Chapter 16: Recognition of Love

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Translator: Soafp

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By my onslaught, Maya’s expression freezes completely.

It’s strange. When I was raging in anger, I didn’t notice it, but now it seems like there’s no way for Maya to hide anything.

“That… that’s not… true… You’re the… the most important…”

Oops, this time I won’t let you finish, you idiot.

I’ll hit back.

“You can say anything with your mouth, can’t you? Since we got married, you’ve been so infatuated with Naoki that you’ve completely ignored me, and now you have the audacity to make up such excuses. You even sent a message to Naoki saying, ‘You’re the man I love the most,’ didn’t you?”

“T-that was… at that time, I… I had no choice…but it wasn’t my true feelings…”

“Hmm, even that was a lie? Maya, just how many lies are you hiding?”

This is what it means to not be believed.

If you’re not believed, and then you make excuses, it only increases the distrust.

“Let me tell you honestly what I understand. The man you loved the most was Naoki. But Naoki cheated on you, leaving you heartbroken when you reluctantly broke up with him. Even then, you couldn’t forget him and remained wounded.”

“…”

“I appeared then, a foolish me from back then. You couldn’t forget about Naoki, but you thought that if a man like me poured so much love into you, he surely wouldn’t cheat like Naoki. So, you could entrust your life to me with peace of mind.”

“…”

“After gaining stability in life, Naoki, who regretted breaking up with you, approached you again, and you wanted the affection of the man you loved the most back in your hands. In other words, your life depended on me, but your affection depended on Naoki, right?”

“That’s not… true! I… I think… I think of Kazunari as the most important person in the world…”

“It’s amazing how the most important person in the world and the person you love the most in the world are different, isn’t it? In Maya’s world.”

“…. That’s.”

“I see, I understand now. The person you love the most in the world is the one who is important to you for ensuring your comfortable life. In other words, they’re like an ATM. And the person you love the most in the world is the one you want to have children with.”

“…”

“So, you got pregnant with Naoki’s child, right?”

Maya bites her lip hard. It must be so frustrating for her, unable to argue back.

“Do you remember what you said at the wedding? ‘From now on, I’ll only love you.’ You know, that always bothered me. Saying ‘I only love you,’ but not really meaning it.”

“…”

“Being honest at a strange time, huh? Well, now that I think about it, saying ‘I only love you’ was also a lie. But I want to know how I can believe in you again in this situation.”

It’s a strange phenomenon when anger breaks through to calmness. Maybe this is also a form of withdrawal.

I think my gaze right now is filled with the most contempt I’ve ever felt in my life.

“…I’m stupid. I’m really stupid. I can’t express it well, but my feelings for Kazunari are real. They’re really real.”

“No, they’re not.”

“They are! They’re not lies! But I misunderstood that getting married meant I would receive your love forever. I was careless.”

“…”

“No matter what I did, Kazunari would forgive me. You would love me. That’s what I misunderstood. So, when Naoki didn’t give me love back when we were dating, I became stubborn and wanted him to return the love I gave him in the past.”

“…”

“So, when I got love back from Kazunari and felt relieved, I wanted to give you the love I received from you.”

I couldn’t even say anything out of exasperation.

Hearing such incomprehensible excuses, I understand Maya’s stupidity once again. Should I refute her?

“…Just listen quietly. What’s with that incoherent excuse? Does love in Maya’s world have a fixed amount? Doesn’t love increase over time?”

“…”

“Normally, I give love to Maya, and even if we have children, I can still give love to both Maya and the children equally. I don’t divide a hundred things and give them away; I give a hundred to Maya and a hundred to the children.”

“…”

“From Maya’s perspective, it sounds like you only gave about ninety love to Naoki but couldn’t get it back, so you could only give ten love to me. That’s how it sounds. Well, no wonder you got cheated on.”

If you have a counterargument, let’s hear it. It’s a good opportunity; I’ll listen.