Yahata Reina gave a tragic smile, her eyes empty.
She caressed a slender scar under her left rib, "This one, it’s from the first time he sent me to Moriyama Junichi in exchange for the cooperation between the Xingye family and the Senben Group."
"That night, Moriyama... he was drunk, I desperately resisted, and he scratched me with a broken wine glass. Osuke just stood outside the door, listening to my cries... yet he was indifferent..."
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, as if swallowing back that terrifying memory.
Mei Xiang felt a turmoil in her stomach, she couldn’t believe that her father, always so elegant and gentle in her memories, could be so cold-hearted.
Moriyama Junichi, she remembered, was a notorious real estate tycoon.
Yahata Reina then pointed to an irregular scar on her thigh, "This is... it was Minister Ito..."
She paused, her voice choked up, "That time, Osuke forced me... to accompany Minister Ito for a government approval... Ito... he... he used a cigar lighter..." She closed her eyes in pain, her body trembling slightly.
Mei Xiang covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud.
She felt nausea, unable to imagine how Yahata Reina endured these inhumane tortures alone.
Although these scars weren’t directly inflicted by her father, each one was a strike from him.
Yahata Reina turned around, pointing to a hideous whip mark on her back, "It was Councilman Suzuki..."
She gave a bitter laugh, "For the Xingye development in Nara... Osuke sent me to him... Suzuki... he liked... that night..."
Yahata Reina’s voice grew fainter, almost inaudible.
Mei Xiang closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face spontaneously.
Yahata Reina didn’t speak, just silently tied up her robe again, covering those shocking scars and the indescribable pain and humiliation deep in her heart.
"Mei Xiang, do you think I wanted this?"
She turned around, "I... I just wanted to survive..."
"For the sake of the Xingye family, I sacrificed my dignity, everything..."
Yahata Reina’s voice trembled,
"But in the end, what did I get? Your father’s love? His respect? None! What I got... were these scars, this indelible shame..."
"I know, you hate me... you blame me for betraying your father, betraying the Xingye family..."
Yahata Reina choked up, "But... have you ever thought, I... I am also a victim..."
"If it wasn’t for him, I... I might... have found my own happiness by now..."
Mei Xiang opened her eyes, looking at the tragic woman in front of her, her feelings complicated.
She hated her, but also sympathized with her, pitied her.
"How did you end up joining forces with Watanabe Kazuo?" Mei Xiang continued to ask.
Yahata Reina gave a wretched smile, the tear stains at the corner of her eyes particularly desolate under the light.
She took a deep breath, "He approached me."
"At that time, I was almost breaking down, even thought about ending it all..."
Yahata Reina continued: "Watanabe... he showed me a kindness I had never felt."
She exhaled slowly, "He would send me messages in the middle of the night, just to make sure I was alright. He would bring me my favorite white roses, with warm greetings on the card. He would take me to a quiet restaurant for dinner when Osuke was not around, listening to my troubles like a friend..."
Mei Xiang listened quietly, sensing the change in Yahata Reina’s tone, a glimmer of hope emerging from the depths of despair.
"He never forced me to do anything,"
Yahata Reina continued: "He just... quietly stayed with me, comforting me, giving me strength..."
"He told me, he’s not like Osuke, he knows how to cherish and respect women..."
Yahata Reina gave a bitter smile, "Thinking back, all of this... was just a carefully woven lie..."
"Until he came holding a file to the place I was staying."
Yahata Reina’s voice suddenly dropped, "Inside... there was evidence of how Osuke had been using me over the years... to please those men..."
She continued: "Watanabe said... he knew how Osuke treated me... he knew all the suffering I endured..."
"To conspire with him, to hollow out the mines in Brazil."
Mei Xiang understood, Watanabe Kazuo used Yahata Reina’s hatred for Osuke and her desire for a new life to slowly draw her into his scheme.
"He told me, as long as the mines in Brazil are hollowed out, Osuke would be burdened with huge debts, he would be discredited, and in the end..."
"He would lose everything."
Mei Xiang’s heart sank sharply, realizing that Watanabe Kazuo’s scheme was far more vicious than she had imagined.
"He promised that after everything was accomplished, he would help me leave Osuke, give me a new life..."
Yahata Reina gave a bitter laugh, "He even said... he would marry me..."
Mei Xiang looked at Yahata Reina incredulously, unable to believe Watanabe would say such things.
"I know, it sounds absurd..."
Yahata Reina laughed self-deprecatingly, "A woman who was used, a woman covered in scars, what right do I have... to still hope for love..."
"But... I... at that time... really... wanted to escape it all..."
Yahata Reina took out a cigarette from her bag, lit it up, "You probably know the rest."
"I helped Watanabe set up a company, earning more in a month than I could ever earn in my life." She spoke somberly: