"I was prepared to go that far for Ara. I wouldn't care what others think or say behind my back. Chichi, they don't matter. What matters to me have always been Ara and you…"
Hearing this, Asou Chiaki felt weak in the knees. She slowly slid on the ground as she absorbed his words, her face in confusion.
If it was like that – if he was prepared to throw everything she thought was very important to him away, then what in tarnation had she been anxious about all these years? She had thought that she was doing the right thing to keep Aki away from the point wherein he had to choose between his work and his personal life. In the end, she was the only one who overestimated the importance of the company and his reputation and not Aki.
"Don't sit there. It's cold and it's dirty," Aki said worriedly as he pulled her up.