I surfed through Google and found this image that somehow resembles my imagination of Akemi ⬆️

Ayden's PoV

I leaned against a wall with my hands in my pockets in a relaxed manner while watching all the staff of the hotel ran around the place, making preparations. 

Then there's Akemi, sitting on the guest couch at the side of the lobby making and answering phone call after phone call, tapping and scrolling through her laptop, and taking a sip of her overly sweet coffee once in a while.

This is the true life of a multimillionaire's only daughter. 

So far, all the staff of the hotel are aware of her identity. They are preparing for the press conference that will be held in the hotel's giant conference room. And of course, the main purpose of it is announcing Akemi Ichinomiya to the world.

"Do you think questions should be permitted?" Akemi puts her phone to her collar for a second to ask the opinion of her father, who was also on a laptop, sitting beside her.

"What do you think?" He asked instead. Even I was surprised, everybody glanced at them for a second. Eisuke Ichinomiya never asked others to make important business decisions that involved him.

She let out a small breath in thought, then held up her phone again, "Questions will not be permitted."

"She makes decisions just like her dad."

I turn my head over to see Akemi's mother, watching over her daughter just like I am. 

"I don't have any idea what they're talking about, but I can see that Akemi made the final decision herself without confronting Eisuke." She adds. I nod back in agreement.

"Why don't they permit questions though...?" She murmurs in wonder. 

I couldn't help myself and answered as much as I thought, "A news of a illegitimate child may very well lead to complications such as the mother, why weren't they married, and if the child grew up in loneliness or even hatred for not knowing their true identity for so long. The media likes to exaggerate things, and if they do not give a clear answer while questions are permitted, they're going to make stuff up. It's basic business and political knowledge to--"

I stopped myself before I rambled on some more to someone who wouldn't understand since she's not in the field. She looked at me in pure surprise and slight fascination. I returned a nervous smile, "I mean, I'm just guessing, Akemi probably thought about more complex things."

She nodded slowly, buying my explanation. I turn my attention back to Akemi to change the topic, "She's really concentrated."

That distracted her mother, fast, "Right? I can already imagine Eisuke's shadow in her!"

A few minutes later, I made my way towards the conference room that I've been in so many times to supposedly find something 'illegal'. Turns out, uncle's intuition was right, there indeed is something illegal going on in Tres Spades, but he doesn't need to know that. 

A hotel maid bowed to me while making her way out of the room. I take a step into the spacious room that resembled the length of a wide hall. Creamy white chairs were set neatly in the room without a flaw, all facing the front, where a lectern stood. The wide surface obviously waiting for numerous microphones to be set on it.

Very soon, Akemi would be standing up there, in front of hundreds of people and thousands more in front of their televisions. I can't imagine her feeling nervous, but maybe just a little? 

Now that I've thought about her, my thoughts led to the fact that I haven't really told her much about myself. Why I'm not in school although I'm eighteen and supposed to be. Why I obliged to my uncle's wishes and practically acted like a spy for a long time. Why I've never mentioned anything about my parents to her other than they are divorced.

Strangely enough, during these two months that we dated, she never asked nor showed interest in it. Maybe she just doesn't mind it.

"I-I-I-I'm so, so sorry!!!"

I flinch and spun around at a completely flustered and anxious voice of a maid. 

I immediately understood her over-reaction when I see what happened. Akemi stood at the door, the front of her shirt and jeans drenched while the maid held a half-empty bucket of water. She bowed hysterically, as if her life depended on it as she offered to help clean it. To make it worse, it was a bucket of dirty water, probably just used to clean the floor.

The maid was probably in a hurry to go change the water, and bumped into Akemi at the entrance. 

I glance around the tense room. Everybody had their breaths held, as if saying in their minds, 'oh my gosh, she's doomed!' to the unfortunate maid.

Akemi stood silent for the longest time while water dripped from her clothes and the maid apologized over and over again. 

When she finally lifted her head, she did not look happy. The temperature in the room decreased at her cold gaze. I swiftly walked up to her before she could unleash her wrath.

"Hey, hey, hey, Akemi! Whatcha doing here? Checking up on the work progress? No worries, I made sure the preparations are going...smoothly!" I took her by surprise and turned her around by her shoulders before she could say anything, "Anyways, since there's nothing to see here, you should go back to your suite and take a nice, long shower that you deserve after all the hard work, right?"

I turn back my head and mouthed 'don't worry about it' to the maids behind, who nodded frantically in gratitude before I continue to push Akemi away.

"You...." She started but didn't finish while I led her all the way back to her father's suite.

"Go on, I'll just wait here in the living room." 

Akemi's PoV

I went up to the conference room to check on their work before calling it a day. I've been staring at my laptop and answering phone calls all day, I wasn't in the best mood, and it only worsened when that clumsy maid spilled used water all over me.

If Ayden didn't talk me into leaving, I would've fired that maid on the spot.

In my robe, I laid on my stomach flat on my bed with a small blanket over my back. When I plugged in the charger for my phone, Ayden came in.

He sat down and leaned against the bed frame in front of me. He studied me a little with his emerald eyes, "You alright now?"

I purposely let out a small 'hmph', making him think that I'm still agitated, and it worked. 

"You." I look back at him, "Tell me about you."

"Ah?" He hummed in slight surprise.

"It's not okay that I know nothing about you. As a girlfriend, I wanna get to know my lover more." I say with a straight face and he almost blushed, "C'mon, I'm curious."

"It's just that, you've never shown interest in my family, I thought you didn't want to hear about it." He reached out his hand as he spoke, I reach out my own and held his.

"It's been a hectic two months. And if you think that just because a girl doesn't ask for something, it's alright to ignore it, you don't have any experience with them." The edge of my lip raises as I watch his expression.

He chuckled a little in return, then leaned down a little, "Have you ever thought that what if I didn't want to talk about it?"

I know he's only hypothesizing. I push a finger under his chin, "Unless you want that maid earlier fired, entertain me."

That caught him by surprise, he murmured, "The resemblance is real."

"Hm?"

"Nothing at all." He leaned back against the bed frame and I drop my hand back into his, "I've told you that my parents divorced, I was...uh...I think eleven years old then."

I examine his features while he goes on, he doesn't seem at all effected by that. In fact, look, he barely remembers how old he was then.

"I've lived with my mother until now, and uncle sometimes stays over when he has business in the area. It's really not that interesting of a family, we're just normal people enjoying normal life."

"What about your father?" I blurted. I didn't intend to be insensitive, but I can feel his hand tense.

"Aye... From what I remember, we didn't really get along as much as I did with my mom." He slumped down a little more, "...He's a politician."

Now that's something I haven't heard before, I lay down on my cheek and peer up at him.

"I guess he was really busy, but I don't ever remember having a proper father-to-son conversation with him. I'm pretty sure the last thing he said to me was 'how's school coming along?'."

I pushed myself forward so I could lay beside him, "...Yeah?"

"Speaking of school, I dropped out a while ago." He continues while staring at the ceiling, "My dad wanted me to follow in his footsteps, since politics is a family thing and I'm his only child."

"Let me guess, you don't want to?" I ask as I position myself right beside him, I play with his hand as he replies.

"Mm-hmm, that life just ain't for me. But I still haven't thought about dropping out until uncle went completely berserk about shutting Hotel Tres Spades down. It was under his push that I made the final decision." He propped himself up then shuffled down and faced me. We laid beside each other, "Well, technically, it was my last three months of high school, so I didn't miss much needed education."

"You think you can go to university now that things are settled?" 

He stared into my eyes in astonishment, "How do you always know what I'm thinking?"

"It's written all over your face." I answer vaguely, it's only because I notice the subtle changes in his voice and expression, he wasn't easy to read until I spent enough time with him.

He let out a low chuckle that made my heart skip a beat, "No one has ever said that about me before."

He stared back into my eyes as we held our gazes. I can clearly feel my speeding heart rate, especially since I can feel his gentle breathing from our proximity. My eyes narrowed, even if he didn't do it intentionally, he got me rattled up and I'm not going to just let it go.

Ayden's PoV

"Oh really?" She said aloud before repositioning herself to straddling me.

I raised an eyebrow at her sudden behaviour, but nonetheless rest my hands on her waist, "What's up?"

She startled me when she ran her palm up my chest and rested it on the side of my cheek, "Jeez, you're dense. You do realize we're alone in a bedroom, right?"

"Wait, what?" I couldn't help but stammer, I didn't know how to react when she kissed me with such lingering affection I almost pounced on her right then. This was far from our first kiss, but I feel the equal amount of passion each time we exchange kisses, if not more.

"Ayden...." She breathed, tempting me to bite her lip. But before I could do that, my eyes shot open, I stopped her hand from lifting my shirt and looked into her eyes, surprised.

"Are you really prepared for this?" I ask in disbelief, we've only been dating for two months, not to mention how young we are. She sat up straight, "of course. Though, practice makes perfect."

"Practice?" I repeat. My mind completely ran wild at her suggestive expression.

"Mmhmm, now listen to the speech I wrote and give me constructive criticism." She says, and as if nothing happened before, suddenly started reciting her speech.

"Hold on... this is what you were talking about? You're prepared for the press conference?" 

"Yes. Being alone in a room makes sure that no one can hear my speech in advance." She elaborates further with a serious face, but amusement flashes in her eyes as she whispers, "What did you think I was gonna do? Rape you?" 

"In my defense, I had every reason in the world to think that." I state matter-of-factly before letting out a long sigh, "Why would you do that? Please don't do it again."

"I felt like it." She hummed before slipping off of me. She landed one last peck on my cheek before walking towards the walk-in closet and got changed, "Anyway, I have a haircut scheduled in ten minutes, and tomorrow's probably going to be hectic as well, so I won't be seeing you until the conference. Make sure to wear a suit if you plan to attend."

"Of course I'm coming." I say as I sit on the edge of the bed while she came out of her closet fully-dressed.

"Excellent." She replies in a plain tone. But I can tell by the way she glanced at me when she said that that she's relieved in knowing my presence will be near her during the most important announcement of her life. 

~~

The day of the conference, I couldn't listen to a single word she was saying to the media. Her new haircut chopped her hip-length hair to chest-length; it was more layered and suited her perfectly. With the dress her father hand-picked and accessories that her mother chose, she looked stunning, but also just right for the occasion.

It ended in shock, strong applause, and definitely complete success. I expected to see articles about this the next day, but I was wrong. News of Akemi Ichinomiya filled the internet within a couple of hours.

I peer over Akemi's shoulder as she scrolls through the news forum on her tablet. I've been used to spending time with her like this in her bedroom.

"Looks like some people doubt whether or not you'll be able to live up to Mr. Ichinomiya's intellect and power." 

"Let them think what they want." She replied, then handed the tablet to me, indicating that she's done. I scroll through the rest of the articles. Though most of them expressed the public's surprise, a lot of them complimented on her perfect composure and speech despite being so young, only a few blogs questions her abilities. 

"They'll be proven wrong soon enough." She was oozing with confidence as she crossed her legs. She glanced at me, "What're you looking at?"

"You. The amazing girl out there today." I loosened my tie, "About last time I was here... Say, isn't there something else we can do in your bedroom other than practicing your script?"

Unexpectedly, a small blush bloomed on her soft cheeks. The aura she had before diminished a little. I went ahead and poked her side, but she flinched away much more than I would've thought.

"Oh ho, is the great Miss Ichinomiya ticklish?" It was my turn to smirk and tease her as she fidgeted on her pyjama top. 

"It's not that big of a--Eep!" She squeaked and fell down onto the bed when I trailed a finger ever so lightly down her leg. I laughed at her reaction.

"Jeez! Stop teasing me!" She raised her voice a little, but I doubt she was agitated.

"Fine, I won't." I lowered my voice a lot more than usual, she shivered when my face inched near hers. 

I collide my lips with hers and she responded almost right away. I pulled away after one kiss and then landed a peck on the side of her head and murmured, "Payback."

I made myself comfortable lying beside her, then pulled the covers over us, "Go to sleep, you've had a long week. Let's go out tomorrow, yeah?"

"Tch." She clicked her tongue, but buried her head into my chest anyway, "I hate you."

I nuzzled into her hair and chuckled, "Love you, too, babe."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Each epilogue will be updated on Friday :D cuz it's the best day of the week.

I didn't want to put the epilogues into parts, so I stuffed everything in one chapter, which resulted in 2700+ words lmao

(Is it weird that I put Akashi as one of my contacts and his birthday in my calendar...?)

Have a fabulous (like yourself) day, dear readers! :D

August 20, 2016

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