An Arranged Marriage//(GIYUSANE)

Chapter 30|| 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐘

The sterile white walls of the hospital room seemed to amplify the silence. Kyogo stood by the window, his gaze fixed on the cityscape beyond, his face a mask of stoicism.

Shizu, his wife, sat beside Sanemi's bed, her hand gently resting on her son's.  She looked up as the doctor, a young woman with kind eyes, entered the room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Shinazugawa," the doctor greeted them, her voice soft and reassuring.  "I'm Sanemi's attending physician."

Shizu nodded, her voice a quiet tremor.  "How is he?"

The doctor smiled gently.  "He's stable.  His vitals are good, and he's responding to stimuli.  He's still in a coma, but we're hopeful he'll wake up soon."

Shizu nodded, her heart heavy with worry but her resolve strong.  She looked at Sanemi, her son lying peacefully, his face pale but serene.

The doctor finally went out of the room leaving the two of them.

"He needs to wake up sooner, he still needs to learn something," Kyogo said.

"Will you stop talking about that for a moment? He's in serious condition... please," she pleaded, a single tear dropping from her eye.

Kyogo fell silent for a moment, and looked at the phone in his hand.

"Everything will be okay," he said as he opened Sanemi's phone.

"After he wakes up, he would have a different life for sure."

_____________

GIYUU POV

A week had passed since Sanemi left the country, a week filled with an unsettling silence. I had told him to message me, to let me know he was safe, but his phone remained stubbornly silent. I couldn't join him sooner, but I would, I promised myself, as soon as I could.

His friends, the ones who had become my friends too, were just as clueless. They hadn't heard from him either.

I tried calling his parents, his siblings, but they wouldn't answer. When I went to his house, it was empty. I had thought Sanemi was the only one leaving, but his family was gone too.

A cold knot of unease tightened in my stomach. Where could they all be? What had happened?

Worry clung to me like a shroud, a heavy weight that pressed down on my chest. I hoped Sanemi was alright. This feeling, this gnawing anxiety, was unfamiliar, unsettling.

I went downstairs, needing something, anything, to distract myself. I headed for the refrigerator, hoping a glass of water might soothe the churning in my stomach.

As I opened the fridge, I grabbed a bottle of water, then a cup. I poured the water, but in a moment of absent-minded panic, the cup slipped from my grasp. It shattered against the tile floor, sending shards flying.

Instinctively, I reached for the broken glass, my hand instinctively trying to pick up the pieces. But it was too late. A sharp shard sliced through my finger, drawing a thin line of blood.

"shit"

__________

Weeks had bled into each other, the worry in my chest a constant, oppressive weight. Something was terribly wrong.

Sanemi hadn't called, hadn't messaged, hadn't given any sign of life for three long weeks. I wanted to go to him, to find him, but I had no leads, no idea where to even begin.

His friends, my friends now, were just as lost, their faces mirroring my own anxious worry.

I couldn't eat properly, couldn't sleep, couldn't focus on anything but the gnawing fear that something terrible had happened.

"Sanemi," I whispered, the name a plea on my lips. "Please... I need an update. Just a sign."

I had promised him I would come to him, to be with him, as soon as I could.  I would keep that promise. I would find him.

But for now, there was a responsibility I couldn't ignore. My father wanted me to be the CEO, to take over the company when he retired.

He had always wanted me to be a businessman, not a dreamer. He had arranged my marriage to protect the company, to secure its future. Now, he was tired, weary of the constant struggle.

He was teaching me everything, pouring his knowledge into my head, preparing me for the role he had always envisioned for me. 

He had never wanted me to be a CEO, but he had understood the need for it. He had understood the need for me to be strong, to be prepared, to be able to protect what we had built.

Sanemi and I were in the same boat, bound by circumstance, by duty, by a love that transcended even the most daunting challenges. I would learn everything, I would take on this responsibility, and then, I would go to him. I would find him. I would be with him.

"Sanemi still hasn't updated me," I said, my voice a tremor across the dinner table. "I'm a little worried."

My parents, who had been enjoying their meal, abruptly stopped, their forks mid-air. They exchanged a worried glance, then turned to me, their expressions mirroring my own growing unease.

"What?" I asked, confusion swirling in my stomach.

"You shouldn't worry, he's okay," Mom said, her voice a soothing balm, but her eyes held a flicker of something else, a hidden truth that she couldn't quite mask.

"Are you two hiding something?" I asked, my voice sharp with suspicion.

"Why would we? And what should we hide?" Father said, his tone a little too casual, a little too defensive.

"Hey... Dad... Mom... TELL ME THE TRUTH," I said, each word a plea, a demand for honesty.

My parents stopped eating, their forks frozen in mid-air. They exchanged a silent, knowing glance, then nodded, their faces etched with a mixture of sadness and resignation.

"Giyuu... we decided to hide this for the safety of the company, for the sake of his father, who will soon be his," Mom said, her voice strained.

"He's not in good condition," she added, her words a punch to the gut. The worry that had been simmering within me now erupted into a raging inferno. I stopped eating, my appetite vanishing in the face of this new, terrifying truth.

"After Sanemi's flight... he was about to arrive at his new place... but..." My heart pounded against my ribs, preparing for the worst.

"His car... it crashed," Mom finished, her voice barely a whisper.