Samantha placed the rag on Kaito's wound and put as much pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Kaito's threat scared her so bad that she became willing to fight through the pain of seeing blood.

Not only had she helped stop the bleeding, but she also helped Kaito stitch his wound and clean it before wrapping a bandage around him. After all the groaning and fighting through the pain, he finally relaxed. He took some painkillers and drifted off into a deep sleep.

While he was out cold, Samantha washed her hands. She scrubbed her fingers and fists until they turned red, sat at the dining table, and cried herself to sleep. She hadn't realized she was so exhausted until she woke up.

It took a minute for her mind to clear up to notice that she wasn't at the table anymore. She was in the bedroom, covered in the soft sheets. She quickly sat up and came to the conclusion that Kaito probably moved her while she was asleep.

She crawled out of bed and rubbed her tired eyes and made her way back into the front of the apartment. Kaito sat at the table with a phone placed next to his ear. He spoke in Japanese, so she couldn't understand him, but it was very clear that he was frustrated with the other person on the phone.

When Kaito saw Samantha walk in, he hung up and placed an open cup of ramen on the table.

"Morning," Kaito mumbled at her. She eyed him carefully, wanting to ask about his wound and where he went last night, but she decided not to. "I never got the chance to buy any groceries, so this is all we have."

"I'm not hungry." Samantha looked at the ramen intently. Any food this man was going to serve her, she would not eat. She still remembered the threat he gave to her, and he was pretending as if none of that happened.

"Bull." Kaito shoved the cup of ramen in her hand. "You didn't eat anything last night, and I'm not going to let you starve yourself while you're in my care. So sit your arse down and eat." He shoved past her and walked away into the bedroom.

Samantha sighed and gave in to her stomach's pleas. She was extremely hungry. The moment she picked up a nearby fork, she dug into the cup of food and slurped the whole thing down in 5 minutes.

The taste of the noodles wasn't that great, but it would satisfy her for the time being. All she needed now was a hot shower and a change of clothes.

Now that she finally filled her stomach, she was able to think more clearly. She noticed Kaito's new appearance. "Did you cut your hair?" She mumbled while taking a thorough observation of her husband.

"What do you think?" Kaito replied in a snarky tone. Samantha was surprised that he was able to hear her.

She placed the cup of ramen on the table and sighed. There were so many questions that ran through her mind, but she didn't dare to ask him. The journalist inside of her was desperate to show, but Samantha held her tongue for her safety.

"Get ready." Kaito appeared next to her and placed a long-sleeved white shirt and blue jeans on the table.

"Are these my clothes?" Samantha narrowed her eyes at him. "You went through my things—"

"Do you think I'd let you roam around my house freely without checking your bags to see if you're going to try any tricks?" Kaito leaned forward dangerously close to her face. "What's wrong if I went through your bag? We're married, so we share everything."

"Our marriage is not real," Samantha growled. "When are you going to gather those divorce papers?"

"After I'm finished."

"Finished with what?" Samantha whined.

"Don't worry yourself over it, Hershey. Do what I tell you, and get ready. We have somewhere to be."

"Kaito—"

"If you're not dressed and ready in the next 10 minutes, I'll just drag you out of here dressed like that." Kaito pulled away from her and massaged his side. The wound began to ache.

Samantha grabbed her things and raced to the bedroom to change as quickly as she could. There was still a lot of snow outside, so she knew she'd freeze to death if she didn't comply with Kaito's demands.

While getting ready, she realized something. Why the heck was she allowing him to boss her around so easily? There were other ways for her to escape and find her son. Kaito was currently injured, so if she were to run now, he wouldn't be able to catch up.

She had to try fighting back. Crying because she was in captivity wasn't going to solve anything. Samantha searched the bedroom for anything to use as a weapon. It wouldn't be that hard to find one, would it?

This was Kaito's abode, so it would be odd if he didn't have some kind of weapon lying around somewhere.

Samantha opened the first drawer on the nightstand and there was a beautiful thick blade shining under the light seeping through the window. She grabbed it by the handle carefully and placed it behind her.

"Samantha!" Kaito's voice rang from outside the bedroom.

When she finished dressing, she tied up her hair into a low curly ponytail and quickly met Kaito by the front door.

"Can you at least tell me where you are taking me?" Samantha stood directly in front of him. Kaito looked her in the eye. He was very suspicious of the fact that she walked up to him so casually. And he noticed that her attitude was different.

Samantha felt the harsh gaze and grew extremely uncomfortable and tired of the silence. Kaito began to open the apartment door, and that's when she decided to make her move. She figured that while he wasn't looking, she'd have the upper hand with the newfound knife.

However, just as she pulled it out and revealed her intention, Kaito dodged her and snatched Samantha by the wrist. She squealed when he twisted her body around, and the knife went flying out of her hands.

Then she was forced onto the wooden floors, face down. Kaito pushed all his weight on top of her. "You're really underestimating my abilities sweetheart." He grunted because the pain of his poorly stitched wound started to ache.

On one hand, Kaito was very livid that Samantha tried to pull a fast one on him while he was slightly off his game. But on the other, he thought it was attractive of her to stand up to him so boldly, even after he threatened to kill her.

"TELL ME where Keiji is you jerk!" Samantha whined. Kaito rolled her over to face him, and she huffed for air.

"I told you to behave, and Keiji would be fine. But now that you think attacking me behind my back is okay, I'm going to have to call a friend to make our deal a little interesting." Kaito muttered in her face.

"W-what are you going to do?"

"You'll find out." Kaito poked Samantha in her forehead. Just as he did so, she began to cry.

"How... how could you do something so... so awful?" She whimpered. "You helped me bring Keiji into this world, and now you will take him away from me?" Samantha's heart began to break the more reality began to sink in.

"What?" Kaito narrowed his eyes at her. Samantha began to sob uncontrollably, to Kaito's surprise. He wasn't sure how to handle it. Just a moment ago, she attacked him with full force, and now she was crying over an empty threat. He didn't even tell her what he was going to do yet.

"You don't even understand how stressed and distraught I am right now. A murderer like you would never understand." Samantha sniffled.

Kaito pushed himself off her. "You're right. I don't understand and I never will. Get up, and do what I told you the first time. Stop causing trouble if you don't want to be hurt."

"I hope you die a slow and painful death." Samantha snapped at him.

Now she was livid. So many mood changes only meant one thing to Kaito. Over the years, he studied her behavior and kept track of her changes to prevent another pregnancy. She was probably on her cycle.

After he was done, he was going to have to buy the things necessary to keep her in a stable mood. "Get up. Don't make me repeat myself." Kaito commanded harshly.

Samantha rose to her stand on her feet and stumbled out of the apartment cautiously. She didn't know where he was taking her, but she hoped it wasn't somewhere dangerous.

~

The couple had reached a very upscale neighborhood a few miles away. Although it was a wealthy-looking area, Samantha felt like an odd one out for receiving so many strange looks from the locals.

It was quite obvious that Samantha was unfamiliar with this side of Osaka. The snow had melted some, but she still wasn't used to the bits of ice on the sidewalk.

And after Kaito and she got out of the taxi, she grew exhausted. They walked 3 blocks away from a bus stop and up several sets of stairs. All the walking proved to Samantha just how out of shape she was.

Just when she thought she was getting the hang of going uphill in the cold weather, she slipped on another sleet of ice. Instinctively, she reached for the nearest surface to prevent her from falling, which was Kaito's hand.

He stopped and glanced at Samantha in surprise as she tugged on his arm to pull herself up. "What are you—"

"Could you PLEASE tell me where you are taking me?" Samantha huffed. "I can't take it anymore!"

"We're not far from our destination." Kaito grabbed onto Samantha and drug her forward. She shrieked as her face collided with his chest. Kaito took note of the fact that Samantha would slow down ever so often as they walked.

"Are you on your period?"

"What?" Samantha huffed. "That's my business, and it shouldn't matter to you." It didn't embarrass her that he asked her. The two were married for so long, so it didn't phase her. It was surprising that he was pretending to care.

"It doesn't matter to me." Kaito spat. "I just want to make sure I find ways to keep you quiet."

"How dare you—"

"Hop on." Kaito turned around and crouched in front of her.

"Excuse me?"

"You're cramping, aren't you?" Kaito grumbled. Usually, he never was this gentle when it came to women. But they were very close to an important location, so he had to act a part, as a loving husband. "I'll take you up the hill."

"You're Crazy! Weren't you just stabbed?" Samantha slapped her hand over her mouth the moment Kaito's head snapped in her direction. She forgot that she was still in the presence of an Assassin. The fear of him harming her was still there. "I'm sorry. I—"

"Hop on." Kaito crouched over again, ignoring the pain in his lower torso. Then he grabbed Samantha's arm and tugged on her arm to bring her closer. Samantha didn't like the feeling of worry she had for him.

Deep down, she still loved him. She didn't want his wounds to open. Kaito forced her to climb on his back and lifted her effortlessly. He tightened his grip on her legs and trudged up the hill. "Be careful," Samantha mumbled.

"You don't have to worry about me." Kaito snorted. The two continued earning odd stares from the locals as they passed through a busy alley, but Kaito didn't mind. Everyone in this particular neighborhood knew him well. He was highly respected.

Kaito stopped in front of a small shop. There was a traditional Japanese house connected to it. The home was also surrounded by a gate, and there were clothes hanging outside in the small yard. There was also a small wooden table by the side door. He let Samantha down and walked over to the gate before knocking on it.

Samantha stared at the house and shop in amazement. The shop was a small restaurant that served noodles, and the house next to it looked well lived in. She grew suspicious as to why Kaito had brought her here. Where exactly were they?

Before Samantha could gather her thoughts, the gate door swung open, and a little older woman with streaks of gray in her medium-length black hair appeared. She had on a baggy floral shirt and cotton shorts. When Kaito and she exchanged glances, a small scowl formed on her face.

The woman closed the gate slightly and crouched behind it shortly, before swinging the gate back open with full force and running towards Kaito. Kaito opened his mouth, but he was interrupted when the older woman slapped the side of his head with a plastic bin.

The older woman looked angry at him, and Samantha stood there, too stunned to do anything. Why was Kaito allowing this older lady to hit him? Why was the lady attacking him in the first place? Who was she?

Kaito groaned when the lady pulled on his hair and dragged him by it.

"On' shirazuno musukoyo!" The woman sneered. "Watashiwa anatao konoyōni sodatemashitaka!?" The woman's behavior was just like an angry mother disciplining her son.

"Mama!" Kaito hissed when the pulled at the roots of his hair. He grabbed onto her wrist that held his strands tightly, and tugged away from her. "gomen'nasai!" He bowed to her, but the woman responded by shoving him back.

The older woman pointed in the opposite direction, gesturing for Kaito to leave, but he exchanged a few words with her to refuse.

The woman was Kaito's mother, Hana Matsumoto. She was angry with her eldest son for leaving her while her youngest was missing. She thought that not only did this ungrateful kid leave the country without her knowledge, but he left and started a family and didn't include her.

On top of that, he had the nerve to get one of his friends to leave his child at her doorstep for her to take care of. The child didn't even speak Japanese.

Kaito grabbed onto Samantha's arm and dragged her closer to introduce her to his mother. She was completely unaware of who the woman was. "Who is this?" Samantha frowned at him. Kaito ignored her to introduce her first to his mother as his wife, and Hana eyed Samantha up and down in contempt.

Then she began to speak rapidly, accusing the woman of abandoning her child, but Kaito chipped Kim to clarify that it was his idea. The two were still speaking in Japanese, so Samantha was lost for most of the conversation.

Instead of giving Samantha a clear answer, Hana grabbed onto her arm and tugged her gently, leading her inside the home. Samantha glanced back at Kaito who allowed Hana to drag her away. "Kaito!" Samantha tried freeing herself out of Hana's grip, but Hana wasn't able to understand what she was doing.

Samantha looked over her shoulder again but stopped resisting Hana's pull when she noticed a familiar baby blue blanket hanging over the clothesline.