Kimi no Shiawase wo Negatteita 3 (I Wish You Happiness 3)

Part 27

Shigure would bite into my protector every time we had sex, and the leather would soon become tattered. It became Shigure's job to replace it each time. It's not that I'm begging him, it's just that Shigure wants to prepare it himself.

Up until now, I've been choosing my own protectors based on the advice of my father and Raizo-san, but Shigure said that he wanted to choose a protector to protect my nape, so all the protectors I have now are gifts from Shigure.

For everyday use, I wanted something chic and sturdy, and for dates, I wanted something stylish like a choker. I've never had the idea of making a protector stand out, but the protectors Shigure prepares are so stylish that I'm sometimes confused.

I've always tried to choose the most inconspicuous protectors I could find, but Alpha seems to be concerned about the durability, feel, design, and other aspects of the protectors that adorn my neck, and he's given me so many that I now have quite a few. I'm like a collector.

Today, I'm going to attend a party with Shigure to show off my new engagement, and of course I'm wearing the protector that Shigure gave me. I didn't really want to use today's protector because the steel plate inside is twice as thick and heavy than the one I had, but Shigure specified this one. But it was heavy. My shoulders feel stiff.

As Shigure's fiancé, I've had more opportunities to accompany him to various places but taking an unmarked soulmate to a place where many people come and go is not very comfortable for Alpha Shigure, so he seems to be nervous about it. Maybe that's why he's so obsessed with my protector.

I'm glad to see that he cared for me so well, but I feel a bit sorry for him when I see him getting nervous. I think Shigure would be relieved if I were to be marked as the mate, but he's planning to hold out until the wedding. He seems to have a strong attachment to the idea of getting married first.

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As soon as I walked into the venue with Shigure, we were met with stares from all sides.

There's a word for it, "needle in a haystack," and that's exactly what happened. I might as well say "spear" instead of "needle. That's how hostile the gaze was. Of course, the target was not Shigure, but me. This gaze is making Shigure nervous.

It's envy and jealousy of me for winning to become Shigure's partner. The gaze that seems to contain even deeper hatred is piercing me like a thorn. Well, I'm accustomed to unpleasant stares, so I don't mind them too much. It's just that what used to be superiority and contempt has turned into envy and jealousy.

This is still a good thing, because the number of harmful harassments has decreased dramatically since I was published in an economic magazine. And there's another couple in the hall who are exposed to the needles of gazes that have a different meaning than the ones on me. Even if the meaning of the gaze is different, it's not good either way.

I dared to avoid their direction and followed Shigure's escort. Our eyes met for a moment, and I greeted him with just my eyes. I wonder how he feels when he sees them.

I looked up at Shigure's face as he walked next to me, but he had a perfect poker face, and I couldn't read any emotion in his thinly smiling face.

More than two years have already passed since then, but I wonder if the wounds in his heart have healed.

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

Even if the wounds had healed, there would still be many things to think about. It's not that I disliked him and left him, and it's not that I loved him in the past. It was not only Shigure, but the other person as well. I wondered if it was because I cared about her too much that she looked at me from a distance, from the side of her husband, as if she wanted to say something.