Chapter 51 | Cleaning Up and Making Up

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A few days later.

At Shinji Ueda’s apartment.

“DAHLIAAA!!!!”

Shinji’s girlfriend, Rika Matsumoto, comes running.

In the living room of the apartment, Dahlia is there, dressed in her loungewear.

“Rika-tan…”

Rika jumps into Dahlia’s ample breasts.

“Dahlia, are you okay? Are you okay?”

Rika looked at Dahlia with genuine concern.

It has been a few days since the incident with the scum landlord.

She had been busy going to the city office, moving, and getting checked out at the hospital.

Shinji had already told Rika that Dahlia was safe.

…But it had been several days since she and Dahlia had spoken face to face.

“Why didn’t you show your face earlier?”

“That’s…”

If I had wanted to see Rika, I could have.

But because I was busy, I had been avoiding seeing her.

“Well, Rika. She was busy. Right?”

Shinji followed up.

Shinji knows about it because Dahlia told him beforehand.

Shinji knows that Dahlia feels guilty about Rika.

“I’m sorry, Rika-tan. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“Really! I was so worried about you…”

Rika sniffles.

If you look closely, you will see dark circles under Rika’s eyes.

She was probably so anxious that she couldn’t sleep.

I’m really sorry about that.

“But…I’m glad Dahlia is okay…”

Rika expresses heartfelt relief.

Dahlia is filled with a loving feeling, and her heart warms.

…But for some reason, she couldn’t hug her back.

After a moment, she said,

“So Shin-chan, explain to me what happened after that.”

Shinji and everyone else were sitting on the couch talking.

I guess she meant after the incident with the scum landlord.

“The landlord was caught. I won’t go into details, but it looks like Dahlia won’t have to suffer anymore.”

Rika breathed a sigh of relief.

“But…is Dahlia going to be okay? I mean…her parents are neglecting her. School, living expenses…”

Dahlia’s parents are divorced and her mother is neglectful.

The school and living expenses were paid by that landlord who got caught, on the condition that Dahlia would give up her body and work as an Enko and other jobs.

But now that the landlord is gone, Dahlia has no money to live on.

“Oh, that’s not a problem. Dahlia is my sister now.”

“Eh?”

Rika’s mouth is wide open.

“What are you saying now?”

“So, according to the family register, Dahlia is my younger sister. Dahlia Ueda.”

“Ehhhhh?”

Dahlia is relieved to hear Shinji say something hard for her to say herself.

“What do you mean! Dahlia is Shin-chan’s sister!”

“Have you heard of adoption?”

Shinji explains the situation.

Dahlia and Shinji are strangers to each other.

There is no good reason to support her.

So, Shinji suggested that Dahlia be adopted by the Ueda family.

“I was actually going to adopt her, but my father and mother said it was too soon.”

“It’s obvious. At your age, you can’t be a father… but that would make Dahlia my daughter…”

“Eh?”

“Ah, it’s nothing! Mouuuuu!”

I was relieved to see Rika’s face turn bright red.

I was worried that they might reject it.

“Huh? But you said you’re going to adopt, but Dahlia’s mother is still out there, isn’t she? Did she agree?”

“Yes. She readily agreed to the adoption.”

… Dahlia remembers.

The mother whom I have not seen in a very long time.

She looked blue and trembled as she got down on her knees to Dahlia.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I will never appear in front of Dahlia again! So forgive me! I’m sorry!”

…Shinji did not tell Dahlia what had happened.

Either he knew and didn’t tell her, or, like Dahlia, he didn’t know in the first place… it was hard to tell.

But her mother agreed, and Dahlia became a child of the Ueda family.

“Dahlia is living with us now, and she can go to school as usual.”

“I see…”

Rika breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m so glad!”

What a dazzling, light-like smile.

Dahlia felt a pain in her chest.

I still want to tell you…I want to tell Rika.

I want to tell Rika from my own mouth.

I want to tell Rika that I love Shinji.

I confessed my feelings to him.

“…Ah, you know, Rika-tan…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

But…I’m scared.

Even Rika might not forgive me if she found out that I fell in love with her boyfriend.

Because this is a clear act of betrayal…

“It’s okay, Dahlia.”

Shinji pats me on the shoulder from behind.

“Rika is a good girl. If you talk to her, she’ll understand.”

“Shinji-kun…”

Dahlia was encouraged by Shinji’s words.

“Rika, Dahlia wants to talk to you. I’m going out.”

“Uh, yeah. Okay.”

Shinji patted Dahlia on the shoulder again and left the room.

I guess he thought it would be easier for women to talk to each other.

I am still afraid.

What I say to Rika might hurt her.

She might even scold me. But….

If she ran away, she would not feel sorry for Shinji, who had encouraged her.

Dahlia resolutely turned her head to the front.

“I’ve been…um…you know…RIka-tan. There’s something I’ve been…keeping quiet about. Will you listen to me?”

Rika nodded her head.

The serious look on Dahlia’s face made it clear that this was something really important to talk about.

“I-I love Shinji-kun. Not just as an older brother, but…as a boy, I love him.”

Dahlia tells her.

I started to be interested in Shinji some time ago.

By the time I realized it, I was crazy about him.

”I’m sorry…sorry…Rika-tan…”

Dahlia slumped down, unable to look Rika in the face properly.

‘I…am the worst. I know you love Shinji-kun, and I know you love him…and I fell in love with him, and I’m sorry I kept that from you…I’m sorry…”

I will accept any insults.

It’s true that I betrayed you.

Even if this will end our friendship…

At that moment, Rika hugged me.

“Don’t apologize, Dahlia.”

Rika-tan…”

Rika looked at Dahlia with a sad face.

“I knew it was coming. I’m sure you're going to like Shin-chan.”

It seems that she had guessed it.

“When was the first time you saw it?”

“Well, when you were picking out my birthday present.”

That long ago…

But…that’s not right.

“So….if you knew I was betraying you, why did you treat me like a normal person?”

There had been a gap of time between the birthday present incident and today.

But Rika was still my friend.

“What are you talking about?”

Rika smiled and said.

“Dahlia and I are best friends, aren’t we?”

Dahlia cried at her friend’s words.

Rika patted her head and said,

“I won’t hate you just because of this.”

“But…but…Shinji-kun is Rika-tan’s boyfriend.”

“It can’t be helped that a girl falls in love with a nice boy. Shin-chan is cool and reliable.”

I totally agree.

I’ve seen a lot of guys in my life, but no one is nicer than Shinji.

“I don’t like the idea of another girl that I don’t know well falling for Shin-chan. But…it’s okay if it’s you. I know that you, Dahlia, cherish your friendship with me.”

She was going to cut ties with Shinji, completely, after her date with him.

She tried to step aside so as not to interfere with Rika and Shinji.

Even there… she seems to have seen through that.

“I love Shin-chan. But I also love Dahlia.

I could tell by the look on Rika’s face.

There is no shadow in her clear eyes.

She truly loves me from the bottom of her heart.

Even if I betrayed her, even if I lied to her…

Even if I have been hiding things from her…

She is really my friend.

“U…ugh…”

…I thought my life was nothing.

I thought it was a life of nothing…a life abandoned by fortune and parents, a life of nothingness…a life of the worst kind.

…I’m an idiot.

Dahlia cries.

She had such a wonderful friend…

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. Don’t you understand? We’ve always been friends, and we will always be friends, okay?”

Dahlia cried again and again.

And then…

“Thank you, Rika-tan. I love you!”

Dahlia’s expression was no longer clouded.

All the darkness she had been carrying had been removed.

Both external and internal problems.

After all, it was the one who had delivered her from the darkness.

The man she loved…her favorite brother…Shinji was there for her.

Thank you…, Dahlia says over and over again.

Thank you to him.

Over and over again.

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