Corpse Bride || Haitani Brothers/OC

32 - Haitani Ran (ii.)

Ran had his arm wrapped around her waist, giving Hikari less chances to breathe properly. her body was hyperaware of their distance that seemed to have been reduced; something ultimately new in the days they've been apart.

she forced herself to smile at the different people Ran politely introduced her to.

"you two look stunning, dear," a woman in her forties says.

Ran smiled at her. "we hear that a lot."

"my husband and I never thought you would settle down."

"why's that?" Hikari asks her, "it must be because he is a womanizer. was."

the man beside her gave her an almost amused look, raising a brow at her remark. Hikari just smiled dubiously at him.

"oh you have no idea, my husband and I have five daughters and—"

Ran cleared his throat, slightly ushering Hikari away but of course the girl stood her ground. she wanted to hear more of what exactly Ran was like before they met, or even after—she doesn't know. perhaps she was searching for pieces of this Ran she didn't know, so she could compare him to the man in him that she lost.

"Hikari hasn't eaten yet, if you'll excuse us," Ran kindly says, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"no, it's fine, it's fine. tell me more."

"Hikari—"

"a good husband knows when to shut up," she cuts him off, making the old woman laugh.

the said woman was the wife of the hotel's owner, the all too powerful yakuza who had been born into a life of crime and fortune. Ran was close to them, seemingly so, as he made it his agenda years ago to secure Bonten's good-willed connections.

however this woman was testing his patience, he didn't want Hikari getting a glimpse of what kind of man he was more than she already had.

"my husband and I were so stressed about it really, imagine, our daughters who we've raised like flowers—gave them everything they wanted, lived like princesses. just imagine them almost killing each other because of your husband."

"really?" Hikari muses, her eyes darting from the woman to Ran.

he looked away.

"oh they begged their father to set them up for a marriage with Ran. our youngest went so far as to say Ran got her pregnant."

"did you?" Hikari tugs at his arm so he'd look at her.

"I honestly forgot, it was years ago."

"Ran, you realize you might have a child out there," she says incredulously.

"oh don't worry dear, our youngest was lying. they all just wanted Ran that bad. we begged him of course to marry one of them to finally get them to shut up, but oh he says he would never marry."

there was a slight spark in Ran's eyes as he chuckled, as if the end of her tale actually pleased him.

"I didn't believe love to exist."

"and what made you change your mind, dear?"

"Hikari," he says, leaning his cheek on the side of her head.

Hikari felt heat rush up to her face. an act, she reminds herself. if he loved you he'd never cheat.

but what if he never cheated at all?

"it was a pleasure talking to you, Mrs. Sato, enjoy the rest of your evening," Ran dismisses, nodding slightly.

"oh the pleasure is all mine. Hikari, dear, you are lovely. just lovely, I understand why Ran had changed."