(BL) Mafia Love; He who falls the hardest loses-Chapter 163: Betrayed

The man before him was his mentor, the only person he was close to in the family before he employed Kiyoshi.

When they had hurt Hiroshi, he had sworn to find the person behind and kill them and also punish Ren but when he became the one getting hurt, his mind went blank at that moment.

With a tired sigh, he nodded and said, "You can leave."

"There is nothing to worry about. All you need to do is get married and move on with your life as planned, just like you’ve always wanted. As soon as you get married, Aiichiro will back off and I won’t interfere ever again."

Haruki felt repulsed by Ren’s attempt to justify his actions once again even after being told for the second time to leave.

"I need you to leave," Haruki repeated coldly meeting the man’s gaze. "You did what you did for the family, I have heard you quite well. Now, leave."

Haruki watched Ren heave his chest before turning and finally leaving. With legs that felt a bit reluctant, Haruki walked to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and filled his palm with water. He sprayed the water on his face.

He met the gaze of his reflection in the mirror. It felt like an awakening moment. A voice in his head said, ’Haruki, you were betrayed’. He sighed and dropped his gaze unable to meet the gaze in the mirror.

He spent a decade from the day he was made chairman to prove to everyone that he was worthy of the position. He was neither talentless nor lazy.

He worked hard on what he did and some results shocked the country even the world. He thought he was settled even despite the occasional attacks. For the first time, he saw all he had as nothing, he saw all he built as fleeting.

A mocking smile lifted the corners of his cheeks as droplets of water rolled down his face which he mopped off with the back of his hand and met the gaze of the sad black eyes looking at him in the mirror.

All the bloodlust of the past seemed to have disappeared beyond his reach. He suddenly felt as though he had not been living for the past few years. It was as though someone else had taken his position, a puppet with zero personal desires, simply drifting in the waves of life.

If it was a year ago, no, even a few months ago, he would have beaten Ren up. He would have brought the man to the brink of death.

He would have savoured the smell of Ren’s blood, he would have smiled and maybe laughed at the satisfaction of giving the man maximum pain but here he was pathetically staring into the mirror.

It felt numb, he looked down at his wet hands as he felt his breaths slowdown along with his heartbeat. A wave of dizziness hit him as his vision blurred. He had so many thoughts on his mind, so many that they jumbled into a mess of nothing.

"Are you okay?" a worried voice asked followed by a tight grip of his waist.

He turned to Hiroshi whose chest was pressed against his chest. He felt enraged by himself. Hiroshi’s hold made him realise he had almost passed out.

’You just got betrayed and all you can do is cry?’ The words flooded his mind just in time for him to taste the saltiness on his lips.

His limbs felt weak he could not bring himself to move away from the warmth anchoring him. He hated himself so much at that moment for being different from the man he knew in his memories but he could not at that moment bring himself to act like that man.

In that moment, he savoured the gentle pats on his shoulders as the tears ran down his cheeks. He closed his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was see himself in that state.

He wanted to answer Hiroshi’s unanswered question. He wanted to complain about how confused he felt at that moment. His emotions felt all over the place and none of them seemed to make sense and yet he could not bring himself to choose the easy route of violence to vent how he felt.

After what felt like forever, Haruki pulled away from Hiroshi’s arms, the position both of them had remained in for the past few minutes.

He rinsed his face avoiding looking at his reflection in the mirror. He turned and walked to the closet. He removed his tie and shirt and wore something else. When he walked out of the closet, Hiroshi was still in the bathroom.

He wanted to leave to avoid meeting the man. He had enough time to think while changing his clothes. He had acted out of character. He had cried. He scoffed at the memory he wanted to lock up deep and never bring up again.

Although that was what he wanted, he waited. When Hiroshi walked out, Haruki gestured to him to come closer. Hiroshi obeyed and stepped closer.

"I want you to leave and don’t return. I will ask Kiyoshi to send you a refund for the information you bought," Haruki said firmly. He was no longer a king in his castle. He knew the power he held had become an illusion with Ren’s betrayal.

He was in control of the legal business and although he had a powerful legal security company with former mercenaries and secret agents working there, it would not be a match for the powerful network Ren controlled in the underworld.

That was something he never considered a threat. It should never have been a threat after all, Ren was loyal to the family to death but the blind spot he missed was the fact that Ren was loyal to the family not him.

"I know why you are doing this. Do not try to hide it from me."

"Since you know, leave. I am sure Ren knows you exposed him. It wouldn’t be long before they try to kill you. You’re not safe here," Haruki warned firmly.

"I know that . . ." Hiroshi said moving closer to Haruki. "But you do not need to worry about me. I don’t need protection. I can protect myself."

"You don’t know who you’re dealing with. Ren and Aiichiro are a force powerful, I can’t even rival them easily. I would need to plan carefully. So, leave."

Hiroshi sighed tiredly and reached to hold Haruki’s wrist. "Do not worry about me. I am fine. I have enough people protecting me, I am not weak either," Hiroshi tried persuading Haruki.

Haruki tried to shake the man’s hold on his wrist but when the man’s wrist tightened slightly and looked into Haruki’s eyes pleadingly, Haruki froze.

"You will get hurt," Haruki warned firmly.

"No, I won’t. If I could get the information I got about Ren, then I could protect myself from him. I am well protected." Seeing that Haruki seemed thoughtful, he continued to push, "Just let me stay with you, please?"

Watching Hiroshi who seemed to be someone he could trust begging to be on his side was refreshing but remembering that Hiroshi was the reason Ren chose to betray him, made him hesitant.

"Let’s join forces, I will protect you as much as I can. I do not need protection from you."

Haruki hearing those words felt like he had hit rock bottom. His doctor was offering to protect him, and one of his lovers wanted to protect him. Was this the breaking point people talk about?

He sighed tiredly and finally pulled his wrist from Hiroshi’s grip. "Go to work," he ordered giving in to the man’s pleas.

He walked out of the room without caring if Hiroshi understood he had given in or not. Kiyoshi opened the door of the car when he walked out of the house. He accepted the man’s greeting before getting seated.

He wrote something on a notepad and passed it to Kiyoshi, who was sitting beside him as the car drove out of the gates. Kiyoshi read the note and frowned before responding to Haruki’s short note. They continued to exchange those notes through the drive to their headquarters.

The papers were burnt in the ashtray in Haruki’s office before he began attending to his duties.

Satomi came to him after Kiyoshi exited the office. "I spoke to my father," Satomi said after exchanging a few perfunctory words with Haruki. "He understood why you shouldn’t meet him yet. He is hoping you’ll meet him before the wedding though."

Haruki sighed, at least one thing was working the way he wanted it to. If he doesn’t deal directly with Satomi’s parents as expected of traditions, he wouldn’t have much to deal with if he has to break it eventually.

Although he was worried about it, he didn’t make it clear to Satomi, in fact, he had been prepared to meet her father but when Satomi saw through him and offered first.

If they go beyond engagement, then he would have to meet her parents properly but while they were engaged, he would have to prevent meeting them.