Feather Bound

Chapter 45

"So be a painter," he said gently, his hand coming up to move a piece of hair from your face, tucking it behind your ear gently. You stared at him like he'd lost his mind, your brows pinching. Where the hell was he going with this?

"What are you–"

"Quit your job," he said, cutting you off before letting out a sigh, pressing a finger to your lips and stopping the protest he already knew was brewing behind them. "You don't need it anymore. You've worked hard enough for so long, but you don't need to anymore. I've got more than enough money to take care of us, to take care of Himari. You deserve to follow your dreams now too."

You tried to argue, to tell him it wasn't necessary, that you didn't mind working, but he quickly moved to kissing your neck. Your fractured protests grew weaker with each kiss downward and died out completely by the time he'd reached his main target.

Your life now is almost perfect, a far cry from what it had been when you received the letter from the Commission all those months ago. You have an amazing boyfriend who loved you more than you ever thought possible. You managed to wipe out your debt before moving in with him, and you're just mere weeks away from meeting with the lawyer to get your daughter back from your dirtbag ex. Keigo seemed to be so excited to meet her, surpassing your expectations. You were on the brink of becoming a family, and everything really seemed to be going great.

That was until the phone calls started.

You hadn't heard from your mother since the night of the gala, ignoring her call and moving on with your life. You thought that was the end of it, but then she called again at the end of November. You were Christmas decoration shopping, finally getting Keigo to agree after hours of begging, when your phone went off in the store. Frowning at the name on the screen, your heart pounded in your chest as you quickly declined the call before Keigo could notice. You hoped that would be the end of it, but she hadn't given up. That's why you could've cried when you felt your phone start to vibrate next to you. Why couldn't she just leave you alone already? You quickly reached out, glancing at the screen to confirm it as her, before sending it to voicemail.

Keigo was quick, reaching over and snatching the phone from beside you before you could stop him. You turned to face him, your eyes wide with panic as you stared at each other. This was the last thing you wanted to talk to him about.

"Spill it," he said firmly, your phone gripped tightly in his hand. He hadn't looked at the screen yet, your only saving grace so far. "Who do you keep sending to voicemail and why?"

"Keigo," you replied, your voice low and serious as you reached out to grab your phone back from him. "Give it back. I am not talking about this tonight." You stared at him, willing him to just let it go, to drop it for the night. Your little secret was over now; you knew that you would have to talk to him about it eventually, but you wanted time. You didn't want to ruin your Christmas movie and cuddle session with your age-old family drama.

"No, we're talking about it tonight," he retorted, his amber eyes narrowing at you. "I've been watching you do this for weeks. If Kuro is harassing you, I need to know so I can tell the lawyer. Everything he does now can help us build a case to get her back."

He leaned away from you, holding the phone above his head as you tried to reach for it. You continued this for a few more seconds before finally giving up, leaning back into the sofa and crossing your arms with a huff. His words finally registered, and you almost laughed; you could only wish it was Kuro who was harassing you.

"It's not Kuro; I haven't heard from him in months. That asshole isn't answering his phone. I didn't even get to talk to Himari on her birthday, you know that," you said, trying to blink back the wave of tears that threatened to overwhelm you. You had tried for hours to get ahold of him on her birthday, each call going straight to voicemail. Of all the low things to do, but you shouldn't be surprised. You knew exactly how pissed he was over your relationship with Keigo.