“Yui,” her mother said at last, her voice tight with controlled composure. “At Louis Kisaragi's birthday banquet, in front of a hundred witnesses, he declared his desire to make you his fiancée. Do you understand the… magnitude of what that means?”

Yui clasped her hands on her lap, staring down at them. “…It was not my doing.”

“I am not accusing you,” her mother replied, but her gaze sharpened. “I am asking—why you. Why now?"

Yui hesitated, remembering Louis’s words: “The Sanada heir. I know them enough to despise them.”

Her lips parted, then closed again. “He only said…” She faltered. “Its nothing... I will be more careful.”

"Being careful is not enough Yui. Stay alert. You are now someone's wife. Sweetheart you know what could happen if this scandal is somehow proved to be the truth. I'm just worried for you." 

"Worried? If only you all really did worry about your own children we wouldn't have been hanging by a thread at this moment...."

The scandal of Louis Kisaragi's birthday banquet hadn’t died down overnight.

It had spread.

By dawn, whispers carried from the marble halls of the academy to the hushed parlors of high society. A declaration made before nobles, heirs, and rivals—Louis’s words had the weight of a stone thrown into still water, rippling outward, pulling both the Sanada and Yukimura names into its wake.

And then came the spark that lit fresh chaos.

Haruka Kanzaki.

The only daughter of a famous media tycoon. The transfer student descended into their world like a jewel dropped on silk—gleaming, dazzling, impossible to ignore. Teachers adored her. Students orbited her like moths. And though she was in another class, her gaze never strayed far from Yuki Sanada.

When Yuki entered the classroom, the whispers only sharpened. And before Yui could even lift her eyes, Haruka appeared.

She wasn’t in their class—she was standing in the doorway, a dazzling smile lighting her face as she introduced herself.

“Haruka Kanzaki,” she said sweetly. “I’ve just transferred here.”

Gasps rippled through the room. Even before she finished her bow, whispers erupted.

“She’s gorgeous—where did she come from?”

“She looks like a model.”

“I heard her family is connected to the media industry…”

By the end of the day, her name was on everyone’s lips. Haruka became an instant star. She wasn’t placed in Yui’s class, but she made her presence felt anyway. Every break, every dismissal—she found excuses to linger near Yuki. A “forgotten” notebook. A question about directions. A smile too sweet, too practiced.

And each time, she clung closer.

Yui hated that it worked. The girls whispered louder, twisting the story until it sounded like Haruka was Yuki’s rightful match, and Yui was nothing but a foolish interloper.

A laugh too bright. A brush of her hand on his sleeve. A conspiratorial lean toward his shoulder.

Always calculated. Always visible.

Yui observed it all with that perfected, brittle smile she wore like armor.

“How flattering,” she murmured under her breath, “that my husband attracts strays like lanterns attract moths.”

But her chest wasn’t light. Because each time her gaze drifted past Haruka’s theatrics, it met Louis’s eyes—watching her, patient, unreadable.

What do you want from me, Louis Kisaragi? What do you know about the Sanada family?

---

At lunch, Yui forced herself to keep her head down, but her gaze betrayed her. Not toward Haruka. Toward Louis.

His smile never faltered, his laughter too smooth as he entertained his circle. But every now and then, his eyes slid toward her—sharp, calculating. And when they did, Yui remembered his words at the banquet.

“The Sanada heir. I know them enough to despise them.”

Why? Why despise Yuki? Why involve her?

So she began watching him more carefully. His movements, the tilt of his voice, the precise moments he spoke to others. She searched for cracks, clues. Anything that explained why he is targeting Yuki and what exactly are his plans.

But Yuki noticed.

---

That evening, as they left the gates, Yuki walked beside her, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“You’ve been staring at Louis all day,” he said. His voice was deceptively casual.

Yui blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t play dumb. You think I didn’t notice?” His eyes narrowed. “You’ve been watching him like you’re… interested. Should I be jealous?”

Yui’s lips curled into a sarcastic smile. “Oh? So you do notice me, when what's her name? Ah HARUKA is not on your arm.”

His jaw tightened. “That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is it?” she shot back, eyes glinting. “You think I enjoy being in the center of these rumors?"

“Then stop looking at him like you’re trying to figure him out,” Yuki snapped, stepping closer. His voice dropped lower, sharp with an edge he usually kept hidden. “I don’t like it.”

Her breath caught, but she masked it with mockery. “Maybe I just find him more interesting than you.”

For a heartbeat, silence. His gaze locked on hers, unblinking, unreadable. Then, he smirked, but it didn’t touch his eyes.

Yui clutched her bag tightly, her nails digging into the straps. Her voice trembled, not from weakness, but from holding back everything she wanted to scream.

“…I’ll be staying at my own house tonight,” she said at last, her eyes refusing to meet Yuki’s.

Yuki froze. For a second, his throat tightened, words caught in his chest. He wanted to tell her not to go, to stay—that he hated the idea of an empty house without her in it. But his pride, his stubbornness, all of it locked his mouth shut.

“…Do whatever you want,” he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

The words tasted bitter as soon as they left him. Yui’s shoulders stiffened. Without another glance, she turned and walked away, the distance between them widening with every step.

-------

That night, Yuki sat slouched on the living room couch, jacket tossed carelessly aside, a scowl carved into his face. He dragged a hand down his neck, remembering her words.

"She really did go back to her house…"

The quiet felt heavier without her. He leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

“…Idiot,” he muttered, though the word echoed hollow. “She doesn’t even get it… I don’t want to fight with her.”

But every time he tried to reach her, she pulled away. Every time she got close, he said the wrong thing. It was like some invisible force kept tearing them apart, no matter how much he wanted to hold on.

By the time Yui arrived at her family’s estate, the evening air had already cooled. The familiar warmth of the household wrapped around her like a blanket she hadn’t realized she’d missed.

Her mother appeared at the door, surprised.

“Yui? You’re here so suddenly… is everything all right?”

Yui forced a small smile, but her eyes were tired. “I… just wanted to come home tonight.”

Her mother studied her quietly, her gaze sharp but not unkind. “Wanted to? Or needed to?”

Yui’s throat tightened. She turned away, setting down her bag. “We had a fight.”

Her mother sighed softly and reached to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Yui’s ear, a gesture from childhood that made Yui’s heart ache.

“Marriage isn’t an easy path, Yui. I told you before, didn’t I? Even with the wrong words, even with pride in the way, you must learn when to bend and when to hold firm.”

Yui swallowed hard. “Im trying! You all were the ones who forced us into this in the first place....I cannot even blame him for anything.… it feels like the more I try to reach him, the further away he gets.”

Her mother's eyes softened, but her tone remained firm. “ I know sweetheart. I'm sorry. I wish I had enough power. I wanted you to choose your path for yourself unlike us. But fate didn't want that. But...Yuki-kun is also as confused as you are. Don’t mistake silence for indifference.”

Yui blinked at her mother, startled. Her chest tightened, remembering Yuki’s unreadable expression when she walked away.

Her mother smiled faintly, but her words lingered with a trace of warning. “Still… if you’ve come here tonight, then it means you needed space. Rest, Yui. But don’t let this turn into a wall between you two. Those walls are harder to break the longer they stand.”

Yui nodded, though her thoughts still tangled. “I’ll… think about it.”

Later that night, restless and unable to sleep, Yui sat in her childhood bedroom, hugging her pillow.

“I don’t want to fight anymore…Im sorry....But give me some time....” she whispered, burying her face in the fabric.

But the weight of Louis’s words at the party still gnawed at her. His hatred of the Sanada family. His sharp eyes when he spoke of the past.

Her phone buzzed faintly on the desk, and before she could stop herself, she typed:

Sanada Enterprises.

The usual headlines appeared: business expansions, charity galas, social gossip. But one article stopped her breath.

 “Eighteen Years Ago – The Scandal! Sanada family’s missing son!"

she clicked the article open.

The article revealed a hushed-up scandal: Yuuhi Sanada, Yuki’s uncle, had been caught in whispers of a forbidden affair with a foreign girl from comman background. The scandal caused quite a ruckus in the high society affecting the reputation of the sanada family.

The girl disappeared shortly after the rumors broke. Weeks later, so did Yuuhi.

The official record labeled it a disappearance. But witnesses claimed to have seen both of them leaving the country together. The Sanadas never spoke of it again, and all records were sealed.

Yui’s heart pounded, her stomach twisting.

“…A foreign girl? She clenched her phone tighter. “And then… he vanished too? Thats just weird....”