filler chapter, to get the plot moving!
February 26
"Are you sure she asked you to take care of him, Julie?" Yuichi mumbled looking up at the woman with pitch-black hair sitting in front of his desk.
"Yes... Although she didn't explicitly tell me to kill Hideo Nanako, she pretty much insinuated it." She said, spinning around lazily on the chair he'd offered her.
Yuichi smirked and shut down his monitor, so the matter could have his full attention.
After all it's not every day he gets such a perfect opportunity to mess around with his brother's fiancé.
"I didn't think Mitsuri Sasaki would be that cold, considering how fragile her daughter is," Yuichi told her.
Julieanne couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips when Yuichi mentioned the girl's name.
"What is it?" He asked leisurely, looking over at his companion.
"It's just funny... the lengths people will go through to control their children."
"If I were Mitsuri I'd probably do the same... If my daughter's engaged to one of the most influential families in Japan, I wouldn't want my kid's stupidity to interfere with such a powerful match."
"You would have your daughter's boyfriend murdered by the best hit woman in all of Tokyo?" She smirked leaning back on the chair, and Seiichi rolled his eyes, but the smile on his lips remained.
Julieanne Takeda was in fact the best assassin
money could buy, which is why she was practically his shadow... but she was nothing if not prideful.
"So... what do you think, should I kill him?" She asked, breaking the silence.
Yuiichi closed his eyes and thought over his options for a second.
He'd love to see what kind of mess Hanae Sasaki's boyfriend would stir up for Kyoya... but it would be better to get him over with, so he couldn't ruin the grand scheme of things.
"Less moving pieces will make the game easier... Have fun."
February 27
Hanae held onto Kyoya as tightly as she could, otherwise, she felt like she might topple over onto the table in front of them.
The cheering was too loud.
The people were too loud.
The cameras never stopped flashing.
The room around her felt as if it were spinning.
She could hardly believe that her engagement party had been held this quickly after she'd just gotten engaged, and with the way Kyoya was speaking it sounded like he wanted the wedding to come even sooner.
Hanae quickly sat down as soon as Kyoya gave his speech and she downed the glass of wine in a flash. Her fiance was observant, but he was too distracted to notice how fast her heart was racing, how much she detested every second she had to spend with him.
Kyoya grabbed her hand and effectively brought her back into reality.
"That's Yuzuha Hitachiin, Hikaru and Kaoru's mother, make sure to make a good impression," Kyoya whispered to Hanae, and although she nodded she wanted to pass out right there and then.
Wasn't meeting Kyoya's frightening family already enough to stomach that night?
She looked over towards the direction Kyoya was turned to and she saw a tall older woman, with short light-brown hair walk up towards them, with both Hikaru and Kaoru standing at her side.
The woman congratulated them and she gestured towards her sons for them to tell Hanae the good news.
"Guess what, Hanae? We know how stressful planning a wedding can be," Hikaru started.
"So we decided to take the biggest burden off your plate, your wedding dress!" Kaoru finished.
Hanae knew better than to be rude, so she smiled, and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"Sasaki, I'd like to make your wedding dress if you'd let me... Think of it as an early wedding present." The woman said holding Hanae's hands a little too comfortably for her liking.
That's right, Hikaru and Kaoru had mentioned that their mother owned a high-end fashion company...
Hanae's eyes widened and she quickly looked over to Kyoya, so he could help her, but he only gave her an encouraging nod.
"That's too kind of you Mrs.Hitachiin, I–I can't thank you enough," Hanae said nervously, not sure what to make of such generosity.
"It's not a problem at all, after everything Kyoya has done for my boys, it's the least I could do," Yuzuha said smiling.
"What has he ever done for us." Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison.
Hanae's lip formed a thin line, Hikaru and Kaoru were quite the unit when their mother was around.
Kyoya ignored both of them and said, "It's an honor to have such a talented woman as yourself make my fiance's wedding dress,"
Hanae was beginning to zone out of the conversation before she felt someone call her name and pull her out of her thoughts.
"Congratulations, Hanae!" Valerie exclaimed happily.
"Thank you, Valerie," Hanae said, smiling at her, and Valerie's father was next to her, congratulating Kyoya.
Hanae could hardly keep up with the crowd afterward. Kyoya told her that their engagement was this month's gossip, and he explicitly told Hanae that their wedding would be the event of the season, but she certainly didn't expect this many people to care.
It wasn't until that very day that she noticed the true caliber of the Ootori family name.
Hanae Ootori.
It sounded truly vile in her mind.
March 20
Sunlight crept through the large windows of the three-story manor, and Hanae closed her eyes when she felt Kyoya's hand tighten around her own.
"Do we have a winner, Mr.Ootori?" The real-estate agent turned around to face them.
Kyoya looked down at her and smiled, "What do you think, Hanae?"
She looked down at the tile below her, "I like it, it's very nice."
Is this really what her life had come to?
Dropping out of college to plan a wedding?
Picking out a home with a man who'd bought her, and pretending like she didn't hate every inch of his being?
His smooth voice knocked her back into reality.
"Could you give my fiance and me a moment?"
The real-estate agent nodded and walked out of the room, Hanae's skin crawled when Kyoya stood in front of her and his hand gently raised her chin up so she'd look at him.
"What's wrong?"
She hated his guts.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I'm just nervous... I didn't think that I'd be buying a home with my fiance anytime soon."
His expression softened as he held her face, and she could feel her stomach begin to churn.
"This is just the next step towards our new life together." He pressed her lips softly against her own and she felt his grip around her waist tighten.
She frowned against his mouth and pulled away.
"No, not yet," She forced a small smile on her face.
She'd lied and told him that she didn't want to sleep with him until their honeymoon. She figured she might as well enjoy the little time she had left before she had to let this man in between her legs again.
"I know... but what do you think, is this our new home?"
She turned around and took one more look around the beautiful place, the place she'd be forced to share with him when they came back from their honeymoon.
She shook away her nerves and nodded.
"This is our new home."