You Have Been Out of the Public Eye For So Long

"A trip?"

Shouko asked with confusion, her chopsticks hung in the air as she stared at the man sitting opposite her.

Kyoya nodded curtly, he took a piece of fish and placed it on Shouko's bowl. "Shou suggested so. You've been cooped up inside this house for near a month. A change of scenery would do you good."

"But..." Shouko hesitated for a second, thinking of something and voicing out her concern. "Aren't you busy? It is alright to go for a trip at this time?"

"It's only a short trip," Kyoya had told Kuroda to push back all of his schedules for a week. All of his work would be reallocated to Ryoya instead. "We'll be going up north. The air is cooler there than here, I heard the ginkgo leaves have turned golden right now."

Shouko thought back of the rows of ginkgo trees in their yard that had yet to show any sign of turning yellow. She somehow anticipated seeing a beautiful view of autumn leaves. Furthermore, if they took a trip, perhaps Kyoya could take a few days of rest.

"Alright," Shouko agreed. She nodded with a smile. "Let's go."

Kyoya returned her smile. A hint of longing flashed in his eyes when he looked at her curled up lips and eyes squinted in delight. It went so fast Shouko couldn't catch it.

"The maids would pack your clothes so you don't have to worry," Kyoya lowered down his chopsticks, reached out for his cup of tea and sipped a little. He then continued, "We'll be taking a flight to City M at 8 AM tomorrow. Be prepared to wake up earlier."

"Alright."

Although Shouko was still surprised by the sudden trip, she chose not to make a fuss over it. It was true she was a bit bored staying inside this mansion all the time. She wanted to go out but decided against it considering her condition right now.

So, when Kyoya proposed a getaway she immediately agreed.

Since they would need to get up earlier for tomorrow's trip, Kyoya didn't linger around in the master bedroom after dinner. Mai and Noriko came to pack the luggage and soon a beige-colored suitcase stood upright next to the vanity table.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kyoya asked for the last time before he stepped out of the room. Concern was apparent in his eyes as he watched Shouko pulled up the quilt to cover her body.

"I'm alright," Shouko replied patiently.

She took another look at the man's exhausted face. She had noticed it before, he was deeply bothered by something and the something wasn't related to her fainting today. She wondered if something happened to him before he came home?

"You go to sleep too, Kyoya," Shouko dropped the subject from being voiced out. "It's going to be a fun getaway, is that right? I'm looking forward to our trip."

A light twinkled in his eyes, his worry slowly receding. The next second he spoke, his voice sounded lighter as the cool autumn wind outside the windows. "En. You'll love it."

After saying good night to each other, finally, Kyoya left to the room opposite the hallway. Shouko watched him leaving carefully.

Would he come to sleep here again tonight?

Actually, Shouko was tempted to ask him questions regarding his past but this was not the proper time to do it. By listening to Old Toshio's story, she understood the abuse he suffered during his childhood had deeply scarred him until now.

What did he experience before?

How could a mother have the heart to abuse her own son?

Would he be truly free from the shackles of his past?

As Shouko was thinking of these questions, she slowly drifting into sleep. In a moment, the sound of her steady breathing filled the quiet room.

That night, he didn't come.

Mai and Noriko to wake Shouko up early the next morning. She was still muddle-headed when they made a fuss around her. It was not until she had properly dressed into a light blue shirt and a peach-colored skirt reaching her knees. Her long hair was let loose, falling freely until it reached her waist.

"Young Madam, don't forget to wear your coat," Mai respectfully handed a light beige trench coat to Shouko who had just applied lipstick on her lips. "The weather forecast says to be aware of a drop in temperature. The place where Young Master would bring you is colder than here too."

"Alright, alright, don't worry about me," Shouko laughed helplessly when she saw the look of concerns in their eyes. She felt like she was a young girl being taken care of by her nannies.

Shouko found that Kyoya had already been waiting for her in the dining room. He wore a dark blue shirt with a pair of slim-cut pants that further enhanced his long and strong legs. Once he saw her entering the dining room, Kyoya lifted up his eyes from the tablet in his hands. The corners of his lips curved upward.

"Let's eat."

Shouko found that his expression didn't change much from last night. His face was still a shade of pale and faint traces of exhaustion dimming his eyes. She sincerely hoped that their short trip could make up for his missing rest.

The airport was already bustling with people by the time they arrived. Kyoya led Shouko to the VIP waiting lounge. Both of them were dressed in similiar colors and styles. It was obvious they were a pair.

"The flight would take two hours," Kyoya glanced at the little lady walking beside him. His lips hooked up into a smile. "A driver would come pick us up at the airport. We'll be staying at our private villa there so you could just be at ease."

"A villa?" Shouko gasped in surprise. "We have a villa there?"

Kyoya nodded. "The first time we went there, you loved the view of the lake so much but it's quite far from our hotel. So, I just purchased a villa for us."

"What?" Once again Shouko was shocked. "You bought it just because I loved the view?"

Kyoya smiled.

Shouko was speechless. She dared say they rarely went to the villa yet this man still bought it?

Forget it, a poor soul like her couldn't understand the world of the riches. Especially a billionaire like the man walking beside her.

In contrast to the hall outside, the lounge was close to empty saved for a few seats occupied by well-dressed people. One of his bodyguards went to check-in their luggage. Both of them still had one hour before the boarding time.

"Do you need anything?" Kyoya was as attentive as ever. He slowly let go of her hand that he held since the moment they entered the airport. "Your hands are cold. Do you want tea?"

"It's okay," Shouko refused with a smile. "Your phone is ringing. It is your work?"

Kyoya glanced at the phone laying on the coffee table. It was true that the ring tone had been ringing a while later. He frowned when he saw who was the caller. It was his cousin.

"I'm going to answer this call," Kyoya gestured for a waiter to bring a cup of tea to his wife regardless of her answer earlier before he went to a more secluded location. Shouko smiled politely to the waiter attending to her before she changed her husband's request.

In a few minutes, two cups of hot tea being served on the table.

Shouko stared at the hot steam swirling from the surface of the tea. Her face was clearly reflected on it before a small ripple formed on the surface as she slowly wrapped both of her hands around the teacup. She sighed in contentment when warmth slowly spreading into her skin.

While she was enjoying her tea, two shadows fell on her, attracting her attention. Shouko raised her head and saw two young ladies around her age standing before her. She blinked twice, confusion laced in her eyes as the two women were staring at her with a careful gaze.

"Excuse me?"

The two women looked at each other before their eyes went back to Shouko's blank face.

"You are... Mrs. Kashino?" The woman with short hair spoke first. "Don't you remember me? I'm Shiraishi Moriko from Shiraishi Electronics, we've met at a banquet before."

Ha?

The second woman nodded enthusiastically, seemed eager to introduce herself too. "We've met before too! I'm Suda Akemi, the daughter of Suda Plantations!"

"I..." While Shouko was still baffled with their sudden appearances, the two women began talking nonstop in an excited manner.

"We didn't expect to see you here, Mrs. Kashino," Ms. Shiraishi said with an elegant smile gracing her delicate feature. Her calm temperament befitted her status as the heiress of a listed company. "You've been out of the public eye for so long. We thought we could no longer see you."

"Yes, it's quite pitiful to see President Kashino came to banquets alone even though he rarely accepted the invitations," Ms. Suda sighed softly. "Well, we understood why did you want to hide but not seeing you make others have ideas that shouldn't be had."

"If you still remained in seclusion, I think the list of young ladies aiming for your position would grow longer," Ms. Shiraishi nodded while she glanced at her friend.

Shouko blinked, she didn't understand why did these two women came for her but it seemed like they were acquaintances.

While she was confused with what they were talking about, she still opened her mouth to say that she indeed didn't know who they were at this moment but their nonstop talking made her hesitate.

"That was a tragedy. All of the people in our circle were so shocked and..."

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, a voice so cold interrupted the two's chattering. Both of them jolted in surprise, especially when they saw a pair of dark eyes with clear malice being directed to them. Their faces turned ashen, they were so frightened until they could only stutter.

"Pre... President Kashino!"

"You... we just..."

"Scram!"

In an instant, the two women ran from the place.

Shouko blinked again. What had just happened earlier? She then turned to look at the man who stood beside her couch. His dark expression startled her. A storm was brewing in his eyes as he was still staring at the two figures disappearing from the lounge.

"Kyoya?"

Instead of being scared witless as the two women, she was worried instead. Kyoya stood frozen, there was no sign of him moving. Shouko lifted up her hand, she gently tugged on his sleeve.

"Kyoya, are you alright?"

By the sound of her voice, focus slowly gathered in his eyes as his reasoning came back to his mind. Kyoya then looked at his wife. The brewing storm was now replaced with deep fear.

"Shouko, both of them..."

"They suddenly came to speak to me," She spoke calmly as she tugged his sleeve again. "Sit down first. Well, I wanted to tell them that unfortunately I did not remember any of them but they just talking nonstop so I couldn't say anything."

Kyoya took a deep breath. He smiled stiffly before he sat beside his wife. Both of his hands held hers.

"Do you understand what they're talking about?" He asked cautiously.

Shouko shook her head. "I just understood the part they said you've been attending banquets alone. Why was that?"

Even though she didn't remember the past five years being married to Kyoya, she at least understood that as the wife of a man of his caliber, it was inevitable for her to not attending banquets with her husband. So, why did they say something like that?

"I myself rarely went to them. I would just go as a formality and go back home in an instant so to save the hassle, I just asked you to not come if you didn't want to. After all, you wasn't fond of such events too."

Shouko listened to his explanation and found that it was plausible. She was indeed dislike going to banquets. As she wasn't one to socialise much, it wasn't weird for her to not go there.

Besides, Kyoya himself wasn't the type to socialise with people if it wasn't necessary.

Then, Shouko no longer thought of the matter even though she felt something was wrong with what the women had said.

What was it?

Ah, forget it. I'd better relax my mind and enjoy this trip.

While Shouko was smiling happily as she was imagining the fun that the trip had to offer, she didn't realize Kyoya's conflicted look while he was quietly staring at her.