I'm happy. This is exactly what I was born to do, hold this sweet angel in my arms.

   Sunny is so lovable that I'm tempted to hug the life out of him. 

   His hair is wet and sticking out in all directions. A dreamy smile is plastered on his face. He's pressing his soft body to mine with quiet, cute sighs and I simply adore him.

   "Em, I think we totally ruined your bed," he mumbles.

   "Yeah, I know. Isn't it absolutely great?" I chuckle. "I'll gladly buy a new one every day, if you help me wreck it every night."

   "If it's like this every time, I won't last much longer than the bed," he murmurs with a brand-new shade of red, much brighter than the existing ones, blossoming on his face.

   "Oh, yes, you will. You're a sexy kitten, much wilder than you think," I grin widely. "We'll have to change the sheets, though. They're soaked with water."

   "You're right, but I so don't want to move," he whines.

   "Aww, you don't have to," I coo, stroking his hair. "I'll carry you to the sofa and back, after I put new, dry ones."

   "Where does all that energy come from?" he giggles. "And no, you're no more carrying me around today. I desperately need a shower, so I'll somehow drag myself to the bathroom".

   "You're so disarmingly cute," I snort through laughter and pepper his face with kisses.

   We're snuggled in the fresh, lavender-scented sheets in twenty minutes, having both showered and, this time, thoroughly dried ourselves.

   "The sun is rising, kitty. You need to sleep. I'll be right here with you," I gently caress his back.

   He relaxes with a sigh, leaning his head on my chest.

   "I can hear your heart beating," he whispers and the next moment is fast asleep.

   There's nothing more beautiful than my sleeping kitten. He's curled by my side, his pink locks, spread on my shoulder. His delicate, smooth skin is glistening in the dim rays of the morning sun.

   His plump, pink lips are tempting me to kiss them. I want to pinch his soft cheeks so much, that I have to avert my eyes to stop the urge. He needs to sleep. My lovely angel went through so many troubles. I admire how brave he was to open up for me completely. There's nothing hotter than him, giving in to his desires.

   I love him more than anything. I'm sure he knows it. I smile and place a light kiss on his temple. My kitty knows that he's everything to me.

   But what happened in the early hours gives me no peace.

   I promised to wait for him to be ready to tell me his secret, but this will drive me insane. He looked so terrified, vulnerable, desperate. The horrid scenarios, which are constantly spinning in my mind, make my stomach shrink.

   I have to know. I need to find a way to help him. This can't go on.

   An idea flushes through my mind and I carefully slide out of bed.

   Sunny will probably sleep the whole day. I can do a little research in the meantime. He was the swimming champion of Japan. It's a big deal. It means he was well known. There must be something on the internet about him, articles, pictures, even some information about why he stopped competing.

   I make a cup of steaming coffee and sit cross-legged on one of the sofas in my library with a laptop on my knees.

   I feel guilty, as if I'm deceiving him, but he doesn't have to know. I'll just take a quick peek, without digging too much. I probably won't find anything.

   I hesitate what to search for. I know how his name is pronounced in Japanese, but have no idea how to write it. I doubt that searching for 'Sunny' will work.

   Wait! He won the championship four years ago. Right! I quickly calculate the year and write it in the browser, adding 'National Swimming Championship, Japan, winner'.

   Numerous pictures and articles appear on the screen. Most are in Japanese, but there are few in English.

   My eyes widen. The boy on the pictures! It's Sunny, but it's not him at the same time.

   A wide, staggering smile is shining on his face while he's waving with his arms up in the air to the screaming crowd from the highest step of the award podium on one of the photos. He's giving autographs with a big grin in front of hundreds of cameras and microphones on another. Here he is, in an elegant suit, surrounded by ecstatic girls, pushing one another to take a selfie with him.

  He's handsome, confident, charming and at ease. It's clear that he's used to the admiration and accepts it without hesitation.

   I start reading the first article.

   'The Nation's favorite athlete triumphs, winning the gold, as expected. It's not a secret that Shingyōji, affectionately called by his countless fans Sunny, is the new hope of the Japanese swimming team for the upcoming Olympic Games, which are to be held in his home city Tokyo...'

   The next picture makes me gasp. It's of a vast hall with numerous representatives of the media, crowded in front of a broad press conference table. Sunny is standing behind it with another man next to him. The other seems to be ten years older than him, at least, and startlingly good looking, like a movie star. The sleek smirk on his face gives me chills. His arm is wrapped around Sunny's waist and it's obvious that they're a couple. Jealousy makes my heart race. I quickly open the article.

   'The beloved swimming champion made a historic announcement, becoming the first renowned athlete in Japan to state publicly, during a specially convened press release, his sexual orientation. He presented to the public his partner, a successful swimmer till recently and currently his personal trainer. Many fans of the young idol gathered in front of the building to express heir full support ...'

   I quickly avert my gaze, unwilling to learn the name of the person that ruined my kitten's trust in love. I know that it's him. I hate him. I feel nauseous. The bastard is handsome and refined. I can see why he got Sunny's attention. I'm filled with admiration at the bold decision my lovely angel took to reveal his sexuality, but also burning rage because of the bad consequences it obviously had.

   'Personal trainer', I snort. I'll beat the crap out of him, if I meet him someday.

   But what happened? Nothing I've read so far gave me any clue.

   I go to the next article. It's the latest one I could find in English and it's still from more than two years ago. I click 'Enter' with a trembling hand.

   "Hundreds of fans are writing desperate letters to their beloved idol, addressed to his manager's office, asking questions and pleading for a press conference. Complete silence followed the public statement of Sunny's mother that the favorite athlete of the young generation terminated his active sports career for an indefinite period of time. Six months passed and no attempts of the media to obtain any information about the reasons were successful ...'

   There are some more recent articles but they are all in Japanese and the app doesn't help, giving vague, incomprehensible translations. Fragmentary phrases show that some kind of tragedy has happened but all I understand are a few phrases, 'the police made a large-scale search...', '... wondering how he survived...', 'his family refuses to comment...', 'the newly built sports center destroyed to the ground...', 'the municipality will sue the construction company', 'three days in a coma...'.

   I can't read anymore. My hands are shaking. Maybe, I shouldn't have dug in this, but now I can't stop thinking about it. I need to know what happened.

   I toss the laptop on the table and grab my phone. 

______________________________________

A/N

Hello everyone at the end of Chapter 85.

Thanks for reading and supporting! ❤❤❤

You're amazing!

Now Em has some clues. 🤔

Have you already gotten some idea about what might have happened?

Did you expect that Sunny was so popular?

Who do you think Em is going to call?

Share your thoughts, ask questions and criticize, if you feel like.

See you in the next chapter.

Don't forget to vote, if you liked the story.

Love: Anny