TRUST ME | Brothers Conflict | ✔

26

"He hasn't noticed yet that he's too late," Sakura commented, oddly content with Kaoru's defeat.

"I wish he would make up his mind already," I groaned, hanging over our desk.

"You shouldn't have sent him away if you instantly regret doing so."

"Stop lecturing me," I whined, "I can't stand how right you are."

Humming, Sakura turned her attention to her laptop, pretending to work on the financial sheets for the expenses on office supplies.

"I don't regret rejecting him," I explained, although I felt that Sakura already understood. "I want his heart, and I'm willing to wait until he's ready to give me his heart."

"Kaoru still wants to apologise." Sakura shrugged in indifference, but her sour expression showed how reluctant she was to relay this message to me. "He's very sorry."

"I should be the one apologising."

Sakura nodded vigorously, intent on defending her brother's fragile heart.

"Please do so over the phone," she told me, no longer bothering to hide her infatuation with her brother. Sometimes, it felt like most people around me had an unhealthy obsession with their siblings. And if most people harboured such feelings, wasn't I the odd one out for not having any feelings like that?

"I want to apologise to him in person," I rebutted. "Rest assured, though. I won't seduce your brother."

Sakura paled, her fingers freezing on the keyboard. Before she could comment on my casual remark, a man walked past the glass door, sauntering to the front desk.

"Good afternoon," Sakura greeted, "do you have an appointment?"

While Sakura was dealing with the possible client, I turned back to the spreadsheets on my laptop.

My apologies would mean nothing to Kaoru, but they would help lift the guilt I felt. Using Kaoru to that extent on top of what I had already done was pretty awful.

However, apologising meant acknowledging what I had done -which he might appreciate. Perhaps. Hopefully.

Well, if Kaoru offered me this chance, I wasn't going to be honourable about things.

Thus, I called Kaoru later that evening.

"Hi, Kaoru, [Y/N] here," I said, clutching my phone in one hand and my bag in the other. During summer evenings, pickpockets were active, exploiting rush hour to help themselves to other's belongings. "Sakura told me that you wanted to meet up with me, so I'm curious when we can meet."

"Ah," Kaoru exhaled, surprise in his voice. "I didn't expect to hear from you."

"Well, the same goes for me."

The truth in my words was undoubtedly going to make things awkward between us again.

"Yes, about that..." Kaoru's voice trailed off as if he didn't know what he was supposed to say. I had no inkling of what he had wanted to convey as the sentence could end in countless different ways.

"I should apologise," he said, the words tumbling past his lips in quick succession.

I wanted to ask him why he felt that way, but a flash of purple and gold across the street caught my attention. Coming to a sudden stop, I studied the people rushing to their destinies. Kaname sauntered, holding up people behind him.

Suddenly, almost as if he had sensed the weight of my gaze on him, he lifted his head, and our gazes met.

"[Y/N]?" Kaoru asked me, uncertainty lacing his voice.