Chapter: 2

I was having a good sleep when suddenly someone shook my arm. "Hey! Akane, wake up, we're already in the Philippines." Kimiko seemed overly excited; she almost made me fall from my seat with her enthusiastic wake-up call.

"Okay, okay! I'm wide awake now, thanks to you, dear sister. But please, be a bit gentle. If possible, okay? Are we clear?"

"Sorry." She apologized, scratching her head, then quickly wrapped her arms around mine.

Akane's pov…

It seems like nothing much has changed here; I gaze sadly at the sky and smile weakly. I softly whispered, closing my eyes, "I'm back again. I miss you so much. I love you."

Kimiko tapped my shoulder, interrupting my thoughts about Riffin.

"You've been silent there for a while. Didn't you hear what I said?" Kimiko sounded impatient, dropping her luggage and taking a seat. "It's taking quite a while for our ride to pick us up."

I took my phone from my pocket and immediately looked at Gri's picture on the screen. This is how I get when I miss my son. "Just wait a bit; he'll come. Trust me."

"Do Lueha and Hamari know we're in the Philippines?"

"I haven't told them yet. I'll call them when we're at the mansion so they can visit us there."

While Akane and I were talking, a black car suddenly stopped in front of us. The driver asked upon rolling down the window, "Excuse me, Miss, are you Ms. Akane and Ms. Kimiko?" The man in a black uniform and sunglasses inquired.

We simultaneously removed our sunglasses before answering, "Y-yes, that's us."

The driver got out and nodded at us before opening the car door. He placed our luggage in the back seat. "Rest for a while; the journey is still quite far. I'll wake you up when we reach the mansion."

"Thank you," Kimiko and I replied to the driver.

"Any news about her?" I asked Greg to make sure he really got rid of that woman.

"She's gone; you don't need to worry."

I sighed heavily, not feeling like leaning back in the swivel chair. "Find and kill her, Greg. That will be your last mission."

"Ma'am Akane and Ms. Kimiko, we're at the mansion now. Please go inside, and I'll take care of your luggage." The guard informed us.

Kimiko and I nodded at the guard and began to step inside the mansion. We saw maids and guards standing around a large fountain in the mansion, while another guard and maid were near the entrance.

"Welcome back, Ma'am Akane and Ma'am Kimiko." They all greeted us.

"Thank you for the warm welcome. Just call us Akane and Kimiko."

"Understood!" They replied in unison.

"Have you eaten? Would you like me to cook for you?" Another maid suggested.

"We're still full; maybe later. We'll rest for now; both my sister and I are tired from the journey."

"Alright, please follow me. I'll take you to your rooms so you can rest." The second maid said.

Upon reaching our adjacent rooms, the maid took the keys from her pocket and opened our doors. "This is your room, Ms. Akane, and the one across is Ms. Kimiko's."

We both smiled and thanked the maid. "Thank you."

She smiled back and introduced herself. "You can call me Lucy."

After Yaya Lucy left, I entered my room, pausing briefly to remember my conversation with Dad.

"Child."

"What is it, Dad?"

"Maybe you want to change your room to completely forget your difficult past. There will come a day when you'll return to the Philippines and live in the mansion again. It might be hard for you if you see things that remind you of Riffin. Maybe you want to throw away his pictures too."

"Dad, I know you have good intentions and don't want to hurt me, but those are the few beautiful things left from him. Let me keep whatever is in that room for now. I can't completely bury everything about Riffin. But I've tried to let him go, Dad. I know there's a right time for that."

Kimiko's pov...

It feels like it was just yesterday when we were all happy here. If only Kuya didn't disappear, we wouldn't have gone to Japan.

But in fairness, my room hasn't changed much. I just hope my sister can move on soon.

If it weren't for Yaya Lucy knocking, I wouldn't have noticed it was already night. I knocked on Kimiko's door first to suggest eating together.

"Kimiko! Wake up!"

She irritably opened her door, so I laughed; she's always fun to tease. "I'm already awake! You knock on my door like you want to break it."

"Hurry up! and follow me."

After we finished eating, my phone suddenly rang. It was Dad.

"Hello, Dad."

"Hello, my child," Dad's voice came through the phone.

"How are both of you doing there, Akane and Kimiko?" He asked again.

I sipped my coffee before responding. "We're okay, Dad, just tired from the journey. We just finished eating. How are you?"

"I'm okay too. I just kinda missed my two well-behaved kids." I nearly choked on my coffee hearing that. "Dad, really..."

I felt Dad's tone turning serious, so I listened carefully. "I called to tell you that you can now enroll at Haruko University. Just don't reveal your true identity. Do we understand each other? Your fake IDs are ready, and your uniforms and belongings will be with you tomorrow."

"Okay, Dad."

"Pass the phone to Kimiko; I want to talk to her." Dad instructed.

I signaled Kimiko to come closer and handed her the phone. "Dad wants to talk to you."

"Hello, Dad," I greeted him.

"How are you there?" Dad asked.

"I'm okay, just miss shouting around the house." Kimiko laughed softly, and I immediately switched the phone to loudspeaker so I could hear.

"Behave there. Avoid showing your abilities inside Haruko University. Do we understand each other?" Dad announced, his voice stern. Too much seriousness in my dad's nerves, indeed.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***