S C A N D A L

Chapter Thirty-Four

Her hands rested on the steering wheel as she stepped on the accelerator. Even as she comprehended the things that happened in slow motion, a violent rush of realization had flooded her whole being. Atsuko Seki, behind all the glamor she presented, was a miserable figure and she knew this herself.

For the moment, all the terror of the deeds had been done and she was now made aware that she had taken, possibly million dollars worth of jewels from her stepson. Shit, shit, shit! Why did she even agree with this in the first place? But during the plotting, Atsuko couldn't control her raging heart and rolling temper. She knew Naoki would soon step foot on the brakes and would give his ultimatum. She couldn't let that happen! She would lose all control of the estate at Ehime and even the bathhouse! Now, he wanted to sell the business to his son.

That Shiro...just what kind of God of Luck follows that country bumpkin? Since their fate intertwined, Atsuko had never felt smaller than she already was! She lived her whole life under the shadows of her sisters, who treated her like trash because she was her father's daughter to a mistress. They surrounded her with fine things but made sure to ingrain into her brain that everything she possessed and owned was borrowed, and soon she would have to return that favor.

Atsuko was never in love with Naoki. However, as time passed by, she was able to feel some sort of fondness for him. The attraction wasn't that strong but he was her ticket in leaving her dejected life behind. When she was still living in Tokyo, she harbored a scheme to find a handsome, rich man to sweep her off her feet. Unfortunately, searching for that perfect prince charming proved to be harder. They were all willing to make her their mistress but they weren't foolish enough to make her the master of the house. They weren't willing to be under her control.

When she met Shiro, the reminder of how small and fragile she was became stronger. This country bumpkin didn't graduate from a prestigious university. Never had the opportunity to own a luxury car or even clothe himself with the rarest of fabrics. But by Gad, he flashed that smile and suddenly the world was on his feet! What kind of enchantment did that young man possess? She thought that when he got married, she would soon be at peace. But her loathing grew even more when she found out that Shiro was engaged with Kurou Matsumoto.

The youngest heir of the Matsumoto household. She once had an opportunity to seduce him but Kurou's interest in her was as short as the skirt she had worn that night at the bar in a hope to catch his attention. Kurou didn't even look at her that night and only nodded and walked away with that equally snobbish secretary and driver-bodyguard. Even when she met him again, Kurou couldn't even recall meeting her, and she had to remind him of it which he merely shrugged.

Detached from her own thoughts, she almost swerved to the wrong lane and cursed once more. At length, other cars rushed in all around her, and she felt her vehicle was being slammed and twisted in all directions.

When the initial shock and uproar of an almost devastating crash was over, there was mostly silence. Well, except for the yell she received from the other driver, none of it could make sense to Atsuko at all. She was told to head straight to the back entrance of a drugstore. When she reached the venue, she felt a momentary respite but also constraint. The jewels were in the bag that she was carrying. So, she did everything that she could to look as normal as possible.

The guards must have been expecting her arrival because they didn't inspect her belongings. She was advised to use the elevator to the right. There was no one else there but her. As soon as she emerged from the underground basement, a woman wearing a fancy executive suit with her hair tied in a bun bowed low and ushered her further inside.

The room was small but it was neatly arranged with expensive furnishings. Atsuko found it amusing that something like this was hiding in the basement of a drugstore. It also served to be an exclusive bar, judging by the stage and the countertop filled with high-end drinks. At the moment, the whole place was empty and she was told to wait.