Chapter 56 - You knew how hard it was for her

Kiyohira reaches the hotel where Takeuchi Seiji is staying with his wife. Takeuchi Seiji is about to leave with his wife for dinner when Kiyohira appears at the door. He grabs Takeuchi Seiji's collar and shoves him inside.

"Why did you do that?" He asks him with a dangerous voice. "If you wanted to tell her, we could have found another way. How could you use the cruelest method to tell her?"

Takeuchi Seiji recognizes him with a glance. "You are Kamiyama Shintaro's eldest son."

"What are you doing?" Hamada Midori, Takeuchi's wife pushes Kiyohira away. "Honey, what's going on? I thought that we were going to have a talk with Rie. Where is she? What did you do this time?"

"Ha!" Kiyohira looks at Takeuchi's Wife with disbelief. "You don't know what your husband did?"

"What did he do?" Hamada Midori asks him. Kiyohira ignores her and turns to Takeuchi Seiji.

"Why did you force her to go to school when you knew that she was being bullied?" He curls his fingers into a fist. "You knew how hard it was for her."

"Being bullied?" Hamada Midori stares at Takeuchi Seiji. "You never told me that. You said that she was doing fine. You told me that she hated me and she didn't want to talk to me once."

"I don't understand why you care so much for that useless girl." Takeuchi Seiji has had enough of both of them. "Don't pretend in front of me. We have done enough. We gave a family name to an orphan. Even that Hitomi pretended to care about that girl until I asked her to choose between Kamiyama Shintaro and that girl. She still chose Shintaro over Rie. What was the point of raising that girl if she couldn't stop her mother from leaving me?"

Kiyohira steps back. "You hated her because she couldn't stop Kamiyama Hitomi from leaving you?"

"I thought that she would come back if she sees that Rie was in pain." Takeuchi Seiji falls on his knees and grabs his hair. "I waited for so long. I knew that Hitomi was keeping a watch on Rie. I even put a condition for our divorce. Hitomi couldn't take Rie with her or meet her after the divorce. If she did, I would reveal it to the world that Rie is adopted. Still, she left me. That Rie was disposable for that woman."

Hamada Midori watches her husband still crying for his ex-wife. She knew that he was in love with her. Why Rie? That girl did no mistake.

"You are proud of having revenge on a little girl for a woman who left you. Did you ever think of Rie as your daughter?" Hamada Midori slaps Seiji. "Was all the time that you spent with that child was a lie?"

Seiji can't meet his wife gaze. Pathetic. Kiyohira turns around and walks away.

"Wait." Hamada Midori chases him. "Where is Rie?"

"I can't tell you." He glares at the woman. "I won't give you another chance to hurt her."

"I need to talk to her." Hamada Midori breaks into tears. "I know about her mother. Please let me meet her once. She must learn about her father."

This woman knows about her birth parents. Even after days of investigation, he couldn't find a single clue regarding Rie's origins. Rie is not in the state to listen.

"Tell me." Kiyohira looks at the woman intently. "I will listen and decide when she must find out about her real parents."

***

"What are you doing here?" Yuhara Kozue freaks out when he sees Rie standing at the door. Her eyes are glued to the television screen. He turns off the TV. "You can't watch it."

"That was my father." She points at the black screen sluggishly. "No, I can't call him my father. He's not my father."

"T-T-T-THAT... " Yuhara Kozue can't take a step toward her or away from her. His c.h.e.s.t becomes tight when she walks into the room. He leans on the table for the support. "Leave."

"What I am missing?" She turns on the TV again. The news is repeated. Kamiyama Shintaro and Kamiyama Hitomi died. "I should have guessed that I am not their biological daughter. That makes sense."

Yuhara Kozue can only understand half of her murmurs. He makes a distance away from her. His gynophobia makes it difficult to share the same space with women. "Lady, can you leave the room?"

"Rie?" Ren is gasping for air. "I was looking for you everywhere. Come, I have brought the games. If you defeat me, I will buy -"

His eyes wander to the TV.

Rie looks at him with emotionless eyes. "Kamiyama Hitomi died in an accident. I am not their biological child. I tried to extort money from the Kamiyama family."

"Rie chan..." Ren rushes to her side. "Rie chan, that's a lie. Fake news. They are trying to spread rumors."

"I was just an adopted puppy who was abandoned when the owner had to move away," She whispers in a pained voice. A tear falls from her right eye. Her body becomes limp. Ren catches her before she falls to the ground. "Rie chan! Rie chan!"

***

"Does she remember now?" Kiyohira asks Umezaki Yushiro.

"She hasn't regained consciousness." Umezaki Yushiro sighs. "Wait for her to wake up."

Kiyohira will wait. He paces outside the room. After five minutes, he opens the door slightly. Ren is sitting beside Rie silently. He walks into the room to see her once. He will leave after a glance. Ren is startled when he sees him. Kiyohira puts his finger on his lips and mouths, "Silence."

He takes a seat beside Rie. She looks thinner than before. He holds that hand and plants a kiss on the back of her hand. "Rie, forgive me for my mistakes."

She opens her eyes and looks at him. Ren and Kiyohira are at loss for the words. She jerks his hand away and crawls away from him toward Ren. She looks at him with horror. "Did she send you to get me? You must be one of her men."

"Rie chan, nobody is here to..."

She doesn't listen to a single word and hides behind Ren. She clutches the back of his jacket and whispers, "She sent him. He is going to take me back to her."

Takeuchi Miwako. Kiyohira grits his teeth. She will pay for what she did to Rie.

Dr. Umezaki walks into the room. He sees Rie hiding behind Ren and looking fearfully at Kiyohira. He instantly figures what's going on. Both men are extremely stupid.

"Little one, he was sent by me." He smiles warmly at Rie and pats her hair. "He is my student. His name is Ichihara Kiyoshi."