It all began on Tachibana Mayumi's eighteenth birthday...
As she was walking down the hotel's grand staircase, wearing an intricately designed red dress whilst a flower wreath adorned her head, she accidentally slipped which caused her to fall and...
❝Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.❞ – Steve Maraboli
【Third-Person POV】
Tachibana Mayumi stood on a rooftop garden located at the High School Main Building with a worried look on her face as she waited for someone.
It's been two days since the official start of class in the academy.
She let out a deep sigh before sitting on the stone bench whilst looking at the various flowers, fruits and vegetables around her. She tried to distract herself with the scenery before her, but it wasn't working at all.
One of the best features here in Nōburu Academy, other than the Nōburu Forest and the Chrysanthemum Imperial Garden, are it's rooftop gardens located in each of its buildings.
The students will not just enjoy its beautiful scenery, but they could also pick any flowers they like and eat their favorite fruits and vegetables, with the help of the gardener, of course.
When the double glass door of the rooftop finally opened, Tachibana Mayumi stood up and turned towards it.
'He's here!' She mentally exclaimed before biting her lower lip nervously and putting her right hand to her chest.
Minamoto Giichi stopped a few meters from where Tachibana Mayumi stood and stared at her with furrowed brows. "What do you want?" He asked.
Tachibana Mayumi did not answer him, instead, she tilted her head before opening her mouth to speak. "Thank you so much for coming here, Giichi-sama."
"Please take a seat first." She continued whilst still tilting her head, however, Minamoto Giichi did not move an inch. He just stared at her. Tachibana Mayumi sighed before straightening up.
"I called you up here to tell you something very important, Giichi-sama." Mayumi stated before pausing for a few seconds to calm her nerves down. 'Kami-sama, please help me!'
"Let's break off our engagement." She declared without any hesitation whilst looking at Minamoto Giichi, determination apparent on her light brown eyes. "I know that you love her so let's break off our engagement."
Minamoto Giichi stared at Tachibana Mayumi with a stoic expression on his face, masking the turmoil raging inside him. 'Why would she suddenly want to break off our engagement? Does she have an ulterior motive?' He inwardly asked himself whilst still eyeing the young woman before him with indifference.
Upon seeing Minamoto Giichi's facial expression, Mayumi let out a deep sigh for the nth time that day. Despite the blank expression on his face, she knew that he didn't believe or trust her.
She hastily turned around and took out something from her simple yet very expensive signature bag. It was a golden ring with ancient Latin words engraved on it and a diamond in the center.
Mayumi handed it to Giichi, but the latter just looked at it with furrowed brows. "I want to give this back…" She uttered whilst looking at him with a small smile on her face. It's actually their engagement ring which was given to her on her eighteenth birthday. "You don't have to worry because I'm not planning anything bad, Giichi-sama."
"After the accident, I was able to reflect on my life and I realized that I can't force something that is not mine in the first place." Mayumi paused for a short while, then smiled genuinely before continuing.
"That's why I'm letting you go, Giichi-sama. You can be with her from now on and I promise that I won't bully or harass her anymore. I can talk to our parents about it as well, so don't worry about anything."
'Finally, I've said it!' Mayumi thought as she sighed in relief. However, she did not expect Minamoto Giichi's next words. "You don't know about the contract, didn't you?" He asked.
Mayumi, however, stared at him wide-eyed. Confusion apparent on her face. "W- What are you talking about?" She stuttered.
"Just like your parents… and mine. Our engagement is made with a legal contract. We can't just break it off that easily. Besides, it was stated that whoever cancels the engagement will not receive any single penny from his or her parents and will be disowned." Minamoto Giichi explained as he sat on the stone bench.
He sighed before looking at Tachibana Mayumi. "Didn't you sign it yourself on your eighteenth birthday?"
Tachibana Mayumi, on the other hand, just looked at Minamoto Giichi with disbelief, face turning pale as she listened to his explanation.
'Unbelievable!' She mentally exclaimed as she also sat down on the stone bench far away from Minamoto Giichi. She remembered signing a document before the party, but she was too excited to read its contents.
She just signed it without reading and understanding what it was all about. Tears welled from Mayumi's eyes as she buried her face in her hands. 'What am I going to do now?!'
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1. -sama (さま), the more formal version of san. Usually used to refer to customers who are deserving of the utmost respect status in Japan, people of higher rank, or somebody you admire. 2. Nōburu Academy (ノーブルアカデミー) is just fictional institution.
