never believed me and not to mention, your grandmother who used me as a scapegoat. Tell me, do you think the Ootori would be any better to you?"

Kiyoko stayed silent, trying to go through every single possibility of what Asami could want. Was she here to sabotage her plans of toppling the entire Hibayashi board? Was she here for money? To blackmail her for something? Was she having one of those manic episodes to wreak havoc for the sake of it? And if so, why now? At the most opportune moment when they had planned for a power play by getting married.

"That is none of your business," Kiyoko kept her voice even.

"You think no one is watching you, sweet pea?" Asami cackled. "Your father knows what you have been up to. Whispering little rumours of his embezzlement to the board. He already has an army of lawyers to deflect all the charges. You have been spotted at country clubs, and cozying up to the family members of each chairperson. Did you really think you could get away with it all?"

"I am only doing what is asked of me."

"And tell me, sweet child, what exactly was asked of you?"

"My duty," she gritted out.

"Your duty to marry? Or your duty to try to overtake your father's power while bypassing the beloved matriarch of your grandmother?"

"Does it matter?"

Asami cocked her head sideways. "I have tried, you know. To ruin him. And each time, your grandmother chose our family's reputation over my own sanity. Haru was her shame. Your father only took advantage of it by being the convenient choice: a man of the household born out of the tragic events of losing his wife, and dealing with her unstable sister, playing everyone's sympathy," she added with disgust. "It was the perfect story to spin for the whole clan. Better to have sympathy than disdain of the world. The corporation needed to survive and he had far too much blackmail on our family to simply be let go."

"You don't have a good track record for being sane," Kiyoko countered. "And besides, I'm the product of an affair with him. You don't have a moral high ground here, cheating with that man. You ruined a marriage. You ruined yourself." You ruined me too, she wanted to add. But so did the rest of the family.

"You know nothing," Asami spat back. "We stupidly believed the same man who found us both in a vulnerable place. He married into the family for money and my sister was too stupid to see it. Haru was born as a mistake. My sister was so in love with him, so much so that she did not even acknowledge his affairs, especially mine. And when she did, she killed herself over it thinking it would make him stop. A pitiful cry for attention.

"You will never know it all: the pain I had to endure for being shunned out of the family, for the anger and resentment I was forced to bottle up. How I became the scapegoat of it all, the family mascot for instability and insanity. No matter how much I repented, no matter my guilt. How I could never be a mother, or a sister, or a wife."

"As if you wanted to be any of the above," the youngest Hibayashi huffed. "Is this a backwards apology for being an absent mother? Why didn't you just abort me like any sane person would have at that time?" Kiyoko snarled.

"It's an explanation, darling." The family had no experience in apologies. Pride had always been their vice, passed on through generations. "You were the only hope for our family at the time. I was forced to have you, at the behest of your beloved grandmother. A second chance at saving the lineage, if you will."

"And why are you here?" Kiyoko reverted back to the topic at hand. "Isn't there a restraining order against you?"

"For your brother, not you," Asami rolled her eyes. "I suppose years of being under your grandmother's care has had you believing her propaganda in upholding the family's social standing. Perhaps the second chance has finally paid its dues thanks to me."

"Quite the contrary," Kiyoko snarled.

"Then why bother with the Ootori?"

"Because he deserves every ounce of happiness I can possibly give him, even if he is settling for this twisted good-for-nothing woman," Kiyoko answered.

Asami stared at the child who was no longer the meek girl that was attached at the hip of her brother, flinching at every loud noise made at the dinner table, or holed up in a corner with a book, lost in a world that was not the horrid reality they lived in. Kiyoko had risen out of the ashes of what was handed to her. She gracefully navigated the cobwebs of their high society, plotted the demise of a corporation and family while looking like she was plucked out of a bridal magazine. Her eyes had turned from being fearful to defiant, a brewing rage within her that heaved in her chest with every breath she took to fiercely protect what was hers. Asami decided that the girl had grown into a fine young woman and perhaps one day, she could achieve what the rest of the family could not.

"He is good to you then," Asami concluded.

"The very best," she answered. Kiyoko swallowed and held her head higher, refusing to cower in fear. If she could not protect Haru, she had to protect Kyouya.

"And if you're here to destroy him, I will never allow you to," her voice grew stern. Her knuckles turned white as she fisted against the fabric of the dress, wrinkling the skirt. "I will marry him."

"I come in peace," Asami promised, stepping back from Kiyoko. "You asked me if I wanted redemption."

"I did," Kiyoko's eyes flickered at the sudden movement. Her eyes tracked every movement of Asami like prey. "Is this your redemption? By offering me an explanation?"

"No," Asami shook her head, brushing off Kiyoko's defensive tone. "My redemption is saving you."

"Saving me?" the girl repeated with suspicion. "From what?"

Asami's mouth twitched upwards. It sent shivers down Kiyoko's spine. "I'll need your car keys, child."

"Are you going to run me over?" Kiyoko growled. "Saving me by killing me? Were you the one who tried to kill Haru?"

Asami frowned at her daughter, appalled that she would even accuse her of such a thing. "That was obviously your father."

"Obviously?" Kiyoko echoed. Asami had never been one to trust, none of her family members were. But her whole life, her father had never been more than absent. Her grandmother had always painted him as a barely competent businessman and a stupid man who would never stop fraternizing with women. A terrible father but otherwise, harmless as long as he kept his dick in his pants, to which he clearly did not.

"For a long time, it was always your grandmother that he had to fight to keep his place of comforting luxury and wealth. But power - he never stood a chance with her alive. He was always waiting for her to die.

"But you?" Asami gazed at her daughter. Kiyoko stared back, unable to discern the emotion on the stranger's face. Was it… amusement? Pride? Curiosity? "You are in his way as the sole inheritor. He never thought you could wrap the Ootori around your finger. How charming you grew up to be, who would have known?"

"I never wanted to charm him," Kiyoko insisted. "I wanted to get rid of him. I wanted him to leave. But he chose me."

"He banked on the fact that you were crazy enough like the rest of the women of the family to drive the Ootori away," Asami continued. "The idiot made another attempt at making his own line of succession with some other easy prey. God knows if that one is even real," she snarled and rolled her eyes at the thought of it.

"He never knew how much of a force you are, to be raised as a Hibayashi. Your grandmother's final play was to have you inherit the wealth, to push him out. But only if you are married," Asami finished.

"To which it would go to my husband," Kiyoko rolled her eyes. "So much for being the sole inheritor by dismissing me entirely."

"Because only then you get to be free," Asami sighed. "From this madness. A new life. With the added bonus of her achieving everything she had always wanted for the family: to rebuild our reputation with a new slate. With you Kiyoko. You were named by her for that purpose. The pure child."

"And what about you? You've been left behind for decades by the clan. Amends to be made by our family members for you is far too little and too late," Kiyoko was not naive enough to know that everything in this family was bartered. It came at a steep price, both emotionally and fiscally.

The mother chuckled and batted the idea away with a flick of a wrist. "Don't worry about me. My time here is up, child. There is nothing I could possibly want from our family - they have taken everything."

"What time?" Kiyoko had too many questions. "What is going on?" she demanded.

"Nothing to worry your pretty little head about," Asami smiled fondly at her daughter while she swept her way across the fitting room. Kiyoko's Anjou Goyard was left unattended on the chaise, usually reserved for a bridal party during a fitting. Given that she thought she was the only person here in this boutique on a Wednesday, it was deemed safe until Asami plucked the Mercedes key of her purse without any resistance.

"Wait," Kiyoko lunged for the sole method of transportation. How was she meant to get to Kyouya otherwise? She tripped over herself and landed right on the plush sofa. "I need that."

"Take a taxi, then," Asami was more nimble than Kiyoko had thought. For a middle-aged woman, she somehow managed to squirm her way out the door.

"The car isn't even mine, it's the Ootori's," she spluttered, as if it was made to convince her mother to give back the keys. "I have to meet him in two hours!" Kiyoko ran through the door as Asami bolted towards the car park and down the emergency staircase, leaving her in the dust with shoes that were certainly not made for sprinting. What kind of fucked up manic episode was this?

"Miss," a boutique salesperson held onto Kiyoko's arm from exiting, showing up exactly as told by the elder.

"I'll settle the bill with my credit card on file," she thrashed her arm out of the grip of the stranger. Asami was slipping farther and farther from her fingertips. "I need to go."

"Oh, it's been settled by the… woman who ran out," the salesperson explained with as much confusion as anyone else who had witnessed the chaos. The other employee came around with a bag with her regular clothes folded nicely and a polite smile to which Kiyoko coldly glared at.

Kiyoko rummaged around her tote in a panic, trying to find her phone. If she could not catch up to the woman, she could at least call the Ootori to tell him about this ordeal. When she came up empty handed, Kiyoko realized that she must have left it in the charging pad of the vehicle. What a fucking inconvenience. She couldn't even tell Kyouya that she would be running late.

A car stolen. A phone forgotten. Two hours to get across the city through public transport. Kiyoko sighed and decided that it would be best to just fucking deal with the cards she was given. It seemed like it was far too much to ask the universe to give her one good thing and she was going to have to get it herself.

Was it excitement? Or nerves?

The Ootori had woken up to an empty bed in the morning, only a note with quick handwriting that said,

There is a saying… Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. I don't care for tradition but I'll be borrowing your car until noon. See you then. xx

He had gotten up and ready with a countdown lurking at the back of his mind. Kyouya was hardly able to focus, wondering what she would look like, how she was feeling, what she was even doing. She was radio silent for the entire morning. Did she have cold feet? He pocketed her note from this morning, taking it along with him in comfort knowing that she said see you then.

Kyouya got a phone call from an unknown number to which he ignored because he was in a meeting. But half of it had already gone out of his head when he was thinking about the impending event only an hour away.

When another phone call came through, he glanced to see that it was the private security detail assigned to Kiyoko. He immediately put a stop to the presentation and stepped out of the conference room without even a word, only a hand that he held up. The real power of the Ootori to both silence and command a room without even trying.

"Ootori-san, your vehicle has been in an accident."

Kiyoko fished for the bobby pins in her purse as she sat on the subway, she felt like a displaced Harajuku girl with a strange air of elegance to her by the way people were looking at her. They always turned away in shame when she glared back to have them mind their own business.

An accident on the street had gotten her taxi in a gridlock, forcing Kiyoko to find the nearest station in her heels and praying that she would still get to the Ootori Headquarters in time. The universe continued to throw curveballs at Kiyoko, frustrating her to no end but she would have rather taken the feelings of annoyance over frozen panic. There was obviously no option to be discreet, not while she was dressed like a runaway bride to show up in the lobby of their building. Without a phone nor her tablet for the day, Kiyoko was effectively stuck with the only option of just showing up when she could.

Kiyoko did not wear a watch today, having to rely on the posted times across every carriage of the train. She had about 10 stops to make to get to the other side of the city and even then, the half hour ride felt like days when the taxi only got her about a third of the way. Getting to the Ootori was one thing, but reaching their meeting point in the underground parking lot would be difficult without the security badge. It had to be a problem she would deal with, hopefully with some time on her hands.

She approached the doors of the corporate headquarters breathlessly, ignoring the ache in the balls of her feet. If she bled through these shoes, so be it. Kiyoko ran straight to the security desk. There was no way a deranged woman could ask for the youngest director without any pushback about an appointment. She gave the name of the Ootori's secretary instead.

"And what business do you have with Hogo-san?"

Kiyoko climbed over the counter and snatched the phone instead, stunning the guard at her fast movement.

"Hello? Yes, this is Hibayashi-san. Has the Ootori left? I have an urgent message for him to meet me in the lobby."

The phone was pried away from her hands before Kiyoko could hear a response. Two guards came around to confine her arms, to which she angrily thrashed against. Kiyoko glowered at the men who had no clue what to do with a woman who looked deranged, murmuring words like stalker and unstable with a security breach or whatever. She was a small person and certainly did not match up to two men who pinned her down unceremoniously.

"Let go of me," Kiyoko snarled.

"Miss, please calm down–"

"I am very calm," she growled. "Don't fucking touch me."

Within minutes, Hogo-san came down to the lobby to find the Hibayashi heiress zip tied on a bench, very clearly irritated by the turn of events. The guards immediately clipped away the plastic, releasing the woman from their makeshift solution of detaining her when Hogo-san explained that the youngest Ootori would fire them immediately for this.

"Where is he?" Kiyoko ignored the red marks on her wrist, rotating them to get feeling back into her hands. She trusted that the Ootori would take care of these security guards when the time was right.

"Ootori-san just left to the site of his vehicle, apparently it had been in an accident?"

"An accident?" Kiyoko blinked, trying to put the pieces together. She had no time to mull over this for too long. They needed to move quick. "Call him. Tell him to come here."

"He's probably in the underground parking lot where reception is poor," his secretary dialled their boss but to no avail. "I've already tried to call him on the way down the elevator to meet his chauffeur."

"Fuck," she cursed. Kiyoko turned to the security who flinched at her sharp stare. "Can you close off the underground parking lot?" The two turned to each other and nodded slowly. "Give me the master key and watch those security cameras. Do not let the Ootori exit."

"But–"

"I will personally ensure that you are not fired for the assault you inflicted on the wife of an Ootori. Do it," Kiyoko commanded. "I'm going to run down to the underground lot." Kiyoko pushed through the throbbing of her feet, catching the elevator down to intercept the Ootori as fast as she could.

Kyouya had called her phone every few minutes, as if thinking that the first 4 times were invalid and that she would eventually pick up. He was in a panic, his palms sweating as he tried again. This couldn't be real. This was another one of her cruel jokes, right? Maybe just a twisted way of saying, Aha! Gotcha. Just wanted to make sure you really wanted to marry me.

The Ootori's security had briefed him on the explosion, only a few blocks away from the office. The body hadn't been extracted yet. Kyouya demanded that their family chauffeur come to pick him up so he could rush to the scene. If the car hadn't showed up, he would have run out the door to take himself there on his own two legs.

The body. Was that all she was now? A body. Not a living being with hopes and dreams, the light of his life, the love of his life. How could he just lose her like that? On their wedding day no less? Was it some kind of cruel joke that she always warned him of? He couldn't just leave a voicemail. They had so much more to say to each other, to experience with each other, to live with one another.

"Sir," his chauffeur repeated. "The door isn't opening." Kyouya had not realized the car had come to a stop, or the fact that they had hardly left the garage. He looked down at his watch. She was supposed to be here by now. But she was over there, somewhere, maybe dead.

Kyouya snapped off his badge and threw it against the center console. A negatory beep sounded as it was swiped by his chauffeur out the window.

"What the fuck?" he yelled, enraged at the door. How could this happen? He was about to get out the door himself before an incessant tapping on the window stopped him.

"Kyouya!" Kiyoko's muffled voice barely registered. He had never seen her so terrified. A sheen of sweat coated her forehead, her hair held up in a messy bun while adorned with a headband, and even in this state she still glowed like an angel to him.

"Kyouya," she stopped tapping and started banging on the window instead. "Please," her voice desperate. Kyouya needed to make sure she was not a hallucination. "Open up. Open. Please."

Kiyoko hardly had the energy to pull on the door. "Please, please, please, it's me. I'm here," she begged, trying to catch her breath. She was trying her hardest not to cry. "I'm here."

Kyouya's chest swelled in relief. It really was Kiyoko, who promised that she would make the world bend for him. He opened the door immediately, catching her before she fell against him, completely exhausted, feet bleeding, and wrists red and faintly bruised. Kiyoko's chest heaved up and down as she held onto him for dear life. Kyouya held her as tight as he could, lifting her from the ground to give her some relief from her heels.

"What happened?" Kyouya's pupils dilated at the way Kiyoko was mangled up. He cradled her wrists. "Who the fuck did this to you? I will end them." And he was going to fire the personnel assigned to Kiyoko for somehow losing her entirely in the morning - how could this be such an oversight?

Kiyoko shook her head, running on adrenaline. "We don't have time. We need to go."

She quickly slipped into the backseat of the car, throwing the master key to the chauffeur and pulled the Ootori by the arm. She tugged him back into the car so he could be seated next to her.

"Let's get married," she announced with a newfound determination.