I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 62

“Alright, then… here we go.”

Hiyori stood at the door to the living room, her hand resting on the handle, waiting for the right moment.

“I’m ready.”

“Yes…”

Karin and Chiya both nodded solemnly.

Tension hung heavy in the air, too strong now to ignore or suppress. Even Hiyori, the calmest of them all, could feel her lips beginning to dry.

But the sisters had made up their minds.

—Click.

The door opened.

“Akari, I’m sorry for cutting our talk short earlier. I wanted to finish what I was saying, and… it seems Karin and Chiya have something they want to tell you, too…?”

Hiyori’s voice trailed off, ending not with certainty, but with a question.

Karin and Chiya, following close behind, saw her standing still—and immediately sensed something was wrong.

“Wait, what’s going on, Hiyori-nee…?”

Karin stepped past her, then froze.

“…Where did she go?”
Chiya asked quietly, scanning the room.

The living room, where Akari had just been, was now empty.

◇◇◇

In front of me, the river flowed gently, its soft babble the only sound.

The rippling surface shimmered with reflections of the orange dusk sky.

It was a peaceful, beautiful view—something you’d describe as soul-cleansing.

“…Hmph. So this is how it is. They really went ahead and left me out.”

I didn’t care how pretty the scenery was. My heart was sour and bitter.

Hiyori-san had said she’d tell me how she felt. But the second Karin-san showed up, she became the priority.

And once Chiya-san arrived, the three of them locked themselves away in some private room.

A “sisters’ meeting,” apparently. But I’m just the stepsister, so I guess I’m not allowed in.

“There’s really no place for me, is there?”

That crushing feeling of exclusion had sent me straight out of the house.

Wandering aimlessly with nowhere to go, I’d eventually found myself here, by the riverside.

It was a quiet spot. Not many people around. Perfect for being alone.

I sat down in the grass, curled into myself, and just stared out at the water.

“In the end… I’m always alone, no matter where I go.”

Even when I thought I was getting closer to people, I could never quite cross that invisible line.

They could call me their stepsister or say they liked me, but…

It’s always their actions that show the truth of the relationship.

And right now, everything told me the same thing—I was still an outsider.

“…But really, hasn’t it always been this way?”

Being on my own… that was nothing new. It had always been normal.

Sure, it was lonely. But the only reason it hurt was because other people looked at me with pity.

Me? I could handle it. I always had.

Or at least, that’s what I used to believe.

“Then why… why does it bother me so much now?”

My chest felt tight. My thoughts were a mess.

Frustration. Resentment. Sadness. Loneliness. Bitterness. Anger.

A swirl of negative emotions stirred in my heart, refusing to settle.

Had I ever felt this kind of emotional chaos before?

“Ughhh… they could’ve just let me be part of it too!”

The words slipped out of my mouth before I realized it.

Or maybe… maybe I just wanted someone to put me first. To be honest with me, to open up. Just once.

All I’d wanted—was to feel like I had a special place in their world.

That’s it. That tiny, simple thing… and yet here I was, feeling completely crushed.

But what frustrated me most of all—

“Is that I can’t believe I’m actually this affected by all of it!”

It’s ridiculous.

I’d always thought of the Tsukimori sisters as something to admire from afar. They were my idols. My “favorites.”

I’d never expected to be close to them. Never imagined demanding anything of them.

And yet now, here I was—upset because I wasn’t included? Disappointed in how they treated me?

When did I become such a selfish, greedy person?

Even I was stunned by how much I’d changed… and honestly, a little disgusted by it.

“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do anymore!”

Frustrated, I grabbed a stone from the grass beside me and stood up.

I’d seen people skip stones across the water before.

I’d never tried it myself, but maybe it’d help clear my head—just a little.

“Alright… here goes!”

I twisted my body, wound up with all the strength I had, and threw the stone with everything I could muster.

—Thud.

“…”

No satisfying splash. No elegant skip across the river.

Of course not.

Because the rock landed straight into the patch of grass just a few feet ahead of me.

“…I’ve got zero aim!!”

And just like that, I got even more annoyed.

Why did the stone land right in front of me when I threw it with all my strength?

It made no sense.

“…Fine. Then I’ll just get closer to the river.”

I moved forward until I was right at the water’s edge—close enough that if I stretched my legs, I’d probably splash in.

I’d never seen anyone throw a stone from this close before, but who cares?

All I wanted was a bit of emotional release. If I could get that, it was enough.

“Here we go!”

I twisted my body again and hurled the stone toward the water.

—SPLASH!

“Wah!”

It did hit the river this time… but the trajectory was all wrong.

There was no smooth skipping across the surface, no satisfying bounce.

Instead, the rock plunged into the water almost vertically, sending a splash straight at me.

Now the bottom of my skirt was soaked, and my shoes were damp too.

“…This is so annoying.”

Thinking back, I’d never been able to make a proper basketball pass either. I had zero athletic coordination.

So why did I ever think I could pull something like this off?

Instead of relieving stress, I was just piling on more frustration.

“Ugh… and now my shoulder hurts.”

Must’ve been from that full-force throw. I’d never used my muscles like that before.

Only two throws and I was already falling apart. How pathetic was that?

“Ugh, seriously!!”

I kicked the ground in frustration.

Dirt flew up, and my loafers got filthy.

“Gaaahhh!!”

When things go wrong, everything seems to go wrong.

Clutching my head, I let out a scream, completely overwhelmed by irritation.

“…What are you doing, seriously?”

A voice I knew well cut through the sound of the river.

I turned around—and saw Riko Saezuki standing there, watching me with a slightly pitying look in her eyes.

“Huh? Saezuki-san…? What are you doing here?”

“Pretty sure I’m the one who should be asking that.”

Well, fair enough. I guess either of us could be asking that question right now.

“I mean, you’re out here alone at dusk in a place like this… I thought maybe something was wrong.”

“Again—you’re the one wandering around, too. Though if I’m being honest, my behavior probably looks way weirder right now…”

Ugh. Of all people, why did it have to be her who saw me like this?

I was definitely going to be the laughingstock at school tomorrow.

Maybe I could redirect the conversation and shift the focus to her instead…

“Are you… on your way to a party or something?”

Some kind of night-out social queen activity?

“No, I’m not! What kind of image do you have of me?!”

Pretty much exactly what you look like… but I can’t say that out loud.

“I’m heading to work. Part-time job. This road’s on my usual route.”

“Ohhh… I see…”

So this was just part of her daily routine.

Figures. Still, it was a very social butterfly kind of routine, if you ask me.

“So… what about you? What were you doing out here?”

“Ah, well… I mean…”

I’d stormed out of the house in a bit of a mood.

But I couldn’t really explain all that to her, could I?

Better to just keep it light.

“I was just… playing around by myself. Lonely loser and all. You caught me in a pretty embarrassing moment, huh? Haha…”

Whatever. It’s not like it matters anymore.

She could take this sad little loner story and run with it. Make it tomorrow’s gossip highlight.

I could already picture her laughing about it with someone else later.

“…No, seriously. Why were you doing that kind of thing?”

“…Huh?”

She was pressing harder than I expected.

But more surprising than her persistence was her expression—it was unusually serious.

I hadn’t expected that from her at all.

“You’re clearly upset. Something happened, didn’t it?”

Her voice was calm, but not condescending.

“If you want to talk, I don’t mind listening.”

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