A week passed by. The day of the charity tea party would arrive very soon. To avoid making herself stressed when the event came, Tsubaki asked Kanako to help her with the flow of the tea party and what she should know about it. Kanako immediately agreed after Tsubaki bribed her with her new cake for the month.
"Don't look like that! This tea party is nothing compared to Matriarch Fuse's celebration last time!" Kanako exclaimed after seeing the nervous look on Tsubaki's face. "You have even dealt with the likes of that Subaru father-and-daughter and even my own father! Surely the tea party is an easy feat for you."
Tsubaki almost choked on her juice. She coughed a few times, attracting laughter from Kanako. Kanako handed her a tissue.
"Sorry! Sorry!" She playfully clasped her hands while bowing her head.
Tsubaki shook her head in disbelief. She wiped the traces of juice with the tissue. "I can't believe you'd speak about your father like that."
Kanako shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "He's still mad at me because I befriended you but who cares? He's always shallow like that. He should be grateful my mom still could tolerate him."
Tsubaki could only smile awkwardly hearing that. How bad was President Esumi to have his daughter talking like that behind his back?
Kanako came to Tsubaki's bakery after lunch, talking about the tea party. The party would start at 3 PM at a tea house commissioned by Mrs. Souma tomorrow. The private party was exclusive to the members of high society who wanted to make donations for the foundation.
"You might encounter some people like that empty-headed Subaru gal, but don't let them bother you," Kanako added. She took a piece of chocolate chip cookie from the Mason jar on the table. "Mrs. Souma has her own reputation among the prominent families so you could expect there would be people wanting to suck up to her."
Tsubaki laughed stiffly. Ever since they became friends, Kanako would always tell her stories about the high society. Some of them were good but some were bad. Ren would never tell her about the insignificant stories as he deemed them unworthy for her to know, but Kanako obviously had another idea about that.
"So, I just need to accompany you to the party, right?" Tsubaki asked Kanako the same question for the nth time.
"Yes, darling. But, please expect they would be flies surrounding you once they know you're Mrs. Fuse," replied Kanako as she winked.
Tsubaki was tempted to face-palm herself. Tomorrow was going to be a hard day. Especially she had another mission in hand.
Kanako bid goodbye once she finished her cakes and cookies. Tsubaki was still fretting over the tea party tomorrow. They had agreed to meet here since Kanako would drive them to the tea house.
Tsubaki was obviously distressed to the point she couldn't focus when she was having dinner with Ren. Ren chuckled in amusement because he understood what was going inside his wife's mind.
"Sweetheart, please finish your dinner first before thinking about tomorrow," Ren gently persuaded her. He took a piece of chicken kaarage and placed it on top of her rice in the bowl.
Tsubaki sighed. With a low spirit, she munched the chicken as her eyes lowered to the floor. She was really not in the mood to eat actually but there was no way Ren would allow her to starve herself.
Ren placed his chopsticks down. He lazily rested his chin on his hand, his eyes staring at his wife's anxious face. He couldn't help but chuckle again.
"You're worried about meeting the director tomorrow, right?" Ren reached out for the pot of tea and poured some into Tsubaki's cup. The fragrant of the flower tea could be smelled faintly in the air. "Don't approach her right from the start. Try to observe her first, okay?"
"You made it sound like I'm going for a spy mission," Tsubaki mumbled with a dejected face. She took the cup and sipped the tea, trying to find comfort with the warm drink.
"Doesn't it make you excited?" Ren winked playfully. When he received a glare from his wife, his laugh echoed in the dining room. "You're really overthinking things. Don't stress yourself. Okay, let's go for a walk after dinner. Maybe the night air would help to clear your head."
"Okay..." Tsubaki reluctantly agreed.
After helping Tsubaki washed the dishes, Ren went upstairs to get their jackets. The continuous rain from last week had ceased but the air was still chilly. There were not many people in the park at this time. Most of them were running around the course. The couple walked hand-in-hand, enjoying the night scenery.
"What are you thinking about?" Ren asked in a low voice. He lowered his gaze to see Tsubaki biting her lower lip in nervousness. "Are you afraid of her telling you something you think you couldn't handle?"
Tsubaki let out a heavy sigh. She nodded her head weakly. Tsubaki raised her head, looking into his dark eyes. They appeared as calm as a pool of water as if they wouldn't even ripple even in the face of a storm. But, Tsubaki knew how this man before her always fought his inner demons.
"I don't know..." Tsubaki shook her head helplessly. "This chance came so soon. I didn't even think to meet the director as soon as possible. But, tomorrow... She would recognize my face, right?"
Ren smiled, the light in his eyes grew dull. He pulled her towards him. He let her seeking comfort in his embrace as he ran his fingers through her long hair.
"She would, considering she still remembers Miss Hinata," Ren said in a low voice. "Maybe when she sees you, she'd recall another thing she forgets to tell Akashi. Or something she's still hiding. We could just gamble for now."
Tsubaki nodded, her cheek brushed against his sweatshirt. Tsubaki tightened her hold on his body.
Akashi had started searching for Yagi Takashi again. Unlike before where he had a hard time locating the older man, this time he immediately went to City Q. Apparently a girl he met in the city before had a way to contact Yagi Takashi. Both of them were still waiting for the man to take the bait.
"I want to meet Satsuki but..." Tsubaki trailed off. It was still hard for her to breath whenever she thought of the matter from last week. "I don't know what should I say to him."
Ren patted her head gently. He peppered small kisses on her forehead. "I'll be there when you want to tell him. Let's wait until the tea party is over, okay?"
"Okay."
Tsubaki knew she shouldn't delay this matter anymore. As much as it pained her to accept the truth, she understood it wouldn't be easy to Satsuki either.
Now, she needed to prepare herself for the meeting with the director tomorrow.