[Complete] Invisible Chains- Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Aiba-san and I made a silent descent down the stairs, when my father who was sitting-almost as if he was waiting for us-in the living room, spotted us. His legs were crossed as he sat on the sofa with an English newspaper in his hand. I rolled my eyes as soon as I noticed what he was doing. I was dumbfounded to see him reading something written in English when I knew that his English proficiency was lower than the elementary school level. He glanced up at us, as if he planned it, and then set the paper down on the coffee table. “Aiba-san, are you leaving?”
Aiba-san looked at him and quickly scurried towards him. I let out a short sigh and followed him. “Hai. I should take my leave now. Thank you for inviting me over for dinner.” He said and then he bowed to my father. My father chuckled and nodded his head like he was mighty and powerful. I folded my arms at his behavior. I had an urge to tell him off, but I was tired and had my fill of complaining to my father for the day so I restrained myself. “No worries. You can come over whenever you like. Also I’m still waiting for an answer from you about marrying Asuka.”
I shot my eyes at my father and glared. I wanted him to feel like I was shooting lasers at him through my eyes. However, my father only sees things his own way so I was sure that it was no use. Aiba forced an awkward laugh and placed his hand on the back of his head. He looked like he wanted to avoid answering his question. I sighed again. Why couldn’t he leave him alone about that? “Otosan, Aiba-san probably has a busy and early schedule tomorrow. If you have no more questions for him, he should be going home to get all the sleep he can get.” I said and glanced over at Aiba-san. He made a relieved smile and bowed to my father again. “Gomenasai.” My father pouted his lips and picked up the newspaper again. “Oyasuminasai Nakashima-san.” Aiba-san said and then he headed towards the front door.
I stood, glued to my spot and turned around to say my goodbye. Aiba-san was about to turn around the corner when my father said. “Asuka, you should send him off properly. Don’t just stand there like a statue. You should be a good host and see him off.” I dropped my jaw at his comment. Send him off? Am I hostess at a club or a traditional Japanese restaurant? I made two fists with my hands and clenched my jaw. I was stupefied at my father’s actions that I became speechless. Aiba-san stopped and noticed me. He then said, “It’s okay. Nakashima-san can stay in here. I’ll be fine on my own.” I could tell he tried to calm the anger that I was building up inside me.
However I desperately needed some air and some space from my father. I had to get out and I had thoughts of doing things that I normally wouldn’t do. “It’s okay Aiba-san. I’ll send you out then.” I said and stared at what was in front of me with a fixed expression. Without another word, I walked past Aiba-san and slipped on my shoes. Aiba-san quickly scurried to me and whispered in a worried and concerned tone. “Asuka-chan, I’ll be fine here.”
I tossed my head to him and with a straight face, I said. “If otosan wants me to send you out properly, then I’ll send you out since you’re our guest.” Then I headed out the door. Immediately I was wrapped by the cool summer wind. It felt soothing and comfortable. I let out a sigh and tossed my head to see Aiba-san heading towards my direction. He smiled as he too felt the cool wind passing by us. “The weather is nice isn’t it?” He asked. I nodded to him and both of us started to walk together towards his car.
We were in front of the garage when I stopped walking. I wanted to clear something up before I forget. “I would like to apologize of how I behaved earlier. As you know, I don’t usually act that way.” I said and then bowed my head to him. I closed my eyes in regret as I bowed to him. I had showed him too many things about myself that I somewhat felt ashamed and embarrassed of myself. He slowly made a smile and shook his head as he said. “Iie, it’s okay. Sometimes we act erratic at our lowest. I have a habit that I would-“ Before he could finish his sentence, his phone began to ring.
“Let me check this…” He trailed off and pulled his phone from his pocket to check who it was. I noticed his facial expression changed when he looked at the screen. With widened eyes, as if he looked scared, quickly answered the call. “Ah, Mariko. What’s wrong?” He asked in a sweet and caring voice, which was unusual for me to hear. I furrowed my eyebrows and stared at him talking on the phone. Then he noticed that I was looking at him so he briefly covered the mouthpiece with his hand and said, “Let me finish this call first.” I nodded my head to answer his question. He began to walk towards his car.
I turned around to look at him and wondered whom he was talking with. Then I started to remember that Ninomiya-san had mentioned her before too. He had kept pestering me if I was curious about this Mariko person. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, so I never pushed myself to find out or nose around to find out who this person is. Whoever Aiba-san talks with is none of my concern, however there was a small glint of curiosity as to why Aiba-san talks to this Mariko in that sweet, caring and kind tone. I began to wonder if this Mariko person was a sister or a girlfriend. Then I started to look back at my memories to see what I had read about Aiba-san’s background.
Wait, what am I doing? Why am I so curious about Aiba-san’s background? Why am I turning into those gossipers at the company? I’m not that type of person. I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts out of my head. I let out another sigh and walked up to Aiba-san to see he was in front of the driver’s side door. I approached him to see he had a worried look on his face. I furrowed my eyebrows and wondered what was wrong. What has him so worried that he makes a face like I usually don’t see? I folded my arms. Should I say something or should I just leave him?
Before I could say anything, I noticed that the road was getting a bit clogged up due the many cars that were parked on the side of the small road. I noticed a car heading towards Aiba-san’s direction. For a split second, I was worried that he was going to get hit by a car due to the small space that the car had to travel on. I made a hasty decision and ran towards him. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the driveway. By the time I realized what I had did, we were staring into each other’s eyes as our bodies were slightly touching one another. We stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds when Aiba-san broke his gaze to finish answering his phone call away from me. “Yeah, gomen Mariko-chan. I heard you.” He said.
I exhaled. I placed my hand over my chest to feel it beating rapidly. What’s wrong with me? Also what happened just now? Why did I fret over his safety? I placed my hand over my forehead to check if I had a fever but I felt like I was fine. Why did I…? I looked up to notice that Aiba-san had approached me after he ended his call. “Ano, I have to leave now. Um, I’ll text you okay?” He said with a shy smile. I noticed that his cheeks were slightly pink. Warmth rose from my cheeks and cold sweat ran down my back. I immediately started to regret doing what I did. Baka! Baka! Why did you do that?
I couldn’t spit out an answer so I decided to give him a nod. Even though I nodded, I wanted to avoid talking or contacting Aiba-san again after my fiasco at dinner. I was truly embarrassed and ashamed of what happened that I knew if I spoke to him again, I would be reminded of tonight. I was going to make sure that I wouldn’t contact him for a while. I was going to avoid him at any cost. I was even thinking of sending myself overseas for a ‘business meeting’ purposely so I wouldn’t be able to see him again.
Aiba-san entered his car and started the car. The car engine roared and I snapped out of my thoughts. I looked at his car to see he had rolled down the window to wave goodbye. As soon as I waved back, he drove away. I exhaled again and was relieved to see he was finally gone. Then I slowly placed my hand over my heart to feel it was still beating rapidly.
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A/N: *squeals* Asuka seems to be getting conscious of her feelings. o(≧∇≦o) khaulabear, how do you like the story so far? I know it's a bit late to ask but I keep on forgetting to ask you. Although Asuka and Aiba's relationship is progressing slowly, there are plenty of cute moments between them. I think I've been reading too many shoujo manga... （＠´＿｀＠）
Aiba-san and I made a silent descent down the stairs, when my father who was sitting-almost as if he was waiting for us-in the living room, spotted us. His legs were crossed as he sat on the sofa with an English newspaper in his hand. I rolled my eyes as soon as I noticed what he was doing. I was dumbfounded to see him reading something written in English when I knew that his English proficiency was lower than the elementary school level. He glanced up at us, as if he planned it, and then set the paper down on the coffee table. “Aiba-san, are you leaving?”
Aiba-san looked at him and quickly scurried towards him. I let out a short sigh and followed him. “Hai. I should take my leave now. Thank you for inviting me over for dinner.” He said and then he bowed to my father. My father chuckled and nodded his head like he was mighty and powerful. I folded my arms at his behavior. I had an urge to tell him off, but I was tired and had my fill of complaining to my father for the day so I restrained myself. “No worries. You can come over whenever you like. Also I’m still waiting for an answer from you about marrying Asuka.”
I shot my eyes at my father and glared. I wanted him to feel like I was shooting lasers at him through my eyes. However, my father only sees things his own way so I was sure that it was no use. Aiba forced an awkward laugh and placed his hand on the back of his head. He looked like he wanted to avoid answering his question. I sighed again. Why couldn’t he leave him alone about that? “Otosan, Aiba-san probably has a busy and early schedule tomorrow. If you have no more questions for him, he should be going home to get all the sleep he can get.” I said and glanced over at Aiba-san. He made a relieved smile and bowed to my father again. “Gomenasai.” My father pouted his lips and picked up the newspaper again. “Oyasuminasai Nakashima-san.” Aiba-san said and then he headed towards the front door.
I stood, glued to my spot and turned around to say my goodbye. Aiba-san was about to turn around the corner when my father said. “Asuka, you should send him off properly. Don’t just stand there like a statue. You should be a good host and see him off.” I dropped my jaw at his comment. Send him off? Am I hostess at a club or a traditional Japanese restaurant? I made two fists with my hands and clenched my jaw. I was stupefied at my father’s actions that I became speechless. Aiba-san stopped and noticed me. He then said, “It’s okay. Nakashima-san can stay in here. I’ll be fine on my own.” I could tell he tried to calm the anger that I was building up inside me.
However I desperately needed some air and some space from my father. I had to get out and I had thoughts of doing things that I normally wouldn’t do. “It’s okay Aiba-san. I’ll send you out then.” I said and stared at what was in front of me with a fixed expression. Without another word, I walked past Aiba-san and slipped on my shoes. Aiba-san quickly scurried to me and whispered in a worried and concerned tone. “Asuka-chan, I’ll be fine here.”
I tossed my head to him and with a straight face, I said. “If otosan wants me to send you out properly, then I’ll send you out since you’re our guest.” Then I headed out the door. Immediately I was wrapped by the cool summer wind. It felt soothing and comfortable. I let out a sigh and tossed my head to see Aiba-san heading towards my direction. He smiled as he too felt the cool wind passing by us. “The weather is nice isn’t it?” He asked. I nodded to him and both of us started to walk together towards his car.
We were in front of the garage when I stopped walking. I wanted to clear something up before I forget. “I would like to apologize of how I behaved earlier. As you know, I don’t usually act that way.” I said and then bowed my head to him. I closed my eyes in regret as I bowed to him. I had showed him too many things about myself that I somewhat felt ashamed and embarrassed of myself. He slowly made a smile and shook his head as he said. “Iie, it’s okay. Sometimes we act erratic at our lowest. I have a habit that I would-“ Before he could finish his sentence, his phone began to ring.
“Let me check this…” He trailed off and pulled his phone from his pocket to check who it was. I noticed his facial expression changed when he looked at the screen. With widened eyes, as if he looked scared, quickly answered the call. “Ah, Mariko. What’s wrong?” He asked in a sweet and caring voice, which was unusual for me to hear. I furrowed my eyebrows and stared at him talking on the phone. Then he noticed that I was looking at him so he briefly covered the mouthpiece with his hand and said, “Let me finish this call first.” I nodded my head to answer his question. He began to walk towards his car.
I turned around to look at him and wondered whom he was talking with. Then I started to remember that Ninomiya-san had mentioned her before too. He had kept pestering me if I was curious about this Mariko person. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, so I never pushed myself to find out or nose around to find out who this person is. Whoever Aiba-san talks with is none of my concern, however there was a small glint of curiosity as to why Aiba-san talks to this Mariko in that sweet, caring and kind tone. I began to wonder if this Mariko person was a sister or a girlfriend. Then I started to look back at my memories to see what I had read about Aiba-san’s background.
Wait, what am I doing? Why am I so curious about Aiba-san’s background? Why am I turning into those gossipers at the company? I’m not that type of person. I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts out of my head. I let out another sigh and walked up to Aiba-san to see he was in front of the driver’s side door. I approached him to see he had a worried look on his face. I furrowed my eyebrows and wondered what was wrong. What has him so worried that he makes a face like I usually don’t see? I folded my arms. Should I say something or should I just leave him?
Before I could say anything, I noticed that the road was getting a bit clogged up due the many cars that were parked on the side of the small road. I noticed a car heading towards Aiba-san’s direction. For a split second, I was worried that he was going to get hit by a car due to the small space that the car had to travel on. I made a hasty decision and ran towards him. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the driveway. By the time I realized what I had did, we were staring into each other’s eyes as our bodies were slightly touching one another. We stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds when Aiba-san broke his gaze to finish answering his phone call away from me. “Yeah, gomen Mariko-chan. I heard you.” He said.
I exhaled. I placed my hand over my chest to feel it beating rapidly. What’s wrong with me? Also what happened just now? Why did I fret over his safety? I placed my hand over my forehead to check if I had a fever but I felt like I was fine. Why did I…? I looked up to notice that Aiba-san had approached me after he ended his call. “Ano, I have to leave now. Um, I’ll text you okay?” He said with a shy smile. I noticed that his cheeks were slightly pink. Warmth rose from my cheeks and cold sweat ran down my back. I immediately started to regret doing what I did. Baka! Baka! Why did you do that?
I couldn’t spit out an answer so I decided to give him a nod. Even though I nodded, I wanted to avoid talking or contacting Aiba-san again after my fiasco at dinner. I was truly embarrassed and ashamed of what happened that I knew if I spoke to him again, I would be reminded of tonight. I was going to make sure that I wouldn’t contact him for a while. I was going to avoid him at any cost. I was even thinking of sending myself overseas for a ‘business meeting’ purposely so I wouldn’t be able to see him again.
Aiba-san entered his car and started the car. The car engine roared and I snapped out of my thoughts. I looked at his car to see he had rolled down the window to wave goodbye. As soon as I waved back, he drove away. I exhaled again and was relieved to see he was finally gone. Then I slowly placed my hand over my heart to feel it was still beating rapidly.
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A/N: *squeals* Asuka seems to be getting conscious of her feelings. o(≧∇≦o) khaulabear, how do you like the story so far? I know it's a bit late to ask but I keep on forgetting to ask you. Although Asuka and Aiba's relationship is progressing slowly, there are plenty of cute moments between them. I think I've been reading too many shoujo manga... （＠´＿｀＠）