Silver Wish

Lane couldn't say a word against her; he had collapsed on the ground and was kneeling at some point. Sumire walked over and bent down. She grabbed hold of his collar angrily.

"Do you think getting all depressed about it now will change anything?"

"It's not their fault! She did something to them, they- not all of them are-"

"Foolish man," Sumire said coldly. "Even if that were the case, I believe the person you trust the most is the one who betrayed you. I bet the ones you suspect are the ones who are sincere."

Yuhi coughed and spoke up. "Sumire." He said sharply. "Give the poor guy a break. This is the second time his comrades betrayed him and being used like a puppet too. The fact that this is the second time and he is still spouting the same nonsense as before is already shameless enough."

The anger she felt towards Lane vanished when she heard Yuhi's words. Her sweat fell, uh- sometimes she forgets how savage he can be. Those words are way too blunt! She looked over at Lane apologetically.

He seemed even more hurt than before; when she saw the tears in her eyes, she stood up. Sumire tapped Yuhi on the shoulder, and he nodded. The two of them quickly exited the room but remained outside in the hallway.

"You're way too blunt, Yuhi-san."

"And you're too lenient. You already gave him that speech before. If he didn't listen then, do you think he will this time around?" Yuhi said flatly.

"Well, there is a saying that experience shapes a person. Sometimes repeated failure will reap better results." She trailed off and looked back at Lane through the creak. "Besides, if he were completely hopeless, he wouldn't have obtained that position. It is simply because he is too kind that people keep stepping over him. Once he calms down and hardens his resolve, he should be fine."

This should be a wake-up call.

Her thoughts broke off when Yuhi grabbed hold of her wrist. "Repeated failure reaps better results eh, then even though I failed to make you happy before. Can I make up for that now?"

Uh, how on earth did the topic shift to this? Sumire coughed lightly. "What are you talking about, Yuhi-san? Since I returned, you have been very good to me. Although we both became a bit busy, you always ensured I fell asleep in your arms every night. I am content."

"It doesn't change the reality that if I hadn't left for France that time, you wouldn't have suffered so much."

"That was already so long ago. I said it was okay too."

Why is he bringing all of this up now?

Yuhi tugged on her hand and pulled her into his arms. "You know I have a lot of regrets from when we were in high school."

"I was the happiest during those times." Sumire pointed out.

"I know, but sometimes I wish I did more. No, I regret so much that I left you behind and went to Tokyo. If I hadn't left, you would never have gotten entangled with Nagawa like that. You would have complained to me about the soiree, and I would have stolen you away before the event began. We would have ridden the train until the last stop, gotten off, and spent time together. Maybe I would have confessed again, trying my luck after making the mood good. If it worked out, then we would be a couple. If I still wanted to go to Tokyo, I would have taken you with me."

Her eyes widened when she heard those words. 'He is the same as me. In the seven years since I left, I also thought of such scenarios.' But she learned that there was no use thinking of what-if scenarios anymore.

"Imagine us ruling the music scene together, us two working alongside each other as partners. It would have happened much earlier, thus avoiding all the other conflicts."

"I understand, Yuhi, but we already can't return to the past, so we should focus on the present."

Sumire frowned when she heard those words. 'He truly is an idiot.' She took a deep breath before she cupped his cheeks with her hands and leaned forward till their forehead lightly touched.

"Yuhi-san, look at me."

He still averted his gaze.

"My dearest husband."

Yuhi flinched when she heard those words; eventually, he looked up.

"I think you forget something; back then, I bombarded you with what-if scenarios too. I even said something about what if we met in a normal situation as a senpai and kohai. Back then, you told me that while those scenarios sounded nice, you wouldn't have traded our first meeting for some dream-like fairytale. It was quite blunt of you, and honestly, I wondered what you were thinking. Our first meeting was in that facility; after all, it was hardly romantic. But you insisted how meaningful it was."

It wasn't just him who thought that; she also shared the same thoughts.

"You keep saying that you promised to make me the happiest girl in the world but contributed to my suffering instead. But you also forget that the same goes vice versa. You suffered a lot for my sake. You know Yuhi-san, I don't think a relationship is flawless. While you made me happy regardless of all the pain, I learned many things while I was suffering. Each experience will shape a person like I just said. We went through hard times but look at us now; we still returned to each other. If we truly were not meant to be, then we would never have crossed paths again."

If she truly had no feelings left for Yuhi, it would have been easy for her to disappear from him for good. But because she still kept clinging to him and calling for him in her dreams. When the opportunity presented itself, she came flying.

"Terashima Yuhi, while I have an awful and complicated personality. I am not cute nor beautiful like the thousands of women out there. Since high school, no even before then, I have only loved you."

Her sentence fell short when she felt his lips on hers. "You always get the last word in."

"Of course."