Chapter 7: Chapter 7
Misaki arrived late, finding the cars leaving the premises already. She felt drowned and defeated. Not knowing what happened inside gave her maximum discouragement. She was angry_ and lost, almost pulling her hair out.
She looked for somewhere private where she could call her father and give him a piece of her mind, but as she walked inside, she saw Ukraine heading her way. He was the only one who could tell her what went down, and she couldn't let him pass without giving her the news.
"Ukraine!", she called as she rushed to him
Uk had to wait for her. He hoped she hadn't heard the news, but from the way she looked he had all the reasons to say she already found out.
"What happened?", was the first question coming out of Misaki's mouth, looking so worried standing in front of him
"Nothing serious, don't worry", said Uk, trying not to stress her more, but that was useless as she was not the easy one to calm.
"Ukraine, I know my dad. What did he say to Miss Kro? How big is the scene he made? Is she okay?",
"You shouldn't worry about the president, it's your father you should worry about",
"Wh_ what do you mean?",
Ukraine saw people getting back from lunch. He couldn't talk about that publicly. He held Misaki's hand and pulled her to somewhere a bit private, behind the fountain.
"Miss Kro almost hit your father", he told her,
"WHAT!", Misaki covered her mouth, she was in total disbelief,
"Look, things where serious in that office and honestly your father crossed the line",
"I know my dad is crazy, but _ but why did the president do that? She's putting herself in trouble",
"Why are you saying that?",
"I don't know if I should say this, but my dad has a problem, anger management problem! He won't rest until he gets back at her!", she exhaled sharply, "I think you should tell the president about this", she said
"I think it will be better if you tell her yourself since you know your father the most",
"Okay, I'll do that, in the meantime make sure you're always by her side until I solve this with my dad too. I don't care if you avoided her or something, but this time try to be beside her most of the time",
Ukraine nodded. But Misaki could see that he was still nervous about it. She gently patted him on the shoulder and smiled at him,
"Don't worry. I got this, it'll be okay soon", she assured him,
"I hope so", said Ukraine, putting his hand on top of hers.
....
CC MARKETING DEPARTMENT
MD's office
Sue watched her phone as it rang. Her mother-in-law had never called her at that time of the day. She was the person she despised the most in the world. It was always a nightmare talking to her. But after seeing her calling and calling non-stop, she decided to pick up
"Hello", she said, sounding as annoyed as she should.
"Why do you sound mad? You don't even know what I want to tell you yet", said the mother-in-law.
"Why did you call me at this time of the day? As far as I know, Zoe isn't back from school yet",
"That's what I want to tell you. Zoe just transferred to another school. I've been looking and a month ago I found a perfect boarding school for her",
Sue unconsciously got up, infuriated,
"I'm sorry, what? And why did you do that without telling me first? In case you forgot, Zoe is my daughter! I still have all the rights to decide what's best for her", said Sue, losing her temper,
"Don't you dare use that tone with me! Did you forget why I'm doing this? Do you want me to tell everyone?",
"That's not what I mean, COME ON! You already took her away from me, isn't that enough?",
"It's not!",
Sue could feel her blood boiling inside. Her daughter was the only family she had, and now she was hearing of her being taken to boarding school she knew nothing about. It was driving her insane
"You know what? Okay, can you at least tell me the name of the school my daughter is in? I want to go see her, she should at least know that I'm still by her side",
"No!", hissed the mother in-law
"WHY NOW? ARE YOU SERIOUSLY DOING THIS TO ME? PUNISH ME ALL YOU WANT! TAKE MY MONEY, TAKE MY HOUSE, BUT LEAVE MY DAUGHTER OUT OF THIS!", she yelled angrily
"You think I'm evil, right? Well, this is just the beginning!",
"LISTEN TO ME! I-KNOW-ZOE! OKAY? SHE'S NOT READY FOR BOARDING SCHOOL, SHE'S JUST 6!",
"I really don't care, Sue! This is nothing, I'll call you in 1 month when I go visit her, you'll talk to her then!",
"You're one cruel son of a b_",
The mother-in-law hung up, leaving her sentence hanging like a thread. Sue almost threw her phone to the wall. Her life was the worst. Her mother-in-law was making a beast out of her!
.....
Evening
Ukraine escorted Kro closely, hoping she would invite him for dinner again. This time he was ready to say yes since it was the only way for him to stay by her side until Misaki cleared everything with her father.
But opposite from his expectations, Kro didn't look like she wanted company that night. She quietly walked in front of him. It was like that from the moment Uk left the office for lunch, she never said a word to him. She'd been soft towards him a few days ago, but now she looked like the Kro he heard from the stories, the silent Kro! And he couldn't understand why it bothered him to see her like that.
They were getting closer to her car, but she didn't look like she was going to stop and look at him like she always did. He still hoped she would, but that was before she almost got into the car. He managed to stop her,
"Miss Kro! Ex_ excuse me", he said. It was that 'now or never' moment, he had to man up,
Kro slowly turned around to listen to him. Her face had the most neutral expression
"Yes?", she was now staring at him
"Is that dinner offer still valid?",
"It is",
"Well, I was_",
"But not today",
Ukraine swallowed his words after being cut off of his sentence, but he couldn't give up there. He had to try again.
"May I know why?", he proceeded asking
"Uh_",
Kro looked around as if she was waiting for someone, doing the exact thing Ukraine did when she offered him dinner the first time, and at that exquisite moment she saw Sue leaving the building, a perfect karma!
"SUE!", Kro called her out loud
Uk turned to see if Sue was really there. And yes, she was, also now heading to where they were standing. When Uk turned back to face Kro again, he found her staring at him, wearing the fakest smile. He understood what she was doing.
Sue got to the car,
"Sue! Are you ready for our drinks' night?", asked Kro,
And after the phone call Sue had with her mother-in-law, a cold drink was exactly what she needed. She nodded almost instantly.
"Yes, I am", she said, not caring if it was a tricky question or not. She just wanted to clear her head for the night,
"Great, let's go", Kro turned to face Uk again, who was now smiling while nodding his head, "Goodnight, dear one", she got inside the car, followed by Sue.
Ukraine watched as the car drove away from the headquarters. He could no longer underestimate his boss' instincts. He felt awkward that she actually knew of the game he played with Misaki a day back.
"Checkmate, Kro", he chuckled,
...….
AZARADAN
Night
Poqo threw stones into the river as he waited. It was their secret meeting spot, a good distance from Pix. He knew of how much she loved the nature, so while the river glowed from the moonlight, fireflies added the fantasy in that setting. It was a very calm place, 100 percent different from the battlefields he was used to.
He started hearing footsteps from behind, she was finally there. He quickly turned around to get a good look at her. Kenna wore a black, silk cloak with the cap covering her to the face. She had no jewel on her since the jingling sound could alert people that it was her.
As she removed the cap and letting her red hair fall gracefully to her back, the night suddenly turned perfect for Poqo. He was dying to just carry her in his strong arms and embrace her, but they weren't on that stage yet. From the way they stared at each other, it was crystal clear that they longed for one another. Kenna's eyes defined satisfaction and relief, that after the deadliest war, Poqo was standing in front of her, alive.
She walked to the edge of the river where Poqo was standing, waiting for her,
"How long have you been waiting here?", she asked, her hands clasped inside the long, trumpet sleeves of the cloak
"Not too long, don't worry about that. How're you?", he asked, although she looked fine, he had to assure himself,
"I've been waiting for you to come back safely. Right now, I can say I'm more than fine",
"It makes me the happiest man to hear those words from you. I've been thinking about you everyday. The moment we got back I almost ran to Pix to see you, I don't know why, but nowadays I want to bless my eyes with your sight each second", said Poqo, meaning each word he uttered.
"I know, I know Poqo. I'm in the same situation and I know how hard it is, but we still have to be careful. If my father finds out about us, you'll get hurt, and I don't want to see you get hurt because of me. Let's keep meeting like this, until the time is right",
"Kenna, sometimes we spend months in battlefields, what if the general finds you a suitor? You know I won't survive that",
"What are you trying to say?", she asked, nervously
"I'm saying, let's get married Kenna! Marry me",
Kenna's heart exploded with joy. They weren't supposed to touch each other until they were man and wife, but at that moment she didn't care. She put her arms around him and placed her head on his chest. Poqo's strong arms wrapped around her too. They all got so emotional that their eyes became teary
"There's no Poqo without Kenna!", he said
"And there's no Kenna without Poqo! I love you; I love you very much!",
"I love you so much that I can even give you my life",
Being by each other's side was enough for them. In that life, they only wanted to be with one another. It was the only thing which made them feel complete.
*****
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone