The feeling of having completely lost… was utterly awful.
Molly just wanted to find an exit and escape this place entirely—never see that infuriating man again.
If she could do that, then maybe… her heart wouldn’t hurt anymore.
She climbed out through the small window near the bathroom ceiling.
Fortunately, the bathroom was on the first floor of the villa, and outside was a patch of soft grass—her injured ankle was only slightly worsened.
Leaning against the wall, Molly limped forward with difficulty.
From afar, she spotted several men in black suits and sunglasses guarding the road near the villa.
After leaving that suffocating place, her mind gradually cleared.
She realized she had acted rashly.
This was the residence of the Tenth Vongola boss—there had to be heavy security nearby. If they found her, in her injured state, she wouldn’t be able to escape at all.
She should have forced that guy to escort her out through the front gate properly.
But stubborn as she was, there was no way she’d turn back now.
This was the path she chose. Even if she had to cry, she would walk it to the end—without regret.
Molly kept moving forward.
But the intense confrontation she expected never came.
The men in black suddenly received some kind of instruction through their earpieces. After exchanging glances for a few seconds, they actually left.
Probably assigned to another task.
For her, though—this was the perfect chance!
Enduring the stabbing pain in her ankle, Molly quickened her pace along the path.
Strangely, aside from those few guards at the beginning, she didn’t encounter anyone else.
The Vongola’s defenses are pretty lax, she thought.
When she officially took over the Phoenix family, she would definitely strengthen their security system. She wouldn’t let it be as careless as this.
Lost in thought, she turned a corner—
—and saw a young man standing at the end of the road.
Not Tsunayoshi Sawada.
Molly recognized that immediately and let out a quiet breath.
She couldn’t tell if it was relief or something else.
The man had spiky black hair, wore a black suit with a green shirt underneath, had a scar at the corner of his mouth, and carried a sword on his back.
He looked… familiar.
Most importantly, he was pushing an empty wheelchair.
The moment he saw her, the sharpness in his expression melted like ice. He smiled brightly and said naturally,
“Molly, long time no see!”
“You’re… Yamamoto?!” Molly’s eyes widened in surprise.
Takeshi Yamamoto—her classmate from Namimori Middle School ten years ago. A cheerful, easygoing, handsome guy who loved baseball.
They weren’t particularly close, but they weren’t strangers either—somewhere in between.
Even so, Molly knew his dream had been to become a professional baseball player and make it to Koshien.
But his current appearance—and this place—had nothing to do with that dream.
Her expression turned complicated.
“What are you doing here?”
Yamamoto explained, “The boss asked me to deliver this wheelchair—just finished by the tech department. Didn’t expect to run into you here. What a coincidence.”
Molly fell silent for two seconds.
“So your boss is—”
“That’s right, it’s Tsuna,” Yamamoto said with a smile.
Molly’s expression became indescribable.
This was too bizarre.
Ten years ago, Yamamoto—the most popular boy in school—had become the subordinate of “No-Good Tsuna,” the guy everyone used to look down on!
If someone had said this back then, the whole school would’ve laughed it off as a joke.
He must have been threatened or forced into it!
Molly instantly sympathized with him, looking at him with pity.
“Yamamoto… these past years must have been really hard, huh?”
“Not really,” Yamamoto replied, confused.
He pushed the wheelchair closer. “Since this wheelchair I brought happens to be empty, let me take you out, Molly.”
Up close, Molly noticed a black Bluetooth earpiece in his left ear.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t accept help from others—but her ankle hurt terribly. She had already pushed herself to the limit just getting this far.
So she said, somewhat awkwardly,
“Thank you, Yamamoto. This really means a lot.”
After helping her into the wheelchair, Yamamoto immediately withdrew his hands like a gentleman, keeping a comfortable distance. Molly relaxed slightly.
He began pushing her forward.
Since he had helped her, Molly felt awkward staying silent. With a hint of curiosity, she asked,
“So what kind of work do you mainly do in the Vongola? If you can say.”
“Well…” Yamamoto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Mostly errands and cleanup work. I run into quite a lot of troublesome people.”
“……”
Molly felt like she fully understood his situation now.
So Yamamoto’s position in the Vongola wasn’t important at all!
That kind of job… was basically just an assistant!
After graduating, Molly had once worked as an assistant at a shady company—too much work, too messy, too exhausting. The boss expected her to be on call 24/7 for a meager salary, like she was supposed to give her entire life, body, and soul to the company.
She quit not long after.
No wonder Yamamoto wore a Bluetooth earpiece—his superior must require him to be on standby at all times!
That horrible Tsunayoshi Sawada!
He must have turned dark after everything he went through as “No-Good Tsuna,” and now that he had power, he was taking revenge on his classmates!
As another victim—his ex-girlfriend—Molly deeply empathized.
“By the way,” Yamamoto suddenly asked, “why did you leave Namimori so suddenly back then? There was no warning, and you didn’t say goodbye to anyone… everyone was worried about you.”
That question instantly pulled Molly back into her memories.
She remembered that stormy night—the thunder, the rain—and when she turned back, the shocked and disappointed expression on the brown-haired boy standing outside the classroom…
A sharp pain stabbed through her heart.
Clutching the fabric over her chest, Molly forced out a self-mocking smile.
“It wasn’t anything special. My father was transferred for work.”
If that were the only reason, she wouldn’t have been unable to even say goodbye.
But seeing how resistant she was, Yamamoto tactfully didn’t press further.
“We’re here.”
He pushed her to the end of the road and opened the garden gate.
Beyond the flower-covered wall, Butler William’s car was waiting.
“Miss Molly!”
Leaning against the car, Butler William hurried over, checking her over. Seeing she wasn’t seriously hurt, he sighed in relief, though his expression remained guilty.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
“It’s fine,” Molly shook her head.
What happened last night was her own fault—it had nothing to do with him. She didn’t want to bring it up again, so she looked at Yamamoto and said,
“Thank you, Yamamoto. This is far enough.”
“Alright.”
Yamamoto watched as she was helped into the back seat, then waved goodbye.
“Come visit the Vongola again sometime, Molly!”
“……”
She would never come back.
Not in this lifetime.
She would never step into this humiliating place again.
She nodded coldly, tucked her silver hair behind her ear, and closed the window.
Just before it fully shut, she noticed someone standing by the second-floor window of the villa, watching her intently.
Turning her head, her gaze met his—just for a fleeting moment, across the distance.
As if burned, she immediately looked away.
“Let’s go,” Molly urged.
“Yes, Miss Molly,” Butler William started the car smoothly.
As the vehicle slowly drove away from the Vongola estate, as if leaving all those unbearable memories behind, Molly closed her eyes in exhaustion.
Her fingers tightened around her arm, turning pale.
If possible… please don’t let her see him again.
…
The car drove off.
Tsunayoshi Sawada stood by the second-floor window, unmoving.
He had been watching her all along—her stubbornness, her grievance, her forced composure…
He had hoped she would notice his gaze and turn back to look at him—just like years ago, when no matter where he hid in the crowd, she would always find him at a glance.
And when she turned her head from the car, for that one moment, the girl from his youth overlapped with the woman she had become.
Those shimmering lake-green eyes reflected deeply in his vision.
That single glance soothed all the restlessness in his heart.
Yamamoto’s voice came through the earpiece.
“Tsuna, she’s gone,” Yamamoto waved up at him from below, teasing with a grin. “If you couldn’t bear to part with her, why didn’t you see her off yourself?”
He had even specially asked the tech department to prepare a fully functional wheelchair—and had Yamamoto escort her out.
“If I had gone, she wouldn’t have reacted like this.”
She was like a hedgehog covered in spikes, using them to keep him away. Only when she was asleep and completely relaxed could he touch that soft, vulnerable side.
Tsunayoshi lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable.
In his hand, he held the brown omamori she had abandoned.
Setting aside the note…
The gift he gave her had stayed with her for ten years.
Didn’t that mean she had never forgotten him either?
A low chuckle escaped him.
It didn’t matter if she avoided him. It didn’t matter if she refused to say goodbye.
Since she had come into Vongola territory…
They would meet again soon.
Tightening his grip on the charm, Tsunayoshi turned and walked away.
He was already looking forward to their next meeting.