CHAPTER 24: THE MAN AND THE WOMAN

“Pi…”

 The soft voice broke his thought making Yamapi startled. Slowly he turned around and became froze when he found out the person who followed him. Looking at the person right now made his heart squeezed painfully. In front of him, Nagasawa Masami was staring at him while clasping both of her hand tightly to her front. Seeing her made Yamapi swallowed hard inside his throat as his heart started to beat hard than usual.

                They stood on the floor, looking at each other for a few seconds. As he stared at her for a long time, the painful memories came along with it making Yamapi instantly ran his eyes to somewhere else. For him, it was too much painful….too painful for him to face. At the sight of the woman already stabbed his heart, making the wound within it became opened and raw. Noticing the silence between two of them made Masami initiated the conversation.

“How are you, Pi?” Masami’s soft voice went through his ears, directly through his heart. Yamapi bit his lips as he looked back at the woman. Right now, the beautiful woman that he always adored doesn’t seem to be pretty to him anymore.

“Does a heartbroken man that you betrayed look fine to you, Nagasawa san?” He mocked the woman making Masami flinched instantly. Guilty started to wear on her face as she gave him a helpless look. Even, Yamapi did not call her first name, showing how he wanted to distance their relationship between them.

“Pi…I…..” Before Masami could finish her words, Yamapi cut her words.

“Stop giving me your reasons. I have enough already with it.” He said the words sharply making Masami became silence at once. Indeed, if she was at Yamapi’s place, she too would do the same thing. However, her heart eagerly wanted to see him and talked to him, just like they used to be.

Unable to wait at that place made Yamapi turned around and strolled back toward the lift before he stopped back his track. Suddenly a thought came inside his mind, making him turned back. Looking at the short hair woman, Yamapi spoke again.

“ Anyhow Nagasawa san, congratulation for your engagement with Aoki san. You two make such a good couple.”

 The sarcastic words that Yamapi said stabbed through Masami’s heart. Instantly, her eyes became watery and it glazed with her tears. Without wasting anytime, he continued back his pace toward the elevator, trying his best not to notice the tears that filled within the woman’s eyes.

“I’m sorry….”

Masami whispered softly as she looked behind him, wishing the man could hear her apologize. Hoping with it the man could forgive her, for whatever she did. Still, the man did not stop his pace, and entered the elevator, leaving her alone in that hallway. At that moment, her knees felt extremely weak. Unable to support, slowly she kneeled on the floor, as her tears rushed out from her eyes. Clamping shut, Masami sobbed softly alone while both of her hands closed , trying to suppress the sounds from coming out. Too painful…..her heart had been too painful.

                Once the elevator door closed, Yamapi inhaled a deeper breath as he felt suffocated. How could he face the woman in the future when his heart still loving her? How could he do it? Lifting his gaze, he looked at his reflection on elevator’s wall. Yamapi shook his head as he knew it too well the man in the reflection. Why Pi? Why you still love her despite what she had done to you? Why Pi? Leaning against the wall, he looked up and sighed deeply. The sound of opened elevator broke his thought, waking him up to the reality.

                There, Yamapi realized that he reached the top floor. Walking outside of the elevator, he looked around and then his gaze stopped at someone. His dark eyes fixed on a woman who was standing at the rooftop, while looking on the sky. The strong breeze made her skirt flapping as her hair swayed softly. Unknowingly, a smile tugged on Yamapi’s lips. She still loves this place…..Yamapi mumbled alone within his heart. His long legs moved toward the door of the garden, as his eyes never leaved the woman. Inside his mind, various things came in and he was arranging words that he planned to say to her. Strange how he felt, just at the sight of the woman, made he forgot his encounter with Masami previously.

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“Yuya kun….can I get married?” Her question made the person at the end of the receiver became silence at once. Maki looked down on her laps, and knew immediately that her brother was shock.

“Yuya kun…..”

“What did you say, Mari chan? You…you want to get married?” Tegoshi’s wavered voice could be heard clearly. Even there is some panic and shock could be trace within his voice. Maki knew immediately that his brother was freaking out.

“Yes….” Calmly, she replied the man’s question despite of denying it. It was no used in calming his brother’s freakiness at that moment. Not when she needed him to help with her decision. Yuya became silence made Maki closed her eyes.

“Yuya kun….I….”

“Where are you, Mari chan? Where are you? I will meet you right now!!!” Tegoshi Yuya cut her sentence. Maki sighed deeply as she rolled her eyes.

“Listen first to me, Yuya kun. I……”

“Are you still in your company, Mari chan? Are you? Or are you at your home?” Maki became silence at once as she sighed deeply hearing the man’s pressure words on her. Feeling defeated with her brother, she just told him her location.

                Indeed, Tegoshi Yuya was very protective when it came to her. After the call ends, Yuya came running to his company as panic wear on his face. Once he reached her office, he looked at her with horror as he stood in front of her. Immediately, he touched her forehead, feeling the temperature.

“I’m not having fever….” Maki mumbled softly as she pulled his brother’s hands from her.

“Then….then…the marriage thing is….true?” Tegoshi asked her in horror.

‘Maki nodded while locking her big brown eyes with her brother. The man gasped and his mouth was slightly opened, as he tried to digest the truth for a few times, but still he did not get it. Pacing back and forth, Yuya mumbled alone, with Maki looked at him helplessly.

“Yuya kun….will you listen to me first?” Maki spoke again, trying to wake her brother to a real state. Tegoshi Yuya stopped his pace and stared at Maki.

“You are not joking, right?” Maki shook her head, and Tegoshi Yuya was totally freak out. Immediately the man stepped up as he questioned her non stops. Both of his hands hold her shoulders tightly as he shook it.

“Who are you going to marry? Why? Why you suddenly say you want to get married? Who force you? Is Mukai force you, pushing you? Is the man the one who propose you? If him, NO!!!! I WILL NOT AGREE!!! No!!!! Don’t you…”

“It is someone else!” Maki cut his sentences sharply. At that moment, Tegoshi Yuya froze. Inhaling deeper, she repeated again.

“It is someone else…..not him….” He was groaning, knowing that he had made the biggest mistake ever by bringing up the man’s name again.

“Go…gomen. Gomen Mari chan. I’m freaking out, really…I…I did not mean to bring up his name….”Yuya apologized immediately while raking his hair. Heaving a deeper breath, Tegoshi Yuya tried to calm himself and stared at his sister who stood in front of him.

“ Let’s have a talk Mari chan….” Yuya touched her hands and pulled her toward the nearest sofa. The woman just let her brother pulled her till they sat and looked between each other.

“Now, tell me about this; the marriage thing.” Maki bit her lower lips and looked down on her lap. Inside her heart, she knew her brother would feel extremely shock with her sudden decision. It was not a small decision either, it involved her life.

“Mari chan……” Yuya called her name once again making she lifted her gaze toward the man.

“Ne….Yuya kun, remember what I promised to Aoki Hiroshi five years ago?” Yuya rolled his eyes and widened his eyes in surprise.

“Ahh….you mean when…..”Maki nodded fast. her dried lips, she looked at him.

“I….promise to him that I will do whatever things that he want me to do…..” Yuya groaned deeply as he remembered it.

“And now….he asked for it? Like that?”Maki nodded fast.

“By marrying who?” Yuya asked abruptly. Maki looked at him as no answer came out from . Tegoshi Yuya widened his eyes and stood up.

“Don’t say he asked you to marry him? Aoki Hiroshi?”Yuya freaked out and his tone rose immediately.

“No….not marrying him….”Maki denied the accusation. With that answer, Yuya a relief breathe and sat back on his chair.

“Then….who?” He eyed back his sister. With that question, Maki looked hesitated at first before spoke again.

“I….don’t know….”Yuya raised his eyebrows showing how strange he felt about it. Maki swallowed hard as she clasped her hands tightly on her laps.

“I….I agree to it because….because I thought it is the best choice for me right now.”

 Yuya became silence and kept listening to her. Recently, Maki changed a little bit, and she did talk more rather than before. To listen to her voice, like he used to before, already made he felt happy for it. That’s why, when she called him telling about the marriage, he really freaked out. For him, she was still not fully cure. Although she might opened herself to him already, but still, deep inside him, he still knew that there were some part of her still unopened and remained shut. Focusing back, Yuya noticed there was something that she worried on her face.

“Before this, he…he already asked me about this….about marrying with his grandson. I….I refused.” Yuya folded his arms across his chest and looked at her.

“Then, why you agree this time? You are not easy to agree of anything, despite what you had promised to him, Mari chan. What is it that made you agree to it?”

“Because…..Aoki Hiroshi knew Mukai had found me.”Te