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11.52% Her Wicked CEO: How To Seduce A Hikikomori Wife? / Chapter 36: It's time to let go

Chương 36: It's time to let go

"Say it."

Standing under the clear sky, I cross my arms and brace myself. I don't want to care. Absolutely not. I am not in love with Ren, but he has been there for me. He is the part of my life that I can't turn away from. I want to face him and myself.

He takes a deep breath. Ren has changed over the years. I see his eyes filled with guilt, but he doesn't look down. I realize that Ren also wants to face me. Did the fact that I have been sleeping with Kamiyama provoke him to become brave? I don't care about that. At this moment, he is there. I am also here. I will give him this chance to speak it. Only once for the sake of our friendship.

"You will hate me after this." He gives me a small smile. "But, you will hate me more if I don't tell you, right?"

I give him a nod.

"I did manipulate you to win the game that year. I needed money for my brother's surgery," He tells me quietly. "My younger brother had cancer. He had gone through multiple surgeries. We didn't have more money to give him another surgery. He had been fighting for so long. Along with him, we were also fighting with him. For him. We didn't notice when he became tired of living."

He shakes his head. "I noticed. I knew what he wanted. He had told me. He didn't like pain. Living was hard for him. His cancer was progressing fast. He needed the surgery that year. I told him that I would get the prize and extend his life. But, he didn't want to get another surgery. He begged me that he wanted me to use the prize for myself. He knew that I wanted to study abroad. I wanted to experience life."

I curl my fingers. I don't like where the story is going. A bad feeling clips my heart. Still, I steel myself to hear more.

"That day, I called my brother after the game. I told him that I got the prize. He could get another surgery. At that time, he told me that he didn't want surgery. He was tired of everyone. He just wanted to disappear into the wind." His face contorts like he is in physical pain. He punches his heart. "He was tired of everyone. He just wanted to disappear into the wind. Those were his last words before he jumped off from the roof of the hospital."

I purse my lips. So, he didn't lie. Why didn't he come to me? If he had told me once, I would have held him tightly.

"Rie Chan, I should have come to you after I read your letter." A tear falls from his right eye. "I was happy after reading your letter. I was afraid too. I failed my brother. I was afraid that I would fail you too. I remembered how you also fought with your pain every day. I have watched you suffer in silence. Though you laughed and played together with me, you were still suffering. You shut yourself from everyone but me. I thought that I couldn't be the man who could make you happy. I was afraid that you would disappear like my brother. I didn't know what to do. I was a coward back then. I ran away because I was afraid of being your support. I was afraid that I would fail to save you. I ran away from everyone."

"I have been a burden to you," I say to him in a low voice. "I cannot eat in front of other people. I am someone who doesn't even want to leave the house to see people. I have been sad and depressed most of my life. I complained a lot to you about the world."

But, I was happy when I was with you back then.

"Rie Chan, I know people who can help you overcome this." Ren comes closer to me. "Leave this place with me. We don't have to look back here again. The people who have hurt you. Leave them all. Be with me. I will be with you from now on. I will never leave you again."

You shouldn't have left me back then. You should have come back sooner.

I step away from him. "Why did you change your mind now?"

"I thought that you would never see me again." He cups my face. "Rie Chan, please forgive me. Please. I never stopped thinking about you. I love you a lot. I can't let you go."

I don't know whether it is him or I who should be blamed for this. I didn't want to lose him, but he was just a boy. I should have kept it all within my heart. My pain should have only belonged to me.

I push him away. "Ren, I understand what you have been through because of me. It is not easy being with a person like me. I understand why you were afraid."

"Rie Chan." He looks at me nervously.

"I owe you a lot. It should me who should apologize." I stare at him. "But, I don't love you anymore. I have moved on. Ren, you don't love me either. You just feel guilty for things that were out of your control. You were just a kid. I burdened you with a lot more than you could handle."

"No." He stares back at me. "Don't say things like that. I love you. I know that I love you."

"Its Pity." I smile at him. "You also feel guilty because you are a good person. If you had loved me, you would have come back sooner. Even if it meant climbing through the window, you would have come to see me. It's okay to run away, but you didn't come back. If you had loved me the way I had loved you, you would not have left me like that."

This is the end that was long due. I owe him a lot. I can't hate him even if he kills me, but I can't love him the same way either. Holding on to this friendship will hurt me. It will also hurt him.

"It's time to let go." I give him a final hug. "Go back. Don't think about me. I will be fine.

***

Kiyohira watches them from afar. He can't hear what they have been talking about. When Rie hugs him, he resists the urge to go there and separate the old lovers. They must be uniting now, but she isn't allowed to be in a relationship with someone else yet.

This woman. She has been kissing him earlier. Now, she easily hugs other men. She is such a...

He curses Ren in his mind. It is that guy's fault.

His phone rings at the same time. He picks it up. "Speak."

"Brother, where are you and sister?"

"Go back on your own. Take the bus or train."

"Darn, Brother! Did you fight with her again? You are bad with women."

"Hey, you!"

The call has ended.

Now, he is scolded by his younger brother too. This is happening because of her.

Rie has already disappeared. Ren is sitting on the sidewalk, looking lost. He looks around, but he can't see a shadow of her. Where did she run off to? He takes a glance at Ren. The talk didn't go well. Does it mean that they are not in a relationship?

He is pleased. The woman is not an idiot after all.


SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
Norah_Koch Norah_Koch

One person's misfortune is someone else's fortune.

Chương 37: Jumping was the fastest way to reach you

I look down at the turbulent water and take a deep breath. Ren should have followed me. He should have told me that it wasn't such a case. But, he and I know that I am right. Perhaps, he is fond of me. He isn't in love with me.

You can move mountains for the people you love. I would do it. I would have given up anything for him. I understand that he has been hurt and scared because of his brother's death. But, running away has never been the answer.

I can't help but feel that I have been a burden on the people around me. My grandparents. My parents. Even Ren. Nothing has changed. I am still a burden. I don't have a shelter to hide either. I want to hide right now. Desperately. I don't want anyone to see me like this. If my house still existed, I could hide there. I wouldn't have come out in the first place. I wouldn't have seen Ren again. I wouldn't have found out the reason why he left. Is there only pain left in my life? Will things ever change?

My phone starts ringing. I feel disappointed when I see the name. Of all the people, it's Kamiyama. I let go of the phone. It falls in the river. I don't want to talk to him.

"Hey! Hey!" Someone is yelling. From under the bridge, a homeless man wearing a hat comes out running. He points at me. "Littering the river is a punishable act."

"Shut up." I stare at the homeless man. "Just report the crime if you are that bothered."

"Come down and take your phone out of the river." The old man is really stubborn. "You don't even think about the fishes."

Seriously. I take a deep breath and tell him, "I can't swim."

"Then, why are you standing there and looking like you want to go skinny dipping?" The old man asks with an irritated voice. "Come down now."

"..." I walk around and go below the bridge. There is a small tent below the bridge. A fishing rod in front of the tent. "Old man, I don't think that our country laws allow us to live below the bridges like this."

"Don't be cranky. I am only here for the vacation." He picks up a can and throws in my direction. I barely manage to catch it. "Drink that. It will lift up your mood."

It's a can of beer. It's also expired. Fair enough. He resumes fishing. I wonder if there is any fish in the river. I start drinking beer. The taste is funny. In the next moment, I throw up.

"What's wrong with you?" The old man becomes mad at me. "I found that beer lying here. Didn't you see the expiry date? Why did you drink it?"

"Why did you give it to me?" I throw away the beer can and clean myself with the river water.

"Here, take this." He gives me the water bottle. "It's clean. Drink it."

I take a sip and feel like my throat is choking. I spit out the water before I have the reflex. I thought that I was improving, but I am back to point zero.

"That looks painful." He sits beside me. "You have some bad issues. Were you bullied when you were young? Perhaps, it was related to food and drinks?"

I narrow my eyes on him. "What are you?"

"I am a fisher on holidays." He looks up at the sky. His almond eyes are twinkling. "On other days, I fix people."

"Tch!" My luck is really bad today. I end up meeting someone who deals with minds.

"Here." He puts his business card on my hands. "If it becomes unbearable, you should find me."

"I won't find you."

"There will come a time when you want to be better for yourself or your loved ones." He smiles at me. Kindly. "I will be waiting for you."

"I don't have anyone." I point at the bridge. "Old man, do you come here to give your business card to people who try to jump from there?"

"There is nothing wrong to promote my business." The old man looks offended. "Do you know how many lives that I have saved? That place is a favourite place for suicide."

I look at the business card. "You are not from this city."

"I told you that I am on vacation." He looks at me thoughtfully. "When I saw you for the first time, I thought that I was looking at a ghost. You look a lot like someone I know."

"Are you hitting on me, old man?" I scrunch my nose. "You are not my type."

He laughs loudly. "No, you are my daughter's age. You even look like her. Don't doubt my pure intentions."

"Okay." I decide to believe him. "What does your daughter do?"

"She..."

"Takeuchi!"

I find Kamiyama standing at the bridge. How does he manage to find me always? I want to know why he is always there. But, that's not the strange part. He suddenly jumps off the bridge. I let out a scream. I don't know how to swim. I look at the old man who is unperturbed by the event.

"Can you save him?"

"Does he need saving?"

In the next instant, I watch Kamiyama resurface and swim his way toward the riverside. I open my mouth widely, but no words come out. Why would he jump? Was he hot? Did he want to try swimming in the dirty river water? It is fucking ridiculous.

He is gasping for breath when he reaches me. He puts his hands on my shoulders and asks, "I was looking for you everywhere. Why did you come here? This is not a safe place for a woman. Can't you think for once? You are a woman. What if you got hurt? The media would have another reason to harm my family."

"Kamiyama, you could have come from there." I point at the stairs from the side of the bridge. "Why did you jump?"

He looks at the stairs like he has seen them for the first time. "Jumping was the fastest way to reach you."

The old man chuckles. "You also need help, young man."

"Who are you?" Kamiyama glares at him.

"I am nobody." The old man stands up. He pats off the dust from his pants. "Just a happy old man living under the bridge."

He waves his hand and goes back to his tent.

"Today is strange," I murmur to myself.

"Why did you come here?" He starts dragging me along me. We are taking the stairs. I am glad that he didn't decide to swim through the river.

"How did you find me?"

"Don't answer a question with a question."

"Use common sense frequently."

"Takeuchi." He turns around and scowls at me. "Don't try to run away before everything is resolved."

"I wouldn't dare to." Else, you would be looking for me everywhere like this. I am sure that you will also pursue me to hell for payback.

"Good girl." He suddenly pats my head, looking satisfied. "I have sent Takeshi and others back. We have to take a train. Let's hurry. There is a situation at home."

"What happened?" I follow him. "Earlier, you wanted to talk about something."

"The pictures from the hotel is on the media. Someone has recorded us when you fell sick at the restaurant," He tells me nonchalantly. "There is another news report that appeared a while ago. Your name is everywhere. Your gamer identity and your link with the Kamiyama family is leaked. Kamiyama family's scandal is also the top news again."

"Today is really a crappy day."

"Don't worry about this. I have already thought of something."


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