Last Girl

Chapter 22

I scrub underneath the nail, ridding myself of any unsightly particles of filth. Albeit a tedious task, it was still a necessary chore to be done. The piles of dishes and cooking utensils would not clean themselves. And it was not like Kaoru could assist me in my endeavours anyway.

"I'm sure my Father would be more than happy to supply us with a butler. You shouldn't be doing any of this work!" Kaoru insisted.

"We've been over this. If we wish to be independent, that means we must do everything ourselves. That includes being self-sufficient in our own chores."

"At least let me take over then-"

Pointing a finger at Kaoru, I beckoned closer "Ah, ah, ah!"

"I'm positive that I've made myself crystal clear! You are not to partake in any kind of physical labour until you have fully recovered!"

Kaoru rolls his eyes as if he plans on retorting. I quickly shut him down by firmly pointing at the lasagne I cooked for him.

"Eat," I order.

Kaoru shuffles in his seat and resumes eating. Drying my hands with a towel I toss it aside as I make my way out of the kitchen.

There is still so much to do. I wanted to make the house look somewhat presentable by the time Haruto would return home.

Ha... I sound like your typical old-fashioned housewife. I hate that. If it were my choice, I would be out there looking for a job. But alas, someone needs to watch over Kaoru during his recovery phase.

I can't exactly ask Haruto to watch over Kaoru for me. It was hell even convincing Haruto to take Kaoru home with us. It felt like only yesterday when the doctor wanted to release Kaoru to us...

"So, you're telling me that, they're just going to release him? There's no way he's fit to leave!" Haruto protested.

"Don't make a scene!"

Although there was only a handful of people loitering about in the corridor, I still felt self-conscious. Conscious of what others might say... Conscious of what they might report to Father... If Father were to believe that Haruto and I were fighting, there's no doubt in my mind that he would try to absolve our marriage at once!

"He's unstable. You know that better than anyone else."

Haruto pushes a lock of my hair behind my ear as he strokes my face. "I'm worried that he might try to hurt you when I'm not around. I don't want him to lay a single finger on you."

I pull Haruto in for a hug and snuggle tightly into his body. "I'll be fine. I assure you that I can protect myself."

"I'm not so sure about that..."

I look up at Haruto with a sour expression. "Hey now! I can protect myself!"

"Can you protect yourself from me?" Just as Haruto finishes his sentence, he swoops me up and I tightly wrap my legs around his waist.

"Who says I want to be protected from you?" I say with a devious smile.

We both lean in and kiss. A few gasps can be heard from behind us. I bet Father is going to love hearing about this tomorrow.

I crash into the soft bed without care. I was tired from reminiscing and well... doing chores all day. The exhaustion has left me completely apathetic. Every day just blurs into one when everything you do is completely mundane.

The only highlight of my day is when Haruto returns home. The house becomes much livelier when he's around... You may think it's odd, but I enjoy the pointless arguments between the two men in my life.