[TaroTre] My Blind Date is My Childhood Friend - Chapter 3

As madness defines how fiercely one can love, cruelty defines how coldly one can stop.

The breakdown of his marriage was not enough to leave Taro overwhelmed; after all, whatever deep affection had existed on their wedding day had long been eroded by endless overtime and the silence of a dwindling connection.

However, his wife’s behavior after their falling out became a source of immense distress. Recently, the hottest gossip in the Land of Light revolved around the scandalous affairs of the Chief Instructor of the Intergalactic Defense Force and his spouse.

Reports flew everywhere: Taro’s wife was laying siege to the Defense Force headquarters, demanding a division of assets; Taro’s wife was intentionally bringing her lover along to pick up Taiga; Taro’s wife was threatening his parents, claiming that if she wasn’t given enough money, neither Taro nor his son would ever know a day of peace.

Taro didn’t care about his own reputation being dragged through the mud, but he could not tolerate his wife using Taiga as a pawn.

He issued a series of strict orders: the Defense Force was to bar her from entering, the school was forbidden from letting her take Taiga, and the security at his parents’ residential complex was instructed to block her access. Then, he refused to see her entirely, leaving his lawyer to deliver a single message: if she wanted a meeting, she had to agree to the divorce.

Naturally, she refused his terms. Realizing she could no longer reach Taro or gain access to Taiga, she didn’t admit defeat. If Taro wanted a divorce so badly, then she simply wouldn’t grant it.

There are always those in the world who receive information far too late. Using Taro’s name, his wife managed to embezzle a massive sum of money. By the time Taro found out, she and her lover had already fled the Land of Light for another planet.

“Chief Instructor, should we send a team to bring them back?” a squad member asked.

“No,” Taro replied. “Our missions are already stacking up and we’re short-staffed. Focus on work first.” Instead of sending pursuers, Taro used his own savings to pay back the stolen funds and continued his duties.

Although Taro had no intention of making his private life a public spectacle, human nature craves a show. Within days, almost everyone knew that the wife of the Chief Instructor had run off with her lover after stealing a fortune.

Taro remained indifferent to the curious and judgmental glances directed at him, but he could not protect Taiga from them.

One day, the school called. Taiga had been in a fight.

When Taro arrived to investigate, he discovered that a classmate had told Taiga his mother had run away with someone because she didn’t want him anymore. Taiga had responded with his fists.

After the apologies were exchanged, Taro took a leave of absence for his son and led him home. For the time being, school was no longer a suitable place for Taiga.

Taro wanted to talk to him, but seeing Taiga with his head bowed and his eyes rimmed with red, he simply sighed. He said nothing and placed a comforting hand on the boy’s head.

Choking back his tears, Taiga clung to his father’s leg. Though young, he understood what it meant for his mother to “run away.” He also knew she had tricked people out of a lot of money—that she was a liar.

“Taiga, would you like to go live with Grandma and Grandpa for a while?” Taro crouched down to ask.

Taiga shook his head, holding onto Taro tightly, refusing to let go.

“Then… do you want to come to work with me starting tomorrow?” Taro asked again.

“Okay,” Taiga murmured.

Even though Taiga was a well-behaved child, Taro’s job was demanding and required frequent travel. This lifestyle wasn’t sustainable for a growing boy.

Just as Taro was considering whether to transfer Taiga to a different school, news arrived.

His wife was dead.

The planet she and her lover had escaped to had faced sudden destruction. They hadn’t managed to flee in time and had been reduced to cosmic dust along with the rest of that world.

For a moment, Taro didn’t know what to feel. He looked down at Taiga, but the boy acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing, continuing to assemble the Lego set in his hands.