Gangster Cinderella

Chapter Forty Four: the Last Time I See You

The office is silent for a few heart beats before Kita abruptly stands up. "What does my daughter have to do with any of this?!"

My mother takes out a suit case and removes a folder from it. She slides it across the table before lighting a cigarette. "Inside of it is your daughter's written statement on the abuse she suffered from you and photographic evidence of the recent bruises you had given her. If we go to court, all of this will be brought up to prove you incapable of being Chieko's guardian. I wonder how many men will be lining up to take care of you once they find out how neurotic you are."

"This...this doesn't prove anything! She could've gotten those bruises after running away from home!" Her face turning beet red; normally when her face got red Shikha and I would hide out of fear, but today I won't be hiding. Not anymore.

"Oh Yashido...how quickly you forget that I was witness to all of your...very interesting activities." Do 'an Vien's smirk turns lupine as she goes in for the kill. She takes out another folder and hands it over to Kita. "Those are surveillance photos of some of the "parties" you had with an acquaintance of mine. I believe your relationship with our good friend Hirabayashi ended when he caught video footage of you trying to break into his safe to steal his money."

For the first time ever I see Kita Yashido shake in fear. "But you'll go down with me! Or did you forget that you work for the Yakuza!"

My mother laughs at the scared woman, "Oh my, and where is your proof? As you already know my boss, Hirabayashi's income comes from the chain of clubs he owns...that I might add you attend very frequently."

I almost want to laugh when I see Kita on the verge of tears. "I...I will lower my settlement down to five hundred thousand yen."

"Twenty thousand yen and I refuse to go any higher."

"...do you have any empathy? You're also a woman who suffered from an unplanned pregnancy...you have to understand how hard it is..."

Do 'an Vien's cold gaze doesn't change one bit as she continues to stare down at the broken woman before her. "I will never understand a person who is capable of striking their own child. Your only options are to accept the twenty thousand yen or we can drag your personal life into the court of law. It's your choice."

Tears smudge Kita's makeup as her mascara streaks down her cheeks. "Fine...I'll accept your offer."

"I'm glad we could come to this arrangement. Chieko we're just about done here, you can go home I'll take a cab."

I stand up and stare at Kita wanting to preserve this memory of her losing to me. "After this is done I will never think about you again. The days of you stealing from me are over and we will never see each other again. Goodbye Kita Yashido."

I leave the oppressive air of the office and go outside. The moment I feel the cold air against my skin, tears of joy and relief start to flow. I look up at the grey winter sky, "We did it dad, we protected your bikes."

🍲🍲🍲🏍🍲🍲🍲

As soon as I arrive at Mikey's house I practically jump off my bike and run inside. I call out, "Hey, it's Chieko I'm coming in!"

As soon as I shout that, Mikey is running out of his bedroom. "Chi-chan, how did the settlement go?"

"We won baby!" I cheer.

A bright boyish smile appears on his face before he picks me up and spins me around. "That's amazing!!" He finally puts me back down, "We gotta celebrate!"

"Do you mind if I invite my mom? None of this would've been settled this neatly without her."

"As long as it's ok with you, I don't mind. Let me just text Emma and tell her to buy stuff for a hot pot."

I step outside and call my mother; my heart beats with the dialing tone and stops when she picks up. "Hello Chieko? Is something wrong?"

"I...I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me and my boyfriend's family. We want to celebrate winning against Kita."

"Of course, if that's ok with you. I'll be a bit late I'm picking something up, just text me the address and I'll be there as soon as I'm done." She replies with eagerness in her voice.

"Ok I'll see you then mom." The word mom slips so easily from my mouth.

There's a pause before she says, "Yes, I'll see you then."

I hang up and just sort of stand there in a daze. She answered rather awkwardly; I can hardly blame her though, it must be strange to suddenly be called 'mom' by your estranged daughter. Panic slowly sets in as I worry about if I scared her away. What if she doesn't like being called mom or...

My derailing anxiety ridden thoughts stop once I feel a pair of arms wrap around me from behind. "So is she coming?"

"Oh-um yes she is." My face starts to burn in embarrassment.

"You look flustered...did she say something?" Mikey's aura suddenly darkens.

"No, no, I just called her mom...over the phone."

He cocks his head slightly, "Uh...yeah she's your mom?"

"I know it just feels weird...I guess I'm still scared of her running out on me again. I know it's paranoia but I can't help still feeling that anxiety. It's like I'm always emotionally preparing myself for someone to leave me."

A gentle kiss is pressed to the side of my cheek. Mikey meticulously moves a stray strand of brown hair from my face before speaking, "You need to have more faith, not just in other people but most importantly in yourself. No one ever left you because they wanted to, life just got in the way for some of them."

"And you...will life ever get in the way of you staying by my side?" I quietly ask him.

"No one gets in my way, and if they do I'll just crush 'em and find you again."

I grasp his warm rough hand in mine and stare deeply into his dark eyes. These rough and calloused hands are the only hands I could ever trust.