NOVEL NEXT chapter 35
35
“It’s not true, Kou-kun! I mean, it’s not!”
“It’s not?”
Even though she kept repeating that it wasn’t true, it didn’t make sense.
I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say.
“What do you mean it’s not?”
So I asked her again, but the words that came out of my mouth were surprisingly low.
“W-wait, Kou-kun! You’ve got the wrong idea! I mean, it’s not like that with Shido-kun… I just asked him for advice, that’s all! It’s really nothing!”
Mio’s face showed a momentary look of fear.
She immediately tried to explain herself in a rush, but maybe because she was so upset, she made a mistake that wasn’t like her.
“…You just called him by his first name. You usually call Shido by his last name.”
“Huh? Oh!”
When I pointed that out mercilessly, Mio seemed to realize her slip of the tongue and hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.
Her face grew even paler, and her eyes filled with a mix of anxiety and confusion.
“You were close, weren’t you? I didn’t know.”
“It’s not like that! It’s not like that at all!”
Mio shook her head like a child throwing a tantrum.
She was almost hysterical. I had never seen her so distraught.
“It doesn’t make a difference. It’s a fact that you were with Shido, and I didn’t know about it. That’s all.”
“But, but if I told you that, I thought you’d misunderstand! I didn’t want to worry you, especially after what happened before! I thought I could handle it on my own! That’s all it was! I didn’t t do anything with Shido-kun! I just asked him for advice, and we became friends, that’s all!”
In contrast, my heart was cold.
She had called Shido by his first name. That fact made my heart go cold.
Was it because I realized once again that Mio wasn’t mine alone?
“Really?”
“Yes, really! Please believe me!”
I felt like a precious treasure had been tainted.
“…Then why did you lie?”
“I, I, uhhh…”
My relentless pursuit continued.
Before I knew it, the tables had turned.
I was now the one cornering the girl I loved.
“But, but! I couldn’t say it in that situation! I just couldn’t! I’m sorry I lied! I’ll apologize, I really will, but I’m not cheating on you! Please believe me! “
Mio clung to me, begging.
Her face, which I had always thought was beautiful, was now a mess of tears.
There was no trace of the school idol left.
“The only person I love is you, Kou-kun! It’s true! You’re the only one for me! You’re the only one who knows the real me! If you’re gone, the real me will disappear too! “
It wasn’t an idol standing before me, but a girl who wept over the lie she had told.
“Please, just look at me, Kou-kun! Don’t cast me aside! Otherwise I, I…!
Mio asked me while crying.
She seemed like a little child.
Just looking at her made my heart ache.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
However, I cut her off.
I couldn’t do anything else.
“A lie is a lie. I can’t trust the Mio right now…I can’t be her boyfriend.”
“Ah, aahhhhh…”
Mio groaned as if in despair.
“Let’s break up. Let’s stop being boyfriend and girlfriend.”
Once again, I told her we were breaking up.