BY CHANCE NOT CHOICE: Marco's Choice - Moretti Brothers Series Book Two (12 page)

“How is your father?” he asked.  She gave him a faint smile.

“He’s resting.  Have you located my sister?” she asked softly. 

His mood instantly changed and she noticed immediately.

“What’s wrong with my sister?” she asked concerned. 

“Nothing is wrong with her. According to her fiancé, everything is just fine,” he said sarcastically. 

“Fiancé…  Takeo what are you talking about?  Who’s her fiancé?”  

“Apparently, Jun is,” he said angrily. 

“When did this happen?” she asked louder than she wanted. 

“I don’t know, but you can ask her as soon as she gets here.  They were leaving Osaka and should be here in a few hours.  We need to talk, but not here.” 

“I want to check in on my father, and we can talk while we get something to eat.  I’m hungry.  Maybe we should ask Monica and Marco to join us; we will need to rethink our plan.” 

As they stood, Takeo looked at Kiyomi and smiled because he noticed the weight Kiyomi had put on; his baby was growing inside the woman he loved. 

Marco and Monica were already at the restaurant when Takeo and Kiyomi arrived.  Kiyomi took note of their body language.  They were very much in love and anyone looking at them could see it.  Marco had planted another kiss on Monica’s lips unaware that Takeo and Kiyomi were approaching.  “Uhh hum,” Takeo cleared his throat causing Marco and Monica to look up.  Monica blushed but Marco looked at them unfazed by the interruption.  Marco stood and shook Takeo’s hand as Kiyomi sat.  She filled them in on what was going on with her father and the fact that he was going to the US.  She was trying to decide if she should tell her father about Victoria before he goes to the US because it would not be a good situation if he found out from someone else.  They ordered dinner and continued to discuss how they would handle the official announcement. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Kiyomi needed to get back to the hospital to see her father and talk to her sister about her ridiculous engagement.  Marco and Monica returned to the condominium while Takeo accompanied Kiyomi to the hospital.  They arrived at the hospital shortly after Jun and Muri.  Kiyomi noticed Jun as soon as she walked into the hospital.  She immediately approached him. 

“Jun, what the hell do you think you are doing and what type of game are you and your father playing?  You have never even dated my sister and now the two of you
,
are engaged.  I know that you and your father are doing this to gain control of the company, but that is not going to happen.  You can consider your engagement officially over.”  She moved in closer to him and barely spoke above a whisper.  “I cannot believe you, Jun.  You used the fact that my sister has a schoolgirl crush on you to get her to agree to marry you.  That is low even for you, Jun.  I am disappointed in you.  Our father is dying and you try to pull this stunt.” 

Jun looked at her remorseful.  “Ki, you know I didn’t have a choice.  Father knew you wouldn’t marry me and we need to make sure that no one else tries to take over what our fathers worked hard to build.”  She looked at him
,
wishing he would just stand up to his father.  She loved him like a brother and knew he could do great things if he was not under his father’s thumb.  She softly placed her hand on his face.  “Fix this Jun, before my sister gets hurt worse than she already will be when you call off this engagement.”  Kiyomi started to walk away then turned to face him again.  “You knew someday you would have to stand up to your father.  Why not do it now, Jun.  You are better than this.”  She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked towards her father’s room.  Takeo kept a safe distance allowing her to have a private conversation with Jun but close enough to deal with him if he got out of line. 

The hospital room was dark and eerily quiet with only the sounds of the machines echoing throughout.  Kiyomi could see Muri by her father’s side and her eyes were swollen from crying.  Kiyomi looked at her father and saw that he was sleeping.  “Ri, can I speak to you for second?”  Kiyomi asked softly.  She looked up and saw her older sister and began to cry again.  “It’s okay Ri.” She bent over and gave her sister a hug and kiss. “I saw Jun in the hallway.”  She looked over at her father to see if he was still sleeping.  This was not a conversation Kiyomi wanted to have in earshot of her father.  She knew Muri was going to be extremely upset so she needed to finish their conversation in the hall.  “Ri, can we speak in the hall?” she asked as she looked at her father.  Muri kissed her father’s hand before releasing it and followed Kiyomi into the hall.  “Do you have something to tell me?”  Kiyomi asked as Muri looked at her but did not respond.  “I understand from Takeo that you’re now engaged.  What’s going on with you, Ri?  You two never dated and now you’re engaged,” she said softly.  She was angry but knew revealing her anger would only exasperate the conversation.  “Sis, what the hell are you thinking?  He is only using you so that his family can gain control of the company.” Kiyomi kept her voice low and soft. 

“Why do you care?  I thought you would be happy that I’m married
,
so that you can have father all to yourself.  You are always telling him that he spoils me and that I need to be more responsible.  So that is what I’m doing; taking control of my life and it starts with marrying Jun.” 

“But you don’t love him, Ri.  Why would you marry a man you don’t love?” 

“Love is way overrated.  It’s not like we have a lot of options in this country; men aren’t falling at my feet.” 

“That’s ridiculous, and it definitely is not a reason to marry someone that you know is only marrying you to gain controlling interest in our company.” 

“The last time I checked, Kiyomi, I was an adult and capable of making my own decisions,” she said angrily as she began to walk away. 

Kiyomi grabbed her arm.  “Don’t walk away from me.  This conversation is not done.” 

Muri looked at her with anger as she yanked her arm from Kiyomi’s grip.  “This conversation is over.  I will be back to see father later, once you are gone.” 

She turned and walked towards the exit with her security team following closely behind.  Muri got into a waiting car. 
Kiyomi didn’t understand that I was doing it for her, so that she would not be forced to marry Jun.  At least I like him...
Who was she kidding?  She has secretly loved Jun since she was a teenager.  She also knew that Jun was in love with Kiyomi but never persuaded her. Muri picked up her cell phone to dial Jun.  “Hey, where are you?  Why did you leave the Hospital?  Okay, I will meet you there,” she said before disconnecting the call.  “Take me to Sadako Saki House,” she told her driver as they sped down the highway.

Jun was waiting for Muri when she arrived.  They sat at a private section of the restaurant.  He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he held the chair for her.  The woodsy fragrance infiltrated her nose as she sat.  Jun was an impeccable dresser.  He wore a dark gray suit with a light gray tie that fit his body like a glove.  She had secretly loved this man since she was thirteen years old.  He came to her birthday party and gave her a bracelet that she has always cherished.  He smiled at her and she knew her heart belonged to him.

“How’s your father doing?”  Jun asked interrupting her thoughts.

“He’s not doing well at all.  I’m heading back to the hospital when I leave here.  Ki is with him now and I prefer to see him when she is not there.  She is so judgmental.”  She took a sip of her drink not wanting to continue that conversation.  Jun looked at the incredibly beautiful woman in front of him.  At five feet, four inches, she was proportioned beautifully, with ample breasts and curvaceous hips and ass.  Her beautiful black hair went straight down her back, which she got from her Japanese mother.  She was blessed with the same beautiful hazel eyes and caramel skin color as her sister and father.  Even with all those beautiful attributes, she still was not Kiyomi, the woman he really loved. 

Jun redirected his attention to his conversation with Muri.

“Your sister loves you and has always looked out for you.  You should go easy on her.”

“I do not want to talk about her anymore.  Why did you leave the hospital?  I thought you would still be there, but when I came out of the room I didn’t see you.”  She waited for his response.  Jun took a sip of his drink.  Although they have only been engaged a few days and they both knew that the engagement was to ensure that their families kept control of the business, it was not going to be easy telling her that the engagement was off.  Kiyomi was right.  He asked Muri to marry him because he knew she would say yes.  She had been harboring feelings for him for years.  Jun decided that he was no longer going to allow his father to manipulate him into doing things he knew was not right.

“Ri, we need to talk about this engagement.  We both know that this is not a good idea to marry because of business.  I really care about you, and because I do, I cannot go through with this engagement.  You should marry someone you truly love, and who will love you with that same intensity.  I am calling it off.  You are a beautiful woman….” She interrupted him as a tear sprung from her eye.  “But I’m not Kiyomi, right?” she asked with venom in her voice.  Jun was surprised by her response. 

“Ri, this has nothing to do with Kiyomi and everything to do with not allowing my father to continue to control my life.  Can you understand that?”  She used the linen napkin from the table to wipe her tears as she nodded.  “You will meet and marry someone who is head over heels in love with you and that person will treat you with the love and passion you deserve.”  He stood and pulled her from her seat and into an embrace.  After a few seconds, she pulled back and sat back down.  “So are we going to at least have our last meal as an engaged couple?”  she asked with a smile that did not reach her eyes.  “Sure, I’m really hungry
,
” he responded.

*****

Kiyomi was still at the hospital when one of her father’s new doctors, Dr. Farrow, asked if he could speak with her in private.  As they walked to the private room, Dr. Farrow looked over his shoulder at Takeo who was following close behind.  “He is part of my security team,” is all she said in response to the doctor’s expression. The doctor nodded.  They entered a room as Takeo waited outside the door.  As they sat, Dr. Farrow began to speak.  “Your father has given me permission to speak with you about his condition.  After running several tests and several consultations, we have concluded that your father was poisoned and the effects of the poison mirrors cancer.  The course of….”

Kiyomi sprang from her seat and began to speak quickly in Japanese. “What did you say?  Wait…. Someone poisoned my father?  Who?  I…”  “Ms. Sato, please, I don’t speak Japanese.”  It was at that moment that Kiyomi realized that she was not speaking English.  She was confused, angry, and hurt.  “Who would try to hurt my father?  I don’t understand?  Are you sure?” 

“Ms. Sato, we are positive about the poisoning, but we don’t know who or why someone tried to kill your father.  As a precaution and because we need adequate access to the medications needed to reverse that process, we are flying your father to the US in a few days. We will keep him in an induced coma until we leave.  You will still be able to talk to your father and he will be able to hear you
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but unable to respond.  It is important to keep encouraging him while he is under sedation
,
so that he stays relaxed and feels safe, surrounded by the ones he trust.”  Kiyomi placed her hand over her mouth as tears sprang from her eyes.

“Ms. Sato, your father is going to be fine,” he tried to reassure her, “but we need to take these extreme steps of moving your father because we don’t know where the source of poison is coming from.  Do you understand?”  Kiyomi nodded her head.  “It is also imperative that you not mention this to anyone because we still don’t know who the threat is.”  He paused to hand her a tissue.   “Your father made sure that there were guards placed at his door that he trusted before we put him under, but I don’t won’t be comfortable with this situation until we are able to get him out of the country.” “I understand doctor,” she said as she pulled herself together.  She knew what she needed to do.

“Thank you for everything, Dr. Farrow.  What day are you planning on traveling?” 

“We fly out in two days.  Will you be accompanying us on the flight?” the doctor asked.

“Yes, but there will also be four other passengers.  Are you able to provide the treatments in the Philadelphia, PA area?  We will be there and I want my father close to us,” she said in a strong commanding voice.  Kiyomi needed to get control of this situation and make sure that her father was safe. “I don’t think that will be a problem, I will arrange it.”  Dr. Farrow said.  They walked out the room and stood were Takeo was still waiting. “We will talk again tomorrow, Ms. Sato,” Dr. Farrow said as he walked away. 

“Takeo, we need to talk.  Can you call Monica and Marco and tell them we will meet them at Monica’s condominium.”  “Sure.”  Takeo placed his hand on her arm. “Are you okay baby?” he whispered not liking the stressful look on her face. “No, Takeo, but I will be soon.  I need you to place two guards at my father’s door that you trust.  I do not know what is going on, but I do not want to take any chances.  I’ll explain everything in the car, but I need those guards in place before we leave this hospital.”  An hour later two new guards were placed at the door of her father’s room with explicit instructions to only let his doctors and her sister, Muri, in the room.