Her Protector (Faye gip)

10

Here it comes ;))))

—-

Yoko sat in the living room, her fingers lightly tapping against the edge of the bowl of oats she had barely touched. The house was eerily quiet, the usual buzz of activity replaced by an unsettling stillness. Yoko was used to mornings that were meticulously planned out—Faye would arrive, hovering in the background but always present, ensuring every detail of her day went smoothly.

But today, something was off.

Yoko stared at the screen of her phone, almost willing it to light up. Faye was late. Not that Yoko would ever admit it, but she had been waiting for her all morning, impatiently checking the time and pacing the room, trying to drown out the gnawing feeling that something was wrong.

Just as she was about to give in and text her, the phone buzzed in her hand. Faye's name flashed on the screen, and Yoko's heart did a strange, fluttering thing she wasn't quite used to. She answered, her voice sharp, but laced with an unspoken concern she tried to hide.

"Ms. Apasra, I'm afraid I won't be able to be with you today," Faye's voice came through the line, calm, but there was something different. Strained. "I have an urgent family matter. I've already informed your father and sent a driver for you. Will you please take care of yourself today?"

Yoko's grip on the phone tightened. Her first instinct was anger—how dare Faye leave her hanging like this? How dare she disrupt Yoko's perfectly scheduled day? But that anger quickly gave way to something else when Yoko caught the subtle waver in Faye's voice. Was it... sadness? Stress? She couldn't tell, but it was enough to stop her from lashing out.

"Yeah... hm, whatever, okay," Yoko muttered, doing her best to sound indifferent. "Take care of yourself, okay... princess?"

"I will," Yoko responded softly, and with that, the call ended, leaving Faye alone in the silence once more.

But now, it wasn't just silence that filled the room. It was an overwhelming sense of unease. Something was wrong with Faye, and despite her best efforts to brush it off, Yoko found herself spiraling. All day, nothing seemed right. At the office, she was snappy, frustrated, throwing tantrums at her staff for things that didn't matter. The smallest mistakes set her off, and by noon, she was at her boiling point.

It didn't go unnoticed.

Her father stormed into her office, shaking his head in exasperation. "What is this all about, Yoko?" he asked, his voice a mix of disbelief and frustration. "Faye's been absent for one day, and all I hear is you complaining about every single thing."

Yoko shot him an annoyed glare, crossing her arms defensively. "How is this related to Faye? I'm always like this, ugh!"

"No, you're not," her father said bluntly, rubbing his temples. "You're calmer when Faye's here. She knows how to handle you."

Yoko opened her mouth to argue but stopped when her father continued.

"Faye's dealing with family matters. She might not be coming to work for a while. Her father is sick."

Her stomach twisted at the mention of Faye's family. She didn't know much about them—Faye never talked about them—but she did know that something had happened between Faye and her family when she left to join the military.

"Her family is my friend, a close one," her father explained. "But they've never been the same after Faye decided to join the military instead of taking over their company. I helped convince them to let her go, but... they weren't happy about it. That kid's been through a lot."

Yoko felt something stir in her chest—something she didn't like. Her heart felt heavy, like it was weighed down by a sadness she didn't understand. But instead of acknowledging it, she scoffed, crossing her arms tighter.