MIMI

Sleeping on the plush mattress and tangled blankets was the figure of a girl, her short brown hair tangled messily.

Feeling a sudden warmth on her face, the girl"s eyelids quiver, her long black lashes fluttering open to reveal a pair of violet eyes.

Mimi, with narrowed eyes, looks at the sun glowing softly into her bedroom. Reluctantly, Mimi raises herself from the snug bed to groggily walk out of her bedroom.

Heading into the humble living room with the kitchen built on the side, Mimi heads toward the kitchen cabinets to grab a gla.s.s cup, before heading toward the sink and filling it with water.

While drinking the water Mimi blinks her eyes slowly to break out of her sleepy state. Once her vision cleared, Mimi caught sight of a white piece of paper on her counter.

That wasn"t there before.

Placing her cup down, Mimi walks toward the end of the counter to grab the note. With her chin propped up by her hand, Mimi reads the handwritten note.

After a few possible seconds of reading, Mimi"s rosy lips curl into a mischievous smile. Gently setting the note down, Mimi reaches for her phone on the counter and dials a number.

For a few seconds, all that was heard was silence, until the call finally connected.

"h.e.l.lo, Mimi?" A male voice answered on the other end.

"Morning big brother!" Mimi"s said cheerfully.

Instantly a chill ran down Alec"s spine. Why did this feel like deja vu?

"Ah, Mimi...is everything okay?" Alec hesitated.

"Why would something be wrong?" Mimi asked gently in an innocent tone.

"You just sound kind of…"

Too happy! Alec knew whenever she flashed him a bright almost blinding smile she was hiding something ominous inside.

And it never ended well for him!

Therefore, hearing his sister"s cheery voice through the phone, he could tell she was p.i.s.sed. All Alec could see was his demise…

"How could I be upset Alec, after all when I woke up I read a note written just for me by Mr. Itou!" Mimi smiled brightly as she held the phone to her ear.

Sweet lord! He was dead! That idiot Tobias, why did he leave his sister a note?!

Did he not realize what a terrible situation he was in for telling Tobias her address?

"Alec…"

While Alec was already planning his funeral and cursing Tobias, Mimi"s calm voice, no longer upbeat, broke him out of his trance.

"Did you tell him anything else while I was asleep?" Mimi asked gently, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

"No! I swear I didn"t tell him anything besides your address! I didn"t even tell him we were siblings." Alec hurriedly responded.

Toward his response, Mimi"s clenched fists relaxed.

"En, then that"s good, big brother!" Mimi giggled.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Alec"s tense shoulders ease, however, his eyebrows suddenly furrow as a thought enters his mind.

"Mimi, how come you don"t want to tell Tobias about you know, everything? I know you haven"t known each other for long, but telling him we"re siblings doesn"t seem like that big of a deal." Alec, currently at his office leaned back in his chair.

After Alec finished speaking, Mimi"s body had tensed, her rosy lips pursing into a firm line.

"Because…" Mimi began softly, however, her eyes widened before she continued. "Because big brother, if he knows your my brother he"ll know I"m connected to the Hirogori family. Sometimes I feel like your brain stops working!"

Twitching his brows, Alec irritably clears his throat.

"Well, sorry for being dense," Alec muttered.

Smiling, Mimi softly chuckles.

"By the way big brother, don"t think you won"t get punished for telling Mr. Itou my address." Mimi giggled mischievously before hanging up.

Ending the call, Mimi sets her phone down on the counter, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

Looking at the note, in front of her, Mimi"s eyes flashed darkly.

The reason for why Mimi hadn"t told Tobias about her past was a lot more complicated than what she had told Alec.

Although what she said to Alec wasn"t a complete lie, she didn"t tell him they were siblings because he"d soon discover her connections with the Hirogori family. That, and the two hardly knew one another. They only met a few months ago.

But it was mainly because…

Mimi couldn"t help but feel scared.

If she told him the reason, she joined the industry, wouldn"t he be disappointed in her? Wouldn"t he pity her?

She didn"t want to see that look of pity from him. Not from anyone.

Poor Mimi Hirogori, her mother died while giving birth to her. Her father neglected and disowned her, thought of only as a disappointment and shame in their family, not to mention he slept and wed many women after her mother without a care.

Raised by her elder half-sister who was the first and only person to show her love and care. Then, in the end, she abandoned her. Dying without explaining her reasons.

All that remained was an unloved, neglected child who tragically lost its only light.

No. That"s not what she wanted. She didn"t want to be thought of as someone pitiful. Not by Tobias, not by Alec, not my Jean, and not by herself.

She wasn"t pitiful.

She was just...broken. Beyond repair.

They say it"s possible to mend a broken heart. But to do so, one must possess all the pieces. But for Mimi, one of those pieces was long gone and will never be able to be found.

It was lost the day Mimi heard those two words from her sister, Emily Hirogori. The two words she had repeatedly said but always broke.

I promise.

Was she really just another unfulfilled promise she couldn"t keep?

Snapping out of her thoughts, Mimi lightly slaps her cheeks causing them to produce a rosy color. Before long, a wide beaming grin spreads on her face.

She didn"t have time to look back at the past. Today was the day she"d see how her progress last night affected everyone!

It was finally time to have some fun!

Hopping towards her bedroom, Mimi smiles brightly while choosing her clothes for the day.

While Mimi dressed, the delicate note on her counter gently fluttered to the floor.

Faced upright, written in light smooth pen strokes were short sentences.

[Good job, Mimi. Rest well.

Mr. Steamed Bun.]