A Love I Shouldn't Feel
Chapter 264: The Path to Us ( 264 )

Chapter 264: The Path to Us ( 264 )

They stepped through the arrival gate at Okinawa Airport.

The air was warm and salty, a welcome breeze brushing past them.

Kyouko walked beside him, graceful as ever despite the fatigue behind her eyes—and the soft pout on her lips.

"Mou~ you really didn’t even let me rest..." she murmured under her breath.

Haruki smirked, pretending innocence as he rolled their small suitcase behind them. "What do you mean?"

She gave him a brief glare, then quickly looked away before others could see her flushed cheeks.

"You know what, Haruki..."

"Oh? You mean last night?" he leaned slightly closer, voice low and teasing. "That wasn’t my fault. You were the one being too delicious."

Kyouko gasped quietly, her eyes darting around. "Haruki! We’re in public—"

"I’m just telling the truth," he whispered again, lips near her ear. "You said we need to wake up early, but how am I supposed to sleep beside a goddess?"

She gently elbowed him, but her smile betrayed her.

"I’m sore... and I barely slept."

Haruki chuckled, slipping his fingers between hers. "Well... that’s what happens when you’re with me."

Kyouko sighed dramatically. "So you’ll never let me rest?"

"Not when the mood sets in," he said. "Especially when it’s you who set it."

Kyouko blushed, lips tugging into a quiet smile as they walked past the arrival hall.

"You really changed, huh?" Kyouko’s voice was soft.

Haruki turned to her, playing innocent. "Change? What change?"

She gave him a graceful smile, shaking her head slightly. "You never did this when you were with Satomi."

"Hmm? Who’s that again?" Haruki looked up at the sky, pretending to think. "Ah... I don’t recall anyone by that name."

"Mou~" Kyouko chuckled, nudging his arm.

He grinned, voice dropping. "She wasn’t tasty like you. Not perfect like you. Besides... she’s just a part of my past. I know she’s your daughter, but I don’t have a shred of feeling left for her."

Kyouko’s eyes narrowed slightly, amused. "I didn’t say you should think about her. I just wonder... when did you become this much of a beast?"

Haruki shrugged with a lazy smile. "I don’t know. Maybe it’s because of you? Or maybe..." he paused, his tone turning deeper, more honest, "...maybe it’s because I held everything back during my marriage with your daughter. I was dying inside. Starving."

She looked at him.

"And now... I finally found the perfect one. I won’t let this go to waste." His gaze locked onto hers. "If I think about it too long, I realize just how crazy I was to keep it all in before."

Kyouko looked away, trying to hide her blush. But inside, her heart fluttered.

While waiting by the curb for the taxi, Kyouko adjusted the brim of her sun hat and turned to him with a gentle smile.

"You’re going to meet my Father again after this, right?"

Haruki glanced at her and nodded, "Mm, yeah. But they’ve already accepted me, remember? We’ve gone on a trip together, I attended your father’s birthday before... and he even called me family back then."

Kyouko let out a small laugh, eyes sparkling. "That time, you were still their grandson-in-law, married to their granddaughter."

Haruki smirked and leaned slightly closer. "True. But I also remember clearly how your father joked about marrying me to you instead. He said if you were single, he’d force you to divorce Satoshi just to match me with you."

"Mou~" Kyouko nudged him gently, resting her head on his shoulder. "He really said that, didn’t he?"

"Yeah. He was laughing when he said it. But I remember thinking... I wouldn’t have minded if it came true."

Kyouko smiled faintly.

"I still remember the first time we met," she said quietly.

Haruki exhaled a soft chuckle. "Yeah. I was nervous... really nervous."

Kyouko didn’t respond immediately.

He exhaled. "Then me and satomi moved into your house, because Satomi insisted we stay near her and her father’s company. Living together with you and Satoshi... that was awkward."

Kyouko giggled. "Awkward?"

"I mean it. Living with your in-laws? I didn’t even know how to act around you. And then you walked out of the kitchen that first morning wearing that pale blue apron..."

"Oh, that old thing?" she smiled, cheeks slightly pink.

Haruki turned to her, his voice low.

"Even then... I noticed you. Not in a bad way, not a disrespectful way... but it happened. You were graceful. So calm. A kind of warmth I’d never seen before."

Kyouko glanced up at him with a wry smile. "And yet... that was the beginning, wasn’t it?"

Haruki nodded. "The beginning of something I never expected."

The taxi pulled up in the distance, slowing down with its signal on.

"I guess... destiny is a strange thing, huh?" she whispered.

Haruki gently took her hand.

"Yeah... and that destiny led me to the perfect woman. The one who now bears my child. And soon..." he glanced at her with a grin, "...will officially become my wife."

Kyouko’s smile deepened. The breeze lifted a few strands of her hair beneath the brim of her wide sun hat.

"Are you sure you won’t regret it?" she asked softly, looking at him with a knowing gaze.

Haruki turned to face her more fully.

"Regret for what?"

She tilted her head playfully. "I may look young, but I’m nearly twice your age. I’m 44 now... soon to be 45. You’re still only 26. Turning 27 next."

Haruki leaned in slightly, the corner of his mouth curling into a confident smirk.

"For me, age is just a number. If you want to talk about age or getting old... then let’s take a look at yourself. Or even your mother."

"Oh?" Kyouko raised her brows, amused. "You’re bringing my mother into this now?"

"Just facts." Haruki chuckled. "Your mother, Mrs. Hanako, is over 60 and still looks like she’s in her 40s. It runs in the family, doesn’t it?"

Kyouko laughed softly.

"And you," Haruki whispered, leaning closer to her ear, "you don’t just look too young for your age... You’re tight, delicious, and that smooth skin of yours..." He paused, his voice dipped lower, "Mmm... I love it. The taste."

Kyouko’s eyes widened for a second before she glanced away with a flustered smile, biting her lip.

"Mou~ don’t say that out here..." she whispered, voice barely audible.

Haruki chuckled.

The taxi finally pulled up in front of them, its blinker clicking in rhythm with the breeze. He opened the door for her like a gentleman.

"Shall we, my beautiful young-looking fiancée?"

Kyouko rolled her eyes, laughing, then slid into the seat gracefully. "Yes, darling. Let’s go meet my father."

( End Of Chapter )