Dangerous Lines | Yuzuru Hanyu

30. Important Decisions

Her husband knew everything... It was the absolute only answer in her head and the worst was that she had no idea what to do.

His warning was certainly enough to scare them, especially when he made her watch the poor man get tortured in front of her eyes.

They cut his index finger and she was forced to watch the whole thing, his agonizing screams echoing in her ears for hours after the fact. Yaeko knew well what the meaning was, the Yakuza were no strangers to missing fingers but what most didn't know was that it had meanings.

Most of those missing a finger would have lost their pinky, usually due to mistakes but the index one? Usually, the members of the Yakuza were forced to cut their own index fingers when they slept with the wife of the boss.

It was way too specific to ignore.

"So now that we know what happens to cheaters, I'm sure that whoever had plans to try something similar will think thoroughly before making a mistake they would regret"

He fucking knew and hadn't said anything. Just how many details, she could have never known, but one thing was certain, Yuzu wasn't safe, especially not if they kept contact.

Her first instinct was never to care about herself, but rather worry about his safety.

That's just how much the man meant to her. If he was hurt, life simply stopped having meaning.

"Are we clear, Yaeko?"

"Yes"

That was all she answered, the whole scene bringing way too many questions.

None of it made sense.

Her husband didn't play, he didn't have mercy.

In her head, it just didn't make any sense that he would find a vessel to get the message clear when he could have a bigger impact.

Unless...

Could all of this be a big play of his? A mere bluff?

Was her husband really trying to get his point across with mere suspicion?

For anyone else, this wouldn't make much sense but Yaeko knew her husband well enough to be able to distinguish his moods.

Apart from how cold he suddenly got on her, he hadn't given any signs of suspicion after they left Sendai.

"I'm glad we're on the same page" she heard him say as they walked outside of the building.

His clothes were filled with blood, the mere result of all of the atrocities committed while they were inside.

Yaeko just simply knew she couldn't accept things like that, not without raising actual plausible suspicions. So maybe against all of her safety, she decided to act dumb."Can I ask you something?"

"I guess..."

"Why did you want me to see that? Is this another one of your games?"

"You know exactly why."

"I don't... I really don't. You have me watched 24/7 and still, you're somewhat still suspicious of me. I haven't done anything to deserve this, Kiyoshi, I haven't even left the house."

"I know you're seeing someone. I don't know how or even who, but I will find it eventually."

She resisted her urge to smile. Yuzuru was safe and protected from her husband. The old man didn't know a single thing.

That was exactly why he hadn't done anything more extreme. How could he when he was barely aware of how she was pulling it off?

"Your delusions are going to end up hurting someone. Whatever you think you know..."

"Maybe I don't know much but every single one of your bodyguards seems to think that you're always far happier when I'm not around."

"I wonder why, if this is how I'm treated."
Yaeko wasn't taking any BS from him. They had been married long enough for her to know what he was capable of and it hardly seemed like he had any plans to do anything. "Going as far as making empty threats on a hunch is low, even for you."

Her husband didn't say anything else as the car stopped. Yaeko left without waiting for anyone and headed straight to the bedroom where she just laid in bed.

Kiyoshi's expression told her he felt bad about the whole thing but that didn't mean that she wasn't on high alert now.

If anything, this little game her husband was playing wasn't exactly innocent and it merely showed that despite being careful, neither of them was ever too safe.

As much as it would hurt to do, she needed to place some distance. Yaeko couldn't bear it if her husband ended up figuring it out instead of just making wild guesses.

The whole thing merely showed her what could happen with Yuzuru if her husband found him and if a stranger got tortured in front of her eyes, there wasn't much doubt that she would be forced to watch them do the same to the man she loved.

Grabbing her phone, the one that Yuzu had gifted her, Yaeko's fingers lingered on a certain phone number. It had been saved in that phone for a while but she hadn't really made a decision by then.

Now, however, she has more than enough reasons to act.

She couldn't allow Yuzu to be the subject of torture from the Yakuza and she certainly couldn't allow his career to be affected by his feelings for her.

Just like that, a decision was made.
It was dangerous but Yaeko couldn't care less. It was time to finally do something about her life, something useful.

If no one else could act and do something about this mess, it was now her time.