Trust
Our Second ChanceA/N: OKAY. I always say that each chapter will be super long but beware this time: This is now officially the longest chapter I have written by far!
--
That night was one of the longest nights they've had together. The sleeping arrangements still went as planned with Rio and Ryosuke in one room, Amu and Daiki in the other, and Yuto and Chinen in the last. However, the atmosphere was no longer as light as before. Instead, everyone fell asleep with a teremendous amount of weight in their hearts.
-- Earlier Before --
Yuto paused in front of the door hearing faint sobs coming from behind. After knocking on it softly, the sounds seemed to have quieted down and within the next few seconds Rio opened the door. "Thank heavens it's just you, Yuto." She said, her voice a bit hoarse by now. She made her way back into the room and the latter stepped in, closing the door behind him.
"Ryosuke was afraid of you being alone so he wanted me to check on you." He explained, tucking his hands in his pockets.
"Thanks, but you really didn't have to- I'm perfectly fine."
"It doesn't look like you are." Yuto chuckled softly, pointing to her complexion.
Rio smiled back. "I guess you're right. I look like an absolute mess right now, don't I?"
"After hearing all that, I'd be too honestly.. But just remember that we don't know anything for sure yet. Mariya and Rei told us something that I think you should know but I want to wait a bit until your mind clears up a bit" Yuto said, pausing to espressively think. "Hmm, want to go grab icecream somewhere and chat about it there?"
"Ice-cream does sound good." Rio agreed, finding herself smiling. "But my treat- since you paid for the last one."
"Of course your highness." Yuto playfully bowed before the two made their way down to the hotel lobby.
-- Meanwhile --
Rei took one last glance at her phone and smiled, tucking it away in her bag. She then opened the doors and found Daiki exactly where she wanted him to be. "Ehh? Dai-chan?" She uttered in a surprised voice, capturing the boy's attention.
"Rei? What are you doing here?" Daiki asked.
"I was on my way back to your hotel room but the elevator took too long so I decided to climb the stairs instead." She explained, sitting down next to him on "Did something happen between you and Amu? She seemed super infuriated when she got back."
"Infuriated?" Daiki asked, raising an eyebrow. "That doesn't seem like her.."
"That's what I thought too! She was insulting me here and there that I had no other choice but to defend myself. I'm so glad Chinen was there to stop the tension between us. Speaking of which, they still seem to be rather close since the last time I bumped into them."
"Last time?" Daiki asked raising an eyebrow. He knew that this was probably a topic he shouldn't be diving into but he had to know.
"Hmm, I think it was a month ago to be exact. I was out running errands when I bumped into them at a park in the middle of the night. They were strolling down the block holding hands and at one point I think they were parting for the day so they kissed."
"That can't be. The both of them said..."
"Dai-chan, you're still as gullible as ever..." Rei interuppted, sighing heavily as she lowered her voice. "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe they told you that to make you feel more at ease?"
Daiki paused before shaking his head. "That's my fiancee and childhood friend that you're talking about."
"I know but doesn't that make the betrayal all the worse? That's why I really hope it wasn't the two of them I saw that night."
"I'm sure it wasn't." Daiki said, lowering his eyes before setting his gaze on his watch. "Crap, I have to get back. I promised Amu that I'll be back in 10 minutes and it's already been 15." He said, wincing as he stood up.
"Here, let me help you." Rei said, offering a hand. As soon as he took it, she placed her other hand on his hood and while pulling him up, she pulled the tracker from out of his hood and slid it down her sleeve.
"Thanks."
"Of course." Rei smiled. "In my opinion though, don't you think that right now is a bad time to go back? Your mind isn't clear and you definitely don't want to over react if you see those two together."
Daiki paused. "You may be actually right for once but I already made a promise."
"Sometimes promises can be broken if there is a good intent behind it. Just let her know that you need a bit more time. I'm sure she'll understand. Want to go to the bar and get a drink? It's on me."
Daiki hesitated but finally sighed. "Okay, one drink. Just give me a minute to text the group."
"Take your time!" Rei assured him, smiling confidently.
-- Meanwhile --
"Oh you're early!" Mariya whispered to him, lowering her sunglasses.
Ryosuke paused in his tracks to roll his eyes. Somehow, seeing her this happy considering the situation he was in angered him a little.
"Hi, do you have any private tables available?" Ryosuke asked, proceeding towards the front attendant.
"Good evening! Yes, we have them in the back. However, those are reserved for customers looking to have our platinum meal set."
"Platinum?" The latter replied, raising an eyebrow. "How much would that cost us in total?"
"For two people, that will be 50,000 yen."
Ryosuke winced in silence at the cost of the meal. Although he would still be able to afford it, he wished he could be taking Rio here instead of Mariya.
"We'll take it."
After the waiter had led them to their seats in an enclosed room, Mariya and Ryosuke finally took off their disguises and made themselves comfortable around the table. Mariya was beyond astonished by the interior decorations of the room and decided to admire it.
"This is the first time I'm having a meal this expensive... I'm flattered." She informed him before taking a quick glance at Ryosuke's expression. Yet to her dismay, her smile immediately disappeared when he announced that he wasn't here for her.
"I hope you remember that I'm only doing this because of my request to you." Ryosuke firmly asserted.
Mariya nodded and sighed. "Of course." She said before pulling her phone out. After tapping on a few buttons here and there, she raised her phone to her ear.
"Ahh Satoko? I'm here with Ryosuke. He wants to speak with you..." She said before pausing to hear her reply.
"..About the baby...." Mariya answered. "Here.."
Ryosuke hesitated before taking the phone into his own hands. He took a deep breath and then reached for the phone.
"Satoko?" He called, feeling his heart racing out of his chest.
"Hi Ryo." Satoko replied, her tone much softer than usual.
"Listen, I'm about to get married to someone I really really love in a couple of months. Yet today we heard news that completely devastated us. So I need you to be honest with me.. Are you really pregnant?"
A couple of seconds in silence passed between the two until Satoko finally decided to answer. "Yeah." She said, her tone sounding serious enough for her not to be lying.
Ryosuke took another deep breath before leaning forward in his seat. "Who's the father?" He asked, feeling his throat tighten. He closed his eyes and hoped for the answer he wanted- that it wasn't him. However all of his hopes immediately vanished when Satoko replied back.
"It's you, Ryosuke."
"Can-" The boy paused, struggling to get his next sentence out. "Can you get a paternity test? I'll give you everthing you need on my end.. I just need to make sure."
"Are you crazy? Paternity tests aren't private. Researchers will review them- are you really risking to destroy your image for the sake of being 100% sure?"
"It's a small price to pay for an assurance of Rio's happiness."
"You've gone absolutely insane. My image has already been tainted and there's no way I'm going to ruin it more. Sorry, Ryosuke but this test isn't happening. I also don't want you contacting me again. If you do then I'm going to file a restraining order against you. You may be the child's father but you definitely won't be in their life."
Before Ryosuke was able to respond back to her, she hung up immediately.
"I'm assuming that it didn't seem to go too well?" Mariya asked before being ignored completely by him.
All that went through Ryosuke's mind was Rio-
-and he didn't know how he was going to tell her about all of this.
-- Meanwhile --
"So, Yuto and Rio went out for icecream, Ryosuke and Mariya are having dinner, and Daiki and Rei are conversing at the bar?" Chinen furrowed his eyebrows after reading the group's Line chat.
Chinen glanced up from his phone at Amu who seemed bummed out. She held a cushion close to her chest as she crawled into a ball on the couch.
"Amu-chan, are you okay there?"
"Chii, I think lying to Dai-chan about us having never kissed was a bad idea." The girl rep
Comments