Innocent romance (A maid sama story)

-Chapter 17-

"Sorry, I'm overthinking so much but time is closing in for us to get married and I've been here before and things didn't go as planned. If this engagement doesn't work out people might think I'm the problem. I don't have a good reputation either way." She joked. The third time wouldn't be a charm. If this failed she would rather be alone.

"Do you think you're the problem?" Takumi questioned. He just couldn't get her at all. She seemed to be hiding so much.

"No. I'm apart of it but the real problem is with the people we call family and money. Money changes people to the point they start to scare you." She replied thinking back to her past. "The need to satisfy people is the problem. They expect so much from you, acting as you owe them something."

She didn't want to be changed by the business world.  She feared she would become like her father.

"We were both born into a place where we don't belong. You have to hide your true feelings and blend in with those around you." Takumi spoke from experience. He knew from a young age not to trust everyone who smiled in your face. They're just waiting for the chance to use you.

"That's what scares me the most," Misaki whispered.

"I've always thought you had it easy Misaki. Your parents are always proud of you. Although some people are scared of you they truly respect you."

Misaki glanced at Takumi then took a deep breath. "From the outside, it might look like that. We weren't always this rich, we had to work hard for it and one day my father got lucky and gained enough money to start his own business. Things changed after that. He felt he had an image to protect, worrying about what everyone thought about him. He wanted to grow more in the business world and nearly found himself in debt. People started to talk about him and it made him obsessed with being perfect. I couldn't fail anything I did or I would never hear the end of it."

"Did your father take his anger out on your family?" Takumi asked but then hoped he wasn't overstepping his boundaries. Her father seemed normal but maybe he had just perfected a fake character in front of everyone.

"Only once but I protected them. His change in emotions always affected my mother so I decided to just become his puppet. I studied hard to take over the company so my little sister could do whatever she wanted. I'm not sure what I wanted to do with my life." Misaki admitted thinking about her last year of high school. When everyone was talking about their dreams, she had none. "If you tell anyone I told you about this I'll hunt you down and kill you."

"My mother had an affair and I was the result of it. My grandfather was angry because my father didn't have a bank account full of money. I remembered him telling her she could have at least done it with someone of her level. She died a few months after that and my life was hell. My grandfather refused to acknowledge my existence. They shipped me away and brought me back because my brother was ill." He told a glimpse from his nightmare of a childhood. "If you tell anyone about this I'll hunt you down and kill you."

Misaki scoffed. "Don't start using my lines Takumi."

"Thank you for opening up to me Misaki."

"Likewise. A story for a story."

"We will now serve the first course." The hostess announced.

"Finally," Misaki said as she had been starving this entire time. She swung her legs back and forth excited to taste what they had prepared.

Takumi smiled at her childish behavior. What else was there uncover about this woman? He wasn't expecting a kiss that would lead to her opening up to him. He had only kissed her to get rid of the host. He enjoyed it of course but it was just a simple kiss.

He was starting to see Misaki had trust issues like himself. She was worried about her future. She wanted this work out even if it was arranged. He wished he had met her long before this engagement. He could see them being good friends. She wasn't any different than him. She would've helped tear down the walls he built and he would do the same for her.

He had a feeling there was so much more to her past. She was a hurt woman who needed to be loved. Deep down he knew he could like her the more he learned about her. The rumored demon prez seemed so innocent in his eyes. She needed to be shielded from those around her before she self destructs.

Forget everyone around them, they could survive in their little bubble and be happy. If their family objected to the idea, Misaki and Takumi should just gift their parents the pain they felt when they were growing up. They both needed to break free from the world they didn't belong to. But first...

"Misaki, we should postpone the wedding." He stated.

Misaki who had been watching the trays food being served quickly turned to look at Takumi. "What?"

"It would be best if we got to know each other on our own before thinking about marriage. I want to get to know you Misaki and want this to work out. I would prefer it if we could at least try to love each other before we tie the knot. Once we sign those papers that's it for us."

"My father would not like that," She quickly replied.