The Yakuza’s Mute Bride novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Chapter 80

At first, I thought my eyes were deceiving me.

60

The mountain air was thin and cold, the light reflecting strangely off snow and stone, and for a brief moment I convinced myself that the sharp flicker I had noticed near the edge of the forest was nothing more than sunlight striking ice. My heart, however, reacted differently, tightening painfully in my chest with a warning that came not from fear, but from instinct sharpened by years of silent observation.

While Tadashi and Yukito stood facing one another, their stares sharp with unspoken hostility and wounded pride, my attention drifted away from them without conscious intent. Something about the stillness beyond the road unsettled me, as though the mountain itself was holding its breath.

That was when I saw it clearly.

A thin reflection of light, too precise and deliberate to be natural, glinting from between the dark silhouettes of trees.

Metal.

Glass.

A rifle scope.

My breath caught violently, my lungs refusing to expand as panic surged through me with terrifying clarity.

There was no time to think, no time to warn anyone, no time to reach for my phone or scream his name. My body moved before my mind could catch up with what was happening.

BANG!!!!!

The sound of the gunshot tore through the air.

In that same instant, I slammed both hands against Tadashi’s chest with every ounce of strength I possessed, forcing him sideways just as the bullet was released.

Pain exploded through my shoulder immediately, white-hot and searing, stealing the air from my lungs as my body twisted violently from the impact.

“ARGH..!!!” A raw cry tore from my throat despite my effort to remain silent, and the world tilted sharply as both Tadashi and I collapsed onto the frozen road.

For a moment, everything blurred.

The sky spun above me, pale and endless, while the burning in my shoulder spread downward in waves that made my vision darken at the edges. I felt Tadashi shift beside me, heard his sharp inhale, and then his voice reached me through the haze.

“What… Naomi?”

Confusion laced his tone, followed by something closer to alarm as his gaze finally fell upon me.

Then Yukito screamed my name.

“NAOMI!”

Hands grabbed me instantly, firm and urgent, pulling me away from Tadashi before I could even process what had happened. My body felt unbearably heavy as Yukito gathered me into his arms, his movements careful but desperate as blood soaked through the fabric of my coat and stained the snow beneath us.

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Chapter 80

I gasped, my breath shallow and uneven, pain pulsing relentlessly through my shoulder with every heartbeat.

(60)

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Through the blur of tears and shock, I saw Tadashi push himself upright. His posture changed instantly, as though something violent and familiar had awakened inside him. His head snapped toward the forest, his expression sharpening with lethal focus.

“Reiko,” he whispered.

The name fell from his lips like a curse.

Without another word, he turned and ran toward the trees, his movements fast and unhesitating, leaving me bleeding in Yukito’s arms as he charged toward the source of the attack.

Only then did the truth strike me fully.

I had forgotten.

Amid the heartbreak, the memory loss, and the cruelty of his rejection, I had forgotten that enemies did not disappear simply because love was forgotten. Reiko had always been watching, always waiting for the moment when Tadashi was vulnerable.

Yukito did not follow him.

Instead, he tightened his hold on me and barked sharp orders to the men around us.

“Get her inside immediately.”

The world moved quickly after that, voices overlapping as I was carried back into the restaurant. The warmth of the interior clashed painfully with the cold searing through my body, and I was laid gently onto the tatami floor of the private room as someone cut away the fabric around my shoulder.

A man knelt beside me, calm and precise, and I realized distantly that he was one of Tadashi’s private doctors.

“It struck her shoulder,” he said after examining the wound carefully. “The bullet passed through cleanly and missed any vital structures.”

Relief swept through the room so abruptly it felt tangible.

Yukito released a breath he had clearly been holding, his shoulders sagging slightly as his hand braced against the table for

support.

I swallowed hard, the pain still sharp but manageable, and turned my gaze toward him.

“Naomi,” he said quietly, his voice strained with emotion he rarely allowed to surface. “Why did you do that?”

I looked at him, truly looked at the man who had protected me without hesitation, who had defied Tadashi himself to keep me safe, and who now knelt beside me with fear written plainly across his face.

I reached for my phone slowly, my fingers trembling as I typed.

“It would have struck his heart if I had not pushed him.”

The device spoke the words aloud in a calm, neutral voice that contrasted sharply with the chaos of the moment.

Yukito’s breath caught audibly.

I continued writing, tears blurring my vision despite my effort to remain composed.

“Even if he does not remember me, I remember him.”

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Chapter 80

I paused briefly, then added the words that had lived inside me for so long.

“He is the man who owns my heart, Yukito.”

Silence filled the room.

Yukito closed his eyes, his expression tightening with disbelief and grief, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

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“And yet you continue to be hurt because of him,” he said quietly, shaking his head as though he could not accept it.

I winced as the doctor continued to tend to my wound, pain flaring briefly before subsiding again.

I typed once more. “Please, let leave.”

My chest tightened as I added the final words.

“I need to go away from Tadashi.”

Yukito stared at me, torn between duty and compassion, before finally nodding.

“I will get you out safely,” he said solemnly. “I promise you that.”

Outside, the distant echo of sirens drifted faintly through the mountain air.

Somewhere beyond the trees, Tadashi Masayoshi was hunting the woman who had tried to kill him.

And I lay bleeding, knowing with absolute certainty that even if he never remembered me again, I would never regret stepping into the path of that bullet.

Not once.

田

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13:00 Mon, Jan 12 TO