The Shadow King's Princess (An OHSHC Fanfic) [Completed]

Chapter Sixteen

Zaira

“Y-yoshio-s-sama,” I stammered, staring at the figure standing by the window.

Mr. Ootori regarded me for a moment, and I took that moment to step away from the door and turn so that I was completely facing him.

“Was that the Yamauchi Ichiro-san you’ve mentioned before?” he asked coolly.

Uneasiness shot through me. How well had he seen what just happened, what Ichiro had done?

“Y-yes,” I replied hesitantly. “Th-that was h-him.”

“You seem very close,” he commented.

My words stuck my throat as I watched him with wide eyes. Mr. Ootori gave no hint of what he was thinking, be it in his face or in his voice. Those steely eyes of his, so similar to Kyoya’s, didn’t seem to hold any emotion.

“W-we’re g-good friends,” I told him once I finally managed to make my voice work.

“Friends?” he asked.

For a moment I couldn’t breathe.

He saw it.

I couldn’t speak.

What did Ichiro’s action looked like from here?

“I didn’t know friends were like that.”

Panic welled up in my chest. He thought it was like that. No doubt Mr. Ootori would be disappointed, he had to be. There was no way someone who thought of me as a soon-to-be daughter-in-law as he did, wouldn’t be disappointed if he thought what he did. I had to say something, had to explain.

“Does my son know how close Yamauchi-san and you are?”

The words cut through my frozen tongue like a knife.

“I-I th-think so. H-he was w-with us e-earlier!”

Mr. Ootori was silent for a moment.

“Are you dating that boy, Zaira?”

Shock flooded through me. He’d thought it that far, misunderstood to that level?

“No!” I replied instantly. “I-I wouldn’t d-do that!”

“But you would kiss him,” Mr. Ootori replied in a cold voice.

“N-no!” I stammered, stunned and bright red as a result of his words. “I didn’t!”

Mr. Ootori pursed his lips, then gestured towards the window.  I could easily tell what he was wanting to say. He’d been here, he’d seen what had gone on.

“Then explain yourself, Zaira.”

“Y-you d-didn’t see what y-you thought you s-saw,” I managed to get out, panicking even more than before. “He k-ki-kissed my f-forehead. Th-that’s all! It was a g-g-goodnight k-k-k-kiss!”

I struggled to get the word through my lips, finding it even harder to get out than any other. ‘Kiss’, why was it so difficult to say? Guilt was flooding through me, but at the same time, I’d done nothing wrong. He’d kissed my forehead. It was a gesture between friends.

Nothing more.

It couldn’t be.

“A goodnight kiss,” Mr. Ootori echoed, his voice even, emotionless.

“Y-yes,” I stammered. “Y-yes, e-exactly!”

He was silent for a moment. In that moment he simply met my gaze, as if attempting to see something beyond my words. As much as I simply wanted to run from the room, I forced myself to stand there and stare back. Was he finding whatever he needed to find in my eyes?