"I've told Satsuki that you're busy with some new orders so you couldn't visit him." Ren walked to Tsubaki who was leaning against the headboard.
"Thank you." Tsubaki smiled. She shifted a little when Ren slid in the bed and hugged her. "I feel bad for lying but I don't want him to be worried."
"I know." Ren kissed her crown. "As for you, my dear, it seems like we have to stay at the old house for a while."
"Eh? Why?" Tsubaki looked at her husband in confusion. "We won't be going back to our home?"
Adoration flickered in his dark eyes when he heard the last words in her question. Our home. It didn't sound bad. In fact, he felt his heart fluttering.
"You sprained your ankle. I could call the maids from the old house to cater for your needs but it's inconvenient for us. So, it's better to stay at the old house. And I don't want grandma to nag at me when she hears about this. You're her favourite now." Ren stared at her with puppy eyes. "Wifey, don't you feel bad for me?"
Tsubaki laughed. She could picture grandma nagging to her husband if she thought he didn't take good care of her. To save her husband's ears, she agreed. "Alright. Anything you say, goes."
Ren chuckled, he looked amused. "Hibiki will come to pick us up. I've arranged for your personal items to be brought together."
"Okay." As she knew he would have his own ways in arranging things, she didn't want to interfere.
Tsubaki rested her head on Ren's shoulder. She closed her eyes and slowly thinking about the horrific accident that almost befall on her. She didn't understand why the black van suddenly appeared. The road was obviously empty without any sign of moving vehicles at that time.
Since the accident that cost her memories five years ago, Tsubaki would be extra careful whenever she wanted to cross a road. She was totally certain of it so how could the van speed up once she stepped on the tarmac?
When Tsubaki saw the van with a loud screeching sound, her mind blanked out for a moment. At that time, a vision flashed in her mind making her dizzy. She was lucky to be able to dodge the van during the crucial time. Her body flinched at the uncomfortable feeling.
"What's wrong?" Ren looked down to his wife, feeling her body flinching for a while. Her face was scrunched up in pain. "Do you feel sick?"
"No, I'm okay." Tsubaki shook her head. She was thinking whether to tell Ren or not about her assumptions. But it was better to play it safe, right? "Actually, I was thinking about what happened earlier."
Ren's body went rigid. He could still feel the fear that suffocating him when he thought Tsubaki had been hit by the van and got into a brutal accident. Calming his nerves, he took a deep breath.
"You shouldn't think about it. I don't want you to be traumatised." Ren spoke with a gentle voice but it couldn't mask the anxiety that lingered behind. Tsubaki noticed it.
"I know that you're just worried about me." Tsubaki smiled. "I was just wondering why did the van suddenly appear."
"Do you suspect anything?" Ren tightened his arms around her waist. Fear flashed in his eyes.
"I'm not sure, but..." Tsubaki hesitated, shuddering at the memory. "It seemed like the van focused on me. The road was empty and vast, but it continued speeding to my direction. So..."
"Enough." Ren pleaded. He buried her face on his chest. "I'll investigate it. You don't have to recall the dreadful moment."
Sensing the anger in his voice, she knew it was time for her to stop. He wasn't mad at her, she was sure of it. He was mad at the driver of the van, and even to himself.
"Honey..." She felt comfortable to address her husband with endearment, no longer feeling unnecessarily shy. "Don't blame yourself. It wasn't you who planned this. We could only blame the mastermind, if there's any."
"Emm..."
Ren just hugged her. His heart ached when he thought of what his wife had gone through within a short time. She just escaped from a sexual harassment the other day and now she almost got hit by a van.
The case with Kitaoji Masaru was a coincidence but what about the other one? He himself thought it wasn't a coincidence. But who wanted to hurt his wife? Was it his business rival who knew about her or...
Ren pushed back the thought. He wanted to focus on Tsubaki right now.
After some time, Ren heard a steady breathing sound coming from Tsubaki. He carefully laid her on the bed. His phone vibrated the moment he covered her with a blanket. It was Akashi. Ren stepped inside the bathroom before taking the call.
"What did you find so far?" Ren stared at his own reflection on the mirror. He saw a suppressed killing desire in his eyes.
"The van was parked within 80 meters from the road. Once your wife stepped outside your car, the van moved and sped up."
"Could you see the driver's face?" His face contorted in anger. His blood was boiling.
"I could see the driver and one passenger beside him but they wore masks. I'm still tracking from where did the van come. They falsified the plate numbers."
"Okay."
Ren hung up. He was still staring at the mirror. Clutching both of the sides of the sink tightly, his knuckles turned white. He was overwhelmed with countless emotions.
Mad. Fear. Anxiety. And it was because of her.
"She's safe... She's safe..."
I won't let anyone hurt her again.