"Ding dong!"
The sharp, electronic chime echoed through the grand foyer.
Before long, the heavy front door swung open with a smooth slide.
Standing in the doorway was a woman with immaculate, sleek black hair, dressed in sharp, expensive business attire.
She cast a brief, critical glance out into the porch, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she furrowed her brow in irritation.
"Is this some kind of childish prank?" she muttered coldly.
She failed to notice Mai standing right there, just a single step away from her threshold.
As I thought...
A heavy, aching wave of disappointment washed over Mai.
Even her own mother, the woman who had given birth to her, couldn't perceive her existence until she actively made herself seen.
She had suspected as much.
After all, her mother hadn't bothered to call or text her even once during her absence, having likely wiped her from memory entirely.
The only reason her mother had picked up the phone today was likely because the magic spell she had received from Haruto.
Which anchored her existence to the world—had momentarily rippled through her perception, making her mother vaguely remember she had a daughter at all.
Just as her mother, dismissing the ring as a nuisance, began to push the heavy door shut.
Mai quietly disabled the invisibility concealment, stepping firmly forward and catching the edge of the door with her hand before it could latch.
In a low, steady voice, she spoke, "Mom."
"!!"
Her mother's entire body stiffened violently at the familiar sound.
When she jerked her head back around and found Mai standing right in front of her, a brilliant flash of excitement lit up her eyes.
"Mai!"
Yet, the raw intensity in her mother's gaze didn't stem from a mother's warm affection or relief at seeing her child safe.
It was a glint born entirely of utility...
"You've rested more than long enough," her mother said, her tone shifting immediately into that of an aggressive manager.
"It's high time for you to return to the entertainment industry. I've already mapped out your entire comeback schedule. Given your current mystique, I am certain your re-entry into the spotlight will be even more explosive and profitable than before!"
Before Mai could react, her mother reached out, aggressively grabbing her wrist to pull her inside the house.
But Mai planted her feet, pulling her arm back with a calm, unyielding strength.
"I'm sorry, Mom. But I have no intention of returning to the entertainment industry."
"What... did you just say?"
Her mother froze instantly, her hand hanging mid-air as the excitement in her eyes rapidly hardened into glacial ice.
"Mai, drop the foolish jokes. This isn't funny."
Meeting her mother's stern glare, Mai spoke with absolute, unwavering earnestness.
"I am not joking, Mom. I've found someone I truly love. I'm done with the cameras, the contracts, and the spotlight. I never want to be bothered by the entertainment world ever again."
She paused, her voice softening.
"We don't need your money or your fame. My only plan now is to stay by his side, become his wife, and build a quiet, happy family with him."
As the words left her lips, Mai's expression blossomed with a genuine, gentle warmth—an expression of pure, vulnerable affection that her mother had never once witnessed in all the years they had lived together.
Seeing that look, her mother suddenly realized with a jolt of alarm that Mai wasn't just acting out of teenage rebellion.
She was entirely serious.
Who on earth could it be?
Her mother's mind raced, a wave of bitter agitation washing over her as she desperately tried to figure out who had "corrupted" or "deceived" her daughter.
She knew all too well that Mai's star power and immense commercial potential were far too valuable a commodity to just throw away on some ordinary boy.
She couldn't—and wouldn't—stand idly by and let Mai ruin her golden future.
And yet, a sharp spike of caution held her back.
A lingering memory flared in the back of her mind—the terrifying day when thirteen-year-old Mai had stared her dead in the eye and threatened self-harm to escape the photobook shoot.
Remembering just how far her daughter's unyielding pride and resolve could stretch, her mother hesitated, biting back the harsh reprimand trembling on her tongue.
After a tense, drawn-out moment of heavy silence that hung thickly in the entryway, her mother forced the rigid lines of her face into a calculated, unconvincing softening.
"Could I... at least meet your boyfriend?" she asked, her voice carefully measured.
Seeing a flicker of hesitation flash across Mai's eyes, she quickly tacked on, "As a mother, surely I have a right to know the man my daughter is planning to give her life to."
"This..."
Mai blinked, genuinely taken aback by her mother's sudden, uncharacteristic shift in attitude.
She had braced herself for a screaming match, tears, or a flat-out ultimatum.
She had never expected her mother to compromise or agree to meet Haruto so easily.
But trapped beneath her own lingering desire for familial approval, Mai was still far too naive to see the jagged hooks hidden beneath the polite offer.
Her mother hadn't changed at all.
Deep down, not an ounce of genuine maternal warmth had bloomed in her heart.
She merely wanted to inspect this unknown boy face-to-face so she could systematically humiliate him, dismantle his confidence, and wave a massive, lucrative check in his face to drive him away.
To her, every person had a price, and she firmly believed there was no romantic attachment in the world that a large enough sum of money couldn't permanently sever.
Completely unaware of the cold, manipulative calculations spinning in her mother's head, Mai felt a sudden, hopeful surge of excitement.
If she could somehow bridge this gap and secure her mother's official blessing, it would lift a massive weight off her shoulders and bring a rare, peaceful closure to her past.
"I... I'll need to discuss it with Haruto first,"
Mai replied, her voice softening as she instinctively prioritized his feelings and boundaries above her own desires.
"I won't make any unilateral decisions for him."
"Haruto..."
Her mother repeated the name under her breath, her eyes narrowing into sharp, calculating slits as the gears in her head turned.
She was already scheming, mapping out every angle of her approach.
For now, however, she wore a mask of gentle compliance, stepping aside to welcome her daughter inside.
"Of course. Take all the time you need. Why don't you stay here tonight? We can catch up, and you can tell me all about him."
•
[Mai's Mother]
•
******
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