(Third pov)
The family she was born into was well known as the family that ran the best hospitality business in the land, with their hotel chain across Japan. Recently, they even sold most of their shares and went public for the first time to gain more funding for their cruise ship project.
Being born as the third generation of the Hayase family, she faced significant expectations. A big name like Hayase placed in front of her name, along with her being more talented than her older brother, Masamune, added to the pressure.
Unlike him, she was able to enroll in the most prestigious elementary academy. Chinatsu also spoke and could write in French well, in addition to Japanese, in her fourth grade, and she played the piano well. People called her a genius without a doubt; however, that was the past.
After what her father did to Masamune, it seemed Masamune's life underwent a significant change. After his surname changed to their grandfather's, of course, their father didn't care about the unwanted, less genius child like Masamune.
Suddenly, things changed quickly after Masamune's drastic transformation. He overcame his overweight issues, but their parents were shocked after hearing news from their grandfather that Masamune was a billionaire who entered the top 15 wealthiest people in the world, unofficially, because this secret remained unknown to the public.
What people knew was that Makabe Hachiro was the man, and not his grandson, who managed to achieve that.
It took Masamune only five years to become one, and by now, he was only 15, in his last year of junior high school.
With him no longer being part of the Hayase family, her father was outraged. Of course, they couldn't do anything about that after her father agreed to give child custody to their grandfather. It was his mistake in the first place.
Furthermore, his anger started when the team her brother was part of in 2009 managed to achieve a fairy-tale victory as they won the championship. That began her father's rage as he lost to an elementary student like Masamune.
Of course, he never came back home, not even for a small visit to his family.
On her side, Chinatsu never had any problems with him; she always visited Masamune with her mom under their grandfather's care. On the other hand, Masamune didn't hold any grudges against her or their mother just because their father behaved that way.
"I'm back..."
Chinatsu arrived at the big two-story house. What she felt in this place was cold and oppressive. If she could choose, she would rather live with Masamune than stay in this place.
"Welcome back, Chinatsu. How was your stay with Grandpa?"
"It's fine."
She was greeted by her mother, Hayase Kinue. She had light brown hair and eyes that were similar to Chinatsu's, along with a pretty face and a well-endowed figure.
Looking at Chinatsu, Kinue felt worried. "Did you get along with Masamune?"
Chinatsu nodded slowly. "Onii-chan treated me nicely, just like he used to. Nothing has changed, Mom."
"I-Is that so? Then I don't need to worry."
Kinue felt really stressed about this. She knew that she couldn't do anything to reverse the situation. After all, she didn't have the power nor skills, and her personality was too kind. Therefore, she couldn't refuse her husband.
"Kinue. Who is that?"
A deep voice came from behind her, causing her to flinch slightly.
"Chinatsu has just arrived, dear."
Kinue moved slightly so Minoru, her husband, could see Chinatsu. The man, with deep black hair and blue eyes, stared at her.
"I see…" he frowned slightly. "Let's have dinner." He turned his back and walked away. "And before that, throw away that cheap, filthy thing on your wrist, Chinatsu."
She looked at her wrist and saw the blue hair tie from Masamune. She took it off and went to her room. She changed from her hoodie into her pajamas. Then she went downstairs and entered the dining room. She joined the two adults at the table as they had already eaten. She took the fork and knife, then sliced the steak as Minoru hummed.
"Don't forget about your entrance exam and aim for first place so the daughter of Hayase can give the speech at the ceremony."
Chinatsu nodded. "Yes."
"Good. Remember, failure isn't an option. Besides, you're a genius, unlike your brother, who threw away his family."
She was tired of this—he constantly slandered Masamune, even though it was his mistake all along.
"My brother isn't wrong, Father."
Minoru, who had been eating with his eyes shut, widened them for the first time. Kinue, who had been eating with a sad face the whole time, seemed surprised too.
"My brother has done his best all this time. His accomplishments speak loudly enough to make you, Father, regret!"
Chinatsu put her fork down as she didn't have an appetite in the first place. She would rather eat the frozen food she and her brother had bought before than this fancy meat.
"Chinatsu, please apologize," Minoru said shortly.
"Which part was I wrong about? In the first place, it was you, Father. You put yourself in this situation. You pushed me hard to prove that you were right and instilled the idea that I'm better than him. But I'm not my brother."
Minoru looked at his daughter and sighed. "It seems you're just entering your rebellious phase. Fine. From now on, you're forbidden to meet Masamune."
"What?" Chinatsu widened her eyes before gritting her teeth. "Tch. I'm sick of this!" She slammed the table and pushed her chair back. "I don't care anymore! I'll go and live with my brother!"
Seeing her walk away, Minoru stood up.
"Chinatsu, come back."
He took his belt, which made Kinue shiver. What was he going to do with that?
"What?—"
Chinatsu glanced back to see her father's emotionless face and froze.
"Minoru, what are you going to do?!"
"I'm being too easy on my daughter. I thought that by doing so, she'd do well, but instead, she glares at me. It seems I need to teach her like my parents did."
He wrapped the belt around his right hand and seemed ready to swing it.
Chinatsu, who had never seen her father like this, fell backward and crawled until she met the wall. However, as he was about to swing the belt, Kinue caught his right hand and held it.
"Dear, are you?!—She's our daughter!"
"Shut up, woman! I'm the one who feeds all of you and provides this luxurious life!"
Chinatsu's heart was pounding; she didn't know what to do.
Ding dong!
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Chinatsu snapped and decided to run to the door. As she opened it, she paused for a moment before hugging him quickly.
"Sorry for coming this late—hey?"
Masamune then turned his head to see a man with the same characteristics as him. He said, "Ah… I see? Domestic violence right after I come back to this house after so long." He then stroked Chinatsu's head gently then look to his former father, "It's been a while, dickhead."