Chapter 273: Mira Desperation
Ayaka came back home when the sky was already dark. She wasn’t scared though because her mother never returned early.
Lately, Mira had been working at the village hospital, though it wasn’t anything impressive since she was only a runner who transported documents, medical supplies, and whatever else was needed around the small hospital.
But Saturdays were always different. Mira would come home much later than usual and always claimed she was praying at a large temple.
Ayaka never understood it. What kind of prayer only happened in the middle of the night?
Then again, she didn’t care enough to think about it anymore. Mira wasn’t her real mother anyway.
She was just a loser, a monster who made her life miserable, and after meeting Mina today, Ayaka no longer cared about her at all.
However, the moment she arrived at the front door, she noticed something strange. The house wasn’t locked. Frowning, she pushed the door open and immediately found the living room in complete disarray.
Several things had been knocked over, objects were scattered across the floor, and from upstairs she could hear the sound of someone sobbing. The crying was coming from her father’s office.
Ayaka slowly climbed the stairs. For a moment she wondered whether someone had broken into the house, but she already recognized the voice. It belonged to Mira.
When she reached the office, she found the door hanging open. Peeking inside, she was greeted by an even worse sight. The room was a complete mess.
Bookshelves had been pulled down, papers were strewn across the floor, and several drawers had been emptied. In the middle of the chaos sat Mira, slumped on the ground with her shoulders trembling as she cried.
"Oh no, Father will be angry when he comes home..."
Ayaka murmured, but her voice was apparently loud enough to reach Mira’s ears because the woman suddenly lifted her head and turned toward her.
Ayaka immediately jolted. Mira slowly pushed herself to her feet, her long bangs covering most of her face as she staggered forward. She looked like someone who had lost everything in life, but that didn’t make Ayaka any less afraid.
Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut. She was so certain that a slap was coming. Maybe Mira would hit her across the face. Maybe she would kick her in the stomach again where nobody would see the bruises. That was usually how things went.
Instead, Mira collapsed to her knees right in front of her.
Startled, Ayaka opened her eyes and finally got a clear look at her face. It wasn’t twisted by anger this time. It was full of misery, as though her heart had been ripped apart. Then Mira wrapped her arms around her.
The sudden embrace left Ayaka frozen in place because her mother’s touch was something she rarely experienced. Most of the time, Mira only touched her to drag her around or punish her. Yet this time, the trembling arms around her felt genuine.
"He’s gone, your father is gone. He isn’t coming back anymore. He left me... he abandoned us..."
Ayaka’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
First she learned that the woman she thought was her real mother wasn’t actually her mother at all, and now her father was gone too?
The only person who had ever shown her kindness was abandoning her as well? Did that mean she truly had nothing left?
"No! You’re lying! Daddy would never do that!" Ayaka shouted as tears immediately filled her eyes.
"He did! He left us! That fucking cheating bastard left us! He’ll never come back!"
For a brief moment, Ayaka felt nothing but sadness. The thought of losing her father hurt so much that it felt like her chest was being crushed.
But the moment Mira’s expression twisted with hatred and she pointed a shaking finger at her, that sadness immediately began turning into something else.
"It’s all because of you! It’s because of your cursed existence!"
The grief remained, but now it mixed with anger. After everything Mira had done to her, after years of blaming her for every bad thing that happened, she was still doing it.
Even now, when her husband had abandoned her, Mira somehow found a way to make it Ayaka’s fault.
"NO! It’s because of you!"
For the first time, Ayaka fought back because she no longer needed Mira’s love. After everything she had learned today, why should she keep pretending to be a good daughter?
Why should she continue enduring all the blame and insults when the person she wanted approval from was never Mira in the first place?
"You are a monster! Your face disgusts everyone who sees it! You keep clinging to Dad and even kneel in front of him just to get his attention! You get jealous over every little thing and keep fighting with him even when he’s tired after coming home from work!"
"It’s all because of your existence! It’s all your fault!"
The words poured out of Ayaka’s mouth without restraint. She didn’t care if Mira threw her out of the house after this.
What meaning did this place even have anymore if her father wasn’t here? The only reason she had endured everything until now was because he had been there.
Besides, she wasn’t alone anymore. She could go to Haruto. Her real mother would surely accept her.
Ayaka knew Mina loved her. She had seen it in her smile and felt it in the warmth of her voice. It was nothing like the woman standing in front of her now pretending to be a mother.
Even if Haruto could be mean sometimes, he was still her knight in shining armor. He had protected her again and again when nobody else would.
Suddenly, Mira stood up.
Ayaka immediately tensed and took several steps backward. It was entirely possible that the woman had finally gone insane.
She kept retreating until her back touched the wall, her heart pounding wildly inside her chest. If Mira rushed at her now, Ayaka was prepared to run.
Instead, Mira said something completely unexpected.
"You are right... It’s all because of me."
Mira lowered her head and laughed weakly through her tears before looking back at Ayaka.
"But it’s alright. It’s only the two of us now. That bastard won’t ever touch you again, and I’m finally free from all the jealousy and pain he caused me."
Mira grabbed both of her shoulders. "Isn’t that wonderful, Ayaka? It’s only me and you in this world now, and this time I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again!"
Ayaka felt her blood run cold.
Mira’s eyes were opened so wide that they looked as though they might pop out of their sockets at any moment.
The smile stretched across her face was even worse. It was far too wide, so unnaturally wide that it almost looked as if the corners of her mouth had been ripped apart just to force it there.
As she stared into Mira’s crazed eyes, she suddenly understood that something far worse was waiting for her, and that whatever came next would be much harder to escape than a beating.
