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 50

Shinichi and Misaki were not related by bl00d—

Akiko was shocked by Misaki’s words.

She had no idea about it either.

The Ferris wheel cabin they were in had reached a high point. Through the window, they could see the seaside park lit by streetlights, the houses and buildings beginning to glow with lights, and on the other side, the dark sea fading into the night.

But neither of them paid any attention to the view.

The air inside the cabin was tense.

Misaki stared at Akiko with cold eyes.

“Hey, who is my real father?”

“……”

A chill ran down Akiko’s spine.

There was no way she could answer. This was the first time she had ever heard about it.

“I’ll ask again. Who is my real father?”

“……”

Akiko tried to think.

She thought back to the time she and Shinichi first got together. She always believed Misaki was conceived back then.

(…! No way…)

Akiko suddenly remembered something—before she started dating Shinichi, she had been sleeping around with many men.

She thought back carefully.

The reason she and Shinichi started dating was because he stood up for her at work, where she had been called a “public toilet.” Just a few days before that, she had met him at a company event welcoming new employees. Right before that, she had been with multiple men, without any care for who they were. The time gap between those encounters and when she became intimate with Shinichi was very small—probably less than two weeks. She had thought she was safe because she used condoms, but if Misaki wasn’t Shinichi’s child, then she must have been fathered by one of those other men.

Which meant—

She had no idea who the father was.

Akiko turned pale.

“Hurry up and answer me. Is it an ex-boyfriend?”

Akiko couldn’t stop shaking.

“I-I don’t know…”

“Huh?”

Misaki’s mouth hung open in shock.

“What do you mean you don’t know? That makes no sense.”

“I really don’t know…”

Misaki’s face twisted in frustration.

“What do you mean? I don’t get it.”

“……”

Akiko hung her head, trembling.

Misaki suddenly gasped.

“Oh, I get it now! I see! Ahahahaha!”

Akiko couldn’t even look at her daughter, who had started laughing.

“You’ve always been loose with men!”

Akiko clenched her fists on her lap.

Misaki was right. She couldn’t argue.

“You’ve been sleeping with all kinds of men for years, rolling around in bed! This is hilarious! Ahahahaha!”

Hearing her own daughter mock her, Akiko finally spoke.

“B-but I made sure to use protection—”

“Oh, you just made them wear condoms, right?”

“Huh?”

Misaki looked at her with disgust.

“Condoms don’t work if they’re not used properly. Did you really not know that while you were sleeping around?”

“B-but—”

“If they were worn wrong, had holes, or were loose, they wouldn’t work. Did you squeeze the air out of the tip? Did you move away right after they finished? Did you check if they were even wearing them every time? Or were you one of those people who thought it was fine as long as they put one on at the last moment?”

“……”

Akiko couldn’t respond.

“And now you’re saying, ‘I used protection~’ like that’s an excuse? Do you even realize how pathetic that sounds? Do you understand how embarrassing it is to make that excuse to your own daughter? No, you probably don’t. Your brain is probably just filled with s3x. Instead of a brain, your head is full of pink flowers, isn’t it?”

“Ugh…”

As Misaki glared at her, Akiko turned red with shame and lowered her head.

“So, in the end, you have no idea who my real father is, right?”

“……”

“Hey, I asked you a question. Answer me.”

“Y-yes… I don’t know…”

Misaki let out a deep sigh and held her head in her hands.

The silence inside the cabin grew heavier as the Ferris wheel reached its highest point.

“M-Misaki, I’m really sorry… But your father and I both love you. That’s not a lie. It’s the truth.”

Misaki flinched slightly but kept holding her head.

“I made a mistake, but before that, I always loved you. That’s why—”

*Smack!*

Before Akiko could finish, Misaki suddenly stood up and grabbed Akiko by the collar.

“M-Misaki…”

Misaki’s face was filled with fury. Akiko had never seen her daughter so angry before, and it terrified her.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The Ferris wheel cabin passed the highest point and started descending.

Inside, Misaki’s anger finally exploded—