Heart of Stone (The Suzuhara Family 3) ✅

Chapter Thirteen

The tension was thick in the air. Rensei and Gaya were dressed in their best clothes. They looked slightly out of place in the Saitō family apartment.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," Keon said, her tone respectful but slightly cold. She served iced tea for Itsuki's parents. "We'll give you our living room to talk."

"We apologize for inconveniencing you with our family drama, Saitō-san," Rensei said in a forcefully respectful tone.

"There is no inconvenience at all," Osamu said. "But we understand that you need to talk with your son. As one father to another...I ask that you show patience and understanding with Kiminiro-kun, Kiminiro-san. He needs help, not scorn."

"We know," Gaya said quietly.

They were given the living room. Rensei and Gaya sat on the couch but Itsuki leaned against the opposite wall near the television. Kiminobu wanted to stay, but Osamu and Keon made him leave. He gave Itsuki's parents a slight dirty look as he retreated to his room, something that Rensei didn't notice.

"So," Itsuki said, idly holding a glass of iced tea. "What did you both want to talk about?"

"I'm sorry," Gaya said quickly, meeting his gaze. There was pain in her eyes. "I-I...I didn't mean what I said last night. I didn't mean to reject you, Itsuki."

Itsuki shrugged. "If you don't accept my being gay, that's fine. I'm not going to force you to accept me for who I am."

"I was surprised," Itsuki," Gaya said forcefully. "I have been so worried about you. You—You have changed so much in such a short period of time, Itsuki. And you wouldn't tell us what was wrong. How were we supposed to truly help you if we didn't know the truth?"

"So you decided to ship me off abroad to marry a stranger."

"We didn't know that this drama was caused by a—breakup," Rensei said, though he shifted with discomfort. "We didn't realize that you had been...involved, with Koryu Noda. But...But both Mamoru and Shinji have given us further information last night about the true nature of this boy, and..."

"I didn't know that he had hurt you so badly, Itsuki," Gaya whispered. "For you to have had a reaction like that...trying to run him over with your car—"

"I didn't," Itsuki said. "I-I—I can't explain what I was doing, because I don't know. B-But he—Noda, he loved that Porsche™️. It's probably the only thing he loved in this world other than himself." He laughed mirthlessly. "I wanted him to hurt. Like he had hurt me."

Tears burned his eyes once more and he clenched his hand around the glass. He looked at Rensei and Gaya. "I loved him," he whispered harshly. "I really loved him. Mom, Dad...do you understand that? I-I didn't even realize that I was gay until I fell for him. And he..." he clenched his jaw and the glass tighter.

"Yes," Rensei said. "Mamoru...he said there had been ongoing issues related to Koryu Noda regarding this. You were not the first."

"And I won't be the last," Itsuki said bitterly.

"We have also spoken to Noda's parents before we came here," Gaya said, fidgeting a little. "Between this revelation, and the audio we sent them...they want this scandal to go away as quickly as possible. They cut the settlement in half in exchange for us not going to the police. And they have said they will ensure that Koryu Noda never bothers you again."

"Fantastic," Itsuki said sarcastically. "But I didn't run away last night because of Koryu Noda. I ran away because of you two."

Rensei quickly stood up. Itsuki flinched back, but he sucked in a sharp breath of shock when he saw the pain in his father's face. "I won't send you away, Itsuki," he said. "And I...when I told you that you were a disgrace, I—I realized that I was turning into my own father."