Runaway Lover

Kaito's Past

Kaito Ishikawa's POV

"We need to talk." Akira barged in my office here in the second floor without notice. She stood in front of my mahogany table as her hands place in each side of her waist. I knew that stance so well.

I looked up from the paper I've been reading about the monthly reports of my bank finances. I smiled pleasantly in her direction when I knew that this conversation would only lead to trouble. "What do you want to talk about, wife?"

"Let's clear some things here, Your Excellency."

I smiled at her evenly. I sat back from my chair and silently study her pregnant form. She's really beautiful in her cream-colored dress.

We fought for at least half an hour in my villa when I saw her wearing black dress for our wedding. Thank goodness, I convinced her to wear this dress after an argument. "What is it, babe?"

"I want to have a separate bedroom from you." Her green-eyes flashed with defiance in their depth.

"What?" I frowned at her. Is she playing games with me?

I asked myself silently. "You are my wife so it's only natural that we will sleep in the same bed."

She focused her expressive eyes straight in my face. I couldn't fathom what she thinking this moment. "But I don't want to share bed with you again, Kaito. I want my own bedroom to this huge palace. I'm sure you can give me one."

"No," I scowled at her beautiful face. What's with this ridiculous notion she thought about our arrangement as married couple? "You are my wife and you will sleep where you are supposed to be sleeping, that is in my bed beside me, Akira."

"No, I don't want to." She defied me bravely, her eyes flicker with fire. "We are not going to sleep in the same bed ever again."

I smiled evilly in her direction. "I will not be so sure if I were you, my darling. I'm expecting our wedding night. We will have our honeymoon but not now. I need to finish some matter first in the office before I can take a leave. Besides ever since we met, you only sleep in my bed."

"Well, those days were over now."

Why does she have to be stubborn about it? I'm quite excited about our wedding night after our long separation. I frowned at her. I'm starting to lose my patience here. "What's with this ridiculous notion you have, Akira?"

"I might marry you against my better judgment," She answered proudly. "But that doesn't mean that I will let you rile me over and over again. It's time for me to have some say to our arrangement now that we are married for the sake of our child."

"Are you sure about this?"

She lifted her chin in act of defiance in my path. "Yes."

"Very well" I hide my smile as I looked at her silently.

Let her think that she won the first round but one thing that I'm very sure she would definitely sleep in my bed sooner or later. "I will tell the maids to arrange the bedroom across to mine. It will be your new bedroom."

At least, for now.

My wife threw me a victorious smile. "Thank you, Kaito."

"Anything else, wife?"

"Oh, yes." She said with an accusing look in her aristocratic face. I could now see the difference between her and her identical twin sister. I would never make that mistake again. My oversight earned me a punch from her twin sister's husband. "What's the deal between you and your sister-in-law?"

"What's with the accusing look, mi dulzura?" I inquired casually as my eyebrows snap together. I don't think I like the way she's staring at me with those eyes.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing, I just want to know the real score between the two of you. I just want to know if we're three in this marriage, Kaito."

"You are not making any sense, Akira." I glared at her when she still has the condemning look in her face.

"I don't have any kind of relationship with her, if that's what you implying, mi amor."

"If you say so, babe." She still has the look in her face that I think I don't like. The scorn in her voice was enough to give me a pause. Is she jealous? "I'd better go and leave you to your work."

"You're not going to stop until you get the information you need, don't you?" I asked when she was about to leave my office.

She looked at me from her shoulder and smile coolly in my direction. "What do you think? You should think about this before you dragged me to this marriage. Just so you know, no one played fool to Akira Satou or there is hell to pay for it."

After she gave me her warning she left my office with such confidence in her walk. I consciously pinched the bridge of my nose and close my eyes.

I landed myself a trouble here, I mused silently. But on the second thought, it seems that I married the trouble herself.

Akira Ishikawa's POV

I walked out of his office angrily. I went straight to the master's bedroom where Kaito told me 'that's our bedroom' at the far end of the east wing of the palace.

Walking on these corridors really reminded me the cold palace where I grew up. The paintings, the carpeted floor, the priceless vase that you wouldn't dare to touch.

Kaito's sister beamed at the sight of me in her doorway. "Come in, please." I smiled shyly in her direction before entering her room fully. I closed the door behind me and walked further inside her room.

"Sorry for the mess, sister-in-law."

"You are a fashion designer?" I asked when I saw her room turn into a workroom piles of fabric and thread along with several sketches scattered in the long table.

She smiled sheepishly in my direction as she stops sketching on her notebook. "More like an aspiring fashion designer. Are you bored? My brother must be busy again to leave you alone hours after your wedding ceremony. But I'm glad that you come to me for a chat."

"Actually, I would like to borrow some clothes to you if that's okay." I said as I look at the sketched she finish.

"Your brother brought me here without notice. I left my things back to his mansion in the city."

Her hazel eyes lit with glee as she put down her pencil and led me to the adjoining door of her room. "Oh, you came to the right person to ask for clothes. I bought several outfits on my last shopping expedition that I didn't wear yet. Come inside."

She led me another room as big as her work room but this time it has bed, dresser table and other stuff. She opened another door and her walk-in closet greeted me.

Amazing, I thought with a smile. She reminds me of Aki when it comes to the size of her closet it's like a mini department store the only difference was that my twin favored wearing only black dresses. She only has the sudden changed taste of color for her outfit when she met Haru.

"Now pick what you like."

I wrinkled my nose when I see that most of her clothes where straight from catwalks. I'm not that formal-wearing kind of girl.

I want casual outfits only however my father chastised me for it but I don't care whatever he say to me. "I'm thinking of something more of a casual. Some t-shirts and shorts, if you have."

"Oh, I have some," Shizuka answered searching for my request. "But they are kind of old so."

I smiled at her. "They would be perfect." I sat on the stool where the table at the middle of her walked-in closet. I studied the jewelry and perfume collection she had.

Then, I remember to gather information about the association of Kaito and their sister-in-law. "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure," She answered while collecting all the casual clothes she could excavate in her collection.

"What's the real score about between Kaito and your sister-in-law?" I asked casually, as if it wasn't that im important question for me. I couldn't stop thinking about the deathly glare she'd sent in my direction awhile ago.

Shizuka stopped from digging from her mountain of neatly folded clothes in the shelves and stared at me in surprised. "Oh, that."

"Yes, what do you know about their association?"

She looked away from me and continues her search.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. You should ask Kaito about it."

"I asked him but he refuse to tell me."

"Then, I cannot tell you." She glanced apologetically in my direction. "Kaito might kill me if I tell you. But nothing's going on between the two of them I assure you."

Now that I am sure that she knew something. I would not stop until I get the information I want. I could be pretty convincing when I want to. "You can trust me, you know. I promise not to tell your brother about it. I'm just curious, though."

"Are you sure?"

I gave her reassuring smile. "Yes, I promise."

She sighed and went to where I sat along with the clothes I requested. She took the opposite stool across to mine and stared deep in my eyes. "Maeko was the widow of our older brother Shiro."

"Older brother?" My eyes widened at the information. I didn't realize that they have an older brother that died.

"Yes," Shizuka answered gravely, probably remembering the memories of her deceased older brother. "You see, Kaito isn't really the heir to the title, it's Shiro."

"I still don't understand why I received a deathly glare from your older brother's widow a while ago, Shizuka."

She eyed me in surprise. "You did?"

"Yeah."

Shizuka sighed again and studied her perfectly manicured hands. "Oh, Kaito might kill me for this. Back in college Kaito and Shizuka were classmates and had this 'thing'. But he was so handsome that he ruthlessly used that looks to change women as he often change his socks plus he was a commitment probe. He wasn't ready yet to have a serious relationship."

"I bet."

Leandro's sister looked at me with amusement in her eyes. "Shizuka get tired waiting for the playboy spare heir to court her and have a serious relationship when the heir to the title was so fascinated with her raging beauty."

I think I have a clue where this story was going to.

But I remained silent and continue to listen to the tale of Shizuka. "So she married our older brother Shiro to probably show Kaito what he threw away with his womanizing ways. Your husband wasn't aware of their union after he went home after years of travelling around the world living his life in gambling, women and jet-set lifestyle. Imagine his shocked he went home. The woman he was infatuated with back in college was now married to his older brother."

I smiled at Shizuka in reassuring way. I felt that my jaw would c***k at the effort. My nails dug deeply in my palms but I couldn't feel any pain. "Go on."

"Our father was still alive that time but he's already ailing from a disease. That's why Kaito went home because father summoned him back here in Osaka before he died. It would not take long for Shiro to ascend the title because of our father's poor health and Maeko couldn't wait for her to have the title of being a princess. But a week after Kaito went home our older brother had a tragic car accident that took his life. Maeko became a widow before her husband ascends to the title and my father died a month after Shiro's death. That makes Kaito the new prince."

My heart lurched at the crisis they faced that year when two member of their family died in two months. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." She said with a sad smile on her beautiful face. "You will learn about it, eventually. That's our family history."

"How long does this happened?"

"Five years," She answered, her eyes held sadness in their depth. "You must be wondering if that happened that long why Maeko was still here. Well, the only answer I can give you was that I believed that your husband out of respect to Shiro he will not throw out of the house our brother's widow unless she wants to leave for herself."

"Does she?" I asked, when I think I knew the answer already.

Shizuka smiled warily in my path. "I strongly believe that she's hoping now that she's a widow, Kaito and she would take off where they left back in college that's why she stayed here. I know she still in love with Kaito even she married our older brother. But guess that dream will only remain dream from now on because you came along. Kaito, the commitment probe man married you."

"Because i'm pregnant." I reminded her thoughtfully.

"I wonder if that's the only reason he married you."

I stood from the chair and pick up the clothes on the table. "What else?" I asked her dryly, avoiding her knowing eyes. "Thanks for the clothes I will leave you in peace now."

I didn't wait for her reply before I went out of her room. I don't want to dissect the other reason why Kaito married me.