Globetrotter Ingrid gets a fabulous fresh start when her job takes her to Melbourne, Australia. Here she meets wise and sweet Oliver, who makes her forget she doesn't have a heart.
This successful stability prompts Ingrid to accept an invitation to...
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December, 2018
Hitoshi didn't go into the office for the rest of the week, though he did have a number of work meetings at home. Ingrid was never allowed to assist or leave the house on her own. In typical Hitoshi fashion, he showered her with physical adoration in exchange, which failed to alleviate her mounting anxiety that a hidden sniper might shoot her head off while she was brushing her teeth.
It all came to a head on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, when an unforeseen knock resounded at the door. Hitoshi tensed up beside Ingrid on the sofa as they were watching a film after lunch.
"I take it you weren't expecting meetings today?" Ingrid asked.
Hitoshi didn't reply. He grabbed the remote to turn down the volume. Their surprise visitor knocked again, then rang the doorbell.
"Wait in the bedroom," he told her, shadows of fury and fear dancing across his face.
Ingrid retreated soundlessly. All her senses jumped to high alert, attuned to her racing heartbeat. What would she do if Hitoshi got overpowered? Or worse, killed? She checked for Ayame's number in the mobile phone Hitoshi had given to her. Though before she had a chance to send off a warning text, Ingrid heard an elderly female voice in the living room. Hitoshi talked back, sounding annoyed more than anything. Then he called for Ingrid.
She bristled. Hitoshi called her name again, closing in. The sound of his footsteps preceded a gentle knock on the bedroom door.
"It's okay," he said, "it's just my mum. You can come out, she wants to see you."
Ingrid gulped.
He tried the door and peeked in with a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry I scared you. But I promise it's fine, she just brought food."
"Uh..." Ingrid shook her head, blinking off her shock.
"Come on," he whispered before she could fully recover, holding out his hand.
Ingrid mindlessly took it and followed Hitoshi into the living room. Kyoko Nakamura wore a stylish suit and a kindly countenance as she stood beside the stack of bento-like food boxes on the kitchen island.
"Konnichiwa," Ingrid greeted, bobbing her head slightly.
Hitoshi put an arm around her shoulders, and the old woman walked over to take Ingrid's hands in hers. Ingrid hoped her counterfeit smile conveyed the appropriate amount of bashfulness required by such a gesture. Kyoko didn't seem bothered. Instead, her maternally kind expression strengthened as she began to speak slowly, in Japanese.
A translation should have followed, Ingrid supposed, though Hitoshi hesitated to provide it. Ingrid raised expectant eyebrows at him. Kyoko egged him on, too. Hitoshi inhaled a deep breath.
"She, uh... She's saying that... She's very grateful that you love me and..." His eyes darted to the carpet. "And she is very sorry about... the baby."
Hitoshi gulped under Ingrid's sharpening stare. His mum kept speaking, and he struggled to keep up.
