CH 8

He parted from Wakaba in front of his house and went inside.

His mother was waiting for him.

“Daiki…

I want to talk about this morning.

Will you listen to me…?”

She asked with a mysterious look on her face.

“I understand.

I want to hear everything.”

Daiki responded.

He went to the living room and sat down face to face with her.

“I’m sorry this happened so suddenly…”

His mother bowed her head and apologized.

She slowly looked up and began to talk about her past.

“We’ve been talking about it for a few years now

Both of us, as husband and wife and as parents, can’t continue as we are now…

…

We talked about it a lot and decided to get a divorce.”

After a short silence

“I’m really sorry.

I decided to divorce without asking your feelings, Daiki…”

“Father and mother didn’t really love each other…

…

Before Daiki was born, I was in love with someone else.

I wanted to marry him.

But my family was against it.

…

I was still young, and now I can understand why.

…

I couldn’t stand that at the time either…

I was seeing this person in secret, but even so, the chances of seeing him were getting fewer and fewer.

…

I decided to marry the man my parents had chosen for me…

…

There was nothing I could do for my mother at that time…

That’s when I met your father.

…

Your father was going through the same thing as I , and he was exhausted at that time.

…

We were both hurting, so I think it was a good match.

…

Then we started dating, and soon after we got married.

I was pregnant with Daiki.

…

Then you were born.

From then on, we were happy.

…

But as Daiki got older, I gradually realized that you didn’t look like your father…

…

I became anxious… because at that time, your father was always working as if he was obsessed with something…

…

Around the middle of Daiki’s elementary school years, I met someone I liked again by chance.

…

And I told him about Daiki…

…

I decided to do a DNA test…

…

Daiki was the child of someone I loved…

…”

“I’m so sorry…

…

…

…

But I was happy.

Having a child with the man I love.

…

I felt so guilty for your father and so sorry towards you, Daiki…

…

When I found out I was pregnant with Daiki, I really thought it was your father.

But I got pregnant right after we started dating…

…

There was also a lot of guessing about who I liked…

…

I’m so sorry.”

The next thing he knew, his mother was on her knees.

“I think your father was aware of it too…

We talked it over and decided to get a divorce.”

“It seems that your father couldn’t forget his ex, either…

We patched each other’s wounds and played the part of a fake couple…

…

But my love for Daiki is true.

Father and mother both care about Daiki and are irreplaceable family members.

…

Even your father was against telling you the truth until the very end…

That’s why I waited until you were in junior high school…

…

I’m sorry for being such selfish parents.”

She kept apologizing while rubbing her head against the floor.

Daiki did not know what to say.

He did not know what was right and what was wrong.

But if Daiki played the role of a normal person, he would not be broken any more.

That is what he thought.

That is why he continued to play the role of a normal person.

It was not about forgiveness.

He chose to play the role of a normal person, as usual, more cheerfully than usual.

“Thank you for talking to me!

I’m relieved to know that you love me!

So don’t apologize again!

Let’s get on with our lives together from now on!

I wonder if I’ll get to see my dad sometime?

I’m looking forward to it!

…

…

…

…”

To avoid worrying, he talked a lot more than usual.

He kept talking a lot without really knowing what he was talking about.

His mother stood up and hugged him, hugging him tightly.

“I’m sorry Daiki…

I’m sorry…”

His mother’s voice echoed.

Daiki did not cry.

[“If I don’t hold back, I’ll cause problem.”]

Daiki suppressed his emotions and desperately held back his tears.

Seeing Daiki like that, his mother continued to cry.

It was not Daiki’s fault.

But Daiki felt responsible for his own actions.

From that day on, Daiki stopped crying, and in order not to worry his mother, he became brighter and more cheerful than usual, and became obsessed with normality so as not to destroy it any further.