I Was Abandoned by My Fiancé and Betrayed by My Best Friend—A Story from Rock Bottom - Chapter 21

I, Hiroyasu Sanekoji, after much hardship, finally managed to beg Rindo Kaya for forgiveness and restore our relationship.

I—no, we—will start over from here.

And we’ll escape this dark tunnel as soon as possible.

Now that I know how strong Kaya is, we should be able to manage somehow.

I invited Kaya to a first-class high-end restaurant to discuss our future plans.

“So, what’s next? Do you have some kind of plan?”

“No, that’s what I wanted to discuss with you by inviting you here.”

“Hmph, you’re such a naive boy…”

“Na-naive boy…”

Kaya grinned slyly.

But I couldn’t find any words to retort.

“Since you went as far as to get me released, I thought you must have some kind of plan. But looking at your face, you really don’t seem to have any leeway, do you…”

I took out a cigarette, put it in my mouth, and lit it.

After taking a puff, I answered.

“Yeah, that’s right. I have no leeway at all. I haven’t even decided what to do yet.”

Kaya spoke while staring into my eyes.

“Hmmm. You’re quite something… Are you going to rebuild, climb back up, or run away?”

“……”

“Hehe. That’s just like you. But that’s not it, is it?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“—About Miharu.”

“!… Why are you bringing that up?”

“Hit a nerve, didn’t I? But you should stop.”

“…Why can you say that?”

Kaya let out a small sigh and answered while looking me in the eye.

“—Because I know that child better than her own parents.”

Kaya glanced sideways as she picked up the teacup by its handle and took a sip of tea.

No way…

But her composure told me it was true.

—This is one woman I must not make an enemy of.

“Th-that’s amazing. So, what should I do?”

Kaya put down the teacup and traced its rim with her finger.

“Haven’t you already found the answer? You just need to rebuild from what you can do.”

“……”

“…More than that, first calm down. You look pathetic. Everything comes after that.”

“…Y-yeah. You’re right.”

I took another puff of my cigarette and began thinking about how to deeply restore my relationship with Kaya.

Just then, my smartphone rang.

The caller’s name appeared on the screen.

—From my father?

I answered the phone and listened to what my father had to say.

“Wh-what did you say?!”

He came out with something unbelievable.

The conversation continued for a few more minutes before I hung up.

“What’s wrong, Hiroyasu? You don’t look so good.”

Kaya said, observing my condition.

“Y-yeah. Actually…”

I began to explain.

“To get straight to the point, my father told me to enter into an arranged marriage. And immediately at that…”

“…! What does that mean?”

“My father’s decisions are absolute. It means I have no right to refuse…”

“So, who is the marriage with?”

Answering Kaya’s natural question while suppressing my trembling hand.

“…The eldest daughter of the Kujo family—Sachiyo.”

“Ah, that young lady…”

Kaya’s expression tightened.

So, she did know about her.

“I’m sorry, Kaya. I really intended to marry you eventually… But things have turned out like this.”

“Hah… It’s fine. Besides, I owe you for getting me released, so I’ll stick around a bit longer… More importantly, are you okay?”

Kaya asked me as if pushing me away.

I shook my head.

“No—probably, it’s checkmate.”

—Why does so much misfortune cling to me?

What in the world did I do?!