Chapter 217 - Lady In Red

"It'll be sad if it's about status. It means I have to divorce my husband," Ara said woefully as she looked forlorn.

It was an act on her part of course, but she couldn't help but think of it anyway, and her heat hurt. At this moment in time, she could no longer imagine life without him.

"What has become of me," she murmured mostly to herself, but Chiaki misinterpreted it as she's totally depressed, and so, the other took her hand immediately, and Ara looked up and met her intense gaze.

"You deserve it. You are worthy of your love," Chiaki told her softly.

Ara smiled. Because as much as Chiaki tried to appease her heart, Ara knew she was also telling herself that. Ara would tell her that too of course in case her self-realization was not enough.

"As you are yours," Ara said, and the two ladies smiled at each other.

The two of them shared a comfortable silence as they ate their food. They were almost finished with their light meal and dessert when a movement of color caught Ara's eyes, and she turned her head in time to see a woman wearing a classy business suit the color of red, shifted from her seat to artistically place delicate china against her lips to drink her coffee.

It would have been inconspicuous if the woman hadn't moved so much in a short period of time. Well, Ara and Chiaki had been talking for a while but they just noticed her now. It somehow felt that the woman made exaggerated movements, and with her clothes, it was easy for her to take people's attention.

The woman looked pretty and well-groomed with her well-made hair all in place. It was easy to see that she's well off based on her clothes and that obviously very expensive bag she had on the floor. It was hard to miss the Chanel logo dangling from the rouge handbag. Her long nails were also perfectly manicured as Ara could see the long red polished 'talons' glinting from under the café light. Well, she called them talons as they're overly long for normal nails.

The lady in red…

Ara almost laughed at her description, but she settled with a snort.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just sang something in my head. You know the old western song, 'the Lady In Red'?"

Chiaki nodded and she gave the lady in question a surreptitious glance before leaning over to whisper to Ara. "You noticed her too?"

"Well, I felt a saw her moving a lot," Ara confessed and the other let out a small chuckle.

"Actually, she's been wiggling in her seat like she has something in her pants for a while. She just stopped when you glanced at her."

EH?

Ara found the description so funny she had to cover her mouth to stop laughter from coming out loud. However, as soon as she did, she felt a strong murderous intent coming in their direction that she lifted her head again and glanced at the woman.

Her eyes met the woman's brown ones, and the murderous intent quickly faded away as the other smiled at her, flashing her perfect white teeth. This puzzled Ara a lot. But everything came into place when Chiaki craned her neck to look at the lady too, and the smile faded, replaced by an expression that told the secretary she's superior and the bit of the murderous aura returned.

Oh…

"What's wrong?" Chiaki asked Ara who turned her attention to her cup and drank.

Her mood shifted upon realizing who the woman was. She felt incensed.

"We have a would-be-stalker," Ara murmured confusing Chiaki, but she didn't elaborate as she waved her hand to get the attention of one of the servers for their bill.

"I will take it," Chiaki offered but Ara shook her head.

"I'm the one who invited you and it's my wedding day so it's my treat," Ara insisted, and thus, the other let her pay.   

"So, what are we going to do now? Do you want to go somewhere?"

"We're going shopping," Ara declared loud enough for the 'would-be-stalker' to hear as she pulled the other from her seat and walked out of the café without paying attention to the woman again.

"What was that?" Chiaki asked her as soon as they entered another posh establishment four minutes after walking from the cafe.

The Shibuya Hikarie Mall was located very near, and Ara decided to shop there today. It was a Tokyu skyscraper and retail complex completed less than ten years ago. It didn't have any cultural significance in Japan like the 109 Building, but it was a prime retail and office destination. The first to eleven floors were opened to the public and had a wide variety of retail stores and boutiques, while the eleventh to sixteenth floors were reserved for the theaters. The remaining floors were offices of most media companies.

"What was what?"Ara asked back innocently, and Chiaki shook her head at her.

"Spill little sister. You are not keeping that from me," the secretary softly rebuked which made Ara smile. "What do you mean would-be-stalker? Has she been following you?"

Ara shook her head this time. "No. We saw her first at the café. But she will be following us from now on," she said with certainty which confused the other.

True to her words, the entrance to the mall opened, and the lady in red stepped in like a fashion model VIP followed by a few men in black, and Chiaki instinctively grabbed Ara's hand and scurried to the nearest escalator and pulled her away out of the woman's sight.

Safe and hidden on the second floor, the two of them surreptitiously watched as the woman asked her minions to search for something and they dispersed. This made Chiaki pull Ara again and they disappeared into one of the boutiques.

Chiaki was out of breath as she fished her bag for her phone, as if ready to call someone. Ara watched as the secretary clicked on her brother's name and in no time was talking to him. "Aki, we're at Tokyu Hikarie. Come pick us up. Someone's after your sister."

Ara's amused eyes waited until Chiaki slipped her phone back in her bag and faced her again for questions.

"Who was that? Why are they after you?"

"But she's not here for me," Ara answered seriously, making the other more and more confused.

"That's Axis Corporation's Vice President, big bro's almost fiancée, Maki Yuuka…"