Decision and Separation

"Sachie, what have you done to your sister?" Haruto shouted.

Akiko, who came from behind, looked at Himawari with distress and concern. She whispered about her behavior.

"Himawari, no!" she whispered to her daughter, forcing her to stand up. "Control yourself, please, they'll see you with your makeup ruined."

Both women left quickly to prevent people from seeing the scene that Sachie had started. Haruto saw Mrs. Yanagi following behind them to understand what was happening and, if possible, to help.

"What is wrong with you, Sachie?" Haruto told his daughter once they left the hall to avoid scandals. "If you wish to ruin your future its now fine for me. You can face the consequences, but to meddle with your sister and her engagement? Do you have no shame?"

"I just told her the truth, father," Sachie told her father angrily. She no longer cared about the consequences. Not after the blow she received. "I'm sure she will be a failure who will be incapable of..."

"Enough, Sachie," Haruto said, also raising his voice. Sachie received another slap, which finally made her break down and start crying. "Go home, we'll talk later."

Akiko and Himawari were already in a more private place where the mother was finally able to calm her daughter, who had already washed her face to clean the makeup. She reprimanded her about her behavior, her tears, and how she should behave better.

"Miss Himawari," Mrs. Yanagi had finally found the Apricot women.

Akiko bowed, and Himawari, embarrassed, could only hide her face. Mrs. Urara Yanagi, a tall, slender woman with black hair and a face that rarely showed emotion. In Akiko's view, Urara was a judge who was always evaluating her education, her behavior in any situation, and reprimanding if necessary.

"I understand that you were assaulted by your sister," Urara continued, saying to Himawari. "But you must first consider your position as a general's fiancée. Your behavior must be excellent al the time. If you cannot tolerate someone's comments, you apologize and withdraw. We cannot tolerate this behavior."

"Thank you very much for your advice, Yanagi-san," Akiko said with a bow. "From here, I will take care of it."

"You are incapable of taking charge, Apricot," Urara was now reprimanding Akiko, who felt humiliated. "You couldn't take care of your elder daughter. Be thankful that I wish to take care of the younger one."

"Mother, I will take care of it from here," Izumi arrived unexpectedly at the women's meeting point.

He hadn't come to reproach; he wanted to understand, calm his fiancée, and hear her version. There were already enough rumours running throughout the hall about the Apricot family scandal.

Urara and Akiko immediately left, and Izumi took his fiancée to sit in the garden. The warm weather of the night was accentuated by a slight breeze.

"Is everything alright?" Lieutenant Yanagi asked Himawari, who remained silent.

Izumi also remained silent, thinking about how to continue the conversation.

"I've learned a lot being in the military, you know?" Izumi began to tell his experiences as a lieutenant. "Trust is a pillar that I want to convey to my family, to you. I need you to trust me. What happened between you and your sister to cause this breakdown?”

Himawari, calmer, decided to talk. She was tired of pretending, of being perfect. For the first time, she shared her fear, Sachie's statement, and her prediction. Izumi listened attentively, admiring the bravery of Himawari, who faced her fears and shared them for the first time.

"Listen closely," Izumi began to say when Himawari finished speaking. He took her hand as they talked. “This engagement to you goes beyond what we cannot control. You have shown me to be a capable woman in many areas."

Himawari finally looked at her fiancé, who gazed at her with patience and a strange affection she couldn't interpreted. Izumi explained that one should not be afraid of what one cannot control, of what one cannot predict.

"Your mother also didn't give the Apricots a male heir," Izumi continued. "Even so, your father remained faithful to his commitment to your mother. Akiko-san has managed to maintain family order; she has maintained good behavior. The only flaw has been Sachie, and I don't understand where the mistake was since your mother educated her well."

With the newfound tranquility and Himawari now calm, the couple re-entered the main hall to avoid more gossip about what Sachie had done. Thanks to Haruto, the rumours of what happened were being forgotten.

"Listen to me, Himawari," Izumi continued. "I decided to commit to you because you have shown me to have admirable qualities and skills."

When Sachie arrived home, surprising the employees, she went directly to lock herself in her room where she screamed, releasing her accumulated frustration. She didn't understand her father. On the one hand, he wanted to modernise her grandfather's apothecary, but on the other hand, he persisted with the ideas that subjugated her to being only a wife and mother.

Her parents arrived a couple of hours later, and Haruto wasted no time continuing the argument about how she embarrassed him in front of the Takaharas and how it wasn't fair that she ruined her sister's engagement.

"You are unbelievable, father," Sachie said during the argument. "I don't understand how you want to modernize the apothecary that once belonged to my grndfather, but at the same time, you force me to marry without considering what I want."

"Your obligation as a woman is to bear heirs, maintain the home and the family. That's how it has always been," Haruto explained, trying to calm himself. "The most difficult part falls to me."

"The most difficult part?" Sachie asked, offended. She knew perfectly well that Akiko ended up tired, sore from household chores, despite having help, her mother had few moments to rest. "Do you really think what mother has endured is easy?"

"That's why I hired help" Haruto explained. Sachie didn't know what else to say. She never helped, and the few times she did, it was minimal.

"What if I can prove to you that I can also do those tasks you've never allowed me to do?"

Haruto, incredulous at what his daughter was saying, was speechless. Then, scoffing, he told her it would be impossible. The only thing that would happen is that she would dishonour her family. Haruto knew that his daughter did not have the capacity to lead the business down the right path.

"It's decided," Sachie shouted, having already made her decision before her father arrived home. "I will prove to you that I am totally capable. I am sure I will succeed, I’ll be successful, and by the end of the year, you will have to confess that I have managed it."

"You want to do what?" Haruto asked. "I will not allow you to do it. While you live in my house, you are under my orders."

"That is easily resolved," Sachie commented, challenging her father. "I quit this family. I will be independent."

"What are you saying?" Haruto said with impotence, anger. His patience was at its limit. "You wish to quit the Apricot family?"

“If this is my only option, yes, I want to quit.”

"If you do, you’ll have to face the consequences," Haruto told her, trying to sound calm. If she wished to play with fire, he would give her that fire. "If you wish to stop being part of my family, go ahead, but you’ll be left alone, without an inheritance, and you will be marked."

That same night, Sachie packed her bags and left home, finally quitting her family, her surname and her comfort just to prove that she is capable of doing the same tasks her father denied her. Akiko, after hearing that her daughter left her house she only try not to cry.

"What will the Yanagis say to all this?" A worried Akiko finally said after she try not to cry more. "And the Takaharas? You will lose business with them. They will say I failed with her…"