The Yakuza’s Mute Bride novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98

When I jolted awake, my first thought was pain.

Not my own-but his.

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The memory came rushing back in sharp fragments: the knife, the blood, the way Tadashi’s body had jerked when the blade struck him, the sound of my own scream tearing out of my throat before everything dissolved into darkness. My heart began to race wildly as panic clawed its way up my chest.

“Tadashi-”

The name barely made it past my lips when I froze.

He was there.

Standing only a few steps away from the bed, his back half-turned toward me, a phone pressed to his ear. He was shirtless, broad shoulders tense beneath the dim light, a thick bandage wrapped firmly around his stomach. The white fabric was already tinged faintly with red, yet he moved as if nothing were wrong, as if his body had not been pierced only hours ago.

His voice was low, cold, controlled-Japanese spoken with the kind of authority that did not ask for obedience but demanded it.

“No,” he said into the phone, tone sharp enough to cut. “I do not care what excuses they give. Handle it. Quietly.”

A pause.

“If this happens again, I will not be merciful.”

The call ended.

For a moment, he simply stood there, phone still in his hand, ja tight, eyes distant. I did not move. I barely breathed. I only watched him, my gaze tracing the familiar lines of his body, the strength in his back, the faint tension that never truly left

him.

He was alive.

Relief washed over me so suddenly it made my vision blur. The wound had not been fatal. He was standing. Walking. Speaking as if the world had not nearly taken him away from me again.

But as quickly as relief came, something darker followed.

Fear.

Because someone had tried to kill me.

No-worse.

Someone had tried to kill him… and had been perfectly willing to go through me to do it.

The thought made my stomach twist painfully.

Why?

Because I was with him?

Because my presence painted a target on my back-and his?

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17:31 Thu, Jan 22 G D D.

Chapter 98

Had I become nothing more than a weakness to exploit?

My fingers curled into the sheets beneath me.

God… I am a problem.

The thought was cruel, instinctive, and impossible to stop.

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If I were not here, no one would have tried to poison tea meant for me. No one would have stabbed him trying to reach me. No one would have seen me as leverage.

Tadashi was hurting because of me.

“Whatever you are stuffing into that small head of yours,” a voice cut sharply through my thoughts, “stop it.”

I gasped softly and lifted my head.

He was looking at me now.

I did not even know when he had turned around. His eyes were fixed on mine, dark and penetrating, as if he had peeled my thoughts straight out of my skull. The phone was gone, tossed carelessly onto the table beside him.

“You think too much,” he added flatly.

My heart skipped.

Since when did he notice me awake?

I swallowed and pushed myself up slightly on the bed, suddenly very aware that I was sitting in his room, on his bed, wrapped in blankets that smelled faintly like him.

“You’re okay?” I asked softly.

My voice was still rough, still fragile, but it came out clearer than it had weeks ago.

He nodded once.

“Yes.”

He reached for a shirt draped over a chair and pulled it on with practiced ease, the movement tugging briefly at the bandage around his stomach. I winced despite myself, the memory of the knife sliding into him flashing vividly in my mind.

“There is more than just a small knife required to kill me,” he said dismissively.

My fingers tightened in the blanket.

“Please, do not say that,” I murmured before I could stop myself

He paused.

Then he exhaled, slow and restrained, and walked toward the be.

Up close, I could see the faint lines of exhaustion beneath his eyes, the tension in his jaw that no amount of control could fully hide. He sat down beside me, the mattress dipping under his weight, and before I could react, his hand closed gently around mine.

The contact startled me.

“Thank you, Naomi,” he said quietly.

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17:31 Thu, Jan 22 GDD.

Chapter 98

I stared at him, stunned.

“For what?” I whispered. “You were hurt because of me. Why are you thanking me?”

He let out a short, humorless chuckle.

“They used you,” he said. “But you were never the target.”

My chest tightened.

“The person they wanted dead was always me.”

I looked down at our joined hands, unsure what to say.

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So this was why Yukito had been ordered to protect me so fiercely. Not because Tadashi remembered me. Not because he loved me.

But because I was a convenient weapon against him.

The realization hurt in a quiet, aching way.

“Then tell them,” I said after a moment, my voice barely steady. Tell everyone that you do not care about me. That you do not remember me. Maybe then they will stop.”

For a second, he stared at me.

Then he laughed.

It was short, sharp, incredulous.

“What?” I frowned, confusion pulling my brows together.

He leaned in suddenly and pressed a quick kiss against my lips.

It was brief. Light. Almost careless.

But it stole the breath straight out of my lungs.

My eyes flew open, and I instinctively touched my mouth, fingers brushing the spot where his lips had just been.

“What-what are you doing?” I gasped.

He had already leaned back, a faint smirk tugging at his lips as if he had just proven a point only he understood.

He shrugged calmly with no explanation nor apology.

Just that infuriating, unreadable expression.

My heart twisted painfully in my chest.

Because even without his memories…

Even without knowing why…

He still touched me like that.

And it made missing him hurt more than ever.

Damn him!!!

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17:31 Thu, Jan 22 GDD