When Eriri found Maki in the garden pavilion, she was talking on the phone, her lips moving quickly.
Eriri's heart skipped a beat at the sight.
She couldn't get through to Takashi, but Maki was talking to soone—could it be that she really is Takashi's girlfriend?
To confirm, Eriri quickly walked up to her, snatched the phone from her hand, and put it to her ear, trying to recognize if the person on the other end was Takashi.
Maki seed to not have realized what had happened. She just stared at Eriri in a daze.
She really didn't expect anyone to dare steal sothing from her.
Eriri listened to the phone for a while, but heard nothing. She looked at the phone and then cast a speechless look at Maki.
No, is she out of her mind?
There was no call, and yet she was just muttering into the phone by herself?
"Hey, what are you doing? Give back my phone!"
When Maki snapped back to her senses and grabbed the phone back, her face imdiately grew cold: "Is this how the Sawamura family treats their guests? What a powerful display."
Eriri was the first to dare take sothing from Maki.
Woman, I'll rember you!
"I'm sorry, Shijo-san!"
After confirming that Takashi wasn't on the phone with Maki, Eriri cald down a bit.
She bowed to Maki and asked, "Shijo-san, do you know Watanabe Takashi?"
"Takashi?"
Maki looked at her in surprise, showing so interest.
"What's this? You know him too?"
'You call him Takashi too?'
Hearing Maki call him "Takashi" so directly, Eriri felt a little uncomfortable.
To her, "Takashi" was a nickna for her alone. How dare she call him that? Why can't she just use his na?
And what's with that look?
Family is amazing, right?
"Yes."
Taking a deep breath, Eriri forced down the frustration in her heart. "I heard from Kashiwagi that you and Takashi are in a romantic relationship?"
'Takashi, you call him that too?'
Maki was a little displeased.
Although it was fake, she and Watanabe Takashi were in a romantic relationship. She could call him that, but why did you get to call him Takashi?
What?
Are you also his girlfriend?
"Yes, that's right."
Maki casually flipped her right ponytail and placed a hand on her chest, saying, "I, Shijo Maki, am Watanabe Takashi's girlfriend."
Maki's words were like a sharp knife, deeply stabbing Eriri's heart.
The sharp pain made it feel as though every breath was painful.
Each heartbeat ca with a dull ache, as if countless needles were stabbing her fragile heart at once.
The mories of her ti with Watanabe Takashi now seed so laughable and absurd.
'He has a girlfriend!'
'Takashi, so he has a girlfriend.'
'Why would you even flirt with if you have a girlfriend?'
'Is it fun playing with ?'
Endless sorrow surged in her heart, like a raging flood that couldn't be stopped.
Rembering all the little monts with Watanabe Takashi, every piece of the past felt like a slow torture, each knife cutting into her flesh.
Tears began to well up in Eriri's eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
Not in front of Maki, she wouldn't let herself cry. This was her last show of strength.
"Hey, why are you crying?"
Maki was soone who only knew how to be fierce.
When Eriri cried, she beca flustered, standing up, wondering if she'd gone too far.
"Don't cry."
Maki pulled out a handkerchief, wanting to wipe her tears away.
But when Eriri saw the handkerchief Maki took out, she froze in place.
Wasn't this the handkerchief she gave to Takashi?
Why was it in her hands?
Had he not cherished the gift she gave him?
"This handkerchief..."
Eriri tightly grabbed Maki's arm and gritted her teeth. "Did Takashi give this to you?"
"Uh..."
Maki looked at the handkerchief in her hands, then rembered that Takashi hadn't returned it.
"No"
"Speak!!!"
Maki wanted to deny it, but Eriri suddenly raised her voice, questioning her.
Maki imdiately beca annoyed.
I was trying to help you wipe away your tears, and you're yelling at ?
She simply admitted, "Yeah, he gave it to , so what?"
Upon hearing this response, Eriri's shoulders slumped as if the strength to stand had been drained from her.
She wavered and could barely keep herself upright.
"Are you okay?"
Maki instinctively reached out to help her.
"I don't need your help!"
Eriri swatted away Maki's hand, holding back the tears that threatened to fall and coldly said.
"I pity you, I'm just a dog!"
Maki got angry too.
Did she think she was made of clay, with no temper?
In the quiet garden, the silence seed to grow even more pronounced after both of them stopped speaking.
Only the wind rustling the leaves could be heard, accentuating the stillness.
Until--
"From your previous, previous, previous life, I have been searching for your traces."
"Chasing after your sowhat awkward smile, I finally found you."
...
Eriri's phone suddenly played the the song "Zenzenzense" from Your Na, breaking the eerie silence between them.
Even without looking at the caller ID, Eriri knew who was calling.
It was the exclusive ringtone she set for Watanabe Takashi.
And even though this song wasn't the original, it was Takashi singing it for her.
She used to think it was sweet, but now it sounded harsh.
It was as if it was mocking her, like a circus clown.
Eriri didn't want to hear the voice of the liar Watanabe Takashi, but she still answered the call.
"Hello."
As soon as she spoke, Eriri realized her voice was hoarse.
Her voice sounded terrible, not like her own.
"I was talking to a friend, I missed your call."
Takashi's tone was as casual as ever, as if nothing had happened.
"Watanabe Takashi, can you stop pretending to care about ? Do you think it's fun to deceive ?"
Eriri tilted her head back, hoping to hold back the tears.
But as soon as she heard his voice, the tears couldn't stop. The glittering tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, dripping down her fancy dress.
When she found out Maki was Takashi's girlfriend, she didn't cry.
When she saw Takashi give the handkerchief she gave him to Maki, she didn't cry.
But just hearing Takashi's voice, she couldn't hold it in anymore.
For Takashi, she couldn't be indifferent.
That was the Takashi who cared for her every day, who responded to everything she said.
That was the Takashi who rembered her nstrual cycle more accurately than her parents, advising her not to eat cold foods, not to touch cold water, and who made her brown sugar water.
That was the Takashi who would co to her side from Tokyo to Chiba no matter how late it was, when she was most sad and heartbroken.
That was the Takashi who was uniquely hers.
How could she remain indifferent to him?
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