When Tsubaki stepped out of the bathroom, Ren was nowhere to be found. She looked at her left and right but there was no sight of him. It didn't escape her notice that the green dress that she wore during her outing with Kanako today wasn't on the bed anymore. Maybe he had helped her to put it aside. She entered the wardrobe and started searching for her nightgown.
While Tsubaki was drying her hair in front of the vanity table, Ren approached her from behind with steady steps. His gaze was complicated as he was reminded of the note he found inside her handbag. He didn't need to guess hard, it must be something related to what they were investigating.
Someone had deliberately made the move.
"Sweetheart," Ren softly called out to his wife. He swiftly took out the hairdryer from her hand. "Let me help you."
Tsubaki smiled sweetly, she raised her chin to meet his eyes. "Okay~ Thank you, hubby."
Ren returned her smile. He ran his fingers through her long hair as he blew dried each lock. Her hair was so long, it fell to her waist.
"Your hair is so long," In the moment of their peace, he voiced out what was popping in his mind. "I remember that before, your hair only reached below your chest. Aren't your head feel heavy? It takes quite a time too to dry it."
Tsubaki hummed for a moment before she answered him. Her eyes looked at his reflection on the vanity mirror, their gaze locked together. Both of them instinctively smiled at the same time they stared at each other.
"It's quite tedious to take care of it but I love it. Well, don't you think I look like a fairy with my long hair?"
Her cheeky reply made him laughed. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he laughed in amusement, he took a lock and brought it to his lips.
"You aren't a fairy, you're a goddess. Especially when you wear your favorite white dress," He didn't shy away to give her his compliment.
"Hubby~ you really know how to flatter me! It's cringy!" Tsubaki couldn't help but curl up her fingers and toes. Sometimes, she wasn't ready to accept his endless flattery.
"A happy wife equals a happy marriage," Ren replied smartly while shrugging his shoulders in a nonchalant manner.
Tsubaki's giggle echoed in the wardrobe. Ren eyed her happy expression. A satisfied smile spread on his face. He was glad she didn't look downhearted.
Once he was done, he put the hairdryer on the table before he scooped her in his arms. Tsubaki was slightly startled, she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Time to rest, Mommy," Ren leaned down and kissed her forehead. The sweet scent of her body calmed his troubled heart. He looked into her bright eyes. "Baby needs Mommy to rest early."
Tsubaki let out a laugh, she returned his kiss on his right cheek. "Alright~ Since Daddy says so."
Ren carefully brought his wife to the bed. He tucked her in and even placed the big cat toy beside her. His wide palm stroked her head as he sat at the edge of the bed, looking at her droopy eyes. It was clear that she was tired from today's activities.
"Sleep first," Ren brushed her bangs aside, allowing him to take a clear look of her small face. "I'll head out once you sleep and return before you wake up."
Tsubaki nodded. She didn't think she would be so sleepy. She was still in full energy after dinner yet once she took a bath, her exhaustion caught up to her. Tsubaki laid on her side, facing her husband. Ren let her took his hand inside her grasp. He rubbed lazy circles at the center of her palm. Her eyes closed under his comforting touch.
Ren decided to not pursue the matter regarding the note now. His wife might haven't read it yet but even if she did, she would tell him when she was ready. As for now, he needed to meet Yagi Takashi and dig up what the man could spill.
It was not until half an hour later when Ren finally retrieved his hand from Tsubaki's. He adjusted the blanket over her body. His wide palm brushed her hair as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Sleep well, love." His gaze fell on her tummy. He smiled. A trace of indescribable fondness gleamed in his eyes. "Behave, will you? Don't wake Mommy up because of your whims."
In the end, he rubbed her flat tummy before he stepped inside the wardrobe to change his clothes. Even though the temperature outside was high, he still donned in his usual long black trench coat.
Ren instructed Kaede and two of his male bodyguards to be on standby outside their condominium unit. He immediately went out to the basement where his car was parked. Instead of using his Audi, he chose the rarely used black Cayenne. Hibiki had already gone ahead of him.
The expressway was quite busy so it took him more than half an hour later before he arrived at the warehouse. This land was abandoned by the government after a series of building collapsion happened in the past, making the superstitious community to stay away from the land.
Well, the ridiculous tale had come in handy at this moment.
"Master!"
The bodyguards and Hibiki who stood by the entrance swiftly greeted him. Ren nodded his acknowledgment as he made way into the warehouse. As he stepped inside, the figures of Akashi and Toshiro fell in his line of sight. Both of them were playing a board game at the central hall of the warehouse, looking so much in comfort as if they were in their own home.
"How is he?" Ren paused his steps beside where Toshiro was sitting. His dark gaze landed on the man's smiling face.
"In the room. He's lucky he has just sprained his ankle. If not, I don't know what to say," Toshiro extended one hand, he moved the game pawn opposite Akashi's. "Alright, you're next."
Akashi cursed under his breath. He didn't immediately make his move against Toshiro, instead, he raised his eyes to look at Ren's sullen face. "I haven't asked him anything since I think it's your job to do so. Your bodyguards have been standing outside his room as well as the windows."
Ren nodded once. He turned around and headed toward the direction of where Yagi Takashi had been confined. Although the outer appearance of this warehouse looked as if it had been haunted but Ren had commissioned for the inside to be cleaned. Two bulky men in the black suits greeted him politely before one of them unlocked the door.
"I'm meeting him alone," He gave a brief instruction. The bodyguards nodded as a reply.
Ren pushed open the door, the view of a room in wooden furnishings came into his view. A loud gasp came from a corner, a skinny man dressed in a shabby shirt was looking at him with surprise and terror flashed in his eyes.
"You... you! What are you doing here?"
The man moved backward until his back was pressed against the wall. His right hand was pointing at Ren, his body was trembling terribly as his face grew paler. "What are you doing here?" His hoarse voice once again yelled out loud.
Ren stared at the man with indifference. He swept his gaze around the room. There was a single bed, a pair of a table and a chair as well as a small closet. A cramped toilet was located on the left side of the room. This room only had two enclosed windows which could not hold the size of an adult's body to.
Basically, this room was too cozy for a prisoner like this scum man in front of him yet no escape path was offered.
Ren ignored the man's frightened expression. He took a step toward the table. An intense and dark aura gradually built inside the small room as he went further. Ren sat on the chair, his right long slender leg crossed on his left. He lowered his gaze to the floor. His silence brought additional fear to the skinny man.
Perhaps he could no longer stand the oppressing situation. The man quickly kneeled in front of the much younger man even though he groaned in pain due to his sprained ankle. His lips shook terribly, no coherent words came out from his mouth. He closed and opened his mouth a few times. It took him a while before he could finally speak properly.
"I was wrong! I was... totally wrong! Please! Let go of me!" The man cried out, trying to gain his pity. "I will... I will repent!"
Ren wasn't affected by the pitiful face of the older man. He let the man bashed his head against the floor repeatedly until blood started gushing out of his wounds. The sound of the skull met the hard flooring echoed unpleasantly in the room. Even when the man stopped due to blinding pain, Ren hadn't spoken.
"Could you... let me go?" The man looked at him with fearful eyes, red liquid falling down his cheeks. Drop by drop, it stained the man's shirt.
Ren closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.
It had taken him a long time until he could grasp this man in his palm. Yet, when the time came, he was at a loss of words. Even though he appeared indifferent to the man's act of self-inflicting pain, his feelings were conflicted.
At one second, he was tempted to rush to the man and gripped his neck tightly until he would suffocate, threatening him to spill all the secrets.
At one second, he just wanted to see how the man would react once seeing him, to see the guilt and regret in his eyes.
Ren stood up from the chair. Without casting another glance at the bleeding man, he walked toward the door. His thin lips parted as he spoke in a low voice, "We'll speak once the doctor bandaged your wounds."
His lonely back was what the kneeling man saw before the door was closed. The man's trench coat fluttered behind him as he walked