Chapter 401 - NOTHING IN COMMON (1/2)

When Sayaka returned home after dropping off Hanae, it was a little late in the afternoon. The meeting with the potential mentor went on well. Her niece impressed the classical music professor with ease. If nothing went wrong, Hanae would have someone to guide her in the university and her long-term career.

As she entered the house, she found Akira getting ready to leave the mansion.​​

”Akira, are you going back to the apartment?” Sayaka asked.

”Mmmh, I have some work to do before the day ends. Aunt Nanase and the twins as well as my friend left a while ago.” Akira said.

”It has been a while since you slept here. Even your bed has new cobwebs.” Sayaka joked.

Akira looked at her mother for a moment. ”I can't stay over tonight because I have some matters to manage. But we can have tea before I leave.”

Sayaka looked at Akira with concern. ”Is it about the restaurant? You don't have to tire yourself with the manual work. If you are too overwhelmed, you can simply leave that job. If you would like, I can speak to the owner on your behalf.”

Akira was silent for a period before she spoke. ”I am the owner.”

”What?” Sayaka was a little confused by the words.

”I am the owner of Elements. I do not dislike the tiring work. In fact, it is quite fulfilling.” She responded.

Sayaka felt speechless, but she tried to recover as quickly as possible. ”Let's go to the living room and chat a little more over tea. You can tell me more about your life. I feel like I do not know you.”

The request was honest and deep from her heart. She had been thinking about her relationship with Akira because of the words Nanase said earlier in the morning.

When Akira returned to the Yamazaki family, she thought they would be closer than she was with Hanae. They would do fun things like shopping, eating in hippie restaurants and going out for spa days. However, the reality was nothing like that.

It made Sayaka unable to relate to her.

Since she was younger, Sayaka had never taken up official employment. She came from her parents' home and went to university. She met with Daiki, and they fell in love. Shortly after she graduated, they got married.

The only profitable work she had done was painting a few prestigious pieces of artwork during her third and fourth year of college. After that, she did not see the need to keep struggling to earn a few coins when the money provided by Daiki was several times more.

Naturally, she did not get why Akira insisted on working instead of living a comfortable life as a socialite. She had lived a hard life in the past after the kidnapping, so Sayaka thought that it would be better if Akira took a break from toiling every day.

However, she was quickly realising that her daughter was not forcing herself, and she did not earn only a few coins.

In truth, Sayaka could not understand why she always pictured Akira as a helpless girl working like Cinderella, scrubbing floors on her knees. She had proved to be more than capable, and she was wealthy enough to afford rare instruments, an apartment and even a car, although it was an old model.

Furthermore, she had friends like Hina, who was a reputable doctor, according to her son. And today, she had discovered that she was close with a CEO.

But the image of a pitiful and poor girl did not leave her mind.

”How did you come to be the owner of Elements?” Sayaka asked after they settled in the living room with a pot of tea.

”It was a coincidence. I found an old restaurant on sale, and it was in a great location. I bought it on a whim. I was already a qualified chef, so it was not hard to develop a menu and open up a business. After that, I opened a few more branches.” Akira responded.

”That is so impressive!” Sayaka exclaimed. ”If you do not mind me asking, where did you find the money for investing in the restaurant? You do not have a lot of debt, do you?”

That might explain why Akira was constantly working without taking a break or spending time with her and Daiki.