The moon was bright under the night summer sky. Its light was so bright, leaving no place shrouded in darkness.
In the sunroom, two people were laying on the couch, covered by a throw blanket. Ren stared at his dainty wife's sleeping face. The light cast by the moon created an ethereal radiance when it shone on her. His gaze was deep, as if he wanted to take in everything she had and made them his.
From her heart, mind to her soul.
Ren leaned down and kissed her temple. Her brows moved slightly, her eyelashes fluttered under his touch. A ghost of a smile curved up at the corners of his thin lips.
She appeared better than the last few hours when she cried her heart out.
Ren silently got up from the couch. He bundled her tiny frame inside the blanket before he carried her. She was sleeping so deeply as if nothing could stir her awake. Seeing her sleeping so peacefully, he heaved a sigh of relief.
He made his way upstairs. Once he was in their bedroom, he carefully placed her down on the bed before he quickly entered the bathroom. The sound of water filling the huge tub echoed in the room. Ren returned to her side and once again he carried her in his arms.
"En...."
Ren stifled a laugh when he saw her nestled her head into his embrace. A soft layer of tenderness gleamed in his dark eyes. Afraid of waking her up, his actions were so gentle when he helped her to bathe.
Tsubaki was still asleep after their bath. Ren chose a short sleeves cotton nightgown from the wardrobe for her. Even though the air conditioning was already centralized to combat the heat of summer, he was still being careful. He didn't want her sleep from being interrupted.
"Sweet dreams, sweetheart," he whispered beside her ears before he landed a soft kiss on her lips.
After making sure she sleeping in comfort, Ren stepped out from the room with light steps. He fished out his phone from the pocket of his pajamas. His slender fingers quickly dialed Akashi's number. It only took him two rings before the call being connected.
"I've finished the analysis!" Akashi's voice was booming through the speaker. He seemed excited.
"How did it go?"
Ren pushed open the door of his study. Before he stepped inside, he took one last glance at the direction of the bedroom. Nothing abnormal came to his attention.
"The writings on the note left by Miss Hinata's mother matched with Ms. Nakamura's. It's highly probable that she was her birth mother who left her at the orphanage."
Akashi's report made Ren knitted his brows. He had expected of such an outcome but, what about the second woman? When he was fetching Tsubaki at the orphanage in the evening, the director gave him the logbook chronicling each guest's visit. Since then he handed the log to Akashi.
"Have you searched for anyone with their names?"
Ren put one hand on the swivel chair as he lowering his body to sit on it. He reached out for the remote controller and switched on the lights. In an instant, the darkness in the room vanished.
"Yes." There was a sound of papers flipping from Akashi's end. He was searching for something before he suddenly snapped his fingers. "I've found four people with the name of Nakamura Sumire and six people with the name of Fujioka. Of course, these names are after I considered the age group of the women and their history. They should be in their 50s now."
"Any clue?" Ren rubbed his left temple, he was feeling troubled.
"Sadly, no. It seems like the women gave fake names when signing the log. I could only find these so far." With only a limited amount and resources, he couldn't give his all out. Akashi would begin his deeper investigation soon.
Ren lightly tapped his index finger on the surface of the wooden table. His eyes deepened as various thoughts gathered inside his mind. He took a deep breath.
"What about Yagi Takashi?" He asked. "Has he took the bait?"
Akashi sighed. "That old man is still being careful. He contacted Miss Suzu's uncle last two weeks before disappeared. But, he did say he would return to the village. I've asked Miss Suzu to keep an eye on whatever concerning the old man."
Ren nodded slightly. After exchanging a few more words with Akashi, he ended up the call. Ren stood up from the swivel chair, heading to the small bar at the corner of his study. His precious collection of wines were displayed in the cabinets mounted on the large wall.
Just as he wanted to take a bottle, his hand paused in the air. He suddenly reminded of when he invited Takuma for a drink in the last few weeks. His cousin's silly assumption of they couldn't conceive did annoy him.
He took a moment to think. In the end, he settled for a glass of plain water.
He rarely attended any social functions since his time would only be at the company or their home so his consumption of alcohol was almost close to none. Even though he collected wines but he wasn't an avid drinker. During his leisure time with Tsubaki, he would always have coffee or her favorite tea.
So drinking less wasn't a problem for him.
Ren put down the empty cup on the bar. When he thought of how pitiful her voice sounded like when she was talking about her parents earlier, his heart tightened in pain. She never had an easy life.
He wondered what would their children look like?
As bright and shiny as her?
Or would they follow his aloofness?
No matter how did they would turn up to, he would always love them since they were their children. His and Tsubaki's small family.
Takuma would return soon so he needed to have the talk with Grandma. He needed to convince Grandma that it was okay for him to let go of his title as the head of the family. The title had always become a burden to him. It was something he never desired.
It was only bearable for him after he met her again.
Ren returned to the bedroom shortly after checking his mail inbox. There was nothing new. Tsubaki had already rolled over to his side of the bed, earning a fond smile from him. Her long hair splayed on the white pillow, creating a stark contrast while the moonlight gleamed on her. Ren tapped on the switch to let the curtains covering the large glass windows.
Once he laid down beside her, her hands unconsciously reached out for him. Ren chuckled softly, he went closer to her before finally enveloping her in his hug.
A tiny smile formed on Tsubaki's face. She seemed contented. Her expression in sorrow from earlier had gone and he was so grateful for that.
Ren ran a finger on her face, tracing her little nose and soft cheeks. He held back from laughing when he saw she frowned slightly in her sleep.
"Whatever happens, you are still you," he said softly in the quiet of the night.
Ren sighed heavily. He gently rubbed her back and caressed her head, trying to chase away any nightmare which dared to appear in her dreams. He was only hoping for a rosy-colored world to lighten her life.
"Good night, love."
Before he closed his eyes, he kissed her for one last time.