2 Prologue - Betrayal

After breakfast, Kaho went straight to the bathroom and took a warm bath. She smiled and thought to herself, since it was a Saturday today, two weeks from now, her year level from high school was going to have a reunion.

They had one every two years ever since school had ended. She couldn't wait to see her friends and boyfriend. She was beaming with joy.

After her bath, Kaho was refreshed and went straight to her room. The moment she laid on her bed, she fell asleep straight away.

...

As Kaho woke up the next morning, she stared at the familiar ceiling. It had glow in the dark stars stuck to it and it reminded her of her high school days. She bitterly smiled.

...

Kaho went to a prestigious school, it was normal for students to get bullied by others but on another level.

Since the school was prestigious, there were many rich kids that went there. Many were arrogant and selfish. Some stooped low enough to black mail their victims and expose what ever information they had.

Kaho unfortunately was a victim. After everything she had been through, she was still always kind. Sadly many students had taken advantage of that.

Although she had been bullied, she still had friends that stuck by her. They weren't the average friends, they had been friends since they were young. Kaho previously was born and raised in the United States.

When she turned seven, she had moved to an unfamiliar environment. Now she called it her home, Japan.

Kahoru liked Japan more than America as things were more organised and cleaner here. She even made friends who made sure she felt comfortable and at home. She was the happiest she had ever been. Many of the people she had met always said her aura was peaceful and that the atmosphere was never tense. They always felt relaxed.

...

Today Kaho was going shopping with her mother. Aiko wanted to buy new clothes for her daughter as Kahoru had no fashion sense whatsoever. "Kahoru! You dress like a grandma! You will never impress your boyfriend with those types of clothes."

"I didn't have time to buy any clothes. I've been studying and working everyday..." Kahoru pouted.

"Well, we are buying some today! Also, don't push yourself so hard. You're going to get sick."

"If you say so mother! And I won't."

They had left the house and went to a mall. The mother-daughter duo had been shopping for many hours. After their seemed to be one hundred years long shopping trip, the exhausted duo had finally found a good restaurant and rested there.

The restaurant was a high end Italian restaurant. The lights were dim, the decorations were an old vintage style, there was jazz music playing live by a small band in the corner and you could faintly hear metal spoons and forks tapping the plates as people were dining.

Overall, the atmosphere was relaxing. After their luxurious dinner, the pair were ready to head home, take a bath and head to bed.

...

Two weeks had passed. It was the day of Kaho's high school reunion. She was very nervous about the event, as she was bullied horrendously. She was only looking forward to seeing her friends and her boyfriend again. It had been too long. The banquet was scheduled to start at 3pm.

...

Kaho had left on her third year of high school and went to study in the medical field.

Bullying affects the child's mental health, but Kaho held on to hope and told herself to stay positive as eventually it would only become a memory. She always smiled to her hearts content.

...

Kahoru went through her wardrobe and eventually found a nice pink long spaghetti string dress that reached her feet. It turned out, shopping with her mother was worth it.

Even her mother had helped pick the pink dress. Her makeup wasn't too bad but it was natural With a pink lipstick. She had also curled her hair into soft curls.

As she walked out of her room, her mother looked at her in awe. "My cute little daughter looks very beautiful and cute in that dress! Let's take a photo!"

"I'm not good-looking as Mei-nee but thank you mother." Kaho's face had a pink tinge to her cute chubby cheeks.

A maid took Aiko's phone. Aiko and Kaho stood together and posed with confidence. It was clear they were both happy with the outcome.

"Lady Aiko, the car is ready." A man had appeared whilst the pair were chatting excitedly about their photos. He was the head butler of the Yukimura residence, Ito Izumi. He looked to be around her parent's age.

"Thank you Ito-san. Let's go kahoru!" Both women eagerly stepped into the car and headed off to their destinations. After dropping off Kaho, Aiko had gone shopping with some of her friends at the mall further away than the one she went to with Kaho, which had branded items for sale.

As Kaho looked at the hotel she was about to step in, she was impressed. The hotel turned out to be one of the top ranked hotels in Tokyo. The style of the hotel was an old western style. It was very classy.

Kaho felt like she did not belong here. But she still went inside feeling a bit nervous.

Kaho walked towards one of the reception halls that was addressed in her email and as she walked in, she felt like she walked into a world she wouldn't be able to survive in. The students she saw wore high quality branded clothes and their appearance was neat.

Kaho walked around trying to look for her friends. At last she had found them. Only three of her friends were her age, the other half were older and younger.

...

When Kaho moved to Japan, She went to the park alone to read. That was when she had met some kids. They all were interested at her wondering why her Japanese sounded funny.

They ran and called for their other friends which one of them was Kaho's friend she met when she was much younger. They both lived in America for some time and their parents were very close. He introduced them to his friends and they all had been friends ever since.

...

Kaho walked up to them. "Long time no see!"

The three friends she had greeted was her best friend Mitsuji Yuuki, Sakamoto Jun and Watanabe Takao. Then, Yuuki turned around and looked at Kaho. "Kahoru? Is that you?"

Yuuki was wearing a champagne gown, and she had light brown hair flow just above her chest. She looked so beautiful that it was hard to recognise her. Kaho's eyes shined. "Yes, it's me! Long time no see!"

"Oh my gosh! Kahoru it's been too long!" Yuuki leapt and hugged Kaho with all her might until Kahoru tapped her to indicate that she couldn't breath. Yuuki let go.

"You almost crushed my bones Yuuki." Kaho frowned.

"Sorry sorry!" Yuuki looked apologetic.

"It's okay!"

Then one of the guys interrupted. "It's been five years, did you forget about me and Takao?"

Kaho faced the handsome men and giggled. "Jun! Takao! long time no see!"

Takao suddenly pulled Kaho to the side and whispered in her ear. "Did you know Jun and Yuuki are dating? It has been three years now."

Kaho looked shocked. Then she looked at Jun and Yuuki with a smug face. "Hmmmmmm? Is that so?"

"Oi Takao! What did you say to her?" Yuuki had suddenly felt a sense of panic and and was about to hit Takao. She was glaring at him as if her eyes were about to shoot lasers through his body.

"Wait! Takao only said you and Jun were dating!" Kaho tried to stop the angry girl from hitting a defenceless Takao.

Yuuki suddenly stopped as her hand was a few centimetres from Takao's face. She then ran back to Jun's side and hooked her arm around Jun's arm and smiled warmly. "Yes we are dating!"

Jun lovingly gazed at an excited Yuuki full of love. His face relaxed. He didn't deny it and agreed with her with an "mm!"

"Congratulations!" Kaho suddenly teared up. She felt very happy for them and realised the forgot an important person.

"By the way, I need to go and find Keiichi. I'll see you later!" Kaho suddenly had run off.

"Wait Kaho!" Yuuki's expression suddenly changed to a worried look. She was about to run after Kaho when Jun stopped her.

"It's no use. She will find out sooner than later." Jun had a face full of guilt and sadness.

...

Hasegawa Keiichi is Kaho's Boyfriend. They had met on the first year of high school as they were in the same class. He was very popular and got along with everyone. Seeing that Kaho was bullied, he had felt a need to protect her and thus, they started dating.

On the second year, a transfer student had moved to Kaho's school. She and Keiichi were friends since elementary. Her name was Handa Risa. Risa and Kaho got along really well and Risa had stopped her from getting bullied in school.

It was also natural that Kaho's friends would get along with her aswell.

...

As Kaho was looking for Keiichi, the host announced for everyone to come to the stage as he had news. Today I bring fourth one of our school mates and let him announce this news. Hasegawa Keiichi please come up."

The crowd applauded and wondered, what good news did Keiichi have that he had to tell it on stage?

Once Keiichi was up the stage, Kaho had her gaze on him. It had been five years since she had seen him and he looked radiant as ever. Kaho's face relaxed and started to walk towards the crowd and stage.

"Today I have come to announce something very special. I've never been so glad to have this person in my life and I will forever love her." Keiichi grinned.

It seemed that he had been waiting so long to see Kaho. She was about to tear up as he went down the stage, walking towards her direction.

As she walked up to Keiichi, she was about to open her mouth, but suddenly Keiichi had walked passed her. Kaho stopped in her tracks. Was he playing a joke?

Kaho turned around and followed her eyes to the direction Keiichi walked. Keiichi did indeed walk pass her and stopped in front of a woman in a long sparkly blue mermaid dress. Kaho's eyes widened and she started trembling.

Was that... Risa?

Keiichi had a waiter hold his microphone in front his mouth. He took a square box from his pant pocket and kneeled on one knee. "Handa Risa, I will forever love you. I am not perfect but I want to stick by you forever. Will you marry me?"

Risa looked at Keiichi in shock. She started to tear up after a few seconds and shouted, "Yes! I will marry you!"

Everyone in the reception started to applaud as the couple kissed and hugged each other lovingly.

Love? Marry?

Kaho heard the words echo in her head. Her head spun and her eyes suddenly started to water. Her expression darkened. She didn't know when, but her courage had taken over her. "Keiichi! Since when you and Risa-"

Kahoru stopped mid sentence when Keiichi shot daggers at her. The words Keiichi said next tore her apart. He gave her a smug face. "I'm sorry... but who were you again?"

Suddenly a man nearby started to laugh. In a matter of seconds, the whole room was full of laughter. She had become a laughing stock. Kaho's voice trembled. "We dated... did you not remember?"

Again, the reception become silent. It was full of students wanting to hear the tea so they could have something to gossip about.

Keiichi's smug face disappeared and gave Kaho a very cold look. "Oh that? That was because I pitied you. You were merely an entertainment tool. In no way you would be worthy in becoming my lover."

Then Risa spoke up. "While you were gone, I got together with my Keiichi. Everyone never cared about you. We even forgot about you until you showed up today. They only pitied you because of your weight. Look at you now. You aren't worth becoming someone else's lover. You're literally wearing rags and your makeup is sh*t. Your friends also pitied you. They only hung out with you because they wanted to use you. They were just bored. No one will ever like you. You don't even belong here."

Kaho stood in her spot dumbfounded. It couldn't be true right? The crowed started to laugh again then went on with the party.

Risa slowly walked passed and momentarily stop at Kaho's ear. She whispered in Kaho's ear in a low tone, "It looks like everything belongs to me now. So get lost."

Kaho's world felt like it ended. She really felt like she lost everything. Part of her happiness had disappeared. Her close ones were gone. Kahoru lost everyone's trust.

She had been betrayed.