Shouko leaned against the window panes, her eyes were cast on the scenery laid before her. The cool breeze blew past her, fluttering the tips of her hair occasionally.
From her ward, she could clearly see the garden of the hospital. It was an exquisite view. Most of the patients and the visitors wore thicker clothes since the temperature was quite low due to the beginning of autumn.
They were chatting happily with each other while some of them were just enjoying the view. It was a private hospital with a beautiful garden surrounding the tall hospital buildings.
Suddenly, Shouko felt there was additional heat on her back. She turned her head and was surprised to see a pair of dark eyes.
"You might catch a cold standing here," Kyoya said lowly, he adjusted the wool cardigan that he placed on her shoulders. His slender fingers brought her long hair to fall in between her shoulders and the cardigan.
"Oh... thanks..." Shouko was stunned for a moment. She just stared at the man who was standing close to her. His warm breath fell on her neck as he bent down slightly to match her height.
Kyoya looked at her face briefly before he swept his gaze to the view outside. He looked back at her. "Do you want to take a stroll?"
Shouko had been in this private ward for days, she might feel stuffy with no change of scenery. It was good to bring her out for fresh air.
"Okay..." Shouko nodded timidly. She could see a faint smile on his face once he heard her response.
Kyoya turned around to get a wheelchair. Shouko's leg injury hadn't healed yet so she could only rely on crutches or wheelchairs. He gestured for her to sit down and with a flushed face, she obediently took a seat and allowed him to wheeled her out of the ward.
It had been three days since the night she regained consciousness which meant she had been facing this man for three days. Ever since she woke up, he would always stay by her side.
The only time he wasn't was when his personal assistant came to speak regarding the company's internal affairs or when she needed to head to the toilet. Even at night, he would sleep on the spare bed inside the ward, taking care of her silently.
At first, Shouko wanted to protest since she was still feeling awkward with him around yet his questions made her waved a white flag.
"Do you have anyone else to take care of you?" Kyoya asked calmly, he peered into her red face with a profound gaze.
"No..." Remembering her so-called family, it wasn't a possibility. She couldn't ask her half-sister to come here for fear angering her stepmother.
"What a husband should do when his wife gets sick?" He asked again. His tone sounded as if he was coaxing a child.
"...Take care of her?"
Kyoya nodded, his expression remained calm. "Good. You know the answer."
Shouko was dumbfounded. With that, she could no longer refuse him.
Kyoya wheeled Shouko out of the elevator, they were heading to the one side of the garden. The sun had yet to set, its brilliant light fell on the autumn flowers planted on the flower beds. The feeling of the crisp air of autumn made Shouko smiled instinctively. Her pale cheeks gradually had a tinge of red.
"You smiled."
"En?"
Shouko looked up, meeting the eyes of him that had just spoken in a low voice just now.
"Pardon?" She didn't catch what he said earlier.
Kyoya closed his eyes for a moment. Then, he repeated his words. "You smiled. I've never seen you smiling these past few days."
Shouko blinked, her eyes were deeply locked into his.
From her position, she could see how the side of his profile being basked under the sunlight, enunciating his sharp facial features. His eyes were as dark as ink, as deep as the ocean. Whenever he looked at her with those calm eyes of his, she could do nothing and just stare back at him.
Without thinking, she blurted out, "Do you like to see me smiling?"
It was when she heard his chuckle did Shouko realize how did she had sounded.
Oh, gosh! Did he think I was flirting with him?
Shouko quickly averted her eyes from his gaze, the corners of his lips turned upward as he was silently staring at the back of her head. The tips of the young lady's ears gradually reddened.
At this time, her behavior returned back to how a lady in her early 20s usually behaved.
Kyoya didn't say anything anymore. He quietly wheeled her on the pathway of the garden, bringing her to take in the refreshing surrounding around them. While Shouko was contemplating what she should talk about with him, on the other hand, he enjoyed the time spent with her.
He couldn't recall the last time they could face each other without one of the parties left in frustration.
Thinking of that, his grip around the wheelchair handles tightened without him noticing.
No, this is our second chance, Kyoya thought while his thin lips pursed into a straight line. Let me be the only one to bear the pain. She shouldn't remember it.
"Kyoya?"
Kyoya snapped out of his daze. "Yes?"
Shouko slowly tilted her head, trying to look at the man who stood behind her wheelchair. "We... didn't marry out of love, right?"
Once her question fell, the air around them suddenly turned stagnant.
Kyoya halted his steps, eventually stopping the wheelchair together with him. He eyed the curious expression on his little wife's face. Her bright and round eyes were staring back at him with the expectation that he couldn't pinpoint. After some time, he answered her.
"Yes," He nodded. "We didn't marry because of love."
Hearing him saying that, Shouko couldn't understand why does she felt disappointed.
She had just woke up and being told that she had been married to a man she didn't remember for almost five years. She was supposed to not feel this way unless she knew him. The sour feeling that suddenly crept in her heart made her confused with herself.
Is this because the importance of him was deeply rooted in my subconsciousness?
Seeing how her bright eyes slowly dimming its light, Kyoya had the impulse to leave a soft kiss on her eyes yet knowing that he shouldn't act that way, he slowly calming the desire that surged within him. In a second, his calm voice resounded in the air.
"We didn't marry out of love," Kyoya repeated his words, he sounded as if he was speaking about something casual. The next second, his voice was ladened with warmth and tenderness as he continued, "Yet, we grew to love each other. Our marriage isn't a loveless one."
As he said that, his eyes bore on her. He carefully imprinted the minute expression of her face. From the way she blinked her eyes in confusion at first before it turned into a surprise, the way she looked at him with her plump lips parted slightly before her cheeks flushed red due to his words.
He looked at them all.
"We... we love each other?" Shouko couldn't believe the words that he calmly said. "It is true?"
Kyoya nodded. His lips curved up into a beautiful smile, softening his sharp facial features. Under the autumn sky, he looked extra dashing in front of the lady's eyes. "Yes, my wife."
Shouko pursed her lips. She didn't dare to show that she was happy hearing his words. Even though right now he was someone unfamiliar with her, it didn't mean that she didn't think of how both of them ended up together.
She still remembered how her stepmother being persistent in marrying her half-sister to the eldest grandson of Old Master Kashino. Ono refused, saying she would rather be a single rich lady instead of getting married so early much to her mother's dismay.
Eventually, she, Shouko was the one gotten married into the family.
Did it happen because her father couldn't resist the power that the Kashinos had? It was obvious that at that time, Yuasa Group encountered a loss in an investment. Suddenly, Old Master Kashino proposed marriage in exchange for lending them help. Although he hated this illegitimate daughter of his, he relented to the old master's request due to money?
Shouko hated the idea of arranged marriage yet she didn't have the power to refuse. Due to that, she felt so relieved when this man, her husband of five years, said they grew to love each other.
She could tell he wasn't lying. All of his actions spoke volumes of how much he placed her in his heart. From the day she first woke up after losing her memories, this man patiently taking care of her personally despite his busy schedule. He might seem cold with that impassive face of his yet she could feel the tenderness that came from his every action.
Because of that, she was happy. This meant she finally had her own small family filled with love and care despite her didn't remember any of it.
At this moment, Shouko decided to stop debating over this topic.
She had got herself a good and loving husband. What else did she need? At this crucial period of her not knowing what happened in these past five years, it was best to learn to depend on him. She couldn't imagine how her fate would turn out if right now she was still in the Yuasa family. Except for Ono, she believed the rest of them were eager to let her fend for herself in her moment of weakness.
She might sound too optimist yet at this time she had to gamble. She would slowly observe her situation and then took action from how she interpreted it. If Kyoya really loved her as he had said, she would learn to grow back her feelings for him. If he was just pretending and had actually mistreated her, she would go against him.
What she needed right now was security. Since this man seemed like he could offer her one, why did she have to torment herself and refuse it?
In the end, she finally made up her mind.
"Kyoya?"
"En?"
A trace of amusement flickered in his eyes when he met her eyes filled with determination. This was one of his favorite expression of hers. At this moment, he knew whatever she had made up her mind into, she would see through the end of it.
"I might not remember you but so far, I feel like I can trust you," Her voice fell softly in the peace that was enveloping them. She looked at him with a soft smile on her lips. "So, I decided to not dwell on things. We have been married for five years and if what you said was true, it means we have five years' worth of happiness and sorrow that we shared together. Right now, I put my life in a gamble with you. I'd be stupid to let everything go just because I didn't remember them so I hope you could wait for me to remember them and see everything through."
Kyoya was stunned, he was rendered speechless with the way she carried herself right now. In these past few days, she was as shy as the young lady he first met five years ago but at this moment, her confidence was displayed in her gaze. His eyelids trembled for a moment, a sense of helplessness filled his heart.
"...Can you not remember them?"
He whispered with a heavy heart. His eyes lose focus on what laid before him. In that second, he felt like he would lose her, his everything. His hands that were gripping the handles of the wheelchair shivered, his knuckles whitened as he exerted pressure to avoid himself from losing control.
"En?" Shouko raised her eyebrows. "What did you say? I didn't catch it."
Kyoya shook his head. When he looked back at her, even though his lips were still curving into a faint smile, his eyes were dull and emotionless. "Don't pressure yourself."
"Oh... okay," Shouko thought the way he looked at her was strange yet she threw it at the back of her mind. She still had more important things to do and think right now.
Having decided on the most important thing, Shouko gradually relaxed her mind. She had been thinking a lot these past few days but to her, this was the best outcome. People might call her stupid or too optimistic to suddenly trust a man she barely knew just because he said he was her husband but to a young lady like her who had been longing for a warm family, this was not a foolish move at all.
Let's see how her new life worked out.