Chapter 76: Miserable Woman

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Translator: Soafp

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Lying in the hospital room, Maya was a completely different person from the Maya I knew.

Her hair had fallen out due to radiation therapy.

Her complexion was pale, and her expression lacked vitality.

Even the urge to hit her had disappeared.

“…A-ah, w-why are you here…?”

Maya stuttered in surprise upon recognizing that it was me entering the room, hurriedly covering her face with both hands as if to say not to look.

It was unbearable.

Seeing Maya, who seemed like her life was about to fade away, I lost even the strength to curse.

“…How are you feeling?”

I asked, standing a bit away from Maya, knowing how harsh my words were but unable to figure out what else to say to her.

Naturally, there was no response.

Perhaps being considerate, my former father-in-law didn’t enter the hospital room.

………

The silence was too awkward.

I thought I should say something—anything—and then it hit me.

Why should I care about Maya’s condition just because she’s sick?

After all, legally speaking, she’s just my ex-wife now, practically a stranger.

Even so…

“You look terrible. If you have time to lie around like this, you should hurry up and get better so you can pay me full alimony.”

Somehow, a tsundere-like remark slipped out of my mouth.

In response, Maya weakly managed a smile, but no words came out.

That irritated me.

“What’s so funny? Don’t think you can just run away to the afterlife without paying what you owe. If you’re going to die, at least pay for your sins and die with a clean conscience. If you die like this, I’ll never visit your grave, that’s for sure.”

At that moment, any restraint vanished from my mind. I began hurling insults, the same way I used to blame Maya when we were still married.

Maya, in response, looked like she was about to cry.

“…If I die, will you visit my grave, Kazunari?”

“That’s up to you.”

“…I see.”

I glance up at the ceiling, feeling a sense of emptiness in my eyes.

I suddenly realize once again: what a pitiful, miserable woman she is.

Her affair partner, Naoki, is no longer in this world. She can’t cling to a man she loved more than me anymore. There must have been plenty of time for her to reflect on her own foolish actions.

In the end, it’s her own fault.

That’s why, even though she’s scared of dying, she’s lost the will to live.

That’s how it looks to me.

But is it just a fleeting illusion that her vitality seems to have returned just a bit?

“Even if I die, Kazunari, I thought you would never forgive me.”

“…”

“But, there’s still something I can do for Kazunari, isn’t there?”

“…”

“In that case, I must do what I can.”

“…”

“Really… If I finish paying the compensation, will Kazunari come visit my grave?”

“…Unlike you, I won’t hesitate.”

“Can I trust you?”

I want to tell her not to compare herself with someone who said she would love only me and yet cheated on me. But, in this state, I can’t bring myself to say it.

“That’s assuming I’m still alive by then.”

“…Understood.”

Tears well up in Maya’s eyes.

What is with her? She cheats on me, clings to our marriage, and then ends it herself, trying to make herself miserable.

I don’t understand.

I really don’t understand.

If you ended our marriage yourself, then face it properly. Br*ast cancer? Survival rates are pretty high nowadays, right?

If you can’t move forward, how can I?