Although she was reluctant, Shouko didn't dare to reject him. She glanced nervously at the puzzled Ono before she quietly followed the man from behind. Both of them went to the lounge at the second floor.
"You want to see me, father?" Shouko kept her head low, her hands were clasping the edge of her shirt. She swore her entire body was trembling.
Father Yuasa took a seat at one of the couch. He leaned lazily against them as his eyes went up and down this unwanted daughter of his. Clear disgust flickered in his eyes when he was reminded of his mistake all years ago.
This girl was the mistake!
"Are you aware that the Yuasa family has been supporting you all these years?" When he spoke, his voice was so cold, devoid of any warmth as if he was talking to someone wasn't related to him.
"Ye... yes." Shouko nodded once. The bad feeling continued to grow in her heart. Why did this man suddenly talking about this?
"Then, you know that you should do something to return the favor?"
"Ha?"
Shouko lifted up her eyes, she was entirely confused by her father. "What... do you mean, Father?"
Father Yuasa pursed his lips. He had always hated hearing her calling him Father but to save the family's face, he couldn't be too harsh. He narrowed his eyes. He didn't like looking at this young lady because her face resembled that woman so much.
"Once you graduated, you'd be married off to Watanabe family straight away. The family is willing to make an investment in return for you marrying their crippled son. I'm just giving you a heads up."
Which meant, her opinion didn't matter.
"What? Father! You can't do this!" Her fear toward this man was suddenly gone when she was facing the decision that could change her life. Shouko clenched both of her fists, her eyes were filled with panic. "I won't marry him!"
"Why won't you marry him?"
A loud voice boomed from the entrance of the lounge. That woman, Mother Yuasa came with a haughty expression on her face. She eyed Shouko as if she was trash before she went to sit beside Father Yuasa. One of her long and slender legs crossed over the other one. A cold sneer formed on her face as she was enjoying the fear in Shouko's eyes.
"It's a thousand times better than you trying to find another man outside to get married. Even though he's crippled, he's rich. His family could afford to feed another mouth. Do you think we would be gracious enough to continue supporting you after your graduation? Dream on!"
Shouko was speechless. It turned out beside the proposal made by Old Master Kashino, another family had offered Father Yuasa another proposal too. Certainly, the family caught this opportunity to find a bride for their disabled son.
"I won't marry him," Shouko repeated in a firm voice. She stood tall, wasn't afraid to face their wrath.
The problem wasn't the crippled man but because she knew she couldn't continue her dream if she ended up getting married to his family. The arranged marriage had popped inside her mind a few times in the past since she knew someday her father would demand some sort of compensation from her for all the money he had wasted on her. But, she didn't expect it would be in this way!
"You insolent wretch! How dare you oppose us?" Mother Yuasa exploded in anger. Green veins popped under her well-maintained skin. She gritted her teeth as she spat out hurtful words from her mouth. "Such a trash! You think you have a say in this matter!"
"I..."
"Shouko wouldn't be married to him!"
Shouko was stunned, as well as Mother Yuasa. Aunt Masako strode inside the lounge with Ono in tow. Ono glanced at Shouko with helplessness in her eyes. It seemed like she went to get Aunt Masako before coming here since she knew only Aunt Masako dared to confront their parents.
Without giving Mother Yuasa a chance to refute, Aunt Masako continued reprimanding her. "I know the company is in such bad shape but not just Ono, you want to sell Shouko off too? You don't even treat her kindly yet you expect her to sacrifice her life for you?"
"Masako! Don't let me recite each expense we've wasted on her all these years! This is the right time for her to pay us!" Mother Yuasa exploded, she was like a dog barking fiercely at this moment.
Aunt Masako ignored her. She looked at her brother. Her voice was so cold when she directed her anger and dissatisfaction to her elder brother. "I would leave the company if you dare to force Shouko to marry into that family. Haven't you heard how those imbeciles treated their daughter-in-law all these years? You want Shouko to be tormented by them?"
Father Yuasa's pupils constricted in displeasure. He knew his sister too well. If she said she would do it, he could only expect to receive her resignation letter tomorrow. Besides him, Masako was an important figure with her own followers in their group. In a crucial time like this, if she resigned and the stocks continued to drop, it would just be days before they went completely bankrupt.
"You don't even think of the company?" Father Yuasa frowned, he was trying to lure his sister with the fate of their family business if things went wrong.
"I'd consider if it's not the Watanabes," Aunt Masako answered firmly.
Even though Kashino family was being feared by many but it was a different case with Watanabe family. The Watanabes were infamous as a cold-blooded family with shady dealings while the Kashinoes remained respectable. It wasn't something surprising to hear about violence happening within the Watanabe household.
Marrying Shouko off to such a family was like sending her to a den packed with ferocious beasts.
While in Ono's case, if she was to marry the eldest grandson of the Kashinos, her life would reach another pinnacle.
It was obvious what this couple was trying to achieve.
Sensing that she had managed to stall her brother from pressing over the matter, Masako took Shouko's hand and led her outside. Ono looked at her parents with clear disappointment in her eyes before she turned around to follow her aunt and sister.
Shouko was still in a daze when Aunt Masako brought her back to her room. The older lady mumbled a sigh. She ran her hand through her niece's hair.
"Go to sleep. Don't think about it anymore."
Shouko just nodded in silence. After saying good night, she went inside her room. Her figure appeared small and lonely.
Aunt Masako glanced at Ono who stood beside her. Both of them could just heave a sigh.
It was a sleepless night for Shouko. She kept on tossing and turning on the bed, her mind was filled with depressing thoughts.
This was not the first time she was mistreated by her father and stepmother but, the feeling was too overwhelming at this time making it hard for her to suppress her sorrow. She had been living her life under constant disappointment, sometimes it felt like it was too hard for her to breathe easily.
It was like she was heading to the deep sea, waiting for the ocean to swallow her whole.
It was already near dawn when she finally closed her eyes.
Two days passed, there was no mention of the marriage agreement with the Watanabes. Mother Yuasa was still making up a fuss whenever she saw Shouko but the latter didn't pay her any attention more than necessary.
Shouko would just quietly did her tasks and spend the rest of her time preparing to meet the editor. The appointment would be held this afternoon. Since she was afraid of being late, she purposely dressed up early. They would meet at a cafe near the publishing house.
"Do you want me to drive you there?" Ono said as she was leaning against the door frame, watching Shouko applying a coral lipstick over her plump lips.
"It's okay," Shouko grabbed her tote bag from the bed. After making sure everything was inside, she placed the handle over her shoulders. "I could go by myself. You should just stay at home."
"No, just let me drive you," Ono dangled the car keys from her pocket, she shot Shouko a mischievous smile. "I could go and grab some latte along the way."
Seeing that her sister was resolute, Shouko no longer refused It. It was indeed saving her a lot of trouble if Ono drove her to the cafe.
As Shouko was humming in delight, she didn't notice a flicker of anticipation in Ono's eyes.
Ono dropped Shouko off in front of the cafe. There were not many people around since it was a weekday. After waiting for fifteen minutes, the editor arrived. Shouko was in cloud nine because the discussion went smoothly. In no time, she had successfully closed a deal with the publishing house.
Ono said she would pick her up soon so Shouko went to wait at the bus stop nearby. She was silently listening to the music from her phone as she lazily swept her gaze at her surroundings. This road was really too empty. Not even a single soul appeared in her sight.
But, a shocking scene suddenly surprised Shouko. Her entire body instinctually moved at the sight of the incident.
"Mister? Mister? Are you okay?"
Shouko was in a panic when she saw an old man collapsed near the bus stop. The old man looked so fragile. His walking stick was thrown to one side as he laid on the ground with a painful expression on his wrinkly face.
"Mister? Do you have your medicine with you?" Shouko kept her calm. She remembered that usually when the elderly collapsed like this, there was a chance it could be cured with their medicine if they brought them.
"In... inside my bag..." The old man said weakly. His face turned paler as seconds passed by.
Shouko stared at the bag around the old man's waist. She quickly opened the zipper and rummaged inside the bag. She was dumbfounded seeing so many banknotes inside of it. Did this grandpa isn't afraid of pickpockets? Shaking her head, she grabbed the white medicine bottle from the bag.
Shouko helped the old man leaned against the pole near them. The old man obediently ate his medicine. She uncapped the bottled water that she placed inside her bag and gave them to the old man. The old man coughed twice. After he consumed medicine, he had regained his vitality.
"Are you feeling okay now, Mister?" Shouko was still worried despite seeing the old man wasn't as pale as earlier. "I'll bring you to the hospital first, alright?"
"No, it's okay, young lady," The old man smiled weakly. He waved his right hand off, rejecting Shouko's offer. "I'm alright now. You should return to your own affairs."
"Where are you going? I could bring you there," Shouko wasn't at ease to leave this old man to fend for himself. Especially when the road was deserted by pedestrians.
The old man peered at her face, assessing her in silence. Shouko didn't notice there was a hint of contentment in his old eyes. His lips slowly curved up into a smile.
"Actually, I'm waiting for my grandson. Could you accompany me until he comes?" The old man was smiling widely when he voiced out his request yet Shouko thought nothing of it.
"Alright, Mister. Let me help you," Shouko returned his smile.
She was so relieved seeing this old man was alright. She gave the walking stick to him before she slowly helping the old man to stand. The old man was actually taller than her but due to his old age, his back wasn't as straightened as his younger days. Both of them walked to the bus stop.
"Mister..."
"Just call me Grandpa, child," The old man laughed softly. "You look younger than my grandson. Don't be so formal with me."
"Alright, Grandpa," Shouko didn't shy away with his attempt to be friendly with her.
The elders of Yuasa family had passed away before she was brought into the house so she rarely experiences elderly warmth from a kind grandfather like this old man. Every time she saw a TV drama with caring grandparents, she couldn't help but envied whoever had personal experience of it.
Both of them were chatting happily. The old man began telling her his stories during his youth. Shouko was really enjoying their time together until she didn't realize that Ono hadn't come as she had promised. She also didn't realize that a black sedan was slowly pulling out opposite them.
"Ah! My grandson has arrived!" The old man exclaimed once he saw the car.
Shouko lifted up her eyes. She slowly turned her head to look at the direction of the car. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. She remembered seeing such a car at one of the parties organized by the Yuasa couple.
It appeared low-key yet it was one of the luxurious cars she had ever seen.
"You brat! Why did you just come?" The old man started nagging when the door at the backseat was opened slightly. He was clearly displeased with his grandson's late arrival.
Shouko followed his gaze toward the back of the car. A silhouette of a man dressed in a black suit slowly emerged in her eyes. His back was facing the bright sunlight. Dark shadows fell on his face.
She couldn't see his face. When she tried to, in an instant, her entire world blackened without any source of light.