A Woman Worth Fighting For

by Eunice Hart

  Peter leaned down and kissed her, and Adele felt that familiar flutter in her chest.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, gazing at her dress. His eyes lingered on her cleavage, and for a moment Adele saw them darken. Then the resigned look was back.

  “Welcome to the slaughterhouse,” he said, standing aside to let her pass. Adele stepped inside and he shut the door behind her. She couldn’t help feeling a sense of finality when she heard the lock click. There was no turning back now. She let him lead her through the living room into the dining room, where a table sat laden with more food than anyone could possibly consume all at once.

  Standing right beside the chair at the head of the table, dressed in a long, lacy black gown, was Aneko. She’d gone for the goth look again, her lips covered in dark lipstick, her mascara so heavy Adele couldn’t help but wonder how the woman could even see her. When Aneko’s eyes landed on her, she beamed. It might’ve been an ordinary smile, but it looked pretty sinister. Adele felt a chill race down her spine.

  Don’t chicken out, she said to herself. You can do this. You’re Adele freaking Kincaid.

  Adele Kincaid was in the slaughterhouse with the butcher now. And there was no telling what Aneko was going to do.

  “Adele!” Aneko exclaimed. “Right on time. So wonderful of you to join us. Come, take a seat, will you?”

  Adele looked over her shoulder at Peter, who simply gave a shrug, then made for the seat Aneko was gesturing at. She sank slowly onto it, keeping her eye on Aneko as she settled onto the chair at the head of the table. Peter took his seat last, right across the table from his sister. He said nothing, but Adele could feel him watching her.

  “I’m so glad you could make it,” Aneko said, leaning in her direction. She gestured at the food on the table. “Let’s eat, shall we?”

  Adele hesitated.

  “Oh, come on, dear, I didn’t poison the food.” Aneko rolled her eyes. “I could end up poisoning everyone.” She chuckled at this like there was something funny about what she’d just said. Adele cringed and reluctantly dug in, bringing small bits of food to her lips, barely eating anything.

  Of course, this was Aneko’s game. Maybe the woman didn’t intend to physically harm her. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have worse plans. Aneko could be very cunning, Adele knew. Aneko wasn’t going to harm her. Instead, she’d try to play mind games with her.

  Adele didn’t know if she was ready for that.

  There was a burst of light and a peal of thunder, and Adele flinched. Aneko laughed.

  “It sounds like it’s about to rain,” she said.

  They ate for minutes in silence, the only sounds being those of their cutlery touching their plates. Adele had to admit, the food was great. Aneko had prepared this? Now that she thought about it, she’d never really seen Peter’s sister as the culinary type.

  “This is really good,” she commented.

  “I know.” Aneko cleared her throat. “Adele, you’ve been going steady with my wonderful brother for some time now. I suppose he’s told you about our family history?”

  Adele remembered Peter mentioning something like that the day they’d been spotted by Cho, but never really about his family history. She frowned, but before she could speak, Aneko went on.

  “I’m guessing my brother hasn’t,” she said, tsk-tsking. “Typical Peter. Let me –”

  “It’s bad manners to talk while eating, Aneko,” Peter cut in. When Adele looked at him, he was scowling at his sister. “Please eat your dinner.”

  “Aren’t you also speaking, brother?” she fired back. She flashed a smile in Adele’s direction. “As I was saying, let me tell you about the Tanaka family. You see, Adele, this family has been around for generations, hundreds of years. My great, great, great-grandfather, Daichi Tanaka, was a trader in Japan who rose to a position of success in his community by using his wits and business skills alone. He amassed so much wealth and he knew he would have to pass it on eventually.

  “So, what did Daichi do? He didn’t give all his money to the people. No, the money had been worked for by a Tanaka, and he wanted to make sure only a Tanaka would have the money he deserved. So Daichi got married to the wealthiest woman in his town and had offspring with her, and when he died his wealth was passed on to his children, who grew up, maintained successful businesses and married women of high class. For hundreds of years, the cycle has been repeating itself, undisturbed. Finally, our parents established the Tanaka restaurant chain and it was successful long before I was born. And when they died, their wealth was passed on to us, two of the very few Tanakas remaining. And now one of us wants to alter that cycle, destroy that legacy, because one of us has been misled.”

  “Aneko!” Peter snapped, but his sister looked like he was just getting started. Her smile grew even more sinister.

  “You see, Adele,” she said, “the Tanakas have not survived this long, held this much prestige, by their wits and skills alone. We understand the need to mingle with our kind – not other Tanakas, just people from similar backgrounds. Class breeds class. Marrying others of high class has produced a long line of…purity. Importance. If we mix with the wrong kind, we stand to lose all of that. Wealth means nothing if it is not recognized along with class.”

  Adele swallowed, wondering what she’d gotten herself into. She was starting to see where this story of Aneko’s was headed, and she didn’t like it one bit. Suddenly, the food in her mouth lost its taste. She just sat there, frozen, unable to do much besides listen.

  She looked at Peter, who looked like he was fighting the urge to upend the table and spill its contents.

  “It’s why I was so worried when I found out that you and my brother had become an item,” Aneko went on. “I could not for the love of me understand why he would deviate from the Tanaka path so suddenly, so…willingly. Till this day, I wonder why Peter would go out of his way to date someone who is barely even middle-class when there are much better, much wealthier women out there.”

  Like Cho. Aneko’s words were starting to sting badly. Adele felt her eyes prickle with tears, but she held them back. She couldn’t let this woman get into her head. But Aneko spoke so confidently, so assuredly, it was hard not to believe what she was saying about her. Adele wasn’t classy enough. She’d known from the start. She wasn’t the kind of woman snobbish families like the Tanakas would want to be a part of them.

  “Sometimes I wonder what he saw in you that made him pick you. Was it your looks? Was it your stubbornness? Is it the sex that keeps you two together? Is it pity?”

  Now she was getting aggressive. Adele shifted uncomfortably in her seat, blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay. She couldn’t afford to cry again in Aneko’s presence. She couldn’t let the woman think she’d broken her. That had been the whole point of coming here in the first place.

  “I remember the day I visited you in the office my brother lets you work in,” Aneko went on, her expression colder than a glacier. “I made you an offer. I needed you to understand something: you are not one of us. You never will be one of us. You will never be good enough.”

  A lump had formed in Adele’s throat and was growing rapidly, making it harder for her to breathe without bursting into tears.

  Aneko was just trying to get into her head, she knew. But why did it feel so true? Maybe it was. She was, after all, neither Asian nor generationally wealthy. Not like the Tanakas. Not like Cho Byers. She would never be like them.

  But she’d expected some defense from Peter. He hadn’t said much since Aneko started talking.

  Why was Peter just sitting there? Why wasn’t he defending her? Did this mean what Aneko said was true? Did he think the same thing, too? The dam broke and her chest began heaving. To her own surprise, she somehow managed to shoot to her feet, unable to keep their tears from flowing any longer, and grabbed her purse.

  There was only so much she could take.

  “Adele –” Peter said, climbing out of his chair, but she glared
at him before he could make another move.

  “Leave me alone, you coward!” she shrieked. Then, without another word, she headed out of the dining room and made for the exit. Right before she slammed the front door behind her, she thought she heard Aneko say, “Dinner is served.”

  *****

  “That was quick,” Aneko remarked, pouring herself some wine. “I’d assumed she would put up a front before leaving. You see why you shouldn’t be with that woman? She won’t even defend her so-called love for you.”

  Peter glared at his sister. “Why would you do that?”

  Aneko drained her glass at one go and reached for the bottle again, then seemed to decide she’d had enough wine to drink for now. “Because I had to do what was necessary to ensure that you did not jeopardize everything for this family with your feelings for her. The legacy, brother –”

  “Will you shut up about the damn legacy?”

  He slammed his fists down on the table, causing the glasses to shake; one toppled over and rolled off the table. Neither sibling flinched when it hit the floor and exploded. Peter’s eyes were locked on his sister, one of the few women he had ever loved in his life. He wasn’t feeling any love for her right now. Just pure, barely restrained, undiluted anger.

  “And why should I?” she demanded. “It’s what we live for.”

  “No, it’s what you’ve made every second of your life about. You keep obsessing about it like you can’t see how dumb it is to live your life according to someone else’s wish. So, what if I want Adele and not one of your friends? I don’t care about keeping the bloodline pure or whatever. Not anymore. Because I found love, Aneko. And I’ll be damned if I let you take it away from me without a fight.”

  Coward. The word reverberated through his skull, sending a feeling of queasiness through his body. For weeks, he’d thought he was over it. Now he was starting to realize the truth: nothing had ever really changed. He’d continued to let his sister trample him underfoot as she pleased.

  He rose to his feet, wondering how far away Adele had gotten and whether he could meet her in time. He’d wanted to go after her, but she clearly didn’t want to talk to him right now, so he stayed behind. He wondered if she hated him for what he’d done, for what he hadn’t done. He should’ve done everything he could and more to make sure she didn’t show up in the first place, but he’d resigned when she wouldn’t budge. He should’ve defended her when Aneko started talking, but all he’d done was try to get his sister to shut up because he’d been afraid, he would have to choose between his family and his heart.

  God, he was such an asshole.

  He needed to get her back. Now.

  But first he needed to set something straight with his sister. He made his way over to Aneko, pleased to see the flash of trepidation in her eyes. For a second, he said nothing, just glared at her. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and menacing.

  “I have taken a lot of nonsense from you, Aneko,” he said, grinding his knuckles against the surface of the table, “but I will not sit calmly while you take away my happiness. If Adele refuses to be with me because of what you did, I will never forgive you, and whenever I think about you, all I will feel for you, my dear sister, is hatred.”

  Family was important to him. But that didn’t mean his family got to decide things for him and deprive him of his happiness. Now he realized his mistake. Not choosing had caused this mess. It was time to put his heart first. Whatever made him happy had to be worth it.

  Aneko opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her with a wave of his hand. “Don’t you ever mess with my love life again.”

  With that, he left the table and headed out of the dining room, leaving her sitting stunned in his wake. It felt good to show her he was in charge. Now all he needed was to get his love back. But where in the world was she now? He rushed out of the house and jogged towards the Porsche, climbing inside and driving off through the rain.

  He had to talk to Adele. Even if it meant scouring the entity to find her.

  *****

  She could have taken a cab. She could have phoned her mother to come and pick her up. Heck, she could have asked Betty to try and help her somehow, but the moment she stepped into the rain, Adele had wanted to just keep walking in it. It mirrored her present thoughts and emotions. The rain gave her a feeling of bleakness, which was just about accurate considering everything that had happened tonight.

  But now, she was starting to wonder if she hadn’t just made a huge mistake not calling for help. Which wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Now that she thought about it, she’d made a lot of mistakes in the past few weeks. Way too many of them. She’d made a mistake thinking she could make Aneko see her as less of a chicken. She’d made a mistake not listening to Peter and Betty when they warned her not to go to that woman’s house. But the mistake that took the trophy had been thinking she and Peter really had something going for them.

  She felt a lump grow in her throat as she remembered how he’d just sat there, barely doing anything as his sister ripped her to shreds. Adele had been right about him being a coward. She just hadn’t realized how right he was. Even after they started dating, even after he talked about how much he hated the legacy. But all this time, his cowardice hadn’t really been about the Tanaka legacy. It had been about his sister.

  The rain was icy and coming down hard, practically making it hard for her to see more than ten feet ahead of her. She gave a shiver and hugged her arms, wishing she’d worn something a lot thicker than this.

  Adele paused and looked back, squinting to the rain to see how far she’d gone. About three blocks, at most. At this rate, she’d be home by morning. And Peter was nowhere on sight. Of course, he hadn’t even bothered to come after her when she left. Why had she even let herself fall for someone like this in the first place? Would he have reacted the same way if she’d told him his baby was growing inside her? He just kept proving himself unreliable in her time of need.

  Headlights washed over her and she gave a start, shielding her face from view. The car went few paces past her, then slowed down and got into reverse. Adele blinked at it, trying to see clearly through the rain. Was that Peter?

  The car came to a stop beside her and a window rolled down. She took one look at the person in the driver seat and all her hopes were dashed.

  It wasn’t Peter.

  “Hey,” said Josh. “You mind if I get you out of this rain? You’re going to catch a cold if you don’t get someplace warm.”

  Adele could not believe her eyes. “What in the world are you doing here?”

  Josh gave a shrug. “I was just in the area and I saw you walking alone in the rain, so I figured I’d help. Is there anything wrong with that?”

  “Are you following me again?”

  “Maybe.” He reached across the front seat to open the passenger door for her. “I’ll give you a ride to my place; it’s closer. Are you getting in or not?”

  Adele stared but didn’t get in the car. She was still skeptical about this man. Why wouldn’t he stop following her? And why was he being so nice to her after what she’d done to him earlier today, after what she’d done to him with Sheri? Was he planning something?

  No, he couldn’t possibly have known it would be pouring this evening. She needed to stop being so paranoid. Being around Aneko was getting to her.

  The thought of the Tanakas sent a shudder of revulsion through her body. She wanted to get as far away from them as possible. If Peter decided to go after her, he would very likely look for her in places he knew she would be. Like her apartment, for example. Maybe going with Josh wouldn’t be such a terrible idea.

  “You know, it’s possible to get pneumonia –”

  “Fine, I’ll go,” she snapped, and slid into the car, slamming the door shut beside her and realizing all of a sudden just how drenched she was. Josh didn’t seem to mind that she was covering his seat in water. He hit the gas and the car sped off.

  Chapter 12

&nbs
p; Adele Freaking Kincaid

  They rode to his apartment in silence, Adele staring out the window and trying not to let her thoughts consume her. The ride was short, and when they climbed out of the car, Adele was still largely unsettled. Josh’s apartment was just as she had remembered it: large, organized, and lacking in taste. Still, it was something. Adele was grateful to have somewhere discreet to stay for now, even if it was the home of the man who’d first hurt her.

  “You can change into new clothes,” he told her, gesturing at his wardrobe. Minutes later, Adele sat in his living room wearing a large black coat over her gown, pulling it tightly around her. She was grateful to Josh, but she didn’t trust him enough to get naked in his apartment after he’d done.

  “Want some coffee?” he offered. Adele shook her head.

  He stared at her for a moment, then sighed and took a seat on the couch across from her. “Alright. In that case, I guess I should just go straight to the point.”

  She frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “I brought you here so I could apologize,” he said, looking her straight in the eyes. “For everything. I thought about what you said earlier today, and it turns out you were right about me. What I did was inexcusable, and I hurt a lot of people. I’m not even going to try to explain myself. I was a terrible person.”

  “You are a terrible person,” Adele blurted.

  Josh got a hurt look on his face, but he merely nodded. “Yes, I am. But I’m working to change that. I want to be a better person.”

  She blinked at him. Had she heard him correctly? This was the same guy who’d sneered at him earlier at the clothing store. And here he was now saying he was ready to change his ways? Was this all a dream? Adele gave herself a pinch and winced. She wasn’t dreaming. Josh actually had a downcast expression on his face. He looked a lot worse than he had in the store.

  But was she supposed to believe him and open her arms wide to accept him simply because he’d said he wanted to change? For all she knew, he was probably lying to her, trying to reintegrate himself into her life with her trust, so he could take advantage of her again. Josh could not be trusted. No man could be trusted. Not when they kept hurting her.