Chapter 8: Truth

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.

Im sorry this happened so suddenly

His mother bowed her head and apologized.

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

Weve been talking about it for a few years now

Both of us, as husband and wife and as parents, cant continue as we are now

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

After a short silence

Im really sorry.

I decided to divorce without asking your feelings, Daiki

Father and mother didnt 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 couldnt 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

Thats 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 didnt 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 Daikis 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

Im 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

Im 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 couldnt forget his ex, either

We patched each others 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

Thats why I waited until you were in junior high school

Im 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!

Im relieved to know that you love me!

So dont apologize again!

Lets get on with our lives together from now on!

I wonder if Ill get to see my dad sometime?

Im 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.

Im sorry Daiki

Im sorry

His mothers voice echoed.

Daiki did not cry.

[If I dont hold back, Ill cause problem.]

Daiki suppressed his emotions and desperately held back his tears.

Seeing Daiki like that, his mother continued to cry.

It was not Daikis 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.