In Madam Yukinoshita's bedroom, she was speaking with her eldest daughter, Haruno.
Madam Yukinoshita sat on the bed with a grim expression as she told Haruno about hitting a wall with Governor Morita today.
"Mom, why can't you see it? We can just ask Toru-kun for help."
Haruno comforted her mother and helplessly tried to persuade her again.
"Haruno, don't worry. There are still more than ten days before the contract deadline. I will resolve this matter within those ten days. You don't need to worry."
Madam Yukinoshita's face looked terrible, but she still forced out a smile.
"Besides, it's true that Fujiwara-kun is the heir of the Fujiwara family, but he may not be able to mobilize such a large amount of money right now. Our family needs a considerable sum, probably around one billion yen, to get through this crisis."
"That's one billion yen, not a small amount. Do you think Fujiwara-kun would have that much money? Even if he does, why would he lend it to us?"
Her mother's words left Haruno unable to refute them.
Toru had never shown himself to be especially wealthy in any regard. He was neither the well-known president of a large company, nor did he live a particularly extravagant life.
The shop he took over in Ikebukuro must have cost him a lot of money. That was likely most of his assets.
As far as Haruno knew, even the Western-style house he currently lived in seemed to have been paid for by the Fujiwara family, not bought by Toru himself.
What her mother said seemed reasonable. Toru might really not have that much money.
She sighed softly and said, "Then we can ask Aunt for help. Even if Aunt's relationship with Uncle has faded, asking her for help would still connect us to the Fujiwara family. We can borrow money from them."
"No, absolutely not!"
Madam Yukinoshita's expression changed drastically, and she cried out sharply.
"...We absolutely cannot go to her. Even if we go bankrupt, we absolutely cannot go to her."
Perhaps realizing her emotions were too obvious, Madam Yukinoshita suppressed the turmoil in her heart and said softly, "Haruno, you need to understand that the Fujiwara family is a political family."
"Families like that are like merchants. They won't help without profit. If our family truly had a close relationship with them, they might help unconditionally."
"But our family's relationship with them isn't that close. Even if they were willing to lend us money, they would charge high interest. It would be better to go to the bank than to them."
"Then why not go to the bank? Even if the interest is a little higher, our family can still repay it."
Haruno looked puzzled.
Madam Yukinoshita smiled awkwardly and said, "Haruno, you still don't understand how this society works. We already owe the bank money, so it's very difficult to borrow from them again."
"And if we go bankrupt, according to creditor priority, the money from liquidation would first go to the bank, and the Yukinoshita family business could be auctioned off cheaply."
"How could those bankers, who only care about profit, still be willing to lend to us?"
These things were beyond Haruno's expectations. After all, she was only a university student. She had never thought about the greed of capital.
But that still didn't seem right. If that were the case, why was her mother so resistant to asking her own sister and the Fujiwara family for help?
Her mother did not seem like the kind of person who could not lower her pride to ask for help.
Thinking of this, Haruno gritted her teeth and said, "Mom, tell me the truth. Why exactly don't you want to ask Aunt or the Fujiwara family for help?"
Madam Yukinoshita froze.
Her face changed, her hands trembled, and through gritted teeth she said, "Your aunt was once pregnant, but because of an accident, she miscarried and also lost the ability to have children."
Haruno was stunned. Looking at her mother's expression, she gasped. "Did you hurt Aunt, Madam Yukinoshita?"
"That had nothing to do with me! I didn't want that either! It was just an accident!"
Madam Yukinoshita cried out in panic.
From her mother's expression, Haruno guessed that perhaps her aunt's miscarriage had not been intentional on her mother's part, but it really had been related to her.
Her mother and aunt had never had a good relationship to begin with. Perhaps after that incident, her aunt had completely come to hate her mother.
Because of her mother, her aunt had nearly lost her status as a Fujiwara wife and had not been favored by the Fujiwara family.
No wonder her mother was so resistant whenever her aunt was mentioned. How could her aunt possibly forgive her? It would already be merciful if she did not kick them while they were down.
It was even very likely that the Fujiwara family also held many grievances against her mother. Her mother might have seemed unwilling to beg because of pride, but the bigger reason was actually this.
Haruno took a deep breath and said firmly, "All of that was Mom's fault. I can represent the Yukinoshita family and apologize to Aunt. I can also seek help from the Fujiwara family in my own name."
"No, you can't go, Haruno!"
Madam Yukinoshita suddenly grabbed Haruno's arm.
Haruno said calmly, "Mom, I like Toru-kun."
She said her true feelings without hesitation.
"What good is liking him? Haruno, you are outstanding, that is true, but Toru-kun is even more outstanding. Do you think you can win his affection? Do you think he would be willing to marry you?"
"Haruno, stop deceiving yourself. That's impossible. You should listen to me. You are the next head of the Yukinoshita family. You should find a man you can control and have him marry into the family, instead of letting yourself be controlled by someone else."
Madam Yukinoshita spoke earnestly, once again pressing Haruno down from a moral high ground.
"...Haruno, I paid a great price to raise you."
"Are you going to betray the Yukinoshita family, betray the care I gave you? I have nothing left now except you. If even you don't want me, how can I keep living?"
Haruno looked at her mother in disbelief.
She had never imagined that her mother would actually use family affection to pressure her, and morality to bind her.
But could she really ignore her mother, ignore the bond between mother and daughter, and choose a path that severed all family ties?
She could not do it. She truly could not.
At that moment, Haruno suddenly came to hate everything she had learned since childhood. She hated the moral education and filial piety she had received. All of it had become ropes binding her so tightly that she could hardly break free.
Mother, Mother, the reason she was like this was because she wanted her daughter to live the same life she had.
She had no love. She spent her whole life struggling for the Yukinoshita family. She placed all her hopes on her daughter and wanted to turn her into another version of herself.
Find a man she could control, not love. Have him marry into the family. Then have children, and spend the rest of her life exhausting herself every day for the family business.
What difference was there between that life and her mother's life?
Mother, why were you so selfish? Why did you want your daughter to lose herself?
Haruno felt resentment, pain, bitterness, and helplessness.
There were so many people online who suffered from oppression by their parents.
Countless replies online urged those people to break away from their original families, even if it meant severing the parent-child relationship.
But when such a thing really happened to oneself, who could so easily make up their mind to abandon their mother?
Besides, her mother had never actually beaten or scolded her. She had always treated her well and fulfilled all her requests. Under those circumstances, Haruno found it even harder to do something so heartless.
Right now, Haruno only wanted to cry.
At that moment, the door was suddenly pushed open.
Madam Yukinoshita and Haruno both looked over in astonishment.
The second daughter of the Yukinoshita family, Yukino, stood coldly in the doorway.
She looked down at her mother and older sister and said, "I heard everything. I can go to Toru-kun, and I can also ask the Fujiwara family for help."
"Sister is the heir of the Yukinoshita family, but I'm only the second daughter. Let me do it, and Mother won't need to worry."
Madam Yukinoshita looked at her second daughter, who suddenly felt like a stranger, and subconsciously asked, "What gives you the right, Yukino?"
Yukino looked at her older sister and said word for word, "Like Sister, I also like Toru-kun."
"Does Fujiwara-kun like you?"
"I don't know."
"Then Yukino, what makes you think the Fujiwara family will help us? The Yukinoshita family is not favored by them, and this is not a small amount of money."
Yukino's eyes had never shone so brightly as they did now.
"I'm different from Sister."
"Sister has been perfect since childhood. I was only her substitute, always chasing after her back."
"Older Sister has succeeded in everything since she was young. She has never failed. She also never thought she would fail. No matter what she did, she wanted a perfect result."
Yukino spoke her heart directly, finally shouting out everything she had buried inside.
"But I'm different. I'm just a substitute. My life is a failure. There is nothing perfect about it."
"What my sister wants is marriage with Toru-kun, but I don't care about that. I don't need a perfect ending. I don't care about the promise of marriage. This is the difference between me and her, the difference between Yukino and Haruno."
I just want to tell Sister and Mother that I am not Sister's substitute. I have my own will and my own thoughts, and I am willing to take responsibility for every decision I make.
After saying that, Yukino turned and left.
Madam Yukinoshita's expression changed drastically, and she shouted, "Stop right there, Yukino! If you do this, aren't you disgracing the Yukinoshita family? If you dare to go, I'll pretend I never had a daughter like you!"
Haruno said nothing. She was still in shock from Yukino's bold declaration.
Yukino paused for a moment but did not hesitate at all. Ignoring her mother's anger, she walked away resolutely.
I won, Sister. This time, I won.
I walked out of the darkness and proved that I am not your copy, that I am not your substitute.
I also overcame Mother's constant coercion. I no longer have to compromise under her pressure.
Yukino felt an immense sense of relief, as if the world had suddenly become vast and open.
She felt that she had truly grown up, and could now live the life she wanted according to her own will.
For the first time, she was living for herself.
(To be continued.)
Reviews
All reviews (0)