บท 28: I Could At Least Lend You a Hand to Hold Onto

Today, the sun took mercy on them as it continued shining brightly, increasing the temperature for a bit. As the cool autumn wind blew past them, the golden leaves of the ginkgo trees scattered above them before they fell gracefully on the ground, creating a sea of gold.

Shouko flipped the page of a book in her hands, she appeared so casual as the corners of her lips would occasionally lift up. Sometimes, the end of her locks fluttered due to the wind drifting past her. The chirping of the birds sounded melodious in the air, accompanying her relax time reading the book.

Her eyes fell upon a paragraph. It was a short poem.

how strange it is

to fall in love with a complete stranger,

but how even more strange it is the moment you feel,

as if you've known them your entire life

- Mason Fowler -

This was Kyoya to her.

They were complete strangers in the beginning, tied into marriage before their love slowly grew. While he was still remembering their love all these years, she was dragged back to the starting line.

Shouko tilted up her head, her eyes went to the azure blue sky. It was a cloudless day. She was lucky because the platform was placed right below a tree. It was a proper shade for her while she was enjoying her time reading.

"En..."

Shouko lowered down her gaze once she heard the grunt. She smiled helplessly once she saw a certain someone's blissful face.

Kyoya was sleeping on her lap, he appeared so peaceful compared to his previous sullen state. From time to time, his lashes fluttered yet his breathing remained steady. He was sleeping on his side, facing her.

Shouko ran a hand through his dark locks. When she saw his peaceful sleeping state, she couldn't help but be reminded of their conversation earlier.

At that time, his shoulders slumped and his expression was conflicted as he looked at her after their embrace.

"It might sound laughable but..." Kyoya held both of her hands firmly, savoring the feeling of having her warmth near him. "I actually have trouble with sleeping. Since I was young, that is."

Shouko nodded lightly, urging him to continue speaking.

Seeing there was no apprehension from the way she returned his gaze, Kyoya braced himself to pour out what he wanted to tell her.

"I could only sleep for a few hours and... not until we're together... did I could relax every time I want to sleep. I won't force you to believe me but, before, I could only sleep when I'm beside you. So..."

"That's why you've been sleeping on the couch? You're trying to see if you could find some sleep?" Shouko asked, her tone was gentle. She didn't want him to misunderstand that she was trying to blame him for such behavior.

"En... yes."

Kyoya pursed his lips, his eyes went to their linked hands.

Shouko didn't ask him about the cause of his insomnia or his nightmare. Kyoya didn't understand why but he was glad she did so. He was still not ready to tell her everything. His self-consciousness didn't allow him to.

It was not the time for him to reveal all of his dark secrets.

"Kyoya, you can stop doing this," Shouko twirled his hand, she rubbed circles at the back of his hand. Before he misunderstood, she quickly added, "Even though it's still kind of awkward to sleep on the same bed with you, I'm your wife. I could at least lend you a hand to hold onto or..."

Shouko's cheeks flushed red. She chewed her lower lip as her eyes darted to the tree for a second. It appeared so radiant to him.

"You could treat me like a hugging pillow. That is... if you want."

Kyoya was so dumbstruck once he heard her words. He blanked out. It took him almost full two minutes before he reacted. Shouko felt like it was the longest two minutes in her life.

Her face was so red by the time he finally responded.

"Could I?" Kyoya looked so nervous yet there was a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes. "Could I... really?"

Shouko bit her lips, with cheeks as red as a tomato, she nodded.

Then, before he could manifest his excitement that would make her shy even more, she quickly forced him to take a nap.

It was so embarrassing to have him staring at her with childlike eyes. Shouko could only endure by hiding her face using the book. Luckily it didn't take him long before he drifted off to sleep.

Unlike last night, right now, he seemed so peaceful in his sleep.

Feeling bored, Shouko reached out for her phone that had been neglected since the moment she began reading. She was searching for fun things to do in this area. Enjoying nature was all good and fun but she still wanted to try something else. As she was browsing the map of the area, her eyes landed on a tag.

Approximately seven kilometers from their private villa, there was a craft shop located at the shopping district. The shop was quite large and it was opened for classes every day. The subject for each day was different and today's subject had successfully caught her interest.

Kyoya did say she should take a look at any activities and fun that she wanted to try. He was the one who told her about the specialties in this area.

Without thinking much, Shouko quickly signed up for the evening class through the shop's website. The class would start at 2 PM. The time now was 11:30 AM. It was better for them to have lunch outside instead of cooking if they wanted to make it for the class.

"Kyoya? Wake up," Shouko patted the man's shoulders, trying to awake him.

Kyoya stirred in his sleep. He opened his lids slightly, his gaze was still in a blur before he slowly regained his focus. Realizing that he was sleeping on the little lady's lap, he quickly sat up. Faint traces of blush crept his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," He smiled sheepishly. "Did I sleep for too long?"

Shouko laughed seeing his expression. She shook her head. "It's alright. It's just that I've signed us up for an art class this evening. It would begin at 2 so I think we should get going now. We could have lunch outside."

"Alright," Kyoya immediately agreed. His eyes twinkled in joy.

The husband and wife got ready for their outing. Shouko chose a pastel yellow dress reaching below her knees, she then paired it with a white long cardigan and a pair of boots. After tying her hair into a half-knot, she grabbed her bag and went outside of the room.

Kyoya had been waiting for her. He was leaning against the barrister opposite her door, looking dandy in his black cashmere sweater and a denim jacket. His complexion was greater after having such a fulfilling nap.

"Let's go!" Shouko was giddy with excitement, she was so overjoyed to explore the fun.

Kyoya's eyes bent as he smiled. His mood was much better right now.

Both of them went to the shopping district by the car prepared by the bodyguards. Kyoya took the opportunity to drive them by himself as he wanted to spend more private time with his wife. Just by seeing how her eyes sparkled whenever she looked at something interesting was already enough for him.

"Wow~ There's so many cafes and restaurants here," Shouko couldn't help but sigh seeing the rows of eateries at both of her sides.

The shopping district was filled with rows and rows of beautifully decorated shops. Apart from the cafes and restaurants, there were also a bookstore, boutiques, pharmacies and various kinds of shops. The craft shop that Shouko was looking for was located in the middle of the district.

"Before, this place was unpopular despite having beautiful scenery," Kyoya kept the car key inside the pocket of his jacket as he swept his gaze around the area. "This district started to have a makeover after the council received an investment due to the development of a resort on the other side of the lake. Since then, this place has become a tourist attraction throughout the entire year."

"Ah! You're right!" Shouko smiled brightly at him, the view of the lake appeared in her mind. "Regardless of the seasons, the lake would remain beautiful and attractive to the visitors. Then, the council would plan different types of activities depending on the season?"

Kyoya smiled, his dark eyes exuded tenderness as he nodded.

"What do you want to eat?" He scanned around the cafes and restaurants, most of them were already filled with patrons having their lunch.

"That one looks fun," Shouko pointed at a cafe located on their right. Even from far, the ambiance of the cafe looked comfy and inviting. "Why don't we go there?"

"Alright," Kyoya agreed immediately. Well, he wouldn't say no to his wife.

As they walked toward the cafe, something caught Shouko's attention. She frowned, afraid she was just imagining thing but once it got intense, she couldn't just stay still. Her fingers lightly pulled Kyoya's arm, making him pause his step.

"What's wrong?" Kyoya thought that his wife's expression seemed off.

"Don't you smell something like... gas?" Shouko lowered down her voice, she didn't want to cause unnecessary panic even though most people would just walk past them.

"En?" Kyoya rose one eyebrow. He tried sniffing, looking for even the smallest clue of what Shouko had said. After a while, his nose detected a faint scent of gas. His eyes widened slightly. "It is... leaking?"

"I think..."

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM!

Before Shouko could finish her words, a succession of loud bangs suddenly sounded near them followed by the sound of things crashing and glass shattering. Kyoya acted in an instant. He grabbed Shouko and shielded her from the flying debris, catching her off guard.

"Get out! Get out!"

"Don't push me! Hey!"

"Run!"

Shouko blanked, she froze in Kyoya's arms when the panic surged within the crowd.

"Are you okay? Did you hurt somewhere?" Kyoya suppressed the dread in his voice, he immediately checked his wife's condition.

"I... I'm fine..." Shouko finally managed to squeeze out some words from her mouth. She blinked a few times, her eyes went to his ashen face. "What... happened?"

Kyoya turned his head to look at the back. Horror flashed in his eyes.

It was a dreadful scene.

Clouds of black smoke and brightly lit flames came from the family restaurant located next to the cafe they intended to go to. People ran out of the restaurant in panic. Even the people from the shops nearby evacuated the places for fear of catching in the flames.

The sound of people wailing in pain and yelling due to panic mixed in the crowd. The unaffected ones froze on the spot, horror was reflected in their eyes before panic and curiosity undertook their emotions.

"Water! Water!"

"Where's the fire extinguisher?"

"Help! My son is still in there!"

Looking at all the panic, Kyoya quickly brought Shouko far from the crowd. They found a safe place at the opposite of the restaurant raging with flame.

"Young Master."

At this time, a man dressed in a black suit came out of nowhere. He stood beside Kyoya.

"What happened?" Kyoya still held his wife tightly in his arms, afraid of letting her go.

"It's a case of gas leaking," The man reported briefly. His facial expression was rigid. "The ambulance and firefighters have been called."

Kyoya nodded, his face remained taut. "Go and help them."

The man disappeared instantly.

"Kyoya..."

"Everything is under control," Kyoya gently patted her head. Despite most people were still in fright over what happened, he still appeared calm in order to not affect her current mental state after seeing such a terrifying scene. "Let's move from this place."

"But..."

Shouko looked at their surroundings. She felt uneasy to leave this place while there were injured people needing help.

"Help is coming," Kyoya understood what had been going inside her mind so he could only coax her. "This place needs to be vacated. I'm afraid there would be another explosion."

Shouko finally agreed with his point. It would burdensome to the firefighters and ambulance if the casualties increased. Moreover, she saw six of Kyoya's bodyguards were helping the victims. Their conduct was timely and efficient.

She cast a last look at the blazing fire, her fingers that were gripping his jacket trembled in fright. Suddenly, her eyes landed on something. They widened in horror as a realization dawned on her.

Kyoya felt distressed seeing her face filled with fear. He didn't expect to encounter something like this during their outing.

"Let's go..."

Before he could speak, Shouko dashed out of his arms. Her movement was so fast it caught him off guard. Kyoya turned around with flailing arms, he failed to catch her fleeting figure. He froze once he saw where she was running to. His blood ran cold.

She ran inside the fire!

"SHOUKO!"

His loud voice instantly drowned the cries and yells within the crowd.