The Yakuza’s Mute Bride novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

After that, I stood up and went to bed early

No one said anything, but I could feel their eyes following me- quiet, cautious, worried. Even Yuke’s laughter had whioned, as though she was afraid the sound might break me.

The house was warm, filled with the faint scent of incense and soy. But as I walked toward my room, it all felt discard-like s was walking through a photograph of someone else’s life.

Once inside, I closed the door softly behind me and leaned against it, letting the stillness settle. My hands were trembling, though I didn’t know why.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall for a long time.

I didn’t understand what this feeling was the pressure in my chest, the dull ache behind my ribs, the confusion that kops circling like an unanswered question.

Tadashi and I don’t have any relationship.

The thought was sharp, like something I had to keep saying just to believe it.

We were connected only because of Shun-sama. That was all.

Shun-sama, with his soft, weary smile and the gentle way he used to call my name. He had treated me like a granddaughter. given me kindness when no one else had even seen me. When he passed, I thought that thread would break Bur Tadashi- Shun-sama’s grandson – had taken responsibility in his place.

That was it. Obligation, not affection.

Maybe all of this- this house, this care, these people guarding me -was just a debt being repaid to a dead man’s memory.

Maybe I had mistaken duty for love.

“Stupid,” I whispered, my voice barely audible even to myself. “I’m so stupid”

The word stung as it left my lips, but I couldn’t stop.

He doesn’t care about you. He only does what Shun-sama would have wanted.

I pressed my palm over my eyes. My throat burned.

None of it was real – the warmth, the gifts, the soft concern in Yukito’s eyes, Ai’s laughter, Yuka’s cooking. It all existed because of him. Because of Tadashi. And because of Shun-sama before him.

Without them, I was nothing.

My gaze shifted toward the nightstand. The box with the new iPhone still sat there, gleaming faintly in the low light.

I reached out and touched it. The paper was smooth, cool against my fingertips.

For a moment, I imagined opening it – imagined turning it on, waiting for it to light up, maybe to see a name appear on the screen. Maybe his name.

But the thought terrified me more than the silence.

Because if there was no message, no number, no sign. I didn’t know what that would do to me.

10:40 Tue, Jan 6

woj

Chapter 24

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So I placed it back on the nightstand, untouched.

–

Then, almost impulsively, I picked it up again and this time, I slid it into the drawer, out of sight. Out of reach.

I didn’t want to look at it anymore.

Instead, I lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as if the plaster might offer some answer.

I should be grateful, I told myself. Grateful for this life. For this chance to live without fear, to study, to breathe freely.

I should be thankful for the roof above me, the food, the laughter I didn’t deserve.

That should be enough.

I shouldn’t ask for more

—

not love, not warmth, not a heart that was never mine to begin with.

I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood.

He never gave me his heart.

Why did I keep wishing he had?

The words she had said in class came back like poison. “You’re just ordinary.”

Maybe she was right.

—

Maybe Reiko Yamaguchi was the kind of woman Tadashi was meant to stand beside powerful, beautiful, untouchable. The kind of woman who could share his world.

And me?

Just a quiet girl who couldn’t even speak without writing her thoughts on paper.

Pathetic.

The thought made something inside me crumble.

I turned onto my side, pulling the blanket over my head, but the tears came anyway – slow and silent, soaking into the pillow until it was cold beneath my cheek.

How many times had I promised myself I wouldn’t cry anymore? That I’d already used up all my tears years ago, when the Hunter house had taught me what cruelty really meant?

But some wounds never healed, they just changed their shapes.

I stayed like that for a long time – listening to the faint hum of the refrigerator downstairs, the quiet murmur of voices fading into the night.

And then, when the silence grew too heavy, I sat up again.

The clock on the wall glowed faintly: 2:11 AM.

—

Sleep wasn’t coming. My mind was too full of Tadashi, of Reiko’s cold eyes, of the cruel balance between gratitude and longing.

Finally, I turned on the laptop Yukito had given me that morning. The soft blue light spilled over my hands, over the sheets,

like a secret.

The start-up chime sounded too loud in the still room.

10:40 Tue, Jan 6

Chapter 24

I took a deep breath and opened the browser.

If I couldn’t sleep, I could at least do something.

I was twenty-one now. I couldn’t keep depending on their kindness forever.

I had to become independent again.

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I searched for jobs – online work, translation gigs, freelance design, anything that could make me feel like I wasn’t living on

borrowed air.

The listings blurred together after a while. My eyes burned, but I kept scrolling, determined.

Yes. I had to get back up.

These comforts had made me soft, dulled my edges. I had to remember who I was the girl who learned how to survive

when no one came to save her.

In the end, I could only rely on myself.

–

By the time I closed the laptop, the first light of dawn was seeping through the curtains. The birds outside were just beginning to stir.

I sat there quietly, watching the thin gray light spread across the room.

A new day.

Maybe that meant a new beginning.

The next morning, I moved like nothing had happened.

—

Everyone was watching me I could feel it in the way Ai’s laughter hesitated, in the way Yukito’s gaze lingered a moment too long when I entered the kitchen.

But I smiled at them. Calm. Gentle. Pretending to be okay.

I thanked Yuka for breakfast, even joked about the weather in my notebook. The words looked normal, and maybe that was enough to convince them.

When I left the house, Ai and Yukito followed as usual a silent pair of shadows keeping pace behind me.

The air outside was crisp and cool. The rain had stopped, leaving the streets damp and gleaming. Puddles mirrored fragments of gray sky, and the scent of wet pavement mixed with the faint aroma of roasted coffee from the café on the

corner.

For a while, I let the rhythm of walking calm me. The world felt almost ordinary again.

Until a sound broke through it – the sudden growl of an engine.

I turned just in fime to see a black luxury car speeding around the corner, far too close.

Everything happened in a blur.

A flash of chrome. The hiss of tires. Yukito’s shout – sharp, desperate

The car passed inches from us, wind whipping my hair across my face.

It didn’t stop. Didn’t even slow down.

–

as he yanked me backward by the arm.

10:40 Tue, Jan 6

Chapter 24

It was gone as fast as it came, swallowed by the curve of the street.

My pulse roared in my ears. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.

Ai’s hand was on my shoulder, shaking gently. “Naomi-san! Are you hurt?”

I blinked, my breath catching. Then slowly, I shook my head.

But my knees felt weak. My palms were cold.

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The street had gone quiet again, the city returning to its rhythm as if nothing had happened. But something in Yukito’s expression told me this wasn’t just coincidence.

He was already scanning the road, his eyes narrowing, his jaw tight.

Without a word, he pulled out his phone and stepped away, murmuring something low and clipped in Japanese.

After a moment, he turned back. “You and Ai go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

His voice was calm, but his tone wasn’t.

He was angry.

And underneath that, I sensed something worse

–

– fear.

I wanted to ask what was wrong, but the words caught in my throat.

Ai hesitated beside me, then took my hand lightly. “Naomi-san… are you sure you still want to go to campus?”

I nodded, forcing a small smile. “I’m fine,” I mouthed.

But inside, my thoughts were racing.

What was that?

An accident? A warning?

I didn’t know.

All I knew was that the air felt heavier now, the world quieter, as if something unseen had shifted.

As if the fragile balance of safety I’d been given was starting to crack.

What is this?

What is really happening?

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