Ren woke up shortly before dawn. He opened his eyes and laid them on the sight of his sleeping wife. Tsubaki was still deep in sleep. His mind was still barely awake yet he forced himself out of the bed. He did a couple of simple exercises in order to stretch out his muscles. The clock stroke at 4AM. He walked around the bed, going to Tsubaki's side. He carefully sat on the edge of the bed, afraid of waking her up.
Her face was calm, unlike yesterday.
They didn't have dinner outside as they had planned. Both of them returned home early and Ren called for a delivery. They ate in front of the TV while watching a movie. Even though Tsubaki said she was okay, Ren still caught the moment she became absentminded, her mind wandering far from her body.
Ren stroke her cheek gently. His eyes exuded tenderness when he watched her stirred slightly at his touch. Her long eyelashes fluttered. Tsubaki unconsciously snuggled closer to the warm touch of his.
Ren arranged the blanket before reluctantly getting up. He adjusted the room heating system, increasing the temperature since this morning was colder than usual. He went inside the bathroom to wash his face. He had something to do.
Ren made himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen. He scrolled the documents in his phone. Akashi sent him a message, asking to meet him. Ren slapped his forehead when he realized he had forgotten to meet his friend after Akashi returned from City Q. He quickly typed a message, telling him where to meet and the time.
I'll bring Toshiro too! He's been clinging to me since his gramps started asking him to get married. Do you know whose fault is this? My house is already been messed up by him!
Akashi's reply came shortly. He must be sitting in front of his beloved computers right now. Ren snickered when he read the reply. His grandma must be boasting about her new granddaughter in-law to Toshiro's grandfather. No wonder that sneaky brat decided to flee to Akashi's house.
Tell him I'll bring out my best collection.
Aye aye, sir!
Ren returned upstairs. He sat in his study. He wanted to check the necessary documents before Monday came. Matsuzaki had already read all of them but Ren still wanted to be careful. This was the final step. After the collaboration was announced, he wanted to strike a death blow to the old foxes. He wanted to discard them completely.
Even though it's Sunday, he needed to go to the office for a bit. He decided to send Tsubaki to the old house. Recalling what had happened yesterday, he thought it wasn't best for him to leave her alone without any company. Maybe if Grandma was with her, she would cheer up even for a little.
Knock! Knock!
Ren looked up. He smiled slightly when he saw Tsubaki was standing at the door. Her long hair was a bit messy. She didn't change out of her beige cotton nightgown. Ren glanced at the clock, it was quarter to 5.
"You are still sleepy. Why don't you sleep in today? It's still early." Ren closed the documents on his laptop. He chuckled when he saw his sleepyhead wife was walking towards him.
"I woke up..." She answered quietly. "You're not there."
Ren pulled her towards him, Tsubaki instinctively sat on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck while she nuzzled up to the crook of his neck. She sighed in contentment when he hugged her waist. She further curled up when he adjusted his position to let her feel comfortable.
"You don't want to go back to bed?" Ren asked in a low tone. She was half asleep so he didn't want to startle her.
"Sorry... you're working... I disturb you..." Tsubaki answered guiltily. Her eyes were closed, occasionally she fluttered them open. She tried to stay awake but her sleepiness lured her focus away.
"It's okay, sweetheart." Ren rubbed her back in circles in an attempt to soothe her. "I'll be done soon. Just sleep, okay? I'll carry you to bed after this."
Tsubaki nodded quietly. She didn't answer anymore. Ren kissed her crown silently. He focused back on his work.
As days passed, he realized that Tsubaki was getting more dependent on him. While it made him happy, sometimes his heart would ache. It seemed like she couldn't go back to sleep when he was away. Although it might be due to the events happened yesterday, it didn't help to ease his heart.
The sound of Ren typing on the keyboard echoed in the study. Tsubaki was deep in sleep once again. She didn't even mind the sound of the keys clacking near her. It was near 5:30 AM when Ren was finally done with his work. He looked down, peering at the sleeping beauty in his arms. A smile graced his face. Ren carefully carried her wife back to their room.
After laying her on the bed, Ren picked the remote controller and pressed the button controlling the curtains. The curtains in their room were made of blackout materials. If they didn't open the curtain when day broke, it would be dark in the room. As Ren wanted Tsubaki to sleep longer, he didn't want even a small ray of sunlight disturbed her.
Ren went to bed, he carefully laid his body beside Tsubaki. But, it seemed like Tsubaki had noticed his presence beside her. She rolled over from her side, snuggled up to him. Ren's gaze softened. He returned her hug. He stroked her hair, admiring the silky touch of the black, long strands.
A thought crossed his mind.
He had thought about it the first time Grandma Nagao mentioned Miss Hinata being an orphan. Her looking like his wife a lot made him suspicious. He really needed to ask Akashi for help. He didn't know much about Tsubaki's parents. Both of them died young and Mr. Yagi was the one who raised them up, albeit in irresponsible ways.
He needed to play it safe. Who knew, by investigating Miss Hinata and Tsubaki's late mother's background, he would unveil a hidden secret? Being in high society, he had long understood that some things were more than met the eyes.