The Shape of Happiness: A Family Crumbling Due to the Mother's Infidelity, a Wounded Middle School Daughter, and a Struggling Father Finding a New Form of Happiness. - Episode 40

Ryoko slowly stood up and began unbuttoning her blouse—

“R-Ryoko, wait!”

“I won’t wait.”

Ryoko took off her blouse, let her skirt fall to the floor, and lay down on the tatami in her underwear.

“I want to thank you, Shinichi, but all I have is my body. I’m sorry that it’s such a worn-out body, but you can do whatever you like.”

After saying that, Ryoko placed her discarded blouse over her face, preventing Shinichi from seeing her expression.

Shinichi knew. He knew that during her marriage, Ryoko had suffered abuse from her ex-husband, Atsushi. Her will had been completely ignored, she had been forced into the bedroom, ordered to hide her “ugly” face, and violated while being showered with insults. It was marital rape. How scared she must have been, how humiliated, how much pain she endured. Thinking about the deep wounds in Ryoko’s heart, Shinichi’s chest ached with sorrow.

Shinichi gently removed the blouse covering Ryoko’s face.

“Huh?”

Startled, Ryoko watched as Shinichi folded a cushion into an improvised pillow and handed it to her. Still confused, she saw him do the same for himself and lie down beside her. Now, their faces were inches apart.

“Um… Are you sure you’re okay with me?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to be with you, Ryoko. But before anything happens, I need to ask something… It’s a very sensitive issue…”

Shinichi looked apologetic, and Ryoko responded with a soft smile.

“I know, Shinichi. I know you don’t mean any harm.”

“Then… is your body okay?”

“My body?”

“I mean… after your illness. If we do something like this without proper preparation, wouldn’t it be painful for you?”

“………”

Ryoko’s smile faded.

“Ryoko, are you actually in pain?”

“………”

“Have you been enduring it all this time?”

Shinichi, despite never having been intimate with her, had seen through her suffering. The realization stirred up a mix of emotions—relief, shame, and gratitude. Clenching her teeth, Ryoko buried her face into the cushion, letting her tears soak into it.

After her surgery, Atsushi never once considered Ryoko’s well-being. Ideally, a couple should communicate, ensuring their intimate life is comfortable and consensual. But Ryoko, trapped in self-blame, never spoke up. And even if she had, Atsushi probably wouldn’t have listened. He might have even relished her suffering. For Ryoko, being with Atsushi was nothing short of torture—a brutal experience of enduring excruciating pain.

Shinichi gave Ryoko a gentle smile, trying to reassure her.

“Ryoko, don’t cry. I would never do anything to hurt you. But—”

“Ah…”

“—Holding you is okay, right?”

Shinichi pulled Ryoko into his arms. Her head rested against his chest. As she looked up, she saw his gentle smile drawing closer. But then—

‘Never show me that ugly face of yours!’

Atsushi’s cruel words echoed in her mind, and she instinctively turned away.

“Ah… Ryoko, I’m sorry. That was sudden.”

“No, that’s not it! That’s not it… I… I know I’m ugly… Shinichi, you’re kind, so you don’t have to force yourself.”

Ryoko spoke as if belittling herself. Having endured humiliation for so long, she had completely lost her sense of self-worth. Seeing her sorrowful expression, Shinichi felt nothing but anger—anger that she had been made to feel this way.

“Ryoko.”

“Yes…? Mm?!”

As she turned her face toward him, Shinichi suddenly captured her lips in a deep kiss.

When he pulled away, Ryoko stared at him in shock.

“Ryoko, you are an incredibly beautiful woman. The people you’ve met before must have been blind.”

“B-But my eyes, my nose, my mouth—they’re all small…”

“Yes, and your eyes are especially lovely.”

“Lovely? Me…?”

“Ryoko, smile for me.”

Caught off guard, Ryoko hesitated, but then a small smile appeared on her lips.

“See? Just as I thought. You’re beautiful.”

Even as she smiled, Ryoko couldn’t stop her tears from falling.

“Shinichi…”

“Hm?”

“Can you… kiss me again? Just once more…?”

“Hmm…”

Shinichi pretended to think about it.

Seeing this, Ryoko’s expression darkened.

But then—

“…Once isn’t enough.”

Ryoko’s face lit up with joy. Slowly, they kissed again, their embrace growing tighter, their lips refusing to part.

A Blessing Kiss.

For the first time in her life, Ryoko felt true happiness—like she was ascending to heaven. Maybe this love was fleeting, just a momentary illusion. But that was okay. Because the man she had come to trust, the man she was beginning to love, wanted her just as she was.

(I have no regrets anymore…)

Until Saori and Misaki returned from shopping, the two held each other, completely absorbed in their passionate kisses.