The Yakuza’s Mute Bride novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Chapter 77

His hand stopped me without warning.

The sensation was so sudden, so absolute, that my body reacted before my mind could catch up. My steps halted mid- motion, my breath locking painfully in my chest as though the air itself had been taken from me. Slowly-carefully-I lifted my head and met his gaze.

Tadashi Masayoshi was looking at me.

Not through me.

Not past me.

But, at me.

His eyes were fixed on mine with an intensity that sent a sharp ache straight through my ribs, something flickering within them that I could not name. It was not warmth. It was not recognition. It was something unsettled-confused, restless, as though his mind was searching for something it could not quite grasp.

“You…” he started, his voice low, rough, strained by something deeper than pain.

The word hung there, unfinished.

The silence that followed pressed down on me harder than any insult he had thrown at me before.

My throat tightened, my fingers curling instinctively as I tried to pull my hand free from his grasp.

“Let go, Tadashi…” I whispered.

The sound startled me.

My voice-still fragile, still slightly raw-came out clearer than it had weeks ago. It had been more than fourteen days since the surgery. I knew I still had to be careful if I wanted to heal properly, but hearing my own voice now, even this weak version of it, sent a strange tremor through me.

His fingers tightened instead of loosening.

Not painfully. But decisively.

My heart began to pound violently, confusion flooding my chest so fast it made my vision blur.

Why was he acting like this?

Why was he holding me-when he had already told me to leave?

“Naomi, are you here?”

Yukito’s voice echoed across the cemetery, close enough that relief surged through me like a lifeline. I turned my head instinctively toward the sound, my free hand already reaching for my phone so I could answer him, explain, stop whatever strange tension was building around us.

I never got the chance.

Tadashi moved.

In one swift motion, he pulled me away from Shun-sama’s grave, his grip firm around my wrist as he led-no, dragged-ne forward. I gasped softly in shock, my steps faltering as I struggled to keep up with his long strides.

12:57 Mon, Jan 12

Chapter 77

“Tadashi-what are you doing?” I whispered, my voice trembling as fear began to coil tightly around my heart.

He did not answer.

He did not look back.

He simply kept walking, as though stopping was not an option he was willing to consider.

Why?

Why was he taking me?

When we reached the car, Gio was already waiting.

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His eyebrows lifted slightly at the sight of Tadashi holding me, surprise flickering across his expression before discipline snapped back into place. Without asking a single question, he stepped forward and opened the passenger door smoothly.

Tadashi guided me inside and closed the door before moving around the car himself. To my surprise-and growing unease -he slid into the driver’s seat instead of the back.

That alone sent another ripple of uncertainty through me.

The engine started, the sound loud and final, and the car pulled away from the cemetery before I could gather my thoughts.

My chest felt tight, my breathing shallow.

I pulled out my phone with trembling fingers and typed quickly.

“Tadashi, where are we going? Why are you taking me?”

The phone spoke the words aloud, its artificial calm echoing through the car.

He sighed.

A long, restrained sound that carried more frustration than indifference.

He kept his eyes on the road.

He did not answer.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

I leaned back against the seat and stared out through the windshield, watching the city fade into winding roads and rising terrain. Despite everything, a strange sense of familiarity settled over me, memories surfacing unbidden.

This reminded me of our trip before.

The one Shun-sama had insisted on.

The one where Tadashi had driven in silence, pretending indifference while never once letting me feel unsate.

The thought twisted painfully in my chest.

No, Naomi. Do not think like that.

The car continued upward, the air growing colder, the scenery changing until realization struck me with sudden clarity.

Mount Fuji?

Chapter 77

I turned my head sharply toward him, surprise breaking through my careful composure. He noticed my gaze and glanced at me briefly before returning his attention to the road.

“Do not ask,” he said coldly. “I do not know why I am taking you either.”

The words should have hurt more than they did.

Instead, they made me smile faintly-sadly.

I looked back at the mountain, its presence vast and immovable, ancient and patient, standing as it always had while people came and went, loved and lost, remembered and forgot.

I typed again, slower this time.

“You once took me here because I had been too busy taking care of Shun-sama to see anything for myself.”

I did not expect a response, so I continued.

“Do not worry. I will be gone after this. If you are worried I will cause trouble, you do not need to be. I hate conflict.”

The phone spoke the words aloud.

My vision blurred immediately, and I wiped the tears away quickly, refusing to let them fall freely.

Damn it.

I could not let him see me weak.

The car slowed as we reached the fifth station, pulling into a small parking area near a restaurant. The moment I stepped outside, the cold air slammed into me, stealing my breath and biting into my skin.

I had not brought my winter coat.

Before I could react, warmth settled over my shoulders.

A heavy coat.

His coat.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

Why?

Why was he doing this?

This kindness hurt more than his cruelty ever had.

I stepped away from him quickly, wrapping the coat tighter around myself as if distance alone could protect me from the storm inside my chest, I forced my feet to move forward before my heart betrayed me further.

I could not look at him.

I needed to control myself.

Behind me, the mountain loomed silent and watchful, as though remembering everything we had forgotten-everything he no longer could.

And for the first time since coming to Japan, I felt the weight of the truth settle fully into my bones.

Chapter 77

He did not remember me.

But something inside him still knew.

And that knowledge terrified me more than forgetting ever could.

田

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