Page 46 of Kai
"They both bowed to family pressure and were married when they were in their early twenties."
"Oh, dreadful for them! How did that work out?"
He smiled at her obvious concern and indignation.
"The marriages were arranged, and the uncles tried, wanting desperately to please their parents. But it did not work."
"Of course not. They certainly did not choose it for themselves."
He smiled at her outrage.
"They got divorced quietly and were temporarily shunned by my grandparents."
"That's ridiculous."
He nodded in agreement.
"When my grandparents died, my dad reached out to his brothers." He sipped coffee, expression thoughtful. "You have to understand Haruto Tanaka—that's my dad's name. He was brought up to believe that certain lifestyles were forbidden, but he loved his younger brothers and strongly believed that family should be united. He brought them back into the fold and gave them their rightful places in the company. They respected his old-fashioned tradition and ideals and never flaunted their love lives in front of him." He shrugged. "When he died, they, of course, came forward to do their parts and took me under their wings."
"And your mother? What did she say about all of that? Wasn't she afraid they were going to influence you with their alternate lifestyles?"
A smile tugged at his sensual lips.
"There was never any fear of that." His smile vanished as he toyed with his cup and wondered how far he should go with the telling of the tale. She might not like the rest of it.
Clearing his throat, he picked up his cup and took a sip.
"I want you to know that my past is exactly that—the past."
She gave him a strange look and nodded.
"Okay."
"What I did back then was initiated by my dad."
"Kai, you're scaring me."
"No." He shook his head. "It's nothing catastrophic. Just—" He shrugged helplessly. "And initiation is the right word for it. I guess the old man was making certain that I was a strong heterosexual male." He took another deep breath. "I was introduced to the sexual act at the age of twelve."
Her breath caught, and she stared at him wide-eyed, unsure of what to say. The revelation hung between them like an invisible weight, heavy and suffocating.
"Kai..." she began cautiously, her voice barely above a whisper as a wave of emotions flickered across her face—concern, disbelief, and something else he couldn't quite place. "That's...unthinkable. You were just a child."
He smiled faintly, though the expression didn't reach his eyes.
"It was a different time, a different place. My father had his reasons, misguided as they might seem now." He ran a hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable but determined to continue. "He believed he was doing what was best for me, preparing me for the life he thought I should lead. I don't blame him, not anymore. But it's something that shaped me—shaped how I see the world, relationships, everything."
She leaned forward, her hands clasped tightly around her cup.
"But...didn't anyone think this was wrong? Didn't anyone protect you?"
He shook his head, his gaze distant.
"In my family, questioning my father was unheard of. He was the pillar of our household, the one who made all the decisions. And back then, I didn't understand it was wrong. I just thought it was what was expected of me."
The silence that followed was thick, both of them grappling with the weight of his words. Finally, she spoke, her voice steady but laced with emotion.
"I really don't know what to say. No wonder you were—uhm, you are—" She gestured with one hand as confusion bloomed on her face.
