Only yours

Teardrops of Gratitude

Massaru was already waiting for me, as instructed, when I exited the jet. "Take me to Ms. Tsukino," I said as I settled into the back seat.

A short while later, we stopped in front of Sato's office. So she was back at work. No matter, I needed to talk to her. Throughout the flight, I had been contemplating Kaori's words. Did she really care about me, or was I just a distraction for her? That was something I needed to find out. I looked out the car window at the building where she was.

There was no turning back. If I wanted answers, I had to go in and confront her now. I swung the office door open, and there she was. Next to her was a young woman with shoulder-length black hair. Usagi was dictating something to her when she suddenly looked up. With wide eyes, she stared at me in disbelief. I forced myself to stay calm and walked straight toward her.

I leaned on her desk and studied her closely. Dark circles adorned her delicate features, her arm was in a thick cast, a slight blush crept into her cheeks, yet she appeared shocked by my presence.

"Diamond. Um... Mr. Prince. How can I help you?" she managed to say after a moment. "Come with me. Now," I whispered to her.

I had no patience for this forced politeness, not after everything that had happened. The door to the small conference room was ajar, so I decided to use it for our conversation. I was already at the door when I noticed that Usagi was still whispering to the other woman.

"...Mr. Prince is... a bit special," she whispered, and a small grin crept onto my lips.

So I was special. Since Usagi still wasn't here, I cleared my throat and held the door open to signal my impatience. As soon as she hurried past me, I closed the door behind us. Usagi stood with her back to me, yet she didn't dare turn around. There was a strange tension between us. There was so much we needed to discuss. But where should I start?

"I'll take care of Saphir, I promise. He won't hurt you again, never again," I said, stepping closer to her, hoping it would give her a sense of security. Slowly, she turned around and searched for my gaze; her blue eyes clearly showed her fear.

"How are you going to do that?" she whispered quietly.

"Leave that to me. The main thing is that nothing happens to you. Haruka is waiting outside the building now. She'll keep an eye on you until all the problems are resolved."

"Who is Haruka?"

"Haruka is now your bodyguard, but don't worry, she's very discreet, and you probably wouldn't even notice she's there. I just thought you should know so that you feel safer."

I hadn't really wanted to mention Haruka, but I hoped it would comfort her to know that someone was watching out for her. I realized I was becoming a bit nervous. I could no longer put off this uncomfortable topic. I had resolved to approach it lightly and teasingly, so as not to corner her. Even though it was difficult, I forced myself to smile.

"I would be interested to know how many more men you have in your harem."

Usagi fell into a new state of shock and I could see from her face that she was not prepared for this topic. I stared down at her impatiently and waited for a reaction. "... no more," she mumbled quietly.

"So three guys at the same time? Hats off, I would never have believed you could do that." I couldn't help but let out an ironic undertone. Up until a few weeks ago, I wouldn't even have thought her capable of having another guy.

"None of this was planned... I just kind of slipped into it," she tried to explain.

I leaned against the door, my hands clenched into fists behind my back so she couldn't see them. "Slipped in, then?" What an interesting choice of words.

"Yes..." she mumbled and began to fiddle restlessly with her top. My presence and the questions seemed to make her nervous, which I took as a good sign.
"Do the other two know about me or about each other?" I probed further.
"Yes, since the hospital stay... but only about each other..." Usagi's voice was barely more than a whisper. That was interesting to know, so my counterparts knew about each other, but she could still keep me under wraps.

"So I'm still a secret? Let me guess... You didn't react as casually as I did," I asked teasingly, whereupon Usagi looked bashfully to the ground and shook her head.
I slowly realized that the tension in me was easing and walked towards her. A stray strand of hair hung in her face, which I carefully brushed behind her ear. My hand rested against her cheek for a moment, then I slowly lifted her head so that she could look me in the eye. She made a really hurt impression on me.

I leaned my head towards her ear and her sweet scent hit me. I would have loved to throw her on the table and take her, it had been too long since our last time. But I decided against it at the last moment, sex with her had put us in this position in the first place. That damn good sex, because of which I had broken my rules. But I had already undressed her in my mind.

"I'm going to go now. I still have some work to do," I whispered hurriedly. Before I could pounce on her, I preferred to put some distance between us. She first had to figure out what she wanted and so did I. Did I want to fight for her? Could I really expect her to do that?

I had already turned to leave when her delicate hands firmly grasped my wrist.

"Diamond, thank you for everything. Thank you for the bracelet, for keeping silent, for visiting me in the hospital. You have no idea how much all of this has meant to me." She spoke so quickly, as if afraid she wouldn't be able to continue after a pause, and I listened to her.

She was genuinely grateful; there were no accusations in her words. No blame regarding her accident. No bitterness or hatred towards my brother.

Then I noticed a glimmer in her eyes, and suddenly tears streamed down her cheeks. She stood there in front of me, crying. I had expected anything, but not this. I had absolutely no idea what to do now. Why was she crying all of a sudden? I hadn't done anything to her; I had even tried to be nice despite everything. Instinctively, I placed my hand on her shoulder. I could hardly bear her tears, so I pulled a tissue from my jacket pocket, which she accepted gratefully.

"Do you need anything else?" I asked, still slightly overwhelmed.

She dried her cheeks and blew her nose loudly. "No, it's all good. It's just still a lot all at once, and oh, I don't know." "It will be alright," I said, as nothing better came to mind. "Yes, somehow it will move forward," she said, finally with a firmer voice. I really needed to get out of here.

Seeing her cry unsettled me completely; I had never experienced anything like it. She shouldn't be crying, never again, especially not because of me. I gave her a brief kiss on the forehead, and before she could respond, I was already at the door. "We'll see each other, Usagi."

As quickly as my legs could carry me, I left the building.

"Take me home," I said curtly to Massaru, who had been waiting in the car. What was happening to me? It was as if my mind had shut down, but my body would have gladly taken her protectively in my arms. I was afraid of doing something wrong that would cause her to break down in tears again.

Once home, I stormed into my office. Since sex was still off the table, I chose work to distract myself. I sat at my desk and skimmed through the documents in front of me, but I couldn't concentrate. The image of Usagi, crying in front of me, was firmly etched in my mind. My attempts to analyze what had happened remained futile. I simply didn't understand what was going on with me.