Chapter 27: 26

I finally feel well. I just heard about what Sanae, Quiera, and Karla did to the man who uploaded videos of Lesley. They basically tortured him but, in the end, let him escape with his family, though his fate is far from peaceful because he will now be hunted. That’s the thing about Karla, she knows when to take a life and when to show mercy.

Right now, I’m in my office, having just finished a meeting with the Federation of Technology. Cybercrimes have significantly decreased due to the joint efforts of multiple companies that have reinforced their anti-hacker security measures. The world is slowly becoming safer.

“Ruby?”

I turned to see Karla standing at the doorway.

“Fiasco is here,” she informed me.

“Let him in,” I said.

Moments later, Fiasco entered my office. His expression was serious, and his eyes held an urgency that made me sit up straighter.

“We need to talk. Privately—just the two of us,” he said.

“Where do you prefer?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.

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Now, we are sitting inside a fast-food chain, blending in with the crowd while wearing disguises. The scent of fried food and coffee lingers in the air, but neither of us pays attention to it.

“I’d say the investigation is at a fifty-fifty point. There’s an equal chance that Akio was murdered or that he took his own life. However…” Fiasco trailed off, his eyes sharp with suspicion. “There’s also a possibility that he’s still alive and merely in hiding.”

I furrowed my brows. “And what makes you think that? We saw his body at the funeral. It was right there in front of the people.”

“That’s true,” Fiasco admitted, leaning forward. “But what if the body we saw wasn’t actually his? What if it was a wax figure?”

I was about to dismiss the idea when he pulled out a set of photographs and slid them across the table toward me. I picked them up, my breath hitching the moment I saw the face of the man captured in the images.

He looked exactly like Akio.

“Is this in Japan?” I asked, my grip tightening on the pictures.

Fiasco nodded. “I’ve been observing him for three weeks. Every move he makes, the way he speaks, the way he carries himself—it all bears a striking resemblance to your friend.”

His words sent a chill down my spine. If what he was saying was true, then Akio’s supposed death might have been a deception all along. But why? And more importantly, what was he hiding from?

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Sanae's POV

Everyone was busy with their own work, yet amidst the flurry of activity, Ruby sat completely still at her desk. Her brow was furrowed, and her eyes were distant, lost in deep thought. It was as if she was physically present in the room but mentally trapped in a maze she couldn't escape.

Concerned, I stood up from my chair and made my way to the pantry. If there was one thing I knew, it was that Ruby often forgot to take care of herself when she was overthinking. I quickly prepared a drink and a sandwich for her, hoping it would bring her some comfort.

Walking back, I gently placed the food in front of her.

“Take a break and eat,” I said softly, my voice calm yet firm.

Ruby blinked, as if snapping back to reality, and looked at the sandwich before glancing up at me. “Thankyousomuch, Sanae,” she said, offering me a small, grateful smile.

I pulled up a chair beside her and studied her expression. “Is something bothering you?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

She sighed, rubbing her temples before finally speaking. “Yes, it’s about your brother… Akio.”

The mention of his name made me tense. My brows knitted together. “What about him, baby?” I asked, leaning slightly closer to her.

Ruby hesitated for a moment before finally meeting my gaze. Her next words sent a chill down my spine.

“There’s a possibility that he was murdered. A possibility that he took his own life. And…” She exhaled sharply. “A possibility that he’s still alive and in hiding.”

I stared at her, stunned.

“How is that possible?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t make sense. I saw his body with my own eyes. I was there when they brought him to the morgue. I was the one who arranged all the paperwork for his funeral and burial. Every detail of that painful day was burned into my memory. There was no way Akio could still be alive.

“I don’t know,” Ruby admitted, shaking her head. “Even I’m confused.”

Her words did nothing to ease the turmoil in my chest. Was it truly possible that everything I thought I knew about Akio’s death was a lie?

I reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. “Can you keep me updated once you confirm anything?” I asked, my voice laced with urgency.

Ruby nodded without hesitation. “Of course, baby. After all, you deserve to know the truth.”

Moved by her words, I stood up, walked over to her, and pressed a passionate kiss to her lips. She melted into the kiss, her fingers lightly grazing my cheek.

“Let’s go on a date later?” I murmured against her lips, needing something, anything, to ground me amid this chaos.

A small, genuine smile spread across her face. “I would love to go on a date with you, darling,” she replied.

With that, I returned to my seat, forcing myself to focus on the debugging work in front of me. I needed a distraction. Something to pull me away from the storm of emotions swirling inside me.

But just as I was about to start, a notification popped up on my screen. An email.

Curious, I clicked on it.

It was a video clip.

Frowning, I pressed play.

The footage showed Ruby and Akio, talking to each other.

My heartbeat quickened.

In the video, Akio was clearly trying to say something to Ruby. His expression was desperate, as if he was pleading with her. But before he could finish speaking, Ruby abruptly turned away, got into her car, and drove off, leaving him standing there.

Then, something chilling happened.

Akio removed his glasses, exhaled heavily, and sat down on a nearby bench. My breath hitched when I noticed his outfit.

It was the exact same suit he was wearing when they found him dead.

A shiver ran down my spine as I slowly turned to look at Ruby, who was now casually eating her sandwich, completely unaware of the storm brewing inside me.

What the hell was happening?

What was this video?

And most importantly…

If this footage was real, then what did it mean about Akio’s death?

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The email I received earlier was still lingering in the back of my mind. No matter how much I tried to push it away, the image of that video clip—Akio, in that same suit, sitting down after Ruby left, kept haunting me. There were so many questions, so many things I didn’t understand.

But tonight, I refused to let those thoughts consume me.

Because tonight was important.

Tonight, I planned to ask Ruby to be mine.

I had prepared everything, a romantic dinner under the stars, soft music playing in the background, and the warm glow of fairy lights surrounding us. I wanted this moment to be perfect. She deserved nothing less.

As I sat across from her at the candlelit table, I couldn't help but admire her. The golden flicker of the candles reflected in her deep, thoughtful eyes, and I knew, no matter how cold or distant she might have seemed to others, she had a heart that burned fiercely beneath that icy exterior. A heart that, somehow, I had found myself falling for.

“Sanae?” Ruby’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. She tilted her head slightly, studying me. “You’ve been staring at me for the past five minutes. Something wrong?”

I chuckled softly, shaking my head. “Nothing’s wrong. In fact… everything feels so right.”

She raised an eyebrow at me, smirking. “Are you flirting with me, Miss Sanae?”

I grinned. “Maybe.” I took a deep breath, then reached for her hand, holding it gently yet firmly. The warmth of her touch sent a shiver down my spine.

“Ruby…” I started, my voice is softer now. “Everything happened so fast. I didn’t even realize that I was falling this hard for you until it was too late. When I first met you, you were cold, heartless, and, honestly, kind of annoying.”

Ruby scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Wow. Way to be romantic, Sanae.”

I laughed, squeezing her hand reassuringly. “Let me finish.”

She sighed but nodded, letting me continue.

“When I got to know you, everything changed. I started waking up every day wanting to protect you, wanting to be by your side, whether in moments of danger or on the calmest of days. I want to be the person you can rely on, the person you can run to when the world gets too heavy.” I swallowed, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. “And I would be happy just being near you… but I’d be even happier if I could call you mine.”

I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it softly, gazing into her eyes with all the love I had.

“Ruby, be my girlfriend… and I promise I’ll court you for the rest of our lives.”

For a moment, Ruby just stared at me, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. I could see the way her lips parted slightly, her breath hitching, the way her fingers trembled just a little in my grasp.

Then, finally, she smiled. Not just any smile, but the kind that made my heart feel like it was about to burst.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Sanae. I’d love to be yours.”

The sheer happiness that flooded through me was indescribable. Without thinking, I stood up, pulling her up with me. The music playing in the background was soft and slow, and I took the opportunity to wrap my arms around her waist, leading her into a gentle slow dance.

She let out a soft laugh, resting her hands on my shoulders. “Dancing now? How romantic of you.”

“I want to remember this moment forever,” I murmured, pressing my forehead against hers. “Because right now, I am the happiest person alive.”

She sighed contentedly, closing her eyes for a second before opening them again. “You make me happy too, Sanae.”

“I love you so much, my Ruby,” I whispered, my voice filled with sincerity.

A soft blush dusted her cheeks, but she didn’t hesitate to respond. “I love you so much more, my Sanae.”

And then, as if drawn together by some invisible force, we closed the distance between us, our lips meeting in a passionate, deep kiss. It was a kiss filled with promises, with love, with all the emotions we had kept bottled up until now.

In that moment, nothing else mattered.

Not the past.

Not the mysteries surrounding Akio.

Not the email waiting in my inbox.

Right now, all that mattered was us.