Loveless (Book 1) [Completed]

Chapter 65.

QUEEN ROSA.

A lavish green meadow in the middle of the forest. A sparkling blue pond, reflecting the clear blue sky from above.

Two little kids perched up on a rock beside that pond. The younger girl's small, dark pigtails fluttering in the breeze, and the older boy's blazing blond hair glistening in the sunlight. His lustrous emerald eyes fixated on the girl's face.

"Say, Kyoko, when is your birthday?" Kuon asked out of curiosity.

"It's on December twenty-fifth, the same day as Christmas." Little Kyoko answered with a cheerful grin. "But the family I live with, they run an inn, and it's get pretty busy on Christmas day, so we celebrate it on December twenty-fourth."

"Isn't it a little sad though?" He wondered aloud. "That you never get to celebrate it on your actual birthday?"

"No, it's not. Compared to always being alone when I used to live with my mother, I get to have so much fun now, and I'm so grateful for that!"

But that was ten years ago. Yet Ren Tsuruga remembered it as clear as day. The beautiful memories he shared with that girl, the fun he used to have, and most of all, her radiant, beaming smile. Ten years, and yet that smile hadn't changed one bit. It was still the same...

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Wow!" Kyoko's excited squeal brought him back to the present. She started screaming like that after one glance at Moko's present. It turned out to be a make-up kit. She took out a heart-shaped bottle of lotion and examined it closely. "It's shape! And it sparkles! Wow!" In total fantasy mode, she hugged Moko for the hundredth time this evening and exclaimed, "I love it so much! I can never thank you enough for this!"

Moko smiled. Ren decided to leave the two best-friends alone, and give them some space, so he slipped away quietly.

Once he was alone, and standing a few paces away from Kyoko, Yashiro popped up with a wicked grin spreading on his face.

"Out with it now," Ren said, letting out a tired sigh. "No need to keep it in."

The manager, who had been watching the whole thing with Kyoko from the sidelines only allowed his grin to turn wider. "I didn't say anything."

"I know exactly what you're thinking. You were going to say something cruel like how I lost to Kotonami, weren't you?"

"Now now," Yashiro patted his shoulder sympathetically. "No need to get mad. I had been wondering what that rose was for when we were on the way. I suspected that it was for Maria, but you already had a present for her. Who would've thought that it was for Kyoko?" The evil glint in his eyes returned. "You went so far to wish her at midnight and give her a perfect birthday present she wouldn't refuse. Of course, if you had bought her anything expensive she would've returned it right then and there. So you couldn't go farther than a rose." Knowing Yashiro, Ren had seen it coming from the moment Moko showed up with a present.

As he stood there, he stared at Kyoko from afar. Apparently, the Taishos also knew about her birthday and they were also giving her a present. He had naively thought that he would be the only one who would remember it, but that didn't make him jealous. Infact, his heart sped when he saw that smile he so loved suffusing on Kyoko's lips. She was so overwhelmed with happiness that she was crying tears of joy, and it filled him with rapture.

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It was nearly twelve thirty when the President returned to the stage. After Maria and Kouki had their spectacular reunion, he had been with the two of them spending time with his family. He was so happy that the second phase of his plan almost slipped his mind. Almost.