Page 22 of Emperor of Lust

I step into my room?—

…and freeze, my pulse jumping as my eyes stab across the room and land on my neatly made bed.

There, sitting in the very middle, is another origami crane.

This one, however, is different. Unlike the one in my office earlier, this crane isbound.

Red yarn wraps tightly, almost artistically, around the delicate paper bird, binding its beak downward and its wings back. Mybreath catches and I step closer, my pulse quickening with each step.

I don’t have to wonder this time if it’s a nice janitor. I know who put this here.

I was wrong.

He’s not fucking done with meat all.

8

HANA

I barely recognizemyself in the mirror.

Not because of being dressed up, or the makeup, or the hair. None of that is new for me. I don’t even run a quick errand without making sure I look immaculate, and I doubt anyone haseverseen me with a single hair out of place.

I don’t need to see a shrink to understand why I’m like that. Ihaveseen one—several, actually—after that night back in England near the end of my final year of school. The doctor I liked the most, Dr. Cornell, told me in her straightforward but soft-spoken manner that the reason I was starting to put so much time and effort into my appearance being flawless…clothes, hair, all of it…was to regain a sense of control.

The control that was taken from me that night when that motherfucker had me immobilized.

Naked, while he and his friends laughed.

So, no. It’s not my physical appearance that I don’t recognize tonight. Yes, my dyed blonde hair is in a fairly elaborate up-do, as opposed to its usual tight, professional ponytail, or simplydown. My eye makeup is a little smokier than for a day at the office. The black dress is a bit more elegant than my customary work attire, generally Dior.

But that’s not what’s different.

It’s the look in my eyes.

Theresignation.

Defeat.

I glance down at the simple but elegant black dress—Versace: the neckline daring but not overdone, the hem cut at a sharp angle, giving a glimpse of thigh before angling down to the ankle of my foot in Blahnik heels.

The occasion tonight is the “celebration” party for Damian’s and my engagement. It’s a farce and everyone knows it, yet nobody will acknowledge the fact. I’m sure even Miyamoto Kato, a guest of honor tonight, understands that this thing with Damian and I is purely to appease his and the other TokyoOyabun’sold-world views and get the Mori-kai access to Tokyo. But in the mafia world, especially the Yakuza one, appearances matter more than the truth.

Miyamoto doesn’t care if Damian and I areactuallya couple. As long as we’re engaged to be married, he won’t be seen as “out of place” by anyone for doing business with me, and we can proceed with his pledge to the Mori-kai.

I run a hand over my hair and study my face in the mirror, the weight of the evening ahead pressing down on me.

A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts. I glance over my shoulder. “Come in,” I call, curious who’s come to check on me.

A soft smile spreads across my face when Sota unexpectedly appears. He grins widely as he takes me in, his gaze warm and full of quiet pride.

“Beautiful,” he says, his voice carrying a warmth that settles over me like a comforting blanket. His presence has always had that effect—his quiet strength and steadiness somehow make everything a little less overwhelming.

I smile as I turn to face the man who’s been more than a mentor and a guide to me. He’s been like a father, even when I didn’t know I needed one.

Kenzo’s, Tak’s, and my biological father was Hideo Mori, the once-legendaryOyabunof the first iteration of the Mori-kai. Before his rise to the top, when he was still awaka gashira—a lieutenant to another Yakuza boss—he met a young Norwegian woman who was studying abroad in Japan: our mother, Astrid Ulstäd.

They ended up having a wild affair and our mom unexpectedly became pregnant. Suddenly, the reality that the man she was with wasveryinto the violent world of the Yakuza sank in, and she fled Japan without telling him she was expecting.

---