After an arduous effort of appeasing his wife with more beautiful and flowery words than usual, Tsubaki finally fell asleep. Ren blinked a few times when he looked at his now sleeping, peaceful wife. Tsubaki was clinging tightly to him while they were lying on the bed.
Did this was his silly wife who had just crying and wailing earlier?
"Ha..."
Ren let out a chuckle. He shook his head as helplessness imbued in his eyes.
He didn't know why did she suddenly think of something outrageous like him disliking her for eating too much or getting out of shape. Ren felt like he had to 'thank' the husbands whose wives complaining about in the parenting forum.
"Baby," Ren lightly stroked Tsubaki's tummy, his lips curled up into a helpless smile, "Daddy thinks, as long as you're in here, maybe Mommy would continue having silly thoughts. What should Daddy do?"
If only their child could answer him.
Ren pulled up the quilt and properly tucked Tsubaki in. He quietly staring at her who was now looking so peaceful in sleep. What was she dreaming about for her to smile like that in her sleep?
Still, Ren was grateful to be able to come home to her. In the few days that he pushed himself to finish the important matters of the business trip just so he could come back earlier, he was feeling anxious because of her. Despite Tsubaki was in the safety of the old house after the setback due to Mr. Souma, dread continued filling his heart.
Although Ren loathed the older man, he still had to thank him for revealing everything. Ever since Yagi Takashi and Mr. Kurosawa pointed out to Mr. Souma's right-hand-man as the one who contacted them to separate him from Tsubaki, he had been keeping a lookout on that cunning man.
Yet, Mr. Souma was as slippery and crafty as a snake. He could pull out this shrewd act while he was away from Tsubaki.
Now, all the puzzle pieces were supposed to complete but, why did he feel there was still something that Mr. Souma hadn't revealed.
With Tsubaki lying in his embrace, Ren carefully went through what had been discovered so far. His mind began thinking of it in chronological order.
Mr. Souma found his wife's sister, Hinata and executed a kidnapping attempt to lure their mother out. The attempt failed and Mrs. Souma got to know about it.
Although Ren wasn't sure how did Mrs. Souma convince her brother-in-law to stop, Mr. Souma still let Hinata out of his grasp even when it wasn't clear if Hinata was Saeki Takahisa's child or Souma Shinjiro's at that time.
Confusion raised up in his mind as Ren couldn't comprehend why did the crafty old snake just let Hinata be without doing anything anymore.
Was it because of guilt? He did try to kidnap someone who might be his best friend's daughter. But, was it really it?
Then, years passed until it was the time when he arrived at Tsubaki's village.
Mr. Sagara was offered help by Mr. Souma which led the old fox to find him in the village.
Then, while Mr. Sagara was focused on bringing him back to the city, Mr. Souma's right-hand-man contacted Mr. Kurosawa and Yagi Takashi. They were bribed for separating him and Tsubaki before bringing Tsubaki to an abandoned factory.
They said doctors were waiting at the factory, waiting for Tsubaki. The useless men even mentioned withdrawing blood.
Mr. Kurosawa and Yagi Takashi didn't seem like they were lying when they opened their mouths about the matter. If it was true, why did Mr. Souma has even involve doctors? It seemed a bit far-fetched for that man to act in this way, although he was really an eccentric one.
What made Ren more curious was why did Mr. Souma once again didn't do anything afterward? Tsubaki was amnesiac. Although she had only lost the one-year worth of her memories, she was still in a vulnerable state.
Why did he didn't utilize her weaknesses at that time to pull her into his game?
And, now, he openly admitted to all the bad things he had done over the years.
Ren frowned as a sense of foreboding spread within him. He couldn't shake off the uneasiness as he thought, Mr. Souma hadn't dropped the biggest bomb to them.
'That damn snake', Ren cursed inwardly as his eyes narrowed in displeasure.
"...En."
Ren blinked. He lowered his eyes to his sleeping wife. Tsubaki was nuzzling against his chest with a smile on her face. She appeared so happy as her lips drew into a bright smile.
"You silly," Ren let out a faint laugh and poked on her nose, "Here I am worrying about you yet you could still dream sweetly? What a heartless wife."
Tsubaki was still in her dreamland. Her husband's complaints just entered deaf ears. Ren chuckled lowly. He stroked her hair, letting the soft feel of the strands fell from his fingers.
No matter what, I'll keep you safe.
Morning came.
Because Ren was supposed to arrive from his business trip today, he wasn't needed to go to the company. Even so, he completed his job first after breakfast. Tsubaki didn't go to the bakery as well. She stayed in the sunroom while her husband was busy with his work, browsing on the parenting forum that caused him a headache last night. Ren deliberately brought his laptop and other documents to the sunroom.
Both of them wanted to make up for the time they were away from each other.
"Ergh... Finished."
Ren groaned as he tilted his head back and did a couple of neck stretches.
Tsubaki put down her phone and scooted closer to her husband. Her hands reached out for his shoulders. She started massaging him which earned a satisfied smile from Ren.
"Don't you want to take a nap?"
Tsubaki had seen Ren started working nonstop after breakfast until it was noon. Even though she understood it was a part of his job, she still couldn't help but feel distressed for him.
"I don't..."
Ren quickly swallowed back his words from the tip of his tongue. He initially wanted to refuse but when he felt his muscles were all stiff, the thought of lying on the bed, especially with her right now, sounded so tempting.
"Accompany me for a while," Ren smiled.
He turned around and easily caught her lying on the couch with him. Tsubaki giggled as he suddenly attacked her with a rain of light kisses on her face.
Even though she had hugged him as many times as she could, she still couldn't get tired of it. It was comforting to be able to embrace him back and listened to his heart beating as she pressed her head against his chest.
But...
She shouldn't stay idle like this.
Tsubaki recalled the envelope that she had yet to open. She didn't know why, but, she was afraid.
What if the envelope contained something that could shake her peace?
The sinister smile of Mr. Souma flashed in her mind as she thought of the envelope.
"...heart? Tsubaki?"
Tsubaki blinked her eyes in dazed. When their eyes collided, she saw a faint trace of worry in his eyes.
"...Yes?"
Ren pursed his lips. Suddenly, his wife was caught in a stupor. He saw her eyes dimmed at the moment her attention was drifted to somewhere else.
"You are thinking of something," Ren pointed it out.
Tsubaki blinked again. Was it that obvious that she was ruminating over something?
Seeing that his concern didn't go away, Tsubaki heaved a sigh.
Sooner or later, she had to face it. Why not just came clean with him right now?
"At the banquet... someone gave me something," Tsubaki confessed. Her mood turned low at the thought of the envelope.
"It seems like that something has upset you," Ren feigned ignorance that he had seen the moment when the waitress handed the paper to his wife. He didn't know if she had read or seen the details or not.
Tsubaki listlessly nodded her head. Her fingers fiddled with her husband's sweater. She mumbled, "It's an envelope... I haven't seen its contents but, I think it's something unpleasant. The sender... I could only think of that man."
Ren gently rubbed her back, silently offering her comfort. Tsubaki closed her eyes and snuggled closer to her husband. She didn't realize how tightly she was holding on to his sweater.
"...Do you want to see it?"
Tsubaki sighed again, "Even though I don't want to, I still have to do it."
"En, yes," Ren continued stroking her head.
Tsubaki pondered for a while. She lifted up her head, meeting his eyes. With a smile that was not a smile, she asked softly, "Darling, accompany me?"
"As long as my sweetheart wishes for it," Ren ran his thumb over her lips. Tsubaki let out a giggle.
The husband and wife cuddled on the bed for a while longer before they returned upstairs. Tsubaki took out the envelope from the bag and showed it to Ren.
"The paper inside feels quite thick," Ren analyzed as he touched the envelope, "It is... a photo?"
"I think so too," Tsubaki was downhearted.
Ren passed the envelope back to her, "Are you ready to open it?"
"...En."
With Ren's eyes trained on her, Tsubaki tore the sealed envelope. She slowly brought out the paper. It was indeed a photo. Once she saw what was printed on the paper, her eyes shook.
The photo almost fell from her fingers.