Punished I
As soon as the Ito family set foot into the entrance room, Mr Ito who was walking ahead of everyone suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around.
Casting an angry glance at his daughter, he called out in an authoritative voice, "Haruka!"
Eyes blinked severally before widening in shock as his sudden loud voice abruptly cut short whatever Hana was whispering to their daughter, bringing a surprise to them all.
Haruka's brows knitted, ignoring the fluttering of her thick eyelashes and as her lips parted to express her confusion.
However, before she got the chance to do such, she heard his thundering command.
"Get on your knees!"
His tough tone reverberated in the room, instantly stilling their breathing.
Haruka's hand which clasped tightly around Hana's arms trembled, mirroring the fear that surged through her.
Her face was completely distorted in fear as her heart skipped a beat. She could feel it pounding heavily against her chest, forcing it to heave up and down.
Regardless of the state her mind and her body were in, Haruka could only think of her father's behaviour. 'F-Father is punishing me?'
This had never happened thus leaving her stunned beyond words and hearing him order her that way proved he was indeed angry.
Not only Haruka was left speechless but Ito Hana and Kenji were taken aback as they stared at the family head with furrowed brows.
The maidservant, Ane and the manservants standing at the door, immediately lowered their heads in sheer surprise.
Everything had been fine only a few moments ago. What caused the change now?
They had thought that there would be no need for any punishment to be dished out seeing how relaxed he was outside.
They guessed that he would let things slide and at most scold her for taking risks but who would have seen this coming?
Even Hana had forgotten how furious she was when she was in search of her daughter after seeing her, coupled with Daisuke's presence.
She only thought to chide her lovingly not knowing that her husband would still want to do what was in his heart and take things far.
With furrowed brows, Kenji stepped forward from behind the mother and daughter whose arms were still linked as the corner of his lips drew backwards.
So many thoughts went through his mind and he knew if he did not intervene, then things really would get out of hand.
Not that Haruka did not deserve it, it was just different in more ways than one.
Staring at his father with that worried gaze, he called out hesitantly, "Father…"
To his surprise, Mr. Ito raised his left hand, signalling him not to plead anymore as a sharp glint capable of boring a hole was directed at Haruka.
If it was possible, he would have done it already without batting an eye due to the level of his anger but fortunately, he didn't have superpowers.
Seeing this, a soft sigh escaped Kenji's lips as his shoulders slouched, taking a step back in defeat.
At this point, Hana had to tap twice on the arm snaked around hers. A sign, urging Haruka to do as her father had commanded.
She could not intervene this time around unlike before. Her hands were tied.
Being married to this man for over twenty years, Hana knew when to persuade him and win his heart.
She knew the favourable time to intervene and get what she wanted.
Today, she could see that she held no candle to his fiery temper. The best thing to do was to draw back, and she did just that.
Seeing everyone's instant submission and defeat, while remembering the emotions drawn from them because of her reckless actions, Hana hardened her heart against whatever punishment Haruka would be subjected to.
A little lesson to caution her rash behaviour wouldn't hurt, she thought.
And when Haruka felt the soft taps of her mother's fingers, she knew right then that she was all alone.
Her brother had failed to save her, and so did her mother.
Left with no other choice, she withdrew her hand from her mother's arm, lowered her gaze as she took a few steps forward and adjusted the katana secured tightly on the sash around her waist.
With a faint sound, Haruka's feet gave way as she dropped to her knees on the floor.
Not wasting another second, she brought her hands to her lower torso with her heartbeats palpitating each second that passed.
Her father's furious gaze remained on her in a questioning manner while pointing his finger at her, "Do you know what you did wrong?"
She flinched, afraid of his anger, but managed to nod before lowering her head further in guilt.
Gathering up some courage, she pried her lips open to plead her case. "Father, I apologize for my mistakes. I promise it will never have a repeat."
She managed to speak eloquently without stuttering to the surprise of her mother and the others.
"Promise? You are making me a promise?!" Mr Ito thundered at her, sending chills running down the spine of all the servants present.
GULP!
"How many have you kept so far?" He interrogated with knitted brows as others watched from the sidelines in silence.
This was not the first time she was promising not to sneak out of the house.
In fact, they couldn't count the number of times she had done that, leading to her getting scolded and punished every single time.
They wouldn't be surprised if today was just like every other time.
Not daring to meet her father's fierce gaze, Haruka stammered, "I-I… I…"
She was so guilt-stricken that no number of words could form in her mouth.
Mr. Ito felt the unending rise to his anger, and unable to waste a second breath on her, he turned his gaze to his wife.
"Hana," he called out to her, still in that same temper. And when she looked his way, he continued with a serious gaze.
"Don't stop me today. I won't listen to anyone's pleas this time around."
------//------
Dearest Readers, I'm sorry for the late update... I had to go somewhere hence I couldn't update before reset.