Spring Blooms When I'm With You

Since he didn"t want his employees to think of him as someone who was just coming back from holidays, he changed the cargo shorts he wore to a pair of long black pants. A black jacket hung on his body, revealing the peach-colored linen shirt Tsubaki bought for him. Although it was summer, he felt cold unlike usual. And it had nothing to do with the air conditioning system of the company.

Tak.u.ma joined the meeting and from the directors" reactions, a few of them held dissatisfaction with his sudden appearance. They were afraid if this cousin of their president would s.n.a.t.c.h their positions.

Ren could only laugh inwardly with their foolish a.s.sumption. After all, Tak.u.ma was here to be trained as the next leader of Fuse Corporation.

It was not a position they could dream of having easily.

"I know you"re not one to be disheartened with such foolishness, but be careful," Ren said after the meeting ended. He called Tak.u.ma to meet him inside his office. "Don"t let dirty politics stain your name."

Tak.u.ma shrugged, his gaze was nonchalant as he stared at Ren. "My experience in Europe has taught me a lot. If I could be easily crumbled under pressure, I don"t think you"d offer me this deal."

Ren curled up his lips. His dark eyes were layered with frost. His voice was so cold when he spoke again, "The biggest traitor has been exterminated. Pay your attention so this company wouldn"t be a place where rats hide."

Tak.u.ma nodded. He heard Mr. Sagara was waiting for the court trial. Even though all the evidence had been submitted but a trial would still be held. Without a doubt, Ren would put him behind bars for tens of years.

"Since I"m already here, when would you tell Grandma?" Tak.u.ma decided to forgo the topic of Mr. Sagara. He suddenly thought of the old lady. "Grandma would be furious if she knew it too late. And, have you told cousin-in-law? What did she say?"

Ren didn"t immediately answer. Grandma called earlier, asking him to come to the old house this weekend. Aunt Kasumi had arrived from the UK. Obviously the two ladies wanted to talk about the upcoming wedding.

"Tsubaki has known already, I told her the other day." His gaze landed at a photo frame placed on the right side of his office table. It was a photo of her, smiling so brightly under the sun. "Even though I haven"t filled her in with details, she said she"d support my decision."

"Wow~" Tak.u.ma whistled in amazement, he leaned his back against the couch he was sitting. One of his hand rested on the armrest while the other stuck inside his pant"s pocket. "One part is done since you"ve already told her. I wish you all the best when you meet Grandma later."

Ren answered with a nod. Tak.u.ma got off his seat. He spun on his heels and left the office. The st.u.r.dy doors closed behind him.

Ren continued doing his work even though Tak.u.ma"s words were repeating in his mind like broken radio. He needed to tell Grandma carefully and made sure she would agree with him. It would be hard or he would even get a rejection but there was no way he would give up.

Once his job was done, Ren got ready to leave. The sun had already set. He closed his laptop and gathered his belongings. He had already called Tsubaki and told her he was already heading her way. Just as he took a step toward the door, a ringtone rang in the air. Ren looked at his phone. He immediately swiped the answer b.u.t.ton.

"Yes?"

"I found another woman with surname Fujioka," Unlike his usual playfulness, Akashi went straight to the point this time. "It"s from an erased record. I"ve barely sc.r.a.ped the details left so far."

Ren"s brows knitted together as he heard him. His deep voice echoed quietly in the spa.r.s.e office unit. "An erased record? How did you find it?"

"Open your Inbox first."

Ren had just realized the e-mail Akashi had sent him. He let the call ongoing while he read the contents of the e-mail. It featured a few old photos, hardly recognizable. One of them showed a family of four. All of them dressed in yukatas.

"Is this the family you mentioned?" Ren continued the call after exiting the e-mail app. The old photos had really caught his interest.

"Yes," Akashi looked at the ceiling of his apartment, trying to find better words before telling his friend of his sudden findings. "Simply put, this family rose to nouveau riche status after their success in the mining field almost 3 decades ago. The husband and wife had a pair of children, both of them were female. I don"t know how did it happen but they went bankrupt and the family vanished suddenly. If the record was correct, their youngest daughter was called Masami."

"Do you think..." Ren trailed off, a possibility flashed in his mind.

"I couldn"t draw a conclusion yet but I found it weird because there are traces of their records being deliberately erased. I wonder if someone wanted to hide their existence." Akashi sighed heavily, he didn"t expect this matter to suddenly take a different turn. "Even though you want to focus on Nakamura Sumire since she is highly probably your wife"s mother, Fujioka Masami is suspicious too."

"It should be. Since they might be related, continue what you"re thinking of," Ren agreed with Akashi"s point. "Tsubaki said she"s ready to read the postcard. I"ll call you if there"s anything new."

"Alright. I hope there would be clues hidden in the postcard." Akashi hummed slightly. Then, he was reminded of something. His tone was jovial when he spoke again. "Oh ya! I heard from Toshiro that sister-in-law is expecting. Congrats!"

"Thank you," Ren was genuinely happy when he heard the congratulatory wishes. Just as a sense of happiness swelled inside his heart, the feeling faded slowly. A sigh suddenly escaped his lips. "I just hope she would have a happy and smooth pregnancy."

Akashi pursed his lips. The meaning behind Ren"s words was clear.

"Don"t worry," Akashi leaned back against his chair while crossing his legs. "I know you won"t let her feel unhappy."

Ren nodded. He hung up the phone.

Akashi"s words kept on playing inside his mind. As Tsubaki had told him, the daughter of President Esumi said she recognized the handwriting from the invitation cards her mother always got which meant the woman using the name of Fujioka Masami came from the high society. But, even after he investigated Mrs. Esumi"s circle of friends, there was no one with the name.

Unless it involved a woman from the past whom he hadn"t get to know about.

Ren stretched out his hand, he rubbed the place between his eyebrows as a wave of exhaustion hit him. Even though he appeared prim and proper in front of her, he knew he had almost reached his limits.

He shook his head. He could just rest at home. After straightening his back, he began walking to the door. Suddenly, his view turned blurry.
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Dak!

Ren almost stumbled, his long hands reached out for the couch he had just pa.s.sed. He slowly steadied himself as he leaned sideways against the couch for support.

"Ha... I"m done for..."

Ren placed the back of his hand on his forehead. It felt hotter than usual. He smiled. A hint of self-mockery glinted in his dark eyes.

He caught a fever.

Tsubaki was shocked when Hibiki was the one who came to pick her up. Ren said he would come, did he has something urgent to attend to?

"Madam," Hibiki respectfully greeted her once she exited the bakery.

"Where is he?" Tsubaki didn"t know why but she felt slightly uneasy.

"Master asked me to pick you up," Even though he felt conflicted lying to his Madam, he did it effortlessly when he remembered the warning from his Master. "Master has a sudden appointment. We should get going now."

"Oh... okay..."

In the car, Tsubaki looked at her phone. There was no message from him. It was so unlike Ren. If he couldn"t make it to her, he would always call or message her to notify the change of plan. She pressed his number. As she was waiting anxiously, the line was connected.

"Darling, are you busy?"

"No, sweetheart," Ren"s voice greeted her senses. His tone lost his usual l.u.s.ter and his heavy breath could be heard faintly through the earpiece.

Tsubaki frowned, she changed her question. "Are you okay?"

There was a long pause at the other end of the line. It was obvious he was thinking of something. Tsubaki unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt. She couldn"t hide the growing worry in her voice as she asked again.

"Are you okay?" Her voice was barely a whisper in the moving car.

"En... I"m not okay," Ren decided to be truthful. "I think I caught a fever. I"d go to meet Toshiro for a bit before returning home. Stay at home, will you?"

Tsubaki bit her lips. She recalled how listless he was last night. At first, Tsubaki wanted to say she would go to meet him in the hospital but after a second thought, she threw away the wish.

"Okay," Tsubaki closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. "I"ll return home. Be careful, darling. Call me if anything happens."

This time, she could hear the smile in his voice. "See you later, sweetheart."

After a second, the line was cut off,

Tsubaki took a deep breath as she leaned her back against the couch. She turned her head, looking at the view outside the windows. She was startled when he said he had a fever but when she thought back of the events of the few days before, she recalled the signs he tried to conceal from her.

She wanted to go and see him but it was clear he didn"t want to meet her in this moment. Knowing his reserved personality, it was already a big decision in his part to be truthful to her about his fever. If it was in the past, he would choose to hide it from her.

Tsubaki placed a palm over her tummy. A soft smile curled up on her face.

"Your Daddy is trying to stop being stubborn," She said quietly to the little bean inside her. Under the lights outside the windows, she smiled softly. "You"re lucky to have him as your Daddy, alright?"

The warmth inside her heart was overflowing and she knew she should be grateful to him.