I Planned My Escape Because I Knew Her Secret - Episode 27

Madoka was crying, sobbing as she hugged the envelope to her chest.

Seeing that figure, for the first time since fleeing, I felt a sense of regret.

I definitely went too far.

Knowing Madoka’s secret, I was indeed hurt.

But now, Madoka is hurting more than I was back then.

“Masakun, I’m sorry… uuuu”

“…”

“I’m sorry for lying. I’m sorry for secretly working in the s3x industry. I’m sorry for deceiving you for so many years.”

“…No, that’s enough about that.”

“It’s not good, you know? You hurt Masa-kun a lot, you know? You pushed him to the point where he wanted to run away from the wedding, you know? You betrayed the most important person to you and did terrible things, you know?”

“So, it’s fine now. I hurt Madoka a lot when I ran away from the wedding, so we’re even, right? We can’t turn back time and redo things, and there’s nothing we can do about it now, right? So, I’ve already forgotten that Madoka kept secrets from me and deceived me. Actually, I’ve forgotten it for the past five years. I haven’t thought about it at all lately. So, Madoka, from now on, just forget about me and live your life.”

“I don’t want to! That’s impossible! There’s no way I could forget! Why are you saying such things? I’ve been looking for you, wanting to see you so badly! I finally found you and came to see you, so don’t say things like that!”

“Even if you say that, I no longer have the right. I hurt Madoka deeply, so I don’t have the right to comfort her or to be treated kindly by her.”

“…Are you going to run away again? Was this room left empty so you could escape at any time?”

Damn

As always, you see right through all my thoughts.

It can’t be helped.

I have no choice but to harden my heart.

“That’s right. I’m always ready to run away. But you know, I like it here. If possible, I don’t want to leave this place. So please just go home quietly. I want you to leave my life alone and let me be.”

I again knelt down with both hands and bowed my head.

“Please.”

“If Masa-kun says that, then I have my own ideas too.”

Madoka, as if it were a lie that she had just been crying, said that in a calm, low tone, and I couldn’t help but look up and say, “Huh?”

Madoka’s expression, though her eyes were swollen bright red, was extremely cold.

It’s the same icy gaze I had when I used to brush off pick-up attempts during my student days.

“I quit my job before coming here. I even moved out of my apartment at the end of January. Do you understand, Masa-kun? The determination I had to meet you.”

I instinctively sensed that it was “bad.”

Usually, Madoka is serious, elegant, and kind, but this is the expression and voice she shows when she gets really angry sometimes.

Madoka removed her engagement ring from her left hand, placed it on the table, and continued talking.

“I won’t insist on marrying Masa-kun anymore. But from now on, I won’t leave Masa-kun. It’s fine if we’re not lovers. I will never leave Masa-kun. If you’ve forgotten about me, I’ll make you remember.”

“Wait a minute! You’re being ridiculous! You quit your job, but what are you going to do now? What are you planning to do with Madoka coming here?”

“I don’t have to take that from you, Masa-kun. You quit your job and left everything behind to come to Okayama, right? I’m just doing the same thing.”

Not even a peep.

My intuition seems to have been right.

It’s impossible for me to convince Madoka when she’s seriously angry.

And, it would be pointless to run away again.

Or rather, it would probably be impossible to even escape now.

At this rate, Madoka probably doesn’t intend to let me go.

In the first place, I didn’t hate or resent you.

Because I loved you, I couldn’t forgive you. If I’ve now reached a point where I can forgive you, what’s left is just my petty stubbornness and pride.

Sigh

“Alright, I give up. I won’t run away anymore, so you can stay in Okayama as long as you want.”

When I declared my complete surrender, her expression, which had been as cold as ice, broke, and she started sobbing again.

“Thank goodness” Uuuh

Madoka hugged the envelope to her chest again, and although she was crying, it seemed like the tension in her shoulders had eased.

That figure overlapped with my memories of Madoka during the high school entrance exam results announcement and when she confessed to me in the first year of high school and I said yes.

To mask the feeling of resignation and the inexplicable sense of relief, I forcibly changed the subject.

“Anyway, I’m hungry. Did Madoka have dinner?”

Madoka shook her head silently, still with a tear-streaked face.

“If you’re okay with udon, I can prepare it for you. Is that alright?”

This time, I nodded silently.

“Well then, once things settle down, should we go to the shop? We have some noodles left from today, so we can quickly prepare some kake udon.”

“Yeah”

“And also, keep the ring for now.”

“Yeah!”

“By the way, Madoka? You booked a place to stay for today, right? Which hotel?”

“・・・・”

Sigh…

What should we do from now on?