Forced Marriage, True Love

38. Confession

I sighed as I stood in front of the Sohma General Hospital. Shaking my head once, I covered my face with my scarf, went inside and strode over to the receptionist's desk. "Good morning. I'd like to meet doctor Hatori Sohma-san. May I know whether he is free now?" I asked. "Doctor Hatori Sohma? Please wait a minute ma'am. I'll let you know." The receptionist said and dialed a number on the landline. "May I know your name ma'am?" The receptionist asked. "Hinata Uzumaki." I replied. I couldn't tell her my real name. Or else, there will be an uproar in the hospital.

I waited patiently for a while before the receptionist turned back to me. "Doctor Hatori Sohma is currently busy with another patient. Do you have a pre-planned meeting with doctor?" The receptionist asked, making me shake my head. "No. This is the first time I'm meeting him. My friend recommended him to me." "I see. Can you please wait for a while? I will call you once Hatori-sensei is free." "Thank you."

I walked over to the vacant seats and sat down. What a pain. The scarf was suffocating me. But no matter how annoying it was for me, I didn't remove it. Because I knew, if I did, there will be at least one person who would recognize me as Taki Tachibana's fiancée. If that happens, things will be very hard for me. Worst case scenario, this news might spread like wildfire and reach Itsuki Tachibana-san's ears. If that were to happen, hell will break loose.

I waited for a long time, almost a whole hour. However, no matter how long I had to wait, I didn't back out and leave. I had to meet him. Although I knew the truth, there is no evidence backing up Itsuki Tachibana and Miki Okudera's crimes. To prevent myself from falling asleep, I took a coffee and started drinking slowly.

I had just finished my coffee when the receptionist called out to me. "Doctor Hatori Sohma is free now. His room is the last one on the right on the first floor." She said, making me nod. "Thank you." I replied in gratitude before I walked away from the desk.

With the help of a few nurses, I walked over to Hatori Sohma's cabin. "May I come in?" I asked as I slowly opened the door and peeked inside. A middle-aged man in his mid-thirties sat in a dignified position on his chair. He looked quite handsome, despite being in his mid-thirties or so. He had short black hair, with a fringe covering his forehead. His purple eyes were sharp and beautiful, while metal rimmed glasses sat on his nose bridge. He was wearing a surgeon's attire. 

"Please come in." The man said. I walked inside and sat down on the seat. "Hinata-san, was it?" He asked, to which I nodded. "How may I help you?" I sighed and took out a bracelet given to me by Tohru-san. When Hatori-san saw the bracelet, he quickly stood up in shock. "How do-" He started but I cut through him. "May I talk to you in private outside the hospital premises?" I asked. "I will tell you everything you need to know."

Hatori-san looked at me, as if contemplating whether he should come with me or not. The look on his face could make someone say that he thought I kidnapped Tohru-san and am bribing him with something. How rude!

In the end, Hatori-san nodded. "Give me a few minutes to change." He said as he stood up and walked out of his room. I stood up and left the hospital as I sighed. Well, this was the only way I could talk to him in private. If Itsuki-san's underlings were still working in The Sohma General Hospital, it would be hard to keep this a secret as they would leak everything to Itsuki-san.

If that were to happen, the one they would target next would be me, which would be a pain. Soon enough, Hatori-san came outside the hospital wearing civil clothes. "Hinata-san-" He started but I stopped him. "I need to talk to you in private." I said as I unlocked my car. "May I speak to you in another, quieter place?" I asked.

Given how he was thinking I kidnapped Tohru-san, Hatori-san nodded. The two of us got inside the car and I started it before driving away to a quiet location.

"This should be a good place." I said as I got outside the car. "What have you done to Honda-kun?!" Hatori-san shouted at me as he got outside the car as well. "Hatori-san, please calm down. This bracelet was given to me personally by Tohru-san." I replied as I removed my scarf, making Hatori-san gasp.

"Mitsuha Miyamizu-san?" He said, feeling shocked. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hatori Sohma-san." I said while smiling, making him stare at me. "May I know the reason why you wanted to meet me Miyamizu-san?"

"I believe two years ago, you were in charge of an operation of Taki Tachibana-san's friend, Shinta Takagi, am I wrong?" I asked, making Hatori-san's eyes widen. "Can you give me details of how he died?" "He... died due to a concussion in his brain due to getting hurt badly on the head." Hatori-san replied, the calmness in his voice remaining, although I could see how his hands were slowly curled into fists.

"Is that so? Well, even if it is a death due to concussion, a few days after Shinta Takagi's death, your then nurse Tsubame Iwato died as well, right?" I said, making him widen his eyes even more. "May I know what happened to her?"

Although he looked scared, eventually he calmed down in the end and spoke to me in a casual tone. "A few years ago, a heavily bloodied person was rushed into the hospital. It was Shinta Takagi, Taki Tachibana's friend. Back then, it had been only one year since I had joined the hospital. Although we did an operation, the head surgeon kept giving us wrong instructions, thereby killing Takagi-san.

Later on, Tsubame-san and I found out that the head surgeon had been bribed by Itsuki Tachibana-san to give the wrong treatment to Shinta Takagi, causing his death. Tsubame-san was enraged with what happened and tried to file a police complaint, but she was murdered brutally. They said that... if I dared to open my mouth about what happened, they would kill me and my family too.

I... I was so scared with what happened that I just followed their instructions." Hatori-san finally confessed as tears spilled out of his eyes. "Tsubame-san truly was a kind person, helping everyone she met. And yet... all because of my cowardice... she had to lose her life! Leaving her beloved daughter all alone!"

"Back then... during Tsubame-san's funeral, her daughter was so confused and broken that... I heard she ran away from home in search of her mother like a deranged person. She went into a depression for a whole year, unable to come in terms of the fact that her mother was no more."

By this point, Hatori-san was a crying mess. "Hatori-san. This was neither yours, nor Tsubame-san's fault. So please, do not blame yourself for it." I said softly as I held his hand, making him look at me. "You did what you had to do to protect your family. If I was in your place, I would've done the same." Hatori-san cried, while I stayed by his side, letting him calm down.

My goodness. How many lives did he ruin? Not only his own son's, but these many? Almost like a tyrant. After staying for some more time, I thanked Hatori-san and drove him back to the hospital. "Hatori-san. I will leave my number with you, just in case. If you feel like talking to me about this again, feel free to call me any time." I said as I gave him my number. Hatori-san thanked me once before I left. I kept driving away, my grip on the steering wheel tightening.

How much longer will that monster keep playing with Taki like a puppet? He was his father for god's sake. 'Taki. I promise. I will bring justice to you, Tsukasa and Shinta.' I thought. 'Itsuki Tachibana. It's time... for your wrong doings to come to light.'