(Name) woke up the next morning, her head throbbing painfully. Her sight was rather blurry, but she could still make out the silhouettes of the furnitures scattered around the room.
" Are you awake, (Name)? " the very familiar voice said.
" You.. Don't remember me? I'm your husband , Neji."
" It's not funny (Name).. I know I wronged you.. But please don't do this. Please don't do this to me (Name).."
" (Name).. I'm sorry.. I was awful to you. I broke my promise. I'm so sorry. I truly am (Name).. I promise I won't leave you again, so please don't do this.. Please.. "
(Name) quickly shut her eyes and snuggled into the bed, pretending to be asleep.
' Please go away.. Please go away you creepy yet handsome weirdo..'
' What?! Did I just say handsome? I meant gross, super gross -and repulsive.. Disgusting.. '
" I know you're awake, (Name), " Neji exclaimed, sitting on the chair by her bed. (Name)'s heart started to beat rapidly, and she began to sweat after being at such a close proximity with Neji.
" Are you alright (Name)? Your face looks so.. Red. And you're sweating heavily.. Maybe you have a fever, " he said as he pressed his hand against her forehead, and moved on to her cheeks.
' Just go away.. Please ..'
After moments that felt like forever, Neji finally retracted his hand, and she could hear him stand up and walk away.
' Thank god.. Phew..'
(Name) opened her eyes, and she instantly saw Neji's face.
" Gah!" she bursted out of shock, quickly backing away.
Neji let out a soft chuckle when he saw her behaviour, and a gentle smile decorated his features.
" Good morning, (Name), " he spoke, inching closer to her.
" Ah good morning to you too, " she replied, giving him a forced smile. However, Neji moved closer to her, and his face was now right in front of hers.
For a brief moment, (Name) seriously thought he was going to kiss her.
" I was going to ask, aren't you hungry? " he inquired.
' What on earth.. What kind of guy does that and asks if I'm hungry? What the hell is wrong with this dude?! '
" Huh?" Despite all the rants and protests her consciousness made, all she muster as a response was a far from intelligent ' huh '.
" You haven't eaten for a month (Name)," Neji implied.
" No.. I'm not really hungry, " she responded. ' I'm not going to appear weak in front of this weird but handsome dude! '
A second later, her stomach started to rumble loudly, and it continued for at least two minutes.
" I'll ask the nurse to bring in the food, "Neji said in an understanding manner, before pressing the intercom.
Five minutes later, a nurse came in with a tray of food. She set it on the table by the bed, and briskly left the room.
Immediately, (Name)'s stomach to rumble again. She wanted to gobble up all the food in a single mouthful, but then she glanced at her bandaged arms.
Apparently she was unable to lift both hands, and one of them was severely broken in the wrist area, and the other was badly fractured.
" It's alright, (Name). I'll help you, " Neji said as he picked up the tray. He assisted (Name) to sit up, piling several pillows behind her so she could sleep upright.
After that, he tied (Name)'s (h/c) hair into a loose ponytail, as it was flying everywhere in a wispy manner.
" Say 'ah', " he spoke, holding a spoonful of warm porridge in front of her mouth. Though slightly hesitant, (Name) obliged and ate the porridge. Although she is most likely to never admit it, she actually liked being fed by Neji.
A warm, relieved smile formed on his face as he watched (Name) eat. He was grateful, for just three weeks ago, (Name) was at the verge of death. Seeing her looking so alive made him happy.
" Here, " Neji smiled, giving her a piece of omelette. (Name) swallowed it, but soon her facial expression changed. She started to cough, and she sounded as if she was choking.
" (Name)!" Neji burst, alarm in his voice. He quickly grabbed the glass of water, and beckoned (Name) to drink it.
At the same time, his hand wrapped itself around her shoulders, and he was in a such close proximity with her, it could be called a hug.
After drinking the water, (Name) stopped coughing and she calmed down.
" Thank you, " she said, and this time, she didn't back away from Neji.
" It's alright, " Neji replied, and pressed a tender kiss on her forehead. " You must be tired, get some rest okay."
" But I just woke up. And it's still afternoon, " (Name) spoke.
" Ah.. I'll ask the butler to bring some books to you. And my cousin is coming to visit you this evening, " Neji exclaimed, unconsciously giving her a hug.
" Your cousin? " (Name) blurted, feeling slightly nervous.
" It's alright. You were very fond of her. Also, I have some work to do, and I'll be away for a while. I'll be back around 10pm or so."
(Name) nodded. "Well then, take care, " she said.
' Wait, what?! '
She instantly clamped her mouth with her hand, unable to believe what she just said. Neji just smiled at her, joy welling up deep in his heart.
" You too, my wife, " he rasped, pulling her into a hug. He kissed her gently on her forehead and gave her another passionate one on her cheek.
After Neji left, she found herself blushing furiously, and her eyes constantly darted to the clock, waiting for 10pm to arrive.
(Name) stared at the clock, waiting for 10 am to arrive. She already moved all the stuff from her cubicle over to the office, and she had to say, she was completely in love with her new office.
The chair was nice and soft, with a velvet cover on top. Even the office was decorated nicely, as if someone had hired an interior designer to decorate it.
A small potted plant with little purple flowers decorated the working table, but it wasn't (Name) who put it there. When she first came in, she saw it, along with a yellow memo paper, with ' Good luck, (Name)! ' - H.N ', scribbled on it. She knew very knew who H.N was, and instantly, her face turned into a bright scarlet.
When 10 am arrived, she heard the doors of Neji's office slide open. She quickly fixed her hair and went to greet him.
" Good morning, Neji-sama, " she exclaimed.
" Good morning, (Name), " he replied with a smile. She had picked up a triple shot americano earlier at Starbucks, and she placed it on his table.
" Thank you. Now, what is my schedule for today? " Neji asked. (Name) opened the file in her hands and flicked through the pages.
" There's a board meeting at 12 pm and a video call session with the distributor from Kumo at 4 pm. Hiashi-sama also requested that you submit the sales record by tonight, " (Name) said.
" Alright. By the way, bring your chair over here, " Neji spoke.
" Why? " (Name) asked.
" I just want somebody to talk to, " he smiled. Apparently, (Name) was a very nice person to talk to, and Neji was amused by every sentence that came from her. He found himself smiling non stop when he was with her, and he couldn't stop his laughter whenever she made a joke.
" You did what? " Neji burst, a chuckle escaping his lips.
" I really wanted to try pranking people - I was a fifteen year old teenager then - and then there's this Home Economics teacher that I really hate.. So I put a thumbnail on her chair, " (Name) laughed.
" You might not believe it, but I have my own history of pranking, " Neji countered.
" Oh really? Let's hear it then, " (Name) provoked. Neji cleared his throat loudly, gathering all the necessary 'wow' effect.
" When I was in university, there was this lecturer that I hate, just like you. But I don't settle for thumbnails, (Name), " he chuckled.
" Oh, what did you do? " (Name) asked.
" I placed blue food dye in his kimbap, right before a speech. It was in front of the whole campus and the image of the person speaking is zoomed in, specifically on the face, " Neji grinned.
" That's mean. The poor dude could've lost his job and reputation , " (Name) cringed.
" You're one to talk. You punctured your teacher's butt! " Neji burst.
" Hey, it sounds weird when you say it like that! "
They continued to tell stories and their past experiences, along with their pranking history.
" Er.. Neji-nii.. Aren't you coming to the board meeting? It started twenty minutes ago, " Hinata's voice sounded.
When they arrived in the meeting room, (Name) felt completely out of place. She eyed the professional clothing donned by the people in the room, and compared them to herself.
Their gazes weren't kind either, and even more their words.
" You can't even remind him about the meeting, what kind of secretary are you? " Makita Yume, head of the Editing department of the Marketing, bellowed.
" What is your problem Makita? You're not in any position to scold her, or speak to her in that tone," Neji seethed.
Makita let out a dissatisfied huff as she slumped into her seat.
" Now, shouldn't we move on with the meeting? The one that everyone's been making a fuss about because I'm late."
(Name) spent the rest of the afternoon reading the books that the butler, Kai had brought earlier.
She found herself completely immersed in The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, while snacking on potato chips that the nurse had been very hesitant to give.
Around 4 pm, the doors slid open, and a woman walked in.
She had a voluptuous figure, yet she kept it hidden under the loose clothing she wore. She boasted an air of aristocracy, and the jewellery decorating her wrists and neck just added up the factor. (Name) could instantly tell that the woman was Neji's cousin, from the same pearly lavender eyes and dark hair, though hers was more of a dark blue, to be fair.
" (Name)-chan.. " she murmured, her eyes focused on (Name).
" Do you remember me? It's me, Hinata, " she almost sobbed.
' Ah, they're definitely cousins.. '
(Name) most definitely didn't want to recall the whole" You.. Don't remember me? I'm your husband , Neji, " scene and what followed afterwards.
" Are you Neji's cousin? He told me that you'd be visiting.. " (Name) responded. Hinata rushed towards (Name) and quickly hugged her.
" (Name)-chan I missed you! " she sobbed, tears flowing from the corners of her eyes.
" Please don't cry. But, by the way, what actually happened? " (Name) couldn't help but ask.
" You almost died (Name)-chan! We thought you were never going to wake up, and it almost drove Neji-nii crazy! "Hinata piped.
" Neji.. What is he really like? Why does he keep apologising to me? " (Name) questioned.
" (Name)-chan.. I know he wronged you, but please forgive him. He's really regretting it, you know, " Hinata spoke.
" But what did he do? " (Name) asked.
" That's not something I should tell. It's best if you ask him yourself. "