Chapter 223 - Forms Of Happiness

*WARNING: The following content may contain mildly mature content that may not be suitable for younger audiences.

The crack of skin contacting skin echoed off the walls. The young man's head snapped to the side, a bright red hand mark on his cheek, displaying the extreme force of the hit.

"Kneel. And bow your head lower. Low enough to quash that pathetic sense of pride you seem to have."

Kenji knelt before his father, head lowered. He remained there in silence under his father's glare for what felt like hours.

"Look at me." He finally heard his father say.

When Kenji raised his head to look at him, his father's dark eyes were clouded with fury. It was a blunt, brutal, angry face.

"Do you understand what you've done?"

Kenji looked into his father's cold eyes with an unreadable expression. It was controlled.

"Yes." He answered flatly.

"Explain." His father's tone was thin as ice.

Kenji didn't hesitate to respond, "I defied your orders and used the family's authority unwisely."

Henry Hirogori's eyes narrowed. They were rigid, cold, and hard.

Kenji could feel the tension and hear the intensity in his father's tone as he spoke. "Not just that, but you failed to complete the task you set out to achieve. You failed to capture your target. You failed to keep it away from the public eye. And you failed to recognize the consequences of your failure. While that sc.u.m sister of yours was a traitor, even she understood her own abilities. At what age will it take you to reach the extent Emily's genius took her?"

The hands by Kenji's side clenched. "I understand my mistakes, father. And I am willing to mend them."

Henry Hirogori laughed scornfully. "A Hirogori does not fail. We do not make mistakes. Do you understand? Weak decisions make a weak leader."

"…Yes." Kenji's eyes hardened.

"Good. Remember that the next time you decide to do anything like this again. And don't forget your place, Kenji." His voice was thick with contempt and pride.

"Yes, father."

Henry Hirogori gave a glance to his son before coldly turning his face away.

"Kneel here for an hour. After that, I will send someone to pick you up and transport you to the company. Fix this issue."

Without waiting for his response, Henry Hirogori walked away with a frosty expression, his footsteps echoing behind him. Kenji continued kneeling on the hard ground. While his knees were beyond numb on that point, his mind was elsewhere.

After his father ordered for people to take care of Tobias Itou – which failed, Kenji looked further into their findings. While the evidence did appear to point in Tobias's direction, something was off.

It seemed…too easy. To openly viewable.

His eyes narrowed. While he kneeled, his mind fell into deep thought.

…

For two days, Mimi sat in Tobias's office going over the latest information she picked up from Shen Jue on her sister. It was strange, the more she uncovered the more uneasy she felt.

The unknown couple that lived in the house before the old woman had a son. It was reported he died in a car accident – just like her sister. He was about to graduate at the time of his death, the same as her sister.

However, it was unusual. His family wasn't rich. They hardly had any influence in the industry besides working at a small company. Their son didn't even attend the same school as Emily let alone any of the hangouts she visited.

So how did Emily know him? And why did she visit his parent's place before he died?

After what she said to Shen Jue, she assumed her sister was having an affair with the young man. And based on his reaction, it seemed true.

Was it with someone else? Did her sister…fool around with more than one person?

The more she thought, the more it hurt. She was starting to discover; she didn't know her sister at all.

Who exactly was Emily Hirogori?

Staring at her screen deeply, Mimi hadn't even noticed when Tobias entered. For the day, he had left the office numerous times to attend meetings. Every time he returned, he only stayed for a short period before going back to another meeting.

The man was doing everything he could to keep his image and his company stable after the accident. So far, he has convinced the media to believe it was a simple car accident rather than an attempted assassination.

Two hours later, he was back with their lunch.

A Reuben sandwich with corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing grilled between seeded rye bread, and crispy homemade kettle potato ch.i.p.s.

She was starving at this point.

While they were eating, the television in his office was on, a popular series playing on the screen. Mimi sat near the end of the table and leaned into her seat while munching on her ch.i.p.s.

"You seem upset about something else." Tobias's eyes focused on her while he bit into his sandwich.

Mimi's munching slowed. She chewed, swallowed, then looked at her hands in front of her with a muddled look.

"I had a dream of my sister last night."

Tobias's movements came to a pause. He lifted his head and looked at her quietly, his full attention on her.

"She congratulated me. She said I could finally live a life of true happiness…that I had a shot of living like a real person." Mimi said in a whisper. "But the whole time she was saying this…she was looking at me with a cold smile."

After a long moment of silence, she raised her eyes to gaze at Tobias for a moment. Her lashes trembled.

"Do you think I can be happy?"

He stared at her for a moment before he sighed and wiped the sauce from his hands with a napkin. "Happiness varies for people. For you, happiness meant your sister, Emily."

Startled by his words, Mimi's eyes widened. She didn't know how to respond. Tobias caught the thread of hesitation on her face as she spoke. His expression darkened.

"But…just because Emily passed away, that doesn't mean you need to have a miserable life.�� His voice sounded rougher than usual. "It's not that happiness has to be one particular thing. Happiness can take different forms. For me…being with you is what brings me the most happiness."

Mimi raised her head with bewilderment, only to be met with the flushed expression on Tobias's handsome face. He kept his eyes turned away from her while he cleared his throat. Her hands twitched.

She wanted to touch him.

Standing up from her seat, she walked around the table to plop herself on Tobias's lap. The man hadn't even had the chance to react before the girl nestled her face into his neck, inhaling his scent.

"You too."

Tobias stiffened, but quickly furrowed his brows to her words.

"What?"

Mimi made no sound. She slowly lifted her head until she felt the heat of that strong neck, and then used her warm tongue to slowly trace its length, licking from the bottom up.

Tobias groaned, his grip on her tightening. He took in a deep steadying breath.

"You're my happiness too." She whispered in his ear.

His body froze. He lowered his head to look down at her, eyes wide. Mimi lifted her head and blinked innocently. She couldn't hold back her grin any longer.

"Toby…"

Before her sentence could finish, he grabbed her neck and greedily devoured her lips. Mimi squeaked. When his tongue impaled her throat and tangled with hers, she m.o.a.ned. Her hands that were grabbing onto the edges of his suit jacket trembled.

It wasn't a refreshing kiss filled with comfort. It was a kiss filled with hot passion and explicit desire.

When it felt as if she couldn't breathe anymore, Mimi knocked on Tobias's chest. Feeling her gentle actions, he withdrew his tongue from her mouth, his hot breath fanning against her. He sucked on her wet lips, kissed the side of her mouth, and then rested his head on her shoulder with a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry." His voice sounded hoarse.

"What…What for?" Mimi recovered her breath.

"I kissed you without your consent." He mumbled into her neck, his grip on her waist tightening.

Mimi blinked. She couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth from twitching.

Was he actually apologizing for kissing her?

When he lifted his head from her shoulder, he looked down to see that her violet eyes were filled with tears. Looking at her wet lashes that made it seem like she would tear up, something below him stirred. Unseen by her, the depths of his eyes looked at her with a dangerous and possessive aura.

"F.u.c.k," He cursed under his breath before he lowered his head again.

Mimi held back a laugh and looked at the tormented man with mischievous eyes. Before she had the chance to do anything, the office door opened.

"What do you mean I can't come in? Are you denying entry to an injured person? You know Tobias you should really—" Alec entered the office and elevated his head. When he saw the scene before him, he froze.

The man's voice made Mimi and Tobias look up. The corners of her lips curled, and she winded her arms tightly around Tobias.

"My, my, big brother. Have you ever heard of knocking?" She giggled softly.

Alec stared at the two speechless. He suddenly felt light-headed.