The Nakamura Estate – Dining Room
The grand chandelier cast flickering shadows across the untouched plates of food. Ami Nakamura sat stiffly in her silk dress, the silverware gleaming under the dim light. Across the table, her father methodically sliced his steak, the scrape of his knife against porcelain the only sound in the cavernous dining room.
Five minutes of silence.
Ami's fingers tightened around her wineglass. Pathetic, she thought. Even now, he won't look at me.
Then—
"I expected you to fail."
Her father's voice was calm, detached, as if commenting on the weather.
Ami's breath hitched.
"Your modeling venture. Your little rebellion." He took a sip of wine. "I assumed you'd crawl back within a year."
Ami's nails dug into her palms. He hadn't even acknowledged her breakup with Kenji.
Her father set his glass down, finally meeting her eyes. "But it seems you've caught someone's attention."
Ami with a puzzled frowned. "What?"
A folder slid across the table toward her. Inside, a single sheet of paper—an engagement proposal from the Kurogane family.
"Kaito Kurogane," her father said. "Heir to Kurogane Holdings. His family owns half the private hospitals in Tokyo."
Ami's blood ran cold.
Kurogane.
The name glared up at her, its implications crashing down like a tidal wave. **The same name as the agency that had stolen Kenji.**
Her father continued, oblivious to her realization. "Accept, and I'll reinstate your trust fund. Refuse, then I shall finally see you as nobody to me, Guilt free"
Ami's mind raced.
Kenji had signed with Kurogane Sports.
Kurogane had manipulated him.
And now they wanted her?
A slow, venomous smile curled her lips.
"I accept."
Her father raised an eyebrow—the most emotion he'd shown in years.
Ami stood, clutching the proposal like a weapon. "But not for you. Not for the money."
She turned on her heel, her heels clicking against the marble floor.
"This is for me."
---
The Car Ride – Revenge Takes Shape
Ami's phone glowed in the backseat of the limousine as she pulled up the Kurogane Sports Agency website.
There he was.
Kenji Tachibana, plastered across their homepage, the caption boasting: "Exclusive Talent – The Next Face of Kurogane."
Her thumb hovered over his photo.
You chose them over me.
Then she typed a message to the number her father had given her:
>> Ami: I'll marry your son. But first, I want to personally handle Kenji Tachibana's contract.<<
The reply was instant.
<< Kurogane Patriarch: Welcome to the family.>>
Ami leaned back, the city lights blurring past the window.
Two could play at betrayal.
---