Chapter Text
"I did some thinking," Naoya said, taking a sip from his green tea, eyebrows knitting together in concern as if considering something before shaking his head, casting the thought aside. "Let's get it over once and for all," Naoya put his cup on the table. "This thing we had going on, it is no longer."
You blinked at him in disbelief. Confusion washing over your face.
"This 'thing' you are referring to, you do not mean our relationship, do you?" You were irritated. He made it sound as if you were some cheap fling.
"Congrats, you can put two and two together," he deadpanned.
"That's all I am to you? A thing? Years of devotion to the Zen'in Clan, my youth wasted on you and you throw it all away, why?" you whined, looking for a snivel of sympathy from him.
"Lower your voice," Naoya demanded, his grin faltering. He straightened his posture before continuing. "You have a point there. That's part of it."
You raised your eyebrows in worry.
"As the future head of my clan, I have to preserve the Zen'in traditions and maintain a respectable image. There is a certain standard that I have to uphold that you don't fit."
"You don't picture a future with me," you said more as a statement and less of a question, yet Naoya answered.
"Exactly. You have a lack of discipline that we require, always struggling to keep the weight off," he began, his eyes trailing to your anything but skinny waist.
"That never stopped you from keeping your hands to yourself!"
"Secondly," he continued, motioning with his hand for you to lower your voice again.
"You talk back. You don't stay in a woman's place and most importantly, you have overstepped a line where you can be guided back into your lane," Naoya focused on the creases on your forehead after you raised your eyebrows in shock.
"Once a woman matures, she has a will that is incompatible with a man's in her age. Behind every strong man there is woman, not beside him - behind him," Naoya stressed those last two words, his voice laced with poison. He was propped up on his hands as he towered over the table menacingly. He stared you down for a few seconds before sitting back down.
"A younger, fertile woman in her prime is the perfect mother to carry and nurture my future heir. Let's be honest, you've hit the wall."
"I am almost two years younger than you," you started before he interrupted you as always.
"You know the saying, men age like fine wine," he smirked at you triumphantly while you failed to collect your thoughts.
Naoya took your silence as a cue to continue, even though silence is not the only state that urges him to speak, and as he did so, your eyes wandered off and you zoned out, shock overtaking your mind.
While he was saying that you were too educated in the wrong fields to be a proper lady of the house, you were focusing on the difference of shades between the top buttons of his shirt.
He said that a woman working a man's job was no future bride of his, you wondered whether or not a new piercing adorned his earlobe.
"Now, do you catch my drift?" he asked, running a hand through his dark blonde locks.
"Your tea has gone cold."
"Huh?" he raised a brow at you.
"There is no steam emanating from the cup. Your tea is cold," you pointed out with a shaky finger.
Naoya squinted his eyes, pulling his lips into a tight line. He erupted into a burst of laughter seconds later.
"Now it's too late to play idle housewife, my dear," he grinned, resting his chin on his hand. "You can pour me another cup, though."
"I never expected you to provide," you snapped back into reality.
"Course not, your nice engineer checks keep you afloat. However, it is a man's job to provide. I see that being in a male space has given you a false sense of confidence. You have to explain yourself a lot, don't you?" he raises a brow at you, not urging you to answer. To spite you. He was not finished. "But nobody likes a smart ass of a female at home."
A cold breeze blows through the delicate walls of the Zen'in estate and dread floods your heart.
"I can't believe you have wasted half of my life." You feel dizzy as tears prick at your eyes.
"Now, you can cry all you want after I have announced the good news. There will be one loophole in our contract rendering our commitment useless if I marry someone else, and I will. Although they're not as successful as me, nor are you that much of a prize either, now that you aren't a virgin anymore, I am sure one of my older brother's or cousins can find some purpose for you."
"Is our time together worth nothing to you?"
"Darling, don't be so cruel. We had lots of fun together but that is over. Unless you are looking for something casual," Naoya huffed, sizing you up and down before his eyes rested on your hips.
"There is one thing that could make both of us happy," Naoya had a hungry glint in his eyes. "You could always be my concubine. Our powers combined would create great offspring for the Hei."
That was the last nail in the coffin that sealed your fate shut.
"No, that's fucked up beyond words," you cried out as tears streamed down your face.
"Watch your words or I will make you regret you have a mouth," he grabbed you by the face, squeezing your jaw open.
"You females are never worth the trouble," he lets go, pushing his hand into your face causing you to lose balance, your back hitting the Tatami floor with a loud thud and cold tea spilling all over the table.
"Clean that up," he yelled, standing up and shoving the lattice door open. It left a huge tear on the shoji paper.
You just layed there and cried.