a white lie

The band ECLIPSE kept playing, drawing the attention of several passersby. The energy was electric. Ren, lost in the music, felt untouchable. For the first time in months, he wasn't thinking about contracts, weddings, or his father. But in the middle of the street concert, hidden among the growing crowd, a red-haired girl watched him with admiration and a strange devotion. But Ren, his eyes fixed on the microphone and closed with emotion, never noticed her presence. To him, she was just another face in the crowd.

The show had just reached its climax when police sirens began to sound in the distance. “Let's go!” shouted Satoru. The ECLIPSE group fled the scene, carrying their belongings and happily saying goodbye to the audience. As they ran through the alleys to lose the patrol, the group talked nervously and laughed about their escape. Everyone was excited. So happy that even Ren had smiled. A smile that no one else had noticed, only him.

The group had to split up so as not to attract attention. Ren reached the edge of his property. On the way, he had changed his clothes in some bushes, hiding his suit so that Naoki could pick it up later. He put on his home clothes and made sure he didn't smell of sweat. He entered his house and felt triumphant. No one had discovered him.

Or so I thought.

When Ren entered the main room, the lights were on. His family and Mr. Takashima were waiting for him. The atmosphere was tense. “Father, I...” Ren began. Without time for explanations or reactions, Ryōma moved in front of him.

Ren, without time to react, felt his father strike him in the face with his walking stick. The blow was sharp and brutal. It split Ren's lip and made it bleed instantly. Ren stumbled and fell back against the wall, stunned, putting his hand to his mouth.

“ You disgust me! ” Ryōma shouted. “ What the hell are those rumors? My informants say they saw someone your height and build playing trashy music on the street! They say it's you! Do you think you can make fun of this family by acting like a bum!? ”

Ren looked up at his father from the floor. There was no evidence, only gossip and rumors, but that was enough for Ryōma. “ They're... just rumors... ” Ren whispered. “ Don't lie to me! ” Ryōma raised the stick, ready to strike him again, this time harder to get the truth out of him.

Ren looked up at his father from the floor. There was no evidence, only gossip and rumors, but that was enough for Ryōma. “They're... just rumors...” Ren whispered. “Don't lie to me!” Ryōma raised the stick, ready to strike him again, this time harder to “get the truth out of him.”

The door burst open. Akira entered the room. She didn't seem surprised, but annoyed. With an attitude of total arrogance, she walked to the center of the room.

“ What's going on here? ” she asked, her voice cold. “ This good for nothing was on the street... ” Ryōma began.

“ On the street? ” Akira let out a dry laugh, interrupting him. “ How ridiculous. Ren and I have been walking around the backyard for the last hour. We were discussing... our future life together. ”

Ren looked up, surprised. “ What? ” Ryōma paused, the stick in midair. “ But the informants... ” “ Your informants are idiots. ” Akira said disdainfully. " It's a shame that the head of the Shinomiya family would lose his temper over mere servant gossip. Hitting his heir over an unfounded rumor?"

Akira approached Ryōma and looked down at the stick with disgust. “ What will the public think if they see your son... my fiancé, with his face deformed at the press conference? Will you explain to them that you hit him because someone said they heard something? That shows weakness, Mr. Ryōma. ”

Ren's father was visibly furious. His chest rose and fell rapidly. He knew he couldn't contradict the Takashima heiress without proof, and she was giving Ren the perfect alibi.

Ryōma lowered the stick in humiliation as he looked away.

Akira didn't wait. She approached Ren, who was still on the floor. She offered him her hand, not gently, but firmly, and helped him up. “ Let's go. ” she said. “ You need ice before that swells up. ”

Ren leaned on Akira's shoulder, as he was a little dizzy from the blow, and they both left the room, leaving the family alone in silence, thinking about the mistake they had just made.

They walked to a side hallway, away from everyone. Akira finally let go of him, and Ren leaned against the wall, touching his bleeding lip. He looked at her, completely confused. He didn't know she had been at the concert. To him, she had just lied to save him.

“ Why? ” Ren asked, his voice hoarse. “ Why did you do that? "