Lotus Flower Bomb: The Mogul Series Book Two

by Goree-Bell, Kenya

  Moving to the left and right, she tried to skirt around them only to be cut off again, and the circle got tighter. Thanks to her diminutive size, she couldn’t see over them to catch a glimpse of Akchiro or any of his people.

  “Tell us, Hana-san, what did you do to snare the most elusive Takeda brother?” some woman viciously trilled over the den of people.

  “Pardon me,” Flower tried to push through but was viciously yanked back. Reeling, she felt herself fall for a moment before strong arms caught and steadied her. Once she got steady on her feet, she looked up into the grim visage of her husband.

  “Are you okay?” He looked at her intently, concern evident in the crease of his brow. No, she was not okay, not until they were okay. When she finally saw him this morning, he was just as cool and aloof as he had been last night. Now was not the time to have that discussion. She knew what was expected of her. Their family’s honor could not be questioned.

  “I’m fine.” She gave him a small smile, or at least tried to. The little tremble she felt at its edges was a dead giveaway for him.

  He straightened the glasses she had not known had come askew and pulled her alongside him, tucking her arm within his. Flower swallowed. There were murmurs. Of course there would be, to have an ultra-traditionalist like Akchiro Takeda link arms in such a public way of showing affection was unheard of. Though she guessed him marrying her kind of shouted to the universe that she was his one exception.

  Chapter 22

  “Welcome home.” Akchiro let her slide down his body just inside their flat. He’d swept in her into his arms to cross the threshold American style. She looked around and saw nothing had been changed in the nearly two years that she’d been gone. She stepped out of her shoes and walked into the apartment she’d missed. The lovely plush sofa, panoramic view, beautiful geodes, lighting were all as if they’d just come back from dinner and not been gone a year. The days and nights they had spent here meant so much to her. For almost two years, she’d longed to get back here with him. Now she was back as his wife. She felt the first stirrings of happiness. Now maybe they could have a second chance with no secrets between them. They could both be authentically themselves like they were when they were curled up on the sofa just being together. How she’d longed to just be with him again. Have him hold her like he’d done so many nights when he came home. They’d just been getting back to that in New York before all hell broke loose.

  The view of the city was still breathtaking. She walked over to the floor to ceiling panoramic view as Akchiro, she assumed, went to freshen up. It was not quite dusk, the lights were just beginning to sparkle, and soon the whole night sky would be illuminated. The sounds were muted by the sheer height. Everything looked like little shooting stars or fireflies buzzing below at this distance. This place had been their haven. The place they connected. Maybe this first night they could just lounge on the sofa, hold each other, and begin to heal their hurts. The flight had been long and that press gauntlet had been the worst she’d ever encountered. They both needed time to decompress. They needed to be together.

  “I have to leave for a while. There is a lot I have to catch up on. The resources were delivered for you earlier. I won’t be back until very late.”

  Flower felt like she was turning in slow motion. The dream she had just so fancifully conjured upon entering her home was fast turning into a hellscape of a nightmare.

  He must have seen how upset she was because he crossed the living room to where she stood, in her mind, like a damn dummy with her eyes wide. He cupped her face and looked down at her for endless moments. There were no words. She wanted to tell him she knew he could stay if he wanted to. He owned the company. She respected his work. She loved how steadfast he was regarding the Takeda legacy. He’d only just returned and though he’d been away for quite some time, the impact was negligible because he had been in constant contact. He’d flown back a few times to make sure the company was performing at the capacity he expected.

  She came to the conclusion he wanted to be away from her. He was mad and had every right to be. She tried to tell herself that she had to be patient. He’d just found out the truth of things a day ago. She was tired of fighting. This was no way to start a marriage. They needed to talk and have this out before it became too much for them to withstand. She knew fighting with Akchiro on this would push him too far. He’d had a wallop of betrayal delivered by her. Then she’d demanded he profess his love. Ugh! She almost couldn’t stand herself right now.

  “Okay.” She nodded meeting his gaze hoping that he would see what she dared not say yet.

  “Don’t wait up.” He pressed the softest kiss on her forehead then left.

  It wasn’t that she’d intended to stay up. She fully intended to go bed. The fact that he found her curled up on the couch was incidental. She’d only gotten engrossed in the material that was left for her to study. There were tomes of dynastic research for her to go through, some from the government that went back to the Edo period, but the gem was the Koseki that went back to the sixth century. She was amazed, being the descendant of people who had been ripped from their homeland. Whoever had done this would get a good gift from her.

  She woke when she felt him lifting her but was too exhausted to care. She barely registered him tucking her in or heard him shower. She curled into him when he pulled her close just the same, nestled deep into his warmth. She didn’t know he kissed then held her until sleep claimed him.

  He was gone before she woke the next morning, and that was how it went. Those first three weeks, she’d be asleep by the time he came home. One night in particular, she woke thirsty and needing to use the restroom, seemingly at the same time. She saw that he had the door ajar to the library and was working from home. She’d gone to bed early, so tired from the studying and her body adjusting to pregnancy. She was hopeful that he’d come home early in hopes of finding her awake. When she came back from her water run, she instead found the library door closed. She stood there a full moment, bereft, and debated turning the knob, going in, and just sitting there until he finished for the night. They communicated mostly by text, which was a far cry from before—back then he would call. She knew they needed to talk. They’d not touched since the night they returned. She knew he held her because she missed his warmth when he left for work. Not wanting a repeat of the plane incident, she simply trudged back to bed. Unable to sleep, she just stared into the darkness for hours. When he came in, she pretended to be asleep until he showered. When he curled around her, touching her belly where their child lay, she bit her lip until it bled as tears fell on the pillow. She thanked the universe when his breathing deepened, signaling him asleep.

  Flower: I have a 10 a.m. appt with Dr. Yashogi

  Akchiro: I have it scheduled.

  Flower: It’s just a preliminary appt—to establish care. It’s not a big deal.

  Akchiro: I will be there.

  Flower reread the text. He said he’d be here and like a fool she was hurt because he wasn’t here. All that big talk about how he would have been there last year…just then the door opened and a rather tall, beautiful woman—Dr. Yashogi, she assumed—walked in, followed by her husband. Flower tried to quell her emotions. She knew he missed nothing, as evidenced by the quirk of his eyebrow as he walked in and stood to the left where she sat on the examination table.

  “I apologize for being late.” He bowed to her in apology. She acknowledged his apology and responded with greeting him and the doctor in traditional fashion.

  The doctor looked between them with apparent delight. Was she excited to have the famous couple as her clients? From Flower’s experience, time would tell. Sycophants always gave themselves away by being too deferential. Maybe she was just a generally cheerful and engaging person. Flower didn’t care as long as her and the baby’s care wasn’t compromised.

  “Shall we get started?” The doctor quickly began going over the standard of care for the pregnancy. She was kind but professional.
Flower felt some of her previous apprehension ebb away. The doctor took out a diagram of the various stages of pregnancy to show them where they were and asked several questions about Flower’s daily regime. She jotted down several notes then went into some detail about managing stressors.

  “We have your records from Dr. Ahmed in New York, and since there was a previous miscarriage, we are going to treat this as a higher risk pregnancy.”

  Flower almost laughed out loud at the quick glance the doctor gave Akchiro when she made that statement. She wanted to say so badly, “Yes, sis, it was his.” but knew that definitely was not in the Takeda Book of Etiquette.

  “Lie back, please, and lift your shirt,” she instructed after going over some dietary advice. After smearing the warm jelly on Flower’s stomach, the doctor manipulated the transducer until a slight whooshing sound was heard. Flower felt Akchiro step closer. Flower looked at the pulsing blob of cells on the machine. She was riveted. She covered mouth as a sob bubbled up inside of her. She looked up at her husband. He stood so rigid, his lashes were spiked, and his jaw was clenched so tight. She touched his closed fist then. He looked down and interlaced their fingers together. She took her gaze from their interlaced fingers then back up to him.

  “We’re going to have a baby.” Her whispered words brought a small smile to his face.

  “Hai, we’re going to have a baby.” She was taken aback by the fierce emotion barely contained in his eyes.

  How she could have ever doubted him, she would never know. She realized then how much she’d denied them both by not telling him the truth. How she’d allowed her fear to take hold and possibly drive a wedge between them. She wanted to kick herself for ever thinking for a second of maybe not telling him about this baby right away and waiting for him to leave. To deny him this was wrong. He was right to be angry at her. What she’d done out of fear was childish and wrong. She vowed to find a way to make this right.

  “Here is the first picture of your baby.” Dr. Yashogi handed her the picture, which she passed to Akchiro.

  “Do you have any questions?” The doctor looked between them as she handed Flower warmed wet wipes for the goo smeared all over her lower pelvis. Ick. She was definitely going to shower as soon as she got home.

  “I don’t th—”

  “Yes,” Akchiro cut in.

  Flower busied herself wiping her tummy, thinking the doctor had been very thorough. She thought she probably did forget something in her excitement and heightened emotional state. She knew firsthand how important it was to have an advocate. So many women did not get the care they deserved because they were uninformed. Dr. Yashogi seemed to be top notch and was very sought after by discriminating parents-to-be. Akchiro had sought the best OBGYN in the country and she was ranked amongst the best. Flower also wanted the best; she never wanted to experience what she went through two years ago, and getting the best care was part of that.

  “With our history of a previous miscarriage is sex prohibitive?”

  Flower stopped just as she was wadding up her tissue and looked at Akchiro, whose face was a blank mask as he asked the doctor what must be for him an incredibly painful and personal question. She came to the realization that he thought their last night together in Tokyo caused the miscarriage. She’d already been told this was not the case. She should have known that this is where his mind went. That was exactly what she thought when she was told she was miscarrying. Soon she was hemorrhaging and losing so much blood that she just wanted to live. She was lucky she was able to somehow survive that whole experience with her body bruised but whole.

  Her heart was still mending. Part of that process was missed because Akchiro hadn’t been there. They needed to have gone through this together. Perhaps now they could. As difficult as it was, they needed to work through the loss of their baby together. Some people may have thought they dodged a bullet, but Flower knew better and she knew it then. Akchiro would have loved his child. She thought to spare him that hurt on one level, and she was brave enough to admit that she’s been wary that he’d be disappointed in her. Or blame her, whispered the deep recesses of her heart. She never wanted to see that look on his face. Yet she saw it all the same when he discovered her betrayal.

  “Mr. Takeda, most miscarriages occur before the thirteenth week of pregnancy. Your wife by all indications is now approaching her sixteenth week. I think you’re safe. Your baby has a strong heartbeat. We also did preliminary bloodwork that has come back fine. As did Dr. Ahmed before she left America. We will have Mrs. Takeda monitored closely, in more frequently for appointments due to the classification of high risk, which includes more in-depth testing and ultrasounds. We can’t know what caused the last miscarriage, however, it is highly unlikely sex was a factor, irrespective of how vigorous. You have at your disposal my number to call twenty-four seven if anything concerning occurs. If there is any spotting or intense cramping, do not call but hasten immediately to the hospital,” she instructed them. “Now, I will go set up your next appointment.”

  “Thank you, doctor.” They bowed in thanks.

  Flower watched until the door fully closed before touching Akchiro’s sleeve. “T-That last night didn’t make me lose the baby. I thought that too. They told me the same thing Dr. Yashogi just said. We didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t hurt me, Akchiro. You’ve never hurt me.” She kept her voice a whisper because she knew he didn’t want their conversation overheard. She searched his closed-off features for any emotion like the turmoil that wrenched through her when she had those same doubts so many months earlier, thinking back to all the therapy sessions she’d had before coming to terms with the fact that sometimes miscarriages just happened.

  “I had to be sure. I wasn’t there to voice my concerns last time.” He stepped back and adjusted his cufflinks. His words smarted, but he was right. She’d denied him that.

  She swung her legs over the side. He helped her down and adjusted her clothing. “Is this why you haven’t made love to me since New York?” she asked to his chest, not quite brave enough to witness his rejection.

  “That was part of it.”

  She could feel him looking at her. She swallowed; she had to know the rest. “The other reason?” She stepped right into his space and looked up at him then, seeing him trying hard to bank his desire. He knew now that they were free to be together. The war was over minus a battle or five, knowing him as she did. He wouldn’t relent until the bitter end. She’d be patient with him just as he’d been with her at the beginning of their relationship.

  He groaned and pulled her close. She felt him stir. “I just need time, Flower.” He almost seemed to be pleading for understanding.

  She pulled him down and he let her. She kissed his neck. “I’m here when you’re ready.”

  He buried his head in her neck, and stepping on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around him tighter. She just wanted to draw him into her and remove all his pain. What she’d caused and all that she couldn’t help. She knew better than anyone that grief was its own journey for each person. If she were honest, she’d admit that she never thought he would feel this way. She thought he’d shrug it off and move forward in his cool, pragmatic way. She was learning she’d made some gross assumptions about him. She never considered herself an unfair person. She’d been unfair to him.

  “Let’s go,” he murmured after a while, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

  They walked out together. She stopped him as he helped her into the car. “I’m sorry you thought you caused me to lose the baby.” She touched his face and nearly crumbled when he simply nodded and turned his face into her palm and kissed it.

  Chapter 23

  A Month Later…

  Flower was done. D-O-N-E! They’d gotten the green light from Dr. Yashogi a month ago. They’d had quiet dinners. Cuddled on the couch watching movies. Spent time together. She had not pushed. She had not pressed. She was tired, cranky and horny. Pregnancy had made her libido go through the roof, and she was
about to lose her mind. Thank goodness she had a toy or two to do what her husband could not seem to bring himself to do. She thought of telling him she had grounds for an annulment. She knew his response would be the exact opposite of what she’d want.

  Stepping back after applying her lipstick, she looked at her reflection. The haute couture Yumi Katsura dress was stunning. She had been in doubt, thinking the flounce and ruffles would overwhelm her petit form. To her delight, the purple-rimmed pink material lay just so to be flattering. The material draped her body like a glove, and the ruffles at the sleeve and hem only moved when she did. The material was ethereal, making her feel as delicate and resilient as the petals of the lotus blossom.

  “You look beautiful, watashi no hasu no hana.”

  She turned at his somber words as he came forward with a black box in his hand. She loved when he called her his lotus flower. She’d studied enough to know what the bloom meant in Japanese culture, how it was revered as beautiful, strong, and resilient. She remembered he’d called her his lotus flower almost from the start. He had thought those wonderful things of her from the very beginning. It wasn’t lost on her that he now called her that again. She hoped deep in her heart that he saw her like that once more.

  When he reached her, he turned her to the mirror, his dark eyes telling her nothing of what he was thinking at this moment. “My mother had these sent over for you tonight. This is a firm show of her support for you as my chosen bride.”

  Flower saw her surprise reflected back at her in the mirror as Akchiro reached around her with both arms encasing her and lifted the lid. “The pearls have been in the Takeda family for hundreds of years. It started with one and each addition was made until I added a strand today in honor of you.”