"I am also sorry for saying those words about you." Iori doesn"t look at him. "But you were worse than me. I still hate you."
Takes.h.i.+ raises her chin to meet her eyes. "Punish me then."
"Punish you?" She raises her brow. "Will you take your punishment without any complaints?"
"Punish me by getting married to me." He tells her with an amused tone, "I promised my nephew that I will give him a beautiful cousin sister."
"You want to marry me because you want a child." Iori stomps on his foot. He holds back his scream and steps back. He deserves this temper. What should he do to pacify her? Nothing. She won"t be pacified until she is done beating him up.
"I want a child with only you." Takes.h.i.+ utters the word with a painful tone, "You are the prettiest girl I know. Of course, our child will be a beautiful one."
"Pretty?" This is the first time she has heard him saying something like that. She looks at him with interest. "You think that I am pretty?"
Takes.h.i.+ smiles at her. "Why do you think that I love you? You become prettier with age. Everyone looks plain compared to you."
This devil! His words are smooth. How many girls has he flirted with? Look at that smile! Iori yells at him, "You called me fat a moment ago."
"Kinos.h.i.+ta Iori." Takes.h.i.+ widens his eyes, giving her a judgmental look. He asks her with a playful tone, "Are fat people not beautiful? I had higher expectations of you."
She takes her words back. Who would date this guy? "You are not supposed to call them fat whether they are beautiful or not."
He rolls his eyes. "Can"t you tell that I was lying? You have lost weight instead. Are you running around all the time?"
"Why do you care?" Iori grumbles.
"I have been an idiot for a long time." Takes.h.i.+ steps closer and wraps his arms around her. "I will make up for it."
"Too late." She wiggles out of his arms and pounds his chest. "I won"t date you. I won"t marry you. I won"t see you anymore."
Outside the ward, Yuta and Rie are standing with their ears glued to the door. Yuta frowns when he hears Iori"s shouts.
"Mother, are they fighting?" Yuta asks, wondering if they made things worse between his uncle and aunt.
"It"s a love quarrel." Rie tells him with a low voice, "My son, listen well. You must never call any woman fat, especially the one you want to marry."
"I know that." Yuta frowns, "I thought that Uncle was smart."
"He"s Kiyohira"s brother. How smart can he be?" Rie pats his shoulder. "You are my son first, okay? Don"t take after your father or your uncle."
Yuta clicks his tongue. "You are not an ideal example either."
"What did you say?" Rie narrows her eyes on him.
"Mother, I was saying how much I love you." Yuta pecks her cheek. "There"s no one like you in this world."
She snickers. "I know, right? You should learn from me."
Yuta shakes his head. Sure, he knows it well. She is amazing. However, he can"t say the same about her in love. If he didn"t intervene, would she still be with his father? Nevermind! He wasn"t ideal in love either. His girlfriend became his murderer. He"s sure that he surpa.s.ses the entire family when it comes to bad love.
Rie puts her finger on her lips and signals Yuta to listen.
Inside the ward, Takes.h.i.+ takes a deep breath. "Listen, Kinos.h.i.+ta Iori. Your fate has been sealed the moment you came here and told me that you also love me. You are not allowed to date anyone else. Thinking about other men? Not allowed. Lunch date with that b.a.s.t.a.r.d? Not allowed. Going out with your senpai"s friend? Not allowed. You are my girlfriend. Act like one. If you cheat on me emotionally or physically, I am going to…"
"What?" Iori raises her chin and asks him with a challenging tone, "What are you going to do?"
Takes.h.i.+ smirks at her, "What do you think?"
"You tell me." She raises her brow. "I haven"t accepted that I am your girlfriend."
"You accepted it." He leans closer and grips her waist. "Didn"t you say that you accept loudly? That you would go out with me? You are right. You never answered my confession from that time. You were a little late, but you are here. Let"s do it the way you like. We will go on a date after I get discharged. Then, I will seduce you to bed. Next morning, we will head to the civil office and get married."
He has it all planned out. Iori blushes hard when she sees him staring at her with a sly smile. "When will you get discharged?"
"You gave me new wounds. So, it might take more time." Takes.h.i.+ touches his hair. Maybe losing a few strands was worth it. "Since I am already straining my body, I might as well go ahead and…" He lets out a laugh when she looks at him suspiciously. "You have become smarter, Iori."
"Don"t even think about it." Iori fists her hands, ready to fight him. "I will beat you up."
"Go ahead." He grabs her wrists and pins them over her head. "Beat me up after I commit the crime."
Iori realizes that she can never win in shamelessness. He has turned the table in a second. Although she"s struggling, she can"t free herself whether it"s his hands or the heat in his eyes that is making her heart race. "Takes.h.i.+, you just had an accident."
"You remember it now?" He chuckles and bends down his head. "If I can take your fists, I am sure that I can also take kisses."
If it is going to be like this, she might as well take the lead. She is never going to let him have the upper hand. Iori smirks at him, "You only want kisses? Nothing more?"