RAVENS #1: THE DARKNESS

Chapter 47 - Can't

Alyssa Takada

At first, I ignored his warning, but he reminded me every hour. Ever since then, I decided to go on a date with my parents' friends' sons. My parents were shocked to hear my request, but they were happy for me.

They thought I'd decided to move on for good.

Kenji Iwasaki, the son of Iwasaki Group. He's charming and polite, but he's ten years older than me.

"He has two kids with his secretary and never bothered to care for them. He sent them to Swiss because he doesn't want people to know he has kids." Liam bluntly said, which made me want to throw my bottle of champagne at him.

Ryo Watanabe, the son of Watanabe Matcha. He's fun to be with, and he loves adventure. For our first date, he took me to explore Akita.

"He's an alcoholic and was sued for assault before. He raped two bartenders before, and he's always drunk." Liam commented like it was nothing.

Sota Taketa, the son of Taketa Construction Company. He's a very awkward and shy guy. He only talks when I'm asked.

"He has a porn addiction and has lots of sex dolls inside his house." I face palmed myself, hearing Liam.

"You also have a sex addiction!" I hissed and put my hands on my hips, annoyed.

"Having sex with you, yes. You're also a good sport, baby." He winked, and I almost threw a chair at him.

"Leave me alone!"

"Why should I? I told you I'm not letting you go any more, so good luck. You still have four days left." He smirked before he left my office.

Hirohito Arai, the son of Arai Airlines. He's perfect. He's hilarious and goofy. He's two years older than me, and he loves animals too. He also has a pet turtle.

"He fucked every single air stewardess that worked in his company. He also loves to have a sex party every weekend." I rolled my eyes at his comment. Liam always showed up after my date, and it's fucking annoying.

"Adding the fact that he made ten women pregnant and forced them to abort all the babies."

Souta Maruyama, the son of Maruyama Hotel. He loves studying and will never stop studying. Instead of taking over his dad's company, he wanted to keep studying until the day he died.

"He's gay and already has a boyfriend," Liam said as he brought cakes for me.

"He's bi." I corrected him.

"Still... he's not interested in you." He smirked.

Yuito Ueda, the son of Ueda Tech Company. He's a workaholic and can spend twenty hours in the office. He's brilliant and talkative.

"He's married to his job. He'll marry his computer if he can." Liam said it dryly, and I kicked him out of my office.

Ikuto Noguchi, the son of Noguchi Food Company. Ikuto is a lovely man. He knows how to talk to people and is very observant. Out of all the men that my parents introduced me to, Ikuto was very memorable. He's four years older than me and recently broke up with his girlfriend. She cheated on him with an actor.

"He's nice but not better than me. He's very emotional and easily gets depressed. Nothing's wrong with that, but I suggest you consider it."

"I'd rather marry him than marry you again!" I hissed as I didn't even bother to look at him.

Nao Maeda, the son of Maeda Real Estate Company. I went on a date with him, and all he talked about was himself. He didn't even bother to ask about what I do or what I like. I left him in the middle of the date.

"I told you no one is better than me." I slammed my hands on the table and looked at Liam angrily.

"I have a restraining order against you, and I'm pretty sure the government made it clear that you're not allowed to stay in Japan anymore!" I burst out and glared at him so hard.

"Too bad, I'm immune to all of that." He put his hands in his pocket.

"We're divorced, Liam. Leave me alone!"

"I told you that I won't. You have one day left to find a man who's better than me." I let out a long sigh and sat down. I looked at the pile of work in front of me. I was tired, and I only wanted to rest and kick Liam out.

"What do you want from me, Liam? I told you that I have nothing left to give! What more do you want from me?!" I looked up at him, and his eyes softened. He smiled and put his hands on the table, leaning his body towards me.

"I want you back. Marry me. This time, it'll be different." I shook my head.

"No," I said firmly.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't love you anymore, and I want to be happy. You hate me, you despise me, and I'm not your type, so... you should go find someone else to marry." I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"I don't want anyone else." He said, and I decided to ignore him. I checked my schedule, and I'll have a meeting in twenty minutes. I got up from my seat and walked towards my coffee machine.

"I never felt like this before." I ignored him.

"When I saw you almost jump, my heart dropped to the floor. I was scared, and the thought of you gone broke me." I clenched my jaw.

"My friends told me it'll be a short phase because I was so used to your presence, but it turns out not a fucking phase. Alyssa, I lo—"

"Don't say it." I stopped him. I turned my body around and faced him. He was looking at me, confused, and I took a really deep breath before letting it out slowly, calming myself when my heart was beating so fast.

"You don't love me, Liam. You don't. You're doing this because you pity me. You don't love me, and you never will. You made it clear from the start."

"Alyssa, you need—"

"No." Silence filled the room. The temperature went up instantly, and we both looked at each other.

"Even though you don't want to hear it, I still want to tell you I love you, Alyssa. I know I'm so fucking late to realize it. I hurt you a lot, and I won't forgive myself for it until the day I die. I'm in love with you, Alyssa, to the point where I'm going fucking insane if I don't see you." I looked away to prevent myself from crying.

"I know you can live without me, but I can't live without you, Alyssa."