The Yakuza's flower

The now

Ume's pov

Months had passed since our wedding, and everything had been surprisingly peaceful.

Hanayama and I had fallen into a simple routine.

He's been very attentive towards me but I always shoo him away because I'm still very much independent.

As for my pregnancy...

I was very big now—so big I could barely see my own toes when I looked down.

Pregnancy had a way of slowing everything down, but I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would.

From time to time I got to visit Kozue.

She recently had her sweet baby boy, and seeing her with him always made me smile. Sometimes we would sit together for hours, talking about babies, life, and everything that had changed.

Prince was now a confident little walker who kept all of us on our toes.

Speaking of prince

Hanayama and Prince had developed such a strong bond that anyone watching them would think they were father and son by blood.

And with my due date getting closer and closer...

I had started to feel a little nervous.

Nervous because some of my recent doctor appointments had been a little worrisome.

The twins had been fighting for space more often, and the doctors had found a small mass in my uterus that seemed to be causing the problem.

They said it wasn't unusual for twins to compete for room.

But the mass was something they wanted to keep a close eye on.

Even though they tried to reassure me...

It still made my stomach twist with worry.

Most of the time, I made sure to go to my appointments alone.

I didn't want Hanayama worrying about me more than he already did.

He had enough on his shoulders, and the last thing I wanted was for him to sit through every appointment listening to doctors talk about risks and complications.

So I told him everything was fine.

At least... most of the time.

————

Today I was heading to the women's prison because I had managed to convince Kizaki to help me get Sayaka out.

Sure, it was a dangerous thing to do—but I was going to warn her. She would get one more chance at life.

I couldn't help feeling guilty that she was so young and might spend the rest of her life in prison.

Her hatred had grown from the people around her, the ones who always placed her last.

This time, I wanted to make her feel like someone was putting her first.

I had told Hanayama about my plan.

We had a small argument about it that lasted nearly two weeks, but eventually he brushed it off... or at least pretended to.

Anyway.

When we arrived, she was clearly shocked to see me.

We spoke in one of those small visitation booths where a thick glass window separated us.

Sayaka sat down across from me and slowly picked up the phone.

For a moment she just stared at me, like she couldn't quite believe I was actually there.