The Yakuza’s Mute Bride novel Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Tadashi did not leave my side.

Not for a breath. Not for a heartbeat. Not even when the doctor entered the room with a folder of notes and a worried

expression.

He sat close enough that his thigh brushed mine, close enough that his warmth seeped through my robe, close enough that I could feel each exhale against my temple. His hand rested lightly on my waist, almost uncertain, as if he feared pressing too hard might break me again.

“The bruising is healing,” the doctor said gently while checking my vitals. “Your shoulder is still inflamed, but we have already administered strong pain medication. You should regain full function in time as long as you refrain from strain.”

I nodded, tired but grateful.

–

Tadashi released a breath so long – so visibly relieved that Yukito and Ota exchanged a glance across the room. It was not a small change they saw but a transformation. The man who had carved terror through London in the last three days had softened in an instant, the fury draining from his features the moment I awakened.

This man beside me was no longer the storm they had been following. He was Tadashi. The one I knew. The one whose heart had nearly broken in silence.

Ai stood near the doorway, hands clasped tightly, watching the way Tadashi hovered over me as if any breeze might knock me out again. Yuka dabbed a cloth lightly against my forehead and smiled with relief.

For the first time since I woke, silence settled into something warm.

–

how Tadashi refused treatment,

But then I remembered the whispers I heard while drifting in and out of consciousness how he pushed away help, how he bled in private while punishing the ones who hurt me.

My fingers trailed down his arm until I found the edge of his coat, and I tugged gently.

“Tadashi…” I murmured, my voice still rough, each sound scraping against damaged vocal cords.

He leaned closer immediately. “What is it, love?”

I lifted my hand and touched the side of his torso where fabric lay taut and slightly darkened. I remembered the rumors. The whispers. The fear.

“Doctor,” I said slowly, forcing each word with effort, “do you mind… checking Tadashi… too?”

The room fell silent.

Completely, utterly silent.

Yuka froze mid-step.

Ai’s eyes widened.

The doctor blinked in shock.

And Ota whispered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a prayer.

Because it had been days – days since anyone had dared approach Tadashi with medical intentions, days since every attempt had been shut down by a single cold glare, days since he refused to acknowledge his own injuries at all.

And yet… here I was. Asking.

12:50 Mon, Jan 12 TOG.

Chapter 54

“What?” I asked, pretending innocence even though we all knew I had heard every whispered confession of his stubbornness.

Tadashi exhaled, a long, weary sigh, and locked his eyes on me. His expression held equal parts defensiveness and reluctant

amusement.

“Should I?” he asked quietly, as though the decision required my approval alone.

I glared at him – gently but firmly.

“What do you think?” I rasped. “I am not the only one hurting. If you leave the wounds untouched… they can worsen. They can be infected. They can kill you.”

The words were soft, but they struck him like blows.

Across the room, his men held their breath, witnessing something impossible.

No one

–

–

absolutely no one scolded Tadashi Masayoshi.

And yet here I was, lecturing him like a stubborn patient who refused to behave.

He stared at me and I stared back bravely.

And then

—

“…Fine,” he muttered, looking away.

The entire room jolted to life.

The doctor nearly tripped over himself.

Yuka grabbed gloves.

Two guards rushed forward to help him remove the coat.

Ai gasped into her hands.

And Yukito actually whispered, “This is our chance,” as though a divine gift had just fallen from the heavens.

Tadashi glared at them half-heartedly, but he remained still.

I smiled while watching it. It slipped out without permission – small and warm.

Ota noticed.

Slowly, he walked closer until he stood beside the couch, his expression thoughtful.

“You knew,” he said softly.

My eyes widened. He had never spoken to me directly before.

“You knew Tadashi-sama was injured,”

I looked down, ashamed.

“This is my fault,” I whispered.

Continued, his voice calm, “and you pushed him into treatment anyway.”

Ota studied me for a long moment. He had only heard fragments of who I was from Yukito and Ai, nothing personal, nothing intimate. But now, watching me break softly under the weight of guilt, he understood what Yukito meant when he

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Chapter 54

said I was different that I was not a weakness to Tadashi, but something far more complex.

Before he could speak further, the doctor’s voice cut sharply through the room.

“Tadashi-sama… we must pull out the bullet now.”

My head snapped up.

“Bullet?” I whispered in horror.

In an instant I was at the doctor’s side, ignoring the weakness in my legs as I leaned forward to see him peel back Tadashi’s shirt.

My breath caught.

A dark, angry wound marred his abdomen, swollen and raw, with a single glint of metal still embedded deep inside. Bruises painted his skin – blue, purple, black running along his ribs, arms, and shoulders in violent patterns. Long scratches

–

traced his sides, likely from shattered metal or broken glass.

He had been carrying this pain for days.

Days…?!

–

Walking, fighting, killing – all while bleeding.

SMACK.

My hand struck his shoulder before I could stop it.

The sound echoed through the room.

Everyone froze. Even the doctor stopped breathing.

–

Tadashi blinked once, surprised. Then he looked at me not with anger, not with annoyance, but with a soft, bewildering tenderness.

I scowled at him, tears burning at the corners of my eyes.

“Lucky… I demanded a check,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “You need to take care of yourself too, Tadashi.”

He shrugged, as though a bullet buried in his abdomen was no more troubling than a splinter.

“It was not urgent,” he said simply.

From behind us, Yukito leaned toward Ota and whispered, “If I ever spoke to Tadashi-sama like that, I would be dead.”

Ota nodded solemnly. “Instantly.”

But Tadashi – Tadashi held my hand gently in his, eyes softening in a way that made my heart ache.

And for the first time since the attack, I felt his walls crack… not from rage, not from grief, but from the simple, human realization that someone cared for his wounds as fiercely as he cared for mine.

12:50 Mon, Jan 12 TOG