Lover's lips

Four months later...

He was driving his car at high speed, wondering why he had done all that; he didn't need it. He had his own businesses, his own assets earned with his own efforts, but he knew that didn't compare to the fortune his cousin had left in the hands of that girl. He smiled as he pressed his foot on the accelerator.

He took the main road, not wanting to go back home. He didn't want to see Tori, didn't want to look her in the face, especially after sharing intimacy with another girl... No, he was sure she would forgive him for everything except that. Just remembering what had just happened made his skin crawl.

He needed a shower, maybe a couple of drinks, or possibly to get into another woman's bed, something to rid himself of the strange sensation on his skin when he recalled the girl's caresses and kisses. He stopped in front of the entrance gate of a luxurious building.

He searched his pocket for his cell phone. His cold and calculating face twisted in anger. The idea of leaving it at the girl's place was unpleasant to him. It meant he would have to go back there to retrieve it, meant he would have to see her again and pretend something he didn't feel. He was getting tired of pretending. He approached the gate and pressed a button several times. After a while, a drowsy voice answered.

"Hello?..."

"You idiot. It's me..."

"Yuki? What the hell are you doing here at this hour? I thought you would stay to watch the sunrise with your lover..."

"Shut up, idiot." He immediately interrupted. "Let me in, I need a drink..."

He entered the apartment where a man sitting on the couch was waiting for him with a couple of drinks served.

"Good old Ankit is always ready to listen to the empty-headed Yukio..." he joked, but when he saw the expression on Yukio's face, he fell silent and offered him the glass filled with liquor.

Yukio drank it all in one gulp. He took a seat and took a deep breath.

"How was it?" Ankit looked at him curiously as he poured another drink.

"Horrible... I don't think I can do that again. Girls like her are not my thing, and you know it..."

"That's why I told you we should hire a professional, but you insisted that fewer people involved would be better," replied Ankit, running his hand through his reddish hair. "Well, sleeping with the girl once or twice doesn't make you more or less of a man..."

"It's not that... It's just that everything was so different..." Yukio poured himself another drink. "I don't want to see her again."

"No, that's not an option. If you break her heart, we're screwed." The seriousness on his face became evident in an instant. "I don't care what you have to do to continue the game, at least until she gives us the codes... After all, she's madly in love with you."

"Ankit," he called him with that masculine voice that captivated his interlocutor's gaze. "I've been thinking, I think we can solve this crisis on our own. We don't need to continue with this plan..."

"But what are you saying? We're almost bankrupt. Our fashion business was doing well, but your family's excessive expenses and your brother's bad investments are leaving us without money. The banks will start seizing our assets soon..."

"I know... but there must be another way... Things with Tori are going well. Maybe I can borrow some money from her family and..."

"Do you think Tori's old man will allow his beautiful flower to marry someone on the verge of bankruptcy? That crazy old man probably already knows our situation..."

"You blame me and my family for wasting the money, but you haven't done anything except complain, you've done nothing..."

"Isn't that enough? I have to put up with that unbearable old woman just so she can give me small sums that barely keep the business afloat..."

"You complain about nothing. Old woman, I'm the one doing all the dirty work... I had to let that brat touch me, you have no idea how disgusting it was!"

"Disgusting or not, there's no other way!"

"There's always another way!"

"You were the one who suggested using the girl... Don't complain, after all, your affair stays within the family..." he yelled angrily. "You're lucky that even after everything that happened, I'm still on your side..."

"Ankit," he called him subtly. "Forgive me... It's just that... this matter has me overwhelmed..."

Four months ago...

"It's small... very small..." The woman sat in one of the antique chairs that decorated the apartment. "I'm going to miss the mansion."

"There's no rush, mother. You'll return to it soon," replied the brunette, trying to cheer her up.

The apartment-suite was a small, single-story apartment located on the penultimate floor of the Saint Marie Hotel. It was furnished with somewhat old-fashioned but tasteful furniture. It was somewhat uncomfortable for the Tanarro family to be in that place. After all, Kai had lived there for the last two years before being admitted to the clinic for health reasons. There were only two large bedrooms in the small space, a small living room for receiving guests, a single bathroom, and a small kitchen.

"This is a pigsty," the woman retorted, arranging her suitcases in one of the rooms. "It's an apartment for a bachelor, not for a family like ours."

"Maybe it's just for you. After all, the insensitive Kai was very emphatic in writing that Yukio and I are grown enough to fend for ourselves," Ysuke opened the other door, revealing a simple room. "Well, it looks like we'll have to share it."

And so they did, at least for that night, because at dawn, Yukio emerged wrapped in his blanket and made his way to the living room, where he settled on the sofa. His mother woke him up shortly after.

"We need to do something, mother!" His face looked tired; it was clear that he hadn't slept well.

"Don't worry, we'll soon recover our money and the mansion..."

"No, I'm not talking about that," Yukio replied. "I'm talking about Yuselso. He's a living nightmare. He smokes in the bedroom, drinks alcohol, talks on the phone all the time, and on top of that, he snores and is messy... I can't stand it... How could you father a son like him?"

That morning, he arrived at the corporate tower very early, entered his office, and started going through the documents that were there.

"Good morning, sir, Mr. President!" Ankit greeted him as he appeared at the door. "Ready to take over the main office?"

"Not at all," he replied without lifting his gaze from his papers.

"Did we wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Ankit asked while pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Sorry, I haven't told you... My dear cousin has left me high and dry."

"What?..." The surprise made him leave the coffee on the table and approach Yukio, looking directly into his eyes. "Is this a joke?"

"No," Yukio leaned back against the backrest of his chair and explained what had happened to his friend. "In conclusion, I'm not the president, I don't have extra money, and my mother and brother are driving me crazy."

"Well, after all, the other day you said you were fed up and that it was time to make your own way... I don't understand why it bothers you that Kai didn't leave you anything."

"Yes, but that requires capital, and the truth is, I don't have enough at the moment. If only that scoundrel had left me a significant amount, I wouldn't have any problem..."

Four months later...

She lay in bed, hugging herself, not wanting to believe what she had just read. She thought Yukio's feelings were sincere, or at least that's what he had shown her that night. Maybe it was a tasteless joke, she thought of Yuselso, her annoying cousin, perhaps he was behind it all. But something inside her told her it wasn't the case. Lost in her thoughts, she remembered every caress from the brunette the night before. Her colorful strands hid her face and her teary eyes when the old butler entered the room.

"Are you feeling alright, miss?" he asked affectionately. "Sorry for intruding, I knocked on your door but you didn't respond... Are you hungover? Well, you came in late last night and..."

"I'm fine, Michael. Did anyone call?"

"Yes, a few hours ago, young Yukio called for you..."

Her eyes sparkled intensely; after all, the brunette had cared enough to call her. She hugged her lover's cellphone as she looked inquisitively at her butler.

"Why didn't you wake me up, Michael?"

"I tried, but you didn't respond... Young Yukio said he would wait for you at the usual restaurant for lunch..."

"What time is it?"

"It's almost twelve, miss..."

She didn't have much time. She opened the closet and dressed in the first things she found. Obviously, nothing matched. Michael tried to help her choose something better, but the girl insisted that she didn't have time for that and that it was already too late for the appointment.

She put the cellphone in her pocket and rushed out to meet Yukio. She needed to clear her doubts, she wanted to hear the truth from her lover's lips.