Chapter 6: Father Dearest
(Told from Kaoru's Point of View)

Daddy? Was that the word I heard Grace say? How in the world was sweet little Grace related to such a gorilla-like man? He was huge. He looked like he was in a motorcycle gang with his shaved head and tattoos all over his arms. This guy was seriously muscular and he just caught me kissing his daughter. I knew I was dead, it was all a matter of when he was going to snap.

I saw his face turn red from frustration, but as he opened his mouth to start shouting, Grace caught him.

"Daddy? Why don't we go inside and talk? I don't want to make a scene." She said as she gripped one of her father's gorilla arms and lead him in.

I followed, reluctantly, into their house. Grace had me sit down in the living room while she led her father into the kitchen. I heard yelling. It was in English, so I didn't understand a lot of it. I heard something along the lines of "Stupid boy" and "dead" which didn't exactly make me feel comfortable.

I took off my coat and laid it next to me as I saw them walk back into the room. When I saw Grace, my lips immediately started tingling. She looked so sad, almost like she was about to cry. The only thing I wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and tell her it was going to be okay, but the look on her father's face kept me seated.

"Go to your room Grace." he muttered.

"Bu-" Grace started.

"GO!" He shouted. It made both of us jump. Without hesitation, Grace left.

Mr. Anderson took a seat across the room from me. He had a drink in his hand, some sort of alcohol, I thought. He took a sip right before he started talking. "What makes you think you have permission to date my daughter?"

I was caught a little off guard. I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came
out. I swallowed, took a breath and prepared myself. "Originally, it wasn't going to be a date. We were going to go out with my brother and one of our friends. But they couldn't come, so we went out by ourselves."

"And she is still a virgin, correct? You two haven't done anything in my absence"

"No, Sir!" I responded quickly and without hesitation. "I wouldn't do anything like that until we were properly married."

He took another sip of his drink. "Is that what your plans where? You have made plans to get married, without my permission?"

"No, I was just saying that-"

"Then what are your intentions with my daughter?"

I sat up. "Sir, I really like Grace. She-"

He slammed his cup down on the coffee table that was separating us. "'Like' isn't good enough. If you really want to be with my daughter," he got quieter. "You have to love her."

I didn't say anything, we were looking each other in the eye. My heart was in my throat and beating hard. "That's how I lost her mother. She said I didn't love her enough, and left me. She always looked so sad. I won't let my Grace go through that with a stupid boy like you."

I was quiet for a little while. "Sir, I do have strong feelings for Grace. I'm hoping that someday, maybe we could say that we love one another, but for now." I paused. "I just don't know."

He sat back down in his chair and nodded. Then, quite suddenly he said. "I'm taking Grace back to America, with me."

I felt my heart drop. "No!" I stood. "You can't take her from-" I caught myself before I said "me." "-her friends."

"How dare you talk to me that way!" Grace's father yelled back. "I am her father, I have the right to take her back to our country. You can't do anything about it."

I got quiet. My eyes narrowed. "Are you even going to talk to her about this? I think it should be her decision."

"No. She probably thinks she's in love with you. Grace wouldn't want to leave. If I gave her an option," he paused. "I would never get to see her again."

I picked up my coat. "Am I allowed to see her before I leave?" I asked, trying not to show how much I really wanted to.

"No."

I nodded before heading toward the door. I didn't mean to, but I accidentally slammed it. Without saying a word, I went out to my limo, and sat with my head in my hands. My phone started ringing. I checked caller ID and saw that it was Grace.

I quickly answered it. "Hello?" I asked eagerly.

"Kaoru?" Her voice was quiet, like she had been crying.

"Grace? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I heard your conversation with my dad." She sniffed a little bit.

I paused. "I'm so sorry Grace. I just-" I couldn't explain myself. She had just heard me tell her dad that I didn't love her. It was strange. I felt like I wanted to be with her, all the time, but I still didn't feel like I could call it love yet.

"I understand Kaoru." she mumbled.

"No! Grace, I really like you, I'm just confused right now." My voice got quiet. "Please, don't leave."

Grace didn't say anything. I knew I had upset her, and I don't blame her for being angry. I had acted like an idiot. "Goodnight." Grace mumbled. I heard a quiet click and I knew she hung up on me.

I sat in the back seat of the limo for a really long time after that, even after we had arrived at the house. I let her get away. She was going to leave for America, and I couldn't stop her.
_

Sunday passed in the blink of an eye and when I woke up, it was Monday. I ended up dragging myself out of bed and all the way to school. It was hard to pay attention to my lessons and people kept asking me if I was feeling sick. Someone actually offered to take me to the nurse, but I declined.

We had club time after school, so I headed to the abandoned music room when the final bell rang. Everyone was waiting for me when I walked into the room. Word had spread about Grace leaving and decided to leave me alone because of it. I really didn't mind, but it would have been nice to talk to at least one person.

Kyouya opened the doors to the club room and the girls came flooding in. I sat at a table with my brother with several of our customers surrounding us. I scanned the room, but didn't see Grace anywhere. She had been avoiding me all day long. Grace had sat at a completely different table at lunch and when I saw her in the halls, she acted like I wasn't there.

It was really starting to hurt.

My heart was heavy. I didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Kaoru? What's wrong?" One of the girls asked me, making me snap out of my little pity party.

"Oh n-nothing. I'm just not feeling good. That's all." I responded, trying to give her a reassuring smile.

"You should go home," I turned to see who it was. Kyouya stood behind me, holding his little black notebook. "We wouldn't want these lovely ladies catching whatever is ailing you."

I smiled a little bit before standing and walking out of the host club. I stood there for a couple of minutes before making my way down the hallway and toward the doors of the south wing with my hands in my pockets. I heard a pair of shoes making their way towards me.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

I looked up and my heart sank. Grace stopped when she saw me. Her face was just starting to get red when she looked down and continued walking. I watched as she walked passed me, but right as she was about to get away, my hand reached out involuntarily. Grace didn't look up.

"Let go of me." She whispered.

"Could we please talk?" I responded as I released my grip on her arm.

She turned to me, looking as if she where about to cry again and said "There's nothing to talk about. I get it. You don't have the same feelings I have for you. Could we just drop it?" Tears started rolling down her face.

"I don't want to. I can't just let you go like this." I kept my voice down, so not to upset her
even more.

"Too bad." She snapped. "We have already made the plans to leave by the end of the week." Grace lifted her arm and wiped the tears from her eyes. There was a hard lump in the throat that I wasn't able to swallow.

She looked at me with her big green eyes as if she expected me to say something, but I couldn't make the words come out. I looked away, feeling more than guilty for what I had done. I was the one drawing her away. I was the one making her leave. I was the one making her cry.

"I'm sorry." I muttered.

Grace sighed. Then walked past me, not looking back.

Author's Note:

Thanks to Roses-are-in-Bloom Who wrote: "Only two chapters left? :( cant wait for an update! "

I know, it's sad, but I love the ending! Thanks for the review!

Thanks to CrimsonMutilation who wrote: "Haha I love it! You capture the characters beautifully and I'd recommend you to anyone , the romance is just captivating. :D Write more :D "

Oh my goodness! Thank you so much! I try hard to capture all the character's personalities. I honestly do hours of research on my fanfiction before I even start writing. This story is almost done, but I am currently writing a Hunger Games fanfiction if you are interested in that!

Thanks for all the love guys! Keep the reviews coming! Only one more chapter!