I could not stop pacing.

Back and forth.

Across the length of my bedroom.

The floor beneath my feet had become a rhythm at this point. Step. Turn. Step. Turn. My mind kept replaying the same conversation inside the warehouse over and over again until the words no longer sounded like words anymore.

Your father.

Turns out he talks too much.

I stopped near the window and folded my arms tightly.

The city outside was quiet tonight. Cold lights stretching endlessly beyond the glass. Cars moving below like distant currents. Normal people living normal lives while mine continued spiralling into increasingly ridiculous directions.

Malcolm knew about my mother.

Not the public version.

Not the police version.

The real version.

Or at least enough of it to become dangerous.

I picked my phone up from the desk and stared at my father’s contact for three full seconds before pressing call.

He answered on the first ring.

"Hello princess."

I closed my eyes immediately.

Of course he sounded cheerful.

"What a surprising thing," he continued warmly. "You never call me."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "What the hell did you tell Malcolm Stein?"

Silence.

Then—

"Who?"

"Oh don’t play coy with me," I snapped. "I know you told him about mum... about what I did."

"Himari, honestly sweetheart, I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Good try," I said coldly. "Deny it all you want but I know you told him something when he came asking about his brother."

A pause.

Then he sighed softly.

"Oh. That Malcolm Stein."

Something tightened painfully in my chest.

"So you admit it."

"Well yes," he said casually. "I told him about your mother."

"What?" I almost shouted. "Why would you do that?"

"Because he told me what you did, sweetie." His tone remained disturbingly calm. "He said you killed his brother and honestly... I believed him. I wouldn’t put it past you."

For a second I genuinely could not speak.

Then anger hit me all at once.

"How could you say that to your own daughter?"

"I’m telling the truth, Himari." His voice lowered slightly. "You’ve always been... different."

"Do not call me that."

"What? Himari?" He laughed softly. "Your mother loved that name."

"I said don’t call me that."

"You know," he continued like he hadn’t heard me at all, "when you were little your mother and I genuinely worried about you. You had anger issues. Violent mood swings." He chuckled under his breath. "One time we found you outside holding a dead rat."

"What?"

"You heard me."

I stared ahead blankly.

"That’s insane."

"No, what was insane was the way you looked at it." His tone shifted slightly. More thoughtful now. "You weren’t scared. You weren’t disgusted. You were just... staring."

I gripped the phone tighter.

"Stop."

"You know where your mother got your name from?" he continued lightly. "A webnovel series she became obsessed with for a while. What was it called again..." He hummed. "Oh yes. My System Only Wants Me To Be Evil."

I rubbed my forehead slowly.

"Yes. You’ve told me this before."

"Ah. Right." He laughed again. "Well your mother adored that story. Then she had you and suddenly there was little Himari running around the house causing problems."

My jaw tightened.

"That was an accident, dad," I said quietly. "When are you going to stop holding it over my head?"

Silence.

Then—

"Yeah," he said. "It was an accident."

Something about the way he said it made my stomach turn.

"But deep down?" he continued. "I think part of you wanted to do it."

My breathing stopped for a second.

"What?"

"I saw your face that night."

The room suddenly felt colder.

"When your mother was lying there on the floor..." he said quietly, "you smiled."

My throat tightened instantly.

"I swear I saw it. Right there at the corner of your mouth."

"No."

"You are broken, Himari." His voice softened in the worst possible way. "Very broken. And I’m sorry to say that as your father."

"Dad—"

The line disconnected.

"Dad?"

Nothing.

"Dad!"

Call ended.

For a moment I simply stood there staring at my phone.

Then my chest tightened violently.

Air.

I couldn’t get enough air.

I inhaled sharply but it felt wrong somehow. Too shallow. My heartbeat slammed against my ribs hard enough to hurt and suddenly the room felt too small.

Too hot.

My fingers started trembling.

No.

No no no.

I pressed a hand against my chest and tried breathing slower but it only got worse. My lungs refused to cooperate. My vision blurred slightly around the edges and a horrible dizziness rolled through me.

Focus.

Breathe.

I leaned against the desk hard enough to almost knock over a lamp.

Inhale.

Exhale.

My heartbeat refused to slow down.

I slid down onto the floor before my legs gave out entirely.

This is stupid.

You’re fine.

You’re—

My phone rang suddenly.

I flinched violently before looking down at the screen.

Ethan.

I swallowed hard and answered.

"Hey," he said immediately. "You home? I’m outside."

My voice came out weaker than intended.

"...Yeah."

"You okay?"

"Fine."

A lie so obvious even I heard it.

I ended the call quickly before he could ask more questions and texted Yuki downstairs to let him in.

A minute later I heard the front door open downstairs.

Then Ethan’s voice.

"Yuki? Where’s Raina?"

"Upstairs, sir."

Footsteps.

Fast.

The bedroom door opened and Ethan stepped inside.

The moment he saw me sitting on the floor his expression changed completely.

"Raina?"

He crossed the room immediately and crouched beside me.

"Are you okay?"

"I’m fine," I said automatically.

"You are absolutely not fine."

His hand touched my forehead gently and his face tightened instantly.

"You’re burning up."

"I’m okay—"

"No you’re not." His voice sharpened slightly. "You’re sweating. Raina look at me."

I tried.

Honestly I did.

But the room tilted suddenly and Ethan blurred in front of me.

"I need to get you to the hospital," he said quickly.

That was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.

•••

Voices.

Movement.

The steady electronic beeping of medical equipment somewhere nearby.

My eyes opened slowly.

White ceiling.

Hospital lights.

I blinked once before turning my head slightly.

Ethan was sitting beside the bed in a chair, half asleep with one arm folded across his chest. His hair looked messier than usual.

"Where am I?" I croaked.

His head snapped up instantly.

"Oh my God—Raina?"

He stood so fast the chair nearly tipped over.

"Doctor! Nurse! Anyone!" he shouted toward the hallway. "She’s awake!"

A doctor entered less than thirty seconds later alongside a nurse.

He looked middle-aged. Calm eyes. Professional posture.

"Good evening Miss Takahashi," he said. "I’m Dr Evans."

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"You experienced a severe panic attack combined with stress-induced syncope," he explained carefully while shining a small penlight into my eyes. "Essentially your body became overwhelmed and you fainted."

Fantastic.

The light moved from one eye to the other.

"Follow the light for me."

I did.

"You’ve also been running on elevated stress levels for some time now judging from your vitals," he continued. "Your blood pressure was quite high when you came in."

"I see."

"You’re stable now," he reassured me. "But I want you resting tonight. We’ll run a few more routine tests just to be safe."

The nurse adjusted something beside the bed while Dr Evans scribbled briefly on a clipboard.

Then he looked toward Ethan.

"She’ll be alright."

Ethan visibly relaxed slightly.

"Thank you, doctor."

Dr Evans nodded once before leaving the room with the nurse.

The door shut quietly behind them.

Silence settled over the room again.

Ethan sat back down beside me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

I looked at him for a moment.

Tired.

Embarrassed.

Emotionally destroyed.

But mostly tired.

"I’m fine now Ethan," I said quietly. "You don’t have to worry."

His expression shifted immediately.

"Of course I worry."

Then before either of us could stop it—

"I love you."

The words slipped out naturally.

Like they had been waiting there for a while.

Ethan blinked once right after saying it like he hadn’t meant to say it aloud yet.

I smiled despite everything.

"I love you too."

The relief that crossed his face almost hurt to look at.

He leaned forward and kissed me gently.

"Hmhm."

The sound came from the doorway.

We both turned immediately.

Grandpa.

Katsuro stood near the entrance in a dark coat with one hand resting lightly on his cane.

"Hello Raina."

My brain genuinely stopped working for a second.

"Grandpa?"

He smiled faintly.

"What? Can’t I come see my granddaughter anymore?"

"N-no—I mean—how are you here?"

"I flew in this morning," he replied calmly. "I was worried about you."

Of course he did.

Which probably meant he already knew everything.

Wonderful.

He turned toward Ethan.

"So," he said. "Who might you be ?"

Ethan immediately stood.

"Sir—"

"Grandpa," I interrupted quickly. "This is Ethan. My boyfriend."

Katsuro studied him for exactly three seconds.

Then Ethan offered his hand politely.

"It’s nice to meet you sir."

Grandpa took it firmly.

"Pleasure is all mine," he said smoothly. "I’ve heard quite a lot about you."

Oh God.

"Anyway," I interrupted quickly, "how long are you staying?"

Katsuro looked amused immediately.

"Why? You don’t want me here?"

"No—I mean—"

"I know what you mean." He smiled slightly. "I’ll stay until everything on your side is resolved."

Then his expression softened slightly as he looked at me.

"I worry about how you’re handling things," he said in Japanese.

I looked away immediately.

Before I could respond his phone rang.

Katsuro sighed lightly.

"Sorry. Duty calls."

He stepped outside to answer it.

The second he left Ethan looked at me.

"You never mentioned your grandfather."

I rubbed my forehead slowly.

"I’m sorry. He’s... difficult."

Ethan gave a small laugh.

"I would’ve understood. I grew up around difficult men."

Before I could answer Katsuro returned.

"Unfortunately I have to leave," he said calmly. "But we’ll have dinner in two days once you’ve rested properly."

He stepped closer and kissed my forehead lightly.

"Get better soon, my granddaughter."

Then he turned toward Ethan.

"Take good care of her."

"I will," Ethan replied immediately.

"Good."

Katsuro nodded once before leaving the room.

The door closed behind him.

Silence returned again.

I leaned back slowly against the hospital pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

First Malcolm.

Then my father.

And now Grandpa Katsuro.

My life just got more interesting.

Just my fucking luck.