(BL) Mafia Love; He who falls the hardest loses-Chapter 162: For the family

Haruki’s throat felt dry. He pressed the power button of the phone and pushed it towards Hiroshi. Hiroshi took it from him as he watched him cautiously.

Haruki could see the questioning look in the man’s eyes but he rose calmly and walked to the fridge to get a bottle of water. Even after gulping down half of the bottle’s content, he could not seem to ease the thirst.

Everything was written in detail, his mentor, the man who taught him most of what he knew about running the family has betrayed him, or so the report said.

It was just too much to take in. Why did you join forces with Aiichiro? The report was objective and factual but didn’t provide an answer to his question.

He tightened the cap of the bottle he held and placed it down. He picked up his gun from the sofa and walked back to bed. It was almost dawn. He had to read the report carefully even repeatedly to avoid missing any detail.

Ignoring the man whose gaze had followed him silently, he turned off the lights and pulled the covers over his body, his gun safely hidden close enough.

Such reports could easily be forged even with the logo of the organisation on the document but he knew he could not ignore what he had read.

Everything seemed to make sense, all the past confusions, all the past breaches finally had a meaning to them. However, those would remain lies until he confirms them.

His thoughts went wild even as he tried to sleep. He had so many things to consider but he quickly shut down every thought as soon as they came up. The doctor got into the other side of the large bed.

He stayed still for a while but when Haruki thought Hiroshi had fallen asleep, he felt the man get closer and wrap his hand around his waist.

"I know you do not want to talk about it today, I will wait until tomorrow, for now, let’s sleep," Hiroshi’s low deep voice whispered close to Haruki’s ear.

Haruki felt the urge to reject the warmth the man gave him, to send him away since he had delivered the message he brought but he rejected that idea and accepted the warmth of the man’s chest touching his side.

The two of them quickly fell asleep even though Haruki’s mind was filled with so many thoughts he was trying to calm.

***

The sun was high in the sky when Haruki woke up but the blackout curtains felt deceptive making him press his face back into the pillow without checking the time, there was something about the bed that made him drowsy. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

When he woke up again, the warmth on his side was gone. He sat up and glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. Seeing the blue LED numbers showing on it pulled him up immediately.

He walked into the bathroom and began his morning routine. He wondered where the doctor had gone to but he focused on getting prepared first.

He knew he was late for work but he called Ren to his room first. He had just hung up when a soft knock came on the door. He invited the person in and Hiroshi came in pushing a trolley.

"Good morning," he greeted. "I thought it would be a good idea to eat here," he added with a slight sheepish smile.

Haruki didn’t refuse the meal but also didn’t appreciate Hiroshi as he sat down. Hiroshi sat down too and began eating. He seemed eager to eat it but Haruki wondered if he was overthinking or if the man was showing him that it was poisoned.

He scoffed at that thought as he picked up his fork and knife. He was a few minutes into his meal when Ren knocked on the door. He invited him in and took a sip of water from the glass.

After Ren entered the room and stood a few meters away from Haruki, Haruki didn’t look at him nor invite him to sit. Haruki continued with his meal ignoring the man towering over six feet to keep standing after he bowed to Haruki.

The silence was thick in the room but Haruki continued eating nonchalantly until he was done and Hiroshi packed the used plates away.

He leaned back and finally looked at Ren. Without the need to speak sentimentally, Haruki directly asked, "Did you betray me?"

He watched Ren remain very calm after being asked the question. He was giving nothing away with his expression and that to Haruki was the same as a nod. If Ren had been falsely accused, he would have shown his emotions immediately but it was obvious that the man had no intention of denying it.

"Sit down, I fear that this would be a very long conversation," Haruki sighed gesturing to a sofa.

Ren remained fixed in his position as he met Haruki’s gaze calmly.

"So, why did you do it?" Haruki asked ignoring the fact that Ren had just disobeyed his order.

"I serve the family and the legacy of this family," Ren replied.

"I am the head of this family," Haruki had to remind Ren. He could guess what Hiroshi meant but he had not left the family where it was when he was made the chairman.

It was undeniable that he had raised the status of this family more than thrice of what his grandfather did in decades. He was far from being a loser.

"That was why I did. You are the patriarch and having you make mistakes you can’t undo would hurt the legacy of this family."

"So, you want to force me to get married to follow your wish as long as there’s an heir and the legacy is protected?" Haruki asked in realisation.

"It is something I had to do. I knew I could not do it directly so I partnered with Aiichiro."

"No, you’re wrong," Haruki shook his head. "If you were sincere, you would have protected the image of this family when my grand uncle died."

"He had planned that before I partnered with him. I am the reason Souta didn’t die," Hiroshi replied calmly.

Haruki was taken aback by the man’s confidence.

"You just want control, right?" Haruki asked as he rose up. "You are in control anyway. You control the underworld because I thought it would be best to keep it away from the legal businesses but you’re unsatisfied, you want to control me too."

Ren shook his head. "No, I did it for this family. If I hadn’t come across a good plan to get you to marry, I would have found another person to become chairman. Your grandfather wanted me to protect this family’s legacy and even while he rests with the ancestors, I will never give up, regardless of how."

Every word said, felt like boulders placed on his shoulder while he tried hard to keep his shoulders square and undefeated. So, he was replaceable in Ren’s mind.

"You can leave," Haruki calmly ordered the man to leave.

Ren remained in place as though he hadn’t heard Haruki’s order.

"You seem to have forgotten that I’m chairman. No matter how much you want to control me, you can only do a little and who said I wouldn’t get married?"

"With the doctor present, that does not appear possible."

Haruki felt the urge to sigh. Why wouldn’t he get married to the right wife even if Hiroshi was still in the picture? "You’re overthinking caused all these and although you haven’t been punished for hurting Hiroshi, you might as well go ahead and dig your grave."

"I did what I had to do to protect this family," Ren replied calmly.

Seeing that the man was trying hard to justify what he did, Haruki asked, "How involved were you in all that has happened?" It felt as though he was seeking a way to ease the weight of the crime his mentor committed.

"He planned most of it, we shared an end goal but I allowed him to plan and execute his plans."

"You gave him the space to occupy in my territory and protected him from me," Haruki said thoughtfully. He no longer trusted Ren but with the man accepting the accusation, he was certain that Ren had no reason to lie now.

"It was to make you do what was expected of you. To force you to get married, nothing more," Ren continued to try to justify his actions.

"If that is what you would benefit from that relationship, then what did you promise him?" Haruki asked.

"If you can’t stay without a man, then he has to be the man if not, you’ll get married and he backs away," Ren replied without hesitation.

"So, who started it all?" Haruki asked although he already knew it was Aiichiro who started it.

"He did. He persuaded me when I found out what he was planning. I had no reason to refuse since I was already planning to find a substitute for you if you can’t get married."

Haruki felt his heart beat slow down with every response the man gave to his question.