The Yakuza’s Mute Bride novel Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Knock.

Knock.

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The sound was soft, hesitant, almost careful, as though whoever tood on the other side of the door feared disturbing something delicate. For a moment, I did not move, my fingers still wrapped around the warm porcelain of my tea cup, my thoughts drifting somewhere between memory and dread.

“Naomi-san?”

The voice reached me gently, familiar in a way that pierced straight through the tight knot in my

I gasped softly and turned around.

Standing in the doorway were Yuka and Ai.

chest.

For a heartbeat, I could only stare at them, my mind struggling to reconcile their presence with the isolation that had wrapped itself around me since arriving here. They looked exactly as I remembered-worried, alert, alive with concern- and in that instant, the weight I had been carrying alone finally cracked.

I stood up too quickly, the chair scraping softly against the floor, and crossed the distance between us without thinking, wrapping my arms around them with all the desperation I had been holding back.

They stiffened in surprise for a fraction of a second before returning the embrace, Yuka’s arms firm and grounding, Ai’s grip trembling slightly as though she, too, had been holding herself together by sheer will.

“I missed you,” I said softly, my voice fragile but unmistakably mine.

The words felt strange on my tongue, still unfamiliar after so long, but they came out clearer than I expected, carrying emotion I had not allowed myself to express aloud.

Ai pulled back first, her eyes widening as she looked at me closely.

“Your voice,” she whispered, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.

Yuka’s expression shifted instantly from concern to relief, her eyes shining as she reached out and touched my arm gently, as if to confirm that I was real.

“It is better,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

I nodded, smiling faintly. “It is getting there,” I answered quietly careful not to strain myself, mindful of every instruction the doctors had given me. “I still cannot speak loudly, but… it does not hurt as much anymore.”

Before either of them could respond, Sato appeared beside us as if summoned by the shift in energy, carrying another tea set in his steady hands.

“I believe the three of you should talk somewhere warmer,” he said kindly, his gaze lingering on me with unmistakable concern. “You have been outside for too long, Naomi-san. It is not good for your recovery.”

His tone was gentle, but firm in the way of someone who had spent a lifetime caring for others without ever needing to raise his voice.

I smiled at him and nodded. “Yes, Thank you, Sato.” I replied softly.

As he guided us back inside, he placed a small tray carefully onto my lap. The weight of it startled me slightly until I saw

what it was.

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17:28 Thu, Jan 22 GDD ·

Chapter 90

“These are the medicines Yukito requested for you,” Sato explained. “He was quite insistent.”

I exhaled slowly, something easing in my chest at the mention of Yukito’s name.

If only things were that simple, I thought.

If only choosing him would have been easier.

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We settled into a quieter sitting room, the doors closed softly behind us, the warmth immediately seeping into my bones. Yuka and Ai sat close, their bodies angled protectively toward me, while Sato poured tea with practiced grace.

As soon as he left us alone, the questions came.

“What happened to you?” Ai asked urgently. “Yukito told us some things, but not everything.”

Yuka nodded, her jaw tight. “You should not have traveled in your condition.”

I took a slow breath and explained, carefully, piece by piece, what had happened since arriving in Japan, what had happened at the hospital, what Tadashi had said, and what he had forgotten

Neither of them interrupted.

As my story unfolded, their expressions shifted from shock to anger to something far more dangerous-understanding.

“So he does not remember you,” Yuka said quietly.

“No,” I replied. “Not the way he used to.”

“And yet,” Ai added slowly, “he still cannot let you go.”

That sentence landed heavier than anything else.

Because it was true.

I wrapped my hands around my cup and stared into the dark green surface of the tea, watching the steam curl upward like unanswered questions.

“I do not know what I am to him now,” I admitted. “But I know I am not free.”

They exchanged a glance.

Neither of them needed to say it aloud.

We all felt it.

The invisible cage.

The way the mansion seemed to breathe around me differently now, as if aware of my presence in a way that bordered on territorial.

What none of us noticed, as we spoke in hushed voices, was the shadow lingering beyond the partition.

On the other side of the room, partially concealed by the architecture and the careful placement of screens, a pair of eyes watched in silence.

Tadashi Masayoshi stood still, his posture relaxed yet predatory, his presence so controlled it barely disturbed the air.

He listened, watched and absorbed every detail.

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1723 Thu, Jan 22

Chapter 90

The way she laughed softly at something Ai said.

The way Yuka leaned closer when she grew quiet.

The way her hands trembled only slightly when she lifted her cup.

None of it aligned with the image he had constructed in his mind.

She was not weak.

She was not desperate.

She was not grasping.

She was… welcomed.

Accepted… Cared for… And that unsettled him more than any lie ever could.

He hated how easily she fit here.

Hated how the servants treated her not as an intruder, but as something already belonging.

Hated how Sato deferred to her with the quiet respect usually reserved for blood.

But most of all-He hated the way Yukito had protected her.

The way his most loyal subordinate had placed himself between her and danger without hesitation.

The way Yukito’s name surfaced again and again in connection with her safety.

It made something dark coil in Tadashi’s chest.

Possession without memory was still possession.

Instinct did not need context, and though his mind rejected her, his body did not.

His eyes lingered on her longer than they should have.

His attention followed her even when he tried to dismiss her.

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And now, watching her surrounded by warmth, laughter, and concern, he felt something he did not yet have a name for.

Not jealousy. Not anger. But something colder and sharper.

The realization that whatever she was to him, he did not like the idea of anyone else claiming her place.

Especially not Yukito.

And as the laughter drifted softly from the room, Tadashi turned away silently, already deciding something that would change everything.

Naomi Hunter had walked back into his world.

And whether she understood it yet or not-She was not leaving gain.

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