Forced Marriage, True Love

24. Return

Mitsuha POV:

I smiled as I made myself a hot chocolate. It was a chilly Sunday morning, making me crave for something warm. However, I suddenly heard a loud crash followed by a loud cry, startling me. I quickly ran upstairs to the direction of the sound, which came from Taki's room. I burst open the door and saw Taki sitting on the floor in front of a broken photo frame, the glass scattered across the floor. Blood leaked from his left hand like a never-ending waterfall.

When Taki saw me, he looked surprised. However, I was even more surprised than he was, seeing his red, puffy eyes and tear-stained face. "Mitsuha?" Taki instantly got up and moved to a side, trying to cover up the mess on the floor and hid his hands behind his back. "Ah... haha. What a surprise. Good morning. It's quite cold, isn't it?" He asked, but I didn't listen to any of that. I simply strode over to him and pulled his injured hand forward, making him hiss slightly.

My eyes widened when I saw a deep gash run across his palm, with blood leaking from it. I pulled Taki along with me and made him sit on the bed. "Just sit here." I spoke. I walked over to my closet and pulled out the first-aid box. I couldn't believe he got hurt as soon as he was discharged from the hospital.

Thinking of that, I couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "What's wrong?" Taki asked, making me slap my cheeks. That was truly rude. Taki was crying, but here I was laughing. 'So rude!' I chided myself. "I just didn't think Tachibana-san would be this clumsy." I said as I sat next to him with a first aid box.

I took out a cotton and dabbed it with an antiseptic before I gently wiped away the blood on his wound. Taki hissed in pain, making me stop momentarily. "Please endure it for a while." I spoke. I then raised his hand and gently blew on the wound, trying to ease the burning before gently dabbing it with the antiseptic again.

After disinfecting the wound, I took a bandage from the box and wrapped it around his wound neatly. "Does it still hurt?" I asked. "No." He replied with a slight blush, making me smile. I got up to collect the glass pieces when Taki stopped me. "Don't, you'll get hurt." He said. "I'm not clumsy like you, Tachibana-san." I replied, making him smirk. "Oh really?"

I smirked back at him and lifted the photo, touching it on the process, making me pause. Why does it feel like there was a gap between the photo and the frame? I looked down and gasped. It was a picture of Taki with Tsukasa, Miki and another young man, who was without a doubt Shinta Takagi, Taki's late friend.

That was when reality struck me like lightning. "Taki... is today... Shinta Takagi's...." I trailed off, unable to complete the sentence. "It's okay. It's not your fault." Taki said as he looked at me. "I'm sorry." I apologized. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault." He repeated. I looked at him and realised he was shaking. Tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes, although he kept a smile on his face for my sake.

I walked up to him and hugged him, stunning him in the process. "It's not your fault either." I said, while rubbing his back, trying to comfort him. Although Taki hugged me back, I could feel a distance between us. "You're wrong Mitsuha. It is my fault. It's all my fault. If I had noticed sooner that Miki was only using Tsukasa, he would've lived. And Tsukasa would've been happy here in Japan." He shivered in my arms, making me gently rub his back and pat it over and over again.

"Sh... sh... Taki don't blame yourself too much. You never knew Miki was such a scheming woman." I said as I moved away from him. "By the way, I think there's something inside this frame. There's a gap between the photo and the frame." I said, making him look at me questioningly before taking the frame from my hands.

Taki opened the frame, making the photo and a folded white paper fall out of it. "This is..." Taki picked up both the photo and the letter. He placed the photo on the bedside drawer and opened the letter to read. I knew it wouldn't be good to invade in his privacy and read his letter, so I moved away. However, Taki pulled me back, begging me with his eyes.