I Planned My Escape Because I Knew Her Secret - Episode 4

Once we both firmly decided to get married, we first went to Madoka’s house to greet her properly.

Your parents welcomed me without any opposition at all.

Next, I had Madoka come to my house and once again informed her that I wanted to get married.

My parents didn’t oppose it at all either.

Next, we discussed where to live and work.

On my end, since it’s a chain restaurant, the transfer cycle was faster than in regular companies.

Sometimes I stay at the same store for about two years, but other times I get transferred in less than six months. The transfers were often to fill gaps due to high turnover rates or to address staff shortages for part-time and temporary positions.

So, I was thinking of renting a place to live.

Madoka said that she wants to continue working for a while until she starts trying to conceive, and she told me that she would quit her job when the time comes. Regarding where to live, Madoka mentioned that since she has her own car, she is considering commuting by her own car and that she doesn’t have any particular preferences as long as it’s within a commutable range.

Next, we discussed the wedding and reception.

Given the current state of affairs, I want to keep it as low-key and inexpensive as possible.

Since we were both thinking the same way, the policy was decided immediately without any arguments.

Regarding the venue, Madoka has done some research and narrowed down a few candidates.

We both took a day off and visited about three places together, and among them, we decided on the welfare pension hall that was reasonably priced.

I heard that reservations are full for over six months, so I secured a lucky day in late May of the following year.

Even though I was busy with work, thanks to Madoka’s proactive efforts, preparations for the wedding steadily progressed.

***

It was around the time when we had narrowed down the candidates for the apartment we would live in together, and while we were progressing with the contract discussions, I started thinking that it was about time to go look at furniture and appliances.

That day, I was on the afternoon shift and left the store at 11 PM.

It was Friday night, and without thinking much, I took a different route near Madoka’s house instead of the usual one I take during my commute.

While waiting at a traffic light in my car, I happened to see Madoka getting out of a black van parked in front of the convenience store.

It’s a convenience store about a five-minute walk from Madoka’s house, and I’ve been there a few times when I visited Madoka’s house during high school.

It’s not strange for Madoka to be there, but I felt something off seeing her get out of a van I had never seen before and walk straight home without going into the convenience store.

After the traffic light turned green, I entered the convenience store parking lot once, but the van immediately left the parking lot.

Hmm, I thought as I got out of the car, locked it, and walked towards Madoka’s house.

I caught up with her right away, but feeling a sense of fear that Madoka was hiding something from me, I couldn’t call out and silently followed her.

In the end, Madoka went straight home as she was, and my pursuit ended immediately.

I returned to the convenience store, bought a canned coffee, went back to the car, and started thinking about it on the spot while drinking.

Occasional late-night overtime on Fridays.

After work, I was driven home in a black van.

Did a colleague from work happen to give you a ride because you were late?

But if that’s the case, normally you would drive me home, right?

Why the convenience store a bit farther away?

If either Madoka or the person who gave you a ride had something to do at the convenience store, that would make sense, but neither of them went into the store and just went home, right? Are they avoiding being dropped off in front of my house?

And then, I remembered one thing.

Even during my student days, I worked as a tutor every Friday.

Even after reducing my hours, I still worked on Fridays.

Gradually, I felt a sense of unease rising within me, and at the same time, I could feel my heart pounding.

No way, are you cheating with the parents of your tutoring student?

Does that still continue even now that you’ve become a working adult?

You were so happy with the engagement ring, and you’ve been working so hard on the wedding preparations, but are you cheating on me?

No way, that serious and honest Madoka?

The vague suspicion became so bothersome that I rolled down the power window to get some fresh air, reclined the seat back, and lay down.

As I stared blankly at the ceiling of the car, memories of my recent interactions with Madoka and my high school days came flooding back one after another.

My stomach started to hurt tightly, and I felt like crying.

Even though it wasn’t decided that he was cheating yet, it felt as if I had become a tragic heroine as if it were already a fact.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and as I sighed, the cold expression Madoka used to show when she was hit on at university came to mind.

There might be a side of Madoka that I don’t know about.

Now that we are about to get married, it might be a good idea to thoroughly investigate.

I only saw him being driven home in a van after work, but it felt exaggerated, so I hired a private investigator.

I looked it up online, called to make an appointment, and visited the private investigation agency the next day, Saturday evening.

Investigation of the fiancée’s activities every Friday.

I provided the necessary information such as her name, address, and workplace regarding my relationship with Madoka (my fiancée), handed over several photos of Madoka from my phone, and requested an investigation for one month (four times) starting from next week.

According to the investigator at the private detective agency, there are quite a few requests for background checks and infidelity investigations after an engagement is decided, and even while discussing the details of the request, things progressed smoothly.

It turned out to be on the Friday of the week after next.