1.1 | The Yakuza Bride

Chapter 37

Large grey clouds rolled across the sky, accompanied by streaks of lightning, and the low rumble of thunder. Below her, the pedestrians who seemed as small as ants scurried about, as though suddenly driven by some unseen force. She heaved a sigh, fogging up the windowpane as she did so.

All of a sudden, a bout of lightning illuminated the room, followed by a clap of thunder. Hana jumped back with an alarmed shriek and her hands flew to her ears. Her breath hitched in her throat and she could acutely feel her heart thumping nineteen to the dozen behind her ribcage, as if it would explode. Then a hand moved slowly, unknowingly, to her throat, feeling the quick pulsations under her fingers.

Even the hairs on her arm stood on end.

'Are you sure you still want to go out in that weather?' Leon asked.

He had been lounging on the bed the whole time, one hand casually holding open the pages of a book, while the other propped his head up.

'Yeah,' she muttered as she returned to the wardrobe, but not before casting the roiling skies another glance. 'I promised to meet up.'

She cast a critical eye over her selection of dresses, and then turned to face him.

'What should I wear?' she asked as she removed a red dress and a pink dress from her wardrobe, and held it to herself.

'Hmm?' His eyes only shifted to glance at her before returning to his book.

'This red dress, or this one?' she urged again.

He sighed.

'Red.'

'The red?' she muttered. 'But it's too bright, isn't it?'

She placed it over herself, then glanced down at the hem that ended at her mid thighs. Hana turned back to face the floor length mirror, then shifted herself side to side, trying to visualise how she'd look like in the dress. It was one she had bought ages ago, but had stuffed it at the back of her wardrobe, only to be retrieved now when she had no idea what to wear.

'You know,' he said, 'you won't know if it fits unless you try it.'

'Yeah, I know, but...'

Hana could see him in the mirror's reflection, still utterly and completely focused on the book. She returned the dresses to the rack, then reached for the ribbons that held her night robe together. With a swift tug, the material slid down her shoulders to pool around her feet in a puddle of blue silk. She swept her hair aside, over one shoulder, knowing that a pair of eyes were now trained on her.

'What is it?' she asked.

He continued staring unabashedly.

'Who is it that you're going out with tonight?'

She picked out her underwear and when she put it on, his mouth tightened.

'Haruki.'

Hana picked up the red dress and pulled it over her head and shoulders, then gently tweaked it into place. She reached for the zip at the back and tugged at it, but it wouldn't budge. After a few seconds of struggling with it, she turned to him.

'I think it's stuck. Can you help?'

~

Leon sighed and heaved himself off the bed. He had been staring at the long waves of her hair that tumbled over her shoulder, and the fragile bones that showed when she had bent her head over while putting on the dress. With his concentration broken, he languidly made his way over.

He gently pulled at the fabric that had caught under the zip. As he tugged it up, he brought his face to her back and left kisses over her bare skin.