The Miserable Fate of a Cheating Wife and the Smooth Sailing of a Second Life
—α Timeline (Miyabi’s Perspective)—
I lost everything. Thanks to his power and wealth, we barely managed to stop the news of the arrest from being reported. But as the son of a prominent corporate family and the current president of one of their affiliate companies, if such a scandal were exposed, he’d become prime fodder for the media.
We were constantly haunted by that fear. If Michitaka hadn’t died, wouldn’t we have been happier? Why do we have to suffer so much?
Airi’s custody was taken from me. I heard that Misato-san took her in. I want to see her. I want to see my daughter. The only time I ever laid a hand on her was that day. I was only trying to stop him. So why did it have to come to this?
Even if I reflected on my actions and begged for custody to be returned, Misato-san and Airi had already filed a criminal complaint against me. I was still in the middle of a trial. There’s no way I could win. Even if time passed and I tried to go to court for custody, Misato-san would never forgive me. If the audio evidence and the truth about our secret relationship came out in court, it would be over.
They might even upload the audio recordings somewhere as a precaution. If that happens, it’s truly the end for me.
Staying cooped up in the house only made me feel worse. All I could think about were negative things.
The doorbell rang. I hated that sound. It reminded me of the day the police came. Since my arrest, I hadn’t been able to see my daughter even once.
“I’m home.”
He came home. Due to considerable mental strain, his body, which was supposed to be muscular, had become quite thin, and his alcohol consumption had increased. It was to the point where even I was starting to worry. It seemed he had gone to great lengths to cover up this incident, and he was anxious about falling out of the race to be the successor.
“Welcome back.”
Compared to when we lived in a different house, we barely spoke to each other now.
Our relationship had grown cold. This was all because of that incident. Why? We were supposed to finally be happy.
“Hey, about Michitaka’s company—I think I’ll be able to acquire it soon. With that, I might get back into the lead as the successor.”
“Really? That’s great.”
The part about being back in the lead as the successor was probably a lie. He was practically a broken man now. If it were true, he’d be much happier. This was just wishful thinking. His plan to take over that company was to use the client list I had taken, applying pressure to suffocate them until they gave in. It seems Katsuya-san finally gave up. Not that it matters to me anymore.
“If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have ended up like this. That’s why I’ll take everything from him—his company, everything.”
The more he obsessed over Michitaka, the more he lost. And I was sinking with him.
How far will we fall together? Even when I asked the abyss, there was no answer.
Outside the window, I could see a white sasanqua swaying in the breeze.
The white sasanqua’s flower language is “revenge.” It felt as though this beautiful flower was glaring at me, full of hatred.
—β Timeline—
School ended without any issues. Rika and I met up afterward. Whether we’d end up competing or cooperating, we decided to check out the computer club first. We went to the clubroom, but no one was there. Was it a holiday today? With nothing else to do, we decided to head home together.
Before that, we stopped by the staff room to ask who the advisor of the computer club was.
My homeroom teacher, Ishihara Kaori-sensei, was there, so I asked her. “Oh, that’s me. I love computers.” she told us. Ishihara-sensei was a young teacher in her third year, teaching Japanese. She had a bright personality and was popular among both boys and girls.
Still, it was surprising for a Japanese teacher to be knowledgeable about computers.
“Yaguchi-kun, are you interested in computers?”
“Yes, that’s why I wanted to know more about the computer club.”
“I see. New members are more than welcome. Right now, there’s only the club president, so the club is on the verge of shutting down. She knows a lot about computers but struggles with communication, so she hasn’t been able to recruit anyone. She’s out sick today, but you should stop by again tomorrow.”
I see, so the computer club’s interests align with ours. That makes things easier. I also managed to lay some groundwork with Ishihara-sensei, so today turned out to be quite productive. Building a good relationship with key figures in an organization is an essential technique for making progress.
I introduced myself properly to Ishihara-sensei, and if things go well, she might even help connect me with the club president. Plus, if the president is as skilled with computers as Ishihara-sensei says, I might be able to learn a lot from her. It’s reassuring to have such a capable president.
On the way home, we decided to stop by the supermarket. Rika came along too.
“Are you cooking dinner today, Senpai?”
She seemed surprised, as if she couldn’t picture me cooking.
“Yeah, but it’s just curry.”
There were plenty of root vegetables at home, so I only needed to buy the roux and some meat.
Chicken or pork? For a high schooler on a tight allowance, beef was out of the question. Shopping with Rika like this made me think we looked a bit like a newlywed couple.
Ahead of us, I saw a little girl asking her father for some sweets. It made me think of Airi, and my eyes began to water. But Airi is a smart girl. She’ll find happiness, I’m sure of it. In my heart, I apologized to her again and again for causing her pain.
“Senpai, are you okay?”
Rika, noticing I had gone quiet, looked at me with concern.
We sat on a bench in the park to rest for a bit.
“This morning, I had a bad dream. It came back to me just now.”
“A dream?”
“Yeah. It was about the future. Everyone I cared about was gone. I did my best to keep going, but in the end, I was betrayed by the person I trusted the most, and I died.”
At the very least, I wished I had been able to properly say goodbye to Airi and Misato.
“You did your best, Senpai. It’s amazing that you kept moving forward, even after experiencing something so scary.”
“Hey, it was just a dream.”
“Oh, right. It felt so vivid, I almost believed it.”
She laughed, but her smile seemed tinged with sadness.
“Did I look that pained?”
“Yes. But, Senpai, I believe in you. I’m sure you’ll find happiness in the end.”
Her expression was full of warmth as she smiled at me.
“You’re right. For now, I’ll live in the present with all my might. Do you want to stay for curry?”
“I wouldn’t want to intrude on your family dinner. But send me a picture later, okay?”
She had returned to her casual way of speaking, just like in the old days.