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...
❝Planning is the key to success, if you do not have a plan for your life then you will just end up falling into someone else's plan and your life will not amount too much but mediocrity.❞ - Asad Meah
【Third-Person POV】
Tachibana Mayumi was only five years old when she started taking series of lessons on good manners, etiquette, chadō (茶道, "way of tea" or tea ceremony) and ikebana also known as kadō ( 華道, "way of flowers" or flower arrangement) just for her to be the perfect fiancée and future wife of Minamoto Giichi.
She also obeyed everything her clan had told her to do without questioning them, however, despite all of her efforts and sacrifices, Minamoto Giichi never showed any interest towards her.
Tachibana Mayumi let out a dejected sigh as she gloomily sat on a bergère marquise chair with a drum table near the large bow window.
She's currently inside the Chrysanthemum Imperial Café, a high-end shop exclusive only to the Nōburu Sākuru members, located behind the High School Main Building.
Outside the renowned café is the Chrysanthemum Imperial Garden. It was named as such because of the various chrysanthemum flowers planted on it- from white, to yellow and gold, pink, orange, bronze, deep red, maroon, violet and purple. Some chrysanthemums are even a mix of two and even more colors.
It was a magnificent sight to behold.
Despite the beautiful scenery before her, Tachibana Mayumi can't help but let out another sigh as she leaned on the armrest and placed her hand on her left cheek.
Her initial plan in order to avoid her tragic demise in the future was to cancel the engagement and not to interfere with Minamoto Giichi and Tachibana Hanami's impending relationship.
She doesn't want her nightmares to come true, after all. However, the contract made her plan pointless.
"Stop doing that." She slightly jumped up when she heard a deep masculine voice behind her. When she turned to look behind her, she let out a startled gasp as her eyes widened in recognition.
"Giichi-sama...? What are you doing here?" She asked.
Minamoto Giichi frowned momentarily, but he quickly changed his expression to his usual blank look. "Am I not allowed to come here?" He asked before sitting across Tachibana Mayumi.
The latter's face turned completely red from embarrassment as she abruptly stood up and vigorously shook her head. "No!"
'That was a dumb question.' She inwardly thought as she bit her lower lip. Tachibana Mayumi just can't believe that he's talking to her and is now even sitting across from her because before, whenever they're in the same place, Minamoto Giichi would always stay far away from her and he wouldn't even talk to her unless it has something to do with them being the Lord and Lady of the Nōburu Sākuru (貴族サークルの主婦, Noble Circle) or if they are told by their respective clan elders.
"What are you doing?" Tachibana Mayumi snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Minamoto Giichi's voice.
That's when she realized that she's still standing and everyone was looking at her questioningly. She cleared her throat before bowing towards Minamoto Giichi.
"Forgive me, Giichi-sama." She apologized before sitting back on her chair. Minamoto Giichi furrowed his brows, but he remained silent.
Receiving no response from him, Tachibana Mayumi let out a long sigh as she grabbed her bag placed on top of the wooden drum table and took out her gray journal.
She flipped the pages until it was on the part where she wrote her initial plan. With a dejected sigh, she took her pen and scratched them out.
'What am I going to do now?!' Tachibana Mayumi internally bemoaned her predicament as she closed and locked her journal, and put it back on her bag securely. She then turned towards Minamoto Giichi.
"Giichi-sama..." Tachibana Mayumi called him, but it seems like he did not hear her.
Minamoto Giichi was staring at the garden intently through the large bow window with an unreadable expression on his face. "Giichi-sama." She called him again. Fortunately, he turned his head to look at her.
"About what you said earlier..." Tachibana Mayumi paused whilst looking from left to right anxiously.
Upon seeing that there's no one near them, she continued. "... what do you think we should do in order to break off our engagement?" She said in a whisper.
"Why do you keep on insisting to break off our engagement?" Minamoto Giichi asked with furrowed brows. Tachibana Mayumi was about to respond to him, but she quickly shut her mouth when she felt a compelling aura directed to her.
"Didn't you hear what I just said earlier? Whoever cancels the engagement will be disowned. Now, why do you still want to cancel it?" Minamoto Giichi continued wearing a gloomy and unhappy look on his face.
'Because I might die in the future if our engagement will continue!' Tachibana Mayumi inwardly screamed, though on the outside she looked calm and collected.
After a long silence, she finally spoke. "I know the severity of the consequence if we cancel the engagement, but I don't want us to be trapped in a forced and loveless marriage... just like my parents."
"Don't worry about it anymore because I will find a way." Minamoto Giichi said as he stood up. He abruptly turned around and made his way towards the wooden double-door without looking back.
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How was it so far, guys? I hope you like it.
Anyways, it's all just the beginning and more are coming.
I also hope you're all doing good now. I'm currently on a 14-day quarantine with my younger sister and cousins, but we're doing great and we're almost done. Only four days left.
Stay safe, guys!
Love,
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