The Yakuza’s Mute Bride novel Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Chapter 75

The next morning came without peace.

Tadashi Masayoshi woke to the steady rhythm of machines and the dull ache threaded through his body like a reminder that he had survived something meant to kill him. Light filtered in through the partially drawn curtains, pale and unforgiving, illuminating a room that felt foreign despite the familiar scent of antiseptic and polished wood.

Something was wrong.

He sensed it before he could name it.

When the nurse finished her checks and quietly left the room, Tadashi shifted slightly against the pillows and fixed his gaze on the door.

“Summon Yukito,” he said calmly.

The order was absolute, delivered with the confidence of a man who had never once been disobeyed.

Minutes passed.

No Yukito.

Tadashi’s jaw tightened.

“Again,” he ordered when Gio entered shortly after, his expression carefully neutral.

Gio hesitated, just long enough for Tadashi to notice.

“He is… unavailable at the moment,” Gio said carefully.

The word struck like grit between Tadashi’s teeth.

“Unavailable,” he repeated flatly. “Explain.”

Gio inhaled quietly before answering. “Yukito has remained outside your room since yesterday.”

Tadashi’s irritation flared instantly.

“Outside,” he echoed. “Why?”

Gio’s eyes flicked briefly toward the wall separating Tadashi’s room from the adjacent one.

“He stayed with her,” Gio said.

The word should not have mattered.

It did.

Something twisted sharply in Tadashi’s chest, unwelcome and uninvited.

“With who,” he asked, his tone even, detached.

“The woman,” Gio replied. “Naomi Hunter.”

Tadashi scoffed lightly, masking the sudden tension that crept into his shoulders.

“So now even Yukito chooses to ignore my summons because of her,” he said coolly. “She has changed him as well.”

O

Chapter 75

Damn it.

The irritation burned hotter now, sharpened by something dangerously close to jealousy.

“She collapsed,” Gio added quietly.

The words slipped out before he could soften them.

Tadashi stilled.

Only for a fraction of a second.

“What,” he said flatly.

“She fainted outside your room yesterday,” Gio continued. “After you ordered her to leave.”

Silence stretched.

Tadashi did not move.

Did not speak.

Did not react.

“Is she hurt,” he asked at last, his voice deliberately casual, as though the question were meaningless.

Gio nodded slowly. “Yes. She is still recovering from vocal cord surgery. She pushed herself to come here despite medical restrictions. The stress caused her condition to worsen.”

Tadashi clicked his tongue softly.

“So she is fragile,” he muttered. “That explains nothing.”

Yet the question lingered between them, heavier than it should have been.

“Where is she now,” he asked, still pretending indifference.

“In a secured recovery room,” Gio answered. “Yukito has remained with her since then.”

That stung more than Tadashi expected.

He turned his head away, irritation flashing across his features.

“Enough,” he said. “I am not interested in her condition.”

It was a lie…

Gio did not comment instead, he activated the tablet he had brought with him and held it out.

“There is more you should see,” he said.

Tadashi accepted it without comment.

The screen flickered to life, displaying security footage from London.

The image sharpened.

A hallway.

12:57 Mon, Jan 12

Chapter 73

A woman with sharp features and cold eyes.

Reiko Yamasaki…

Tadashi’s expression darkened immediately.

6)

Dd 65 your h

The footage showed Reiko confronting Naomi. Her posture is aggressive. Her movements are deliberate. The moment where she shoved her. The way Naomi staggered. Fell.

The sound was muted, but the violence was unmistakable.

Tadashi’s grip tightened around the tablet.

So even Reiko believed this woman was his weakness.

Interesting.

“Reiko,” Tadashi murmured, his voice dangerous. “So she survived.”

Gio nodded. “She orchestrated the attack through intermediaries. She believed harming the woman would destabilize you.”

Tadashi exhaled sharply.

“Foolish,” he said coldly. “She miscalculated.”

Yet something gnawed at him.

If Naomi truly meant nothing to him, then why would Reiko target her?

Why would the elders whisper?

Why would Yukito disobey him?

Why would Ota speak of love with certainty instead of caution?

“There is more,” Gio added.

Tadashi lifted his gaze.

“The council,” Gio continued. “Several elders have questioned your leadership since the attack. They believe your closeness to the woman has created a vulnerability.”

Tadashi’s eyes hardened.

“Let them question,” he said flatly. “I am not finished breathing yet.”

“It has been three days,” Gio said carefully. “Almost a week since the shooting. They expect you to show strength.”

“I will,” Tadashi replied without hesitation. “I will recover quickly. I will walk again. I will remind them why they feared me long before they ever questioned me.”

He paused, then added quietly, “They will not see weakness.”

Gio nodded, but did not move to leave.

“Something else,” he said.

Tadashi frowned. “Speak.”

12:57 Mon, Jan 12 TOG.

Chapter 73

“Yesterday,” Gio began, hesitating for the first time, “you asked about Shun-sama.”

The name struck something deep inside Tadashi’s chest.

“Yes,” he said. “Bring him to me.”

Gio’s eyes widened.

“Tadashi-sama,” he said slowly, carefully, “Shun-sama passed away.”

The room went utterly still.

Passed away.

Dead.

The word echoed in Tadashi’s mind without shape or meaning.

“When,” he asked.

“More than two years ago,” Gio replied. “You attended the funeral.”

Tadashi frowned deeply.

“I do not remember,” he said.

“I know,” Gio answered gently.

“And you said he hired the woman,” Tadashi continued slowly. “Explain.”

Gio nodded. “Yes. Shun-sama personally hired Naomi Hunter as his helper. He saw something in her. He believed she could… reach you.”

Tadashi’s breath hitched almost imperceptibly.

“Why would he do that,” he asked.

“Because Shun-sama worried about you,” Gio said. “He believed you were losing yourself.”

The words settled heavily in the room.

Tadashi closed his eyes.

Fragments stirred beneath the surface of his mind.

A gentle voice.

A steady gaze.

Hands that did not tremble in his presence.

Something warm.

Something grounding.

But when he reached for it-Nothing came.

He opened his eyes again, frustration burning sharp and bright.

12:57 Mon, Jan 12 TOG.

Chapter 75

“Everything I hear,” he said slowly, “and yet I remember nothing.”

Gio bowed his head slightly.

“Memory often returns unpredictably,” he said. “Sometimes through shock. Sometimes through emotion.”

Tadashi laughed quietly, humorless. “Then it will return when it pleases,” he said. “Until then, I will not allow sentiment to cloud my judgment. Give me the document, I will read it myself.”

Yet as Gio turned to leave after he shoved the documents, Tadashi’s gaze drifted once more toward the wall separating his room from hers.

Unaware that only a few meters away, Naomi lay pale and exhausted, fighting to heal both her voice and her heart.

Unaware that the woman he dismissed as fragile had already survived more pain than most men in his world ever would.

And unaware that every answer he sought would eventually lead him back to her-Whether he wanted it to or not.

61

AD

Comment

Send gift

No Ads

12:57 Mon, Jan 12 TO