Chapter 68 A Foolish Woman
The time goes back to this evening.

At dusk, before going to Shimizumi's house to stay overnight, Amemiya Iori suggested going back to his own home first.

【Tonight I am staying at the home of someone I love. 】

After sending this message to her mother, Amemiya Iori immediately sent another message like this.

[I have something important to say tonight, so please make time. ]

Amemiya Iori felt a little lonely when she parted with Shimizu Mi. If possible, she wanted to stay by his side forever, but because they were still students, that was impossible for the time being.

I want to grow up quickly so that I can get married and stay with my dear all day long...ah, I can't live without him anymore.

"I must never let go of my dear. I must make him dependent on me and unable to live without me..."

Amamiya Iori is aware of his heavy feelings.

At that time, her classmates, friends and relatives could not understand her. Everyone was deceived by that fake smile.

Only Shimizu saw her crying under the mask, reached out to her and saved her from the haze.

"I will definitely make my dear fall, fall into my arms. Then I will fall as well, no matter where I go, sinking deep into the swamp... Let's fall together into a quagmire from which there is absolutely no escape."

Thinking of this, Amamiya Iori took the train back home, opened the door, and said "I'm back", but no one in the house responded.

But she could still feel that someone was home.

After tidying up her shoes at the entrance, Amamiya Iori walked towards the living room and found that Amamiya Mido was there as expected.

"I am back."

"Welcome back, Iori."

Different from usual days, Amemiya Mido looked a little stiff while sitting on the sofa.

Amemiya Iori did not tell her that she would live in Shimizumi's house, but from the previous message, the word "person I like" should be able to guess something.

When she sat opposite Amemiya Mido and was about to speak, Amemiya Mido spoke first.

"…Did you go to his place?"

Just a quick question.

But Amamiya Iori knew who she was referring to, so he nodded.

"Yes. I'm staying at Shimizu-kun's house tonight."

"Yeah……"

Iori Amamiya always feels like something is a little strange...

Amemiya Midori hated Shimizu Mi, so Amemiya Iori thought there would be a quarrel between them, but in fact there was no quarrel.

Judging from Amemiya Midori’s expression, she doesn’t look angry, but rather... giving up?
"after all--"

"...?"

"After all, my daughter was taken away from me... by the child born to that man and that woman."

"What are you talking about?"

Amamiya Iori couldn't understand what Amamiya Mito was saying.

Because of what her mother said to Shimizu, she used to feel disgusted about having a blood relationship with her.

But in that dreamlike world, Shimizumi's words made Amamiya Iori face herself and her vision was broadened. So now, she can look at her mother more objectively than before.

Looking at the tired face of Amemiya Midori, Amemiya Iori suddenly remembered something.

That was the discomfort I felt when I saw the photo of Shimizu's father, and the sense of déjà vu that seemed like I had seen him somewhere.

"……what."

At this moment, Amamiya Iori suddenly figured it out.

She had seen a photo of her mother when she was young, although only once. But the man next to Amamiya Midori... was Shimizu Mi's father, Shimizu Ryo!
……

It was a painful past.

This is a story about a foolish woman who only thought about her beloved in her heart but did not take any action, and whose beloved was taken away by someone else without her knowing.

Amemiya Mido met a boy who lived nearby by chance and gradually fell in love with him during their interactions.

Shyness prevented her from having the courage to confess to him, but at that time she was already very happy just being by his side.

But...Amamiya Mido's first love did not bear fruit.

She secretly hoped that she could be the one standing next to him one day, but a girl who suddenly appeared took that position away.

Although she used the word "took away", Amamiya Mei knew that it was only out of her personal resentment.

But even so, Amemiya Mido couldn't accept the fact.

"I have always been by his side, and I have always liked him... However, he chose that girl, and that girl was immersed in his love and felt happy."

"Why can that woman..."

"That bad girl is rude and lacks the dignity of a woman. Why can she stay with him... I really can't understand it."

However, Amemiya Mido also knew that she had brought it upon herself to some extent.

"..."

Amemiya Mido lowered her head with a painful expression, which Amemiya Iori had never seen before.

After listening to her mother's story, Amamiya Iori remembered the photo of Hoshino Akiko and Shimizu's father that she had seen at Shimizu's house before...

She understood why she felt a sense of déjà vu when she saw the man.

That's because she had seen a picture of the man in her mother's room.

Keeping silent would not achieve any results, Amamiya Iori just needed to convey to her mother what she wanted to convey.

"Mom, it was Shimizu-kun who saved me."

save.

When these two words appeared in Amemiya Iori's words, Amemiya Mido shuddered and looked at her in shock.

"I have always been patient. I never disobeyed my mother's words and always did what she said, 'You should value Yuichi' - except for that day."

"Mom, you still remember that day, right? The day I first met Shimizu-kun, the day that changed my life, the day I met the person I loved from the bottom of my heart."

"I spent every day feeling annoyed going to Yu's house...Only that day, I ran away against my mother's words, and then I met Shimizu-kun."

Amamiya Mido remained silent about Amamiya Iori's words, but Amamiya Iori didn't care about her silence and continued:
"That evening, we went to many places to have fun. Being with Shimizu-kun, I felt that I was in a world where I didn't have to suppress myself and could express my true self."

"I have mentioned this many times before, but I think that meeting Shimizu-kun was a turning point in my life."

"If I hadn't met that time, if I hadn't had Shimizu-kun, I would definitely not be who I am now. I would definitely be forced to accept the world planned by my mother, continue to kill myself, and live like that..."

Thinking of this, Amamiya Iori couldn't help but shudder.

"After entering high school, I met Shimizu-kun again. As we got along, my feelings for him slowly turned into love. That became the reason that kept me going at that time."

"..."

Amamiya Mido took a short breath. Amamiya Iori had no intention of blaming her mother, she just wanted to express her feelings and speak her mind.

She, Amamiya Iori, is not a puppet to be manipulated by others.

"At that time I thought he was an uneducated and disgusting child. With a mother like that, it was natural that he didn't receive a good education. If you play with him, you will become dirty too."

"That is……"

Upon hearing this, Amamiya Mido froze in disbelief.

"This is what my mother said to me at that time. I have never forgotten this sentence... Because of this sentence, I even wondered why I have the same blood as you."

"Ah ah ah..."

After hearing what Amemiya Iori said, Amemiya Mido finally burst into tears.

No matter what Amemiya Iori thinks about the past, Amemiya Mito is confident that she is raising her daughter with love.

But the fact is, when Amamiya Iori said something that was equivalent to hating being her mother and daughter, her confidence had been completely destroyed...

Seeing the appearance of his mother in front of him, Amemiya Iori felt a pain in his chest.

It is true that my mother once said some cruel things. I don't know what her emotions were, but I can't forgive the hostility she has directed at Shimizu-kun since the first time we met...

But she is my mother after all. She has raised me for so long and has not completely failed to show me love.

"Shimizu-kun said that what he wanted to see was me standing in the sun, shining the brightest. So I said goodbye to the past, and I decided to move forward. Because I can't stay where I am. If I don't keep up, I will only get further and further away from the person I love."

"Stay where you are..."

Amemiya Mido repeated Amemiya Iori's words in a trance.

Amemiya Iori didn't know whether her words could be conveyed to her mother, but they were all her determination.

To be honest, Amamiya Iori once hated her mother.

She still cannot forget what her mother said to Shimizumi that day. It is an indisputable fact that those words completely created a chasm between her and her mother.

Although, Amemiya Iori didn't know what his mother was thinking after she said those words.

She had never mentioned these things directly to Shimizu Mi, but she actually could not tolerate any remarks that belittled the maternal love of Shimizu Mi and Hoshino Akiko.

But when Amemiya Iori saw her mother, who was bound by the past just like her, she realized that she could not do anything to hurt her mother.

Amamiya Iori turned his eyes away from Amamiya Mido who was looking down, and looked around the living room.

This space was too big for both her and Amamiya Mito.

Amemiya Iori vaguely remembered that her father left before she was old enough to understand, and she must have felt a little lonely.

"If Shimizu-kun were here, would it be warmer here?"

Amemiya Iori remembered what Shimizu Mi said at that time - "From today on, I look forward to that day, the day when you light up my life."

"If mom becomes an obstacle for me and my dear to be together, I might be forced to think about whether I should break off relations with you..."

"But... if it's the Shimizu-kun that I love so much, if it's him who saved my soul, then we can realize that future where the three of us can live happily together. It's him who gave me such hope, he's really amazing..."

Iori Amamiya began to imagine himself, Shimizu, Midori Amamiya, and Akiko Hoshino in the same room, drinking and chatting together...

Will such a future come true?
"Mother."

Amemiya Iori tried to call her, and Amemiya Midu raised her head.

"I like Shimizu-kun. No one can stop this feeling, and no one can deny it. I just love him so much. Please understand this."

This is all that Iori Amamiya wants to convey, and the rest can only be solved by time...

She didn't know if this would work, she just hoped that Amamiya Mito could understand her feelings.

When Amemiya Iori turned her back on Amemiya Mido and walked out of the room, she felt that Amemiya Mido said something, but she didn't hear it clearly.

……

Before Amemiya Iori's back disappeared, Amemiya Mido muttered to herself.

"In the end, I'm the only one spinning in circles..."

Amemiya Iori didn't seem to hear what Amemiya Mido said, nor did she look back and just left the room.

After Amemiya Iori left, when Amemiya Mido was the only one left in the living room, she recalled the past again.

She felt that the person she loved was taken away from her, but because of her strange self-esteem, she was unwilling to accept the fact. Therefore, she wanted to build a good relationship between Amamiya Iori and Kondo Yuichi in advance, but it led to all this now——

"It turns out that Iori doesn't like Yuichi, but is annoyed by him. From the perspective of his daughter, it must be very uncomfortable for a mother like me to be like this."

A helpless bitter smile appeared on Amamiya Midori's face, trying to use the smile to hide the bitterness in her heart.

"See you in Qingshui, see you in Qingshui..."

She kept muttering to herself.

When she first met Shimizu Mito, Amemiya Mito saw the shadow of the person she loved in him, and she instantly realized that he was that person's child.

The forgotten regret came back, causing her to treat the young Shimizumi in an unadulterated manner.

Now, Amemiya Mido finally discovered it.

If she continued to maintain that attitude towards Shimizumi, whom Amemiya Iori liked, it was natural that Amemiya Iori would lose patience with her.

Thinking of this, Amemiya Midu laughed at herself.

After all, he had never understood his daughter's thoughts at all, and the person who could best understand and help her was Shimizu...

"Iori..."

There is absolutely no way Amamiya Midori didn't love Amamiya Iori.

That was the important child that she had endured the pain of giving birth to... Of course, Amemiya Midori had always loved her.

Because of this, when she heard Amemiya Iori's words denying the blood relationship between them, Amemiya Mido's heart seemed to stop beating.

The impact was so strong.

But after listening to what Amemiya Iori said, Amemiya Mido recalled the past again and found that the person who made the mistake was not someone else, but herself.

The problem of Amamiya Midori not only affected Amamiya Iori, but also Shimizu Mi...

And so she stayed alone in the living room all night until dawn the next day.

"...?"

While Amamiya Mido was lost in thought, the doorbell rang.

Normally, one would first confirm who the person outside is, but at this moment, the exhausted Amemiya Mei did not have the time for this, so she walked straight to the door and opened it.

Then, there appeared...

"Ah, hello. Iori forgot something yesterday and I came to return it to her."

Standing in front of Amamiya Midori was that man's child, a boy whom she hadn't seen for several years - Shimizu Mi.

(End of this chapter)