My Scumbag System - Chapter 111
Chapter 111: Operation: Gaslight My Mom
I shut the door behind me, letting my hand linger on the knob as the full weight of the situation settled over me. Kimiko had always been perceptive, but I’d underestimated just how quickly she’d put the pieces together. Now we were cornered, backed against a wall with limited options.
The room still bore all the evidence of our night together – clothes scattered across the floor, sheets tangled and half-hanging off the bed, a chair knocked over near the window. A battlefield of passion, now a crime scene under investigation.
Natalia sat perched on the edge of my bed, her eyes wide. The confident, commanding woman from last night had vanished, replaced by someone small and uncertain.
“Satori?” Her voice trembled slightly. “What was that about? What did she want?”
I crossed the room and sat beside her, taking her hands in mine. They felt cold, almost fragile.
“She knows.”
Two simple words. The color drained from Natalia’s face like someone had pulled a plug. Her fingers went limp in my grasp, then tightened painfully.
“Knows… knows what?” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Everything?”
“She heard us last night.” I kept my voice steady, controlled. “She came to check on the music playing in your empty room and heard… us. Saw us through the door.”
“No,” Natalia breathed, shaking her head in denial. “No, no, no.”
“Yes. She confronted me on the terrace just now. Was quite clear about what she saw and heard.”
Natalia yanked her hands away from mine and leapt to her feet. She began pacing the room like a cornered animal, her arms wrapped around herself.
“I told you!” she hissed, her voice rising with each word. “I fucking told you we should have waited! That’s why I made the rule about waiting until the academy!” She spun toward me, eyes blazing. “This is exactly what I was afraid would happen!”
Her panic was understandable but inconvenient. I needed her thinking clearly, not spiraling into fear.
“Natalia—”
“My entire life is over,” she continued, running her hands through her hair. “My future, my reputation—”
“Natalia, listen—”
She froze suddenly, her face contorting with a new, more terrifying thought. “Does… does my father know?”
There it was. The question I’d been waiting for. The true source of her panic.
“No,” I said firmly, holding her gaze. “She hasn’t told him. Not yet.”
Some of the tension left her body, but not much. She knew what “not yet” implied.
“She wants me to end it,” I continued. “To tell you it was a mistake and can never happen again.” I paused, letting that sink in. “She’s threatening to tell Luka if I don’t.”
Natalia’s breathing quickened. “And what did you say?”
“What do you think I said?” I reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her toward me. She tumbled onto my lap with a small sound of surprise. I wrapped my arms around her waist, securing her against me. “I told her I wouldn’t do it.”
Natalia settled against me, her head finding the curve of my shoulder as if it belonged there. I felt her tremble slightly, felt the rapid rise and fall of her breath.
“What happens now?” she asked softly.
I stroked her back, feeling her gradually relax under my touch. “She gave me an ultimatum. End things with you today, or she tells Luka everything.”
Natalia stiffened in my arms, but didn’t pull away. Her fingers curled into the fabric of my shirt, holding on like I might disappear.
“So what are we going to do?”
We.
Not “what are you going to do” or “what will happen to me” but “what are we going to do.” My little queen had made her choice. I smiled against her hair, tightening my hold.
“We do exactly what she wants us to do,” I said. “On the surface.”
Natalia pulled back enough to look at my face, confusion and wariness in her eyes.
“We put on a show,” I explained. “Act distant around the house. Have petty arguments in front of her. Make her believe we’ve broken things off.”
Understanding dawned in Natalia’s eyes, followed by a slow smile.
“While actually…”
“While actually strengthening our bond in secret,” I finished. “Every performance is just that – a performance. For her benefit.”
Natalia’s smile widened, the panic in her eyes replaced by something darker, more calculating. Something that matched what I felt.
“That might work for a while,” she said, “but she’ll be watching us closely. We’d have to be careful. Really careful.”
“We will be.” I ran my thumb along her lower lip. “But playing defense isn’t enough. We need to accelerate our plans.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean we need to become untouchable. I need to dominate the academy exams, secure a position so valuable that even if Luka found out, he wouldn’t dare move against us.”
Natalia tilted her head, considering. “And how does that involve me?”
“You’re my queen,” I said simply. “Together, we’re going to build something that no one can tear down. Not your father, not my mother. No one.”
The fear in Natalia’s eyes had completely vanished now, replaced by a thrilling, dangerous excitement. Her hand came up to cup my face, her thumb tracing my jawline.
“You make conspiracy sound romantic,” she murmured.
“Isn’t it?” I leaned closer. “Us against the world. Our own private kingdom.”
Her eyes glittered. “I never thought I’d say this, but… I like how your mind works, Satori.”
“Get used to it. From now on, we’re partners in every sense.” I let my hand slide up her back, cupping the nape of her neck.
Natalia leaned in, her lips a breath away from mine. “I’m in. All the way.”
She kissed me then, not with the frantic hunger of the previous night, but with something deeper, more deliberate. A sealing of a pact. A pledge of allegiance. The kiss of a co-conspirator.
When we broke apart, she rested her forehead against mine. “So what’s the first step of this grand plan?”
“First, we need to establish the fiction of our ‘breakup’ for my mother’s benefit.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “We’ll have a loud, convincing argument this afternoon where I tell you it was a mistake and can never happen again.”
“And I’ll tell you I hate you and never want to speak to you again,” Natalia added, warming to the role.
“Exactly. After that, we maintain cold, minimal interaction in the house. Disapproving looks, terse replies. and…” I lowered my voice, “we’ll need to be careful about physical evidence. No marks where they can be seen.” I ran a finger along her collarbone, where a faint bruise was forming. “No more sleepovers, at least not here.”
“Where, then?”
“We get creative. Find neutral ground. Hotels, if necessary.” I smiled. “Consider it practice for the academy.”
Natalia bit her lip. “What about Emi? Does this change our plans with her?”
An excellent question. I considered it carefully. “No. In fact, Emi becomes even more valuable now. She provides me with a public girlfriend, giving us both cover. You’ll appear to have moved on, focusing on your studies and friendship with Emi, while I openly pursue Emi.”
Natalia leaned into my touch, her eyes half-closing. “This is crazy, you know. If we get caught…”
“We won’t.” I infused my voice with absolute confidence. “We’re smarter than they are. We want it more than they do.”
She opened her eyes fully, searching my face. “Do you really believe that?”
“I believe in us,” I said, holding her gaze.
Natalia’s expression softened. “I believe you,” she whispered. “God help me, but I do.”
She kissed me again, wrapping her arms around my neck, pressing herself against me. I held her tightly, already planning our next moves, the path ahead unfolding in my mind like a chess game seen from above.
[Wow, convincing your teenage girlfriend to lie to her parents and engage in a conspiracy against them. You really are scum of the highest order. The Audience is loving this.]
“One thing,” I said, running my fingers through her hair. “This deception will require absolute trust between us. Total honesty within our conspiracy. Can you handle that?”
Natalia straightened her spine, lifting her chin with that familiar haughty pride that had first caught my attention. “I was born to handle it, Satori. The question is, can you?”
I laughed softly. “Oh, my queen. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”