I'll post an extra chapter every 300 Power Stones. Good luck with that!
Goal for the next extra chapter: 115/300
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Hearing Miu's mother's question, I didn't really understand what she meant by it. But judging by the look on her face, she was clearly irritated.
Not really understanding her question, I said, "What do you mean by that?"
Miu's mother's forehead creased as she narrowed her eyes.
"I want to know why you're doing this. Why are you getting close to my daughter?"
Her question became even more unbelievable.
"I'll ask you again. What do you mean by that? We're friends. That's all."
"Stop playing with me. It's impossible for someone like you to be friends with my daughter."
"What?" Her words irritated me. A lot.
"You're handsome, famous, intelligent. What do you want with her? Did my daughter catch your interest because she's pretty? Are you taking advantage of who you are to get close to her?"
Her words were completely unbelievable.
I was speechless.
She's basically saying that her own daughter is worthless—that she doesn't deserve "someone like me."
'This woman is completely insane, just like Miu said.'
"You're right that I'm attracted to Miu's appearance. She is beautiful, after all. But when I first met her, I barely even noticed how she looked... She was reading something I'd written, and I couldn't help myself, so I tried talking to her."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"You can ask her. When we became friends, Miu didn't even know who I was. My identity was only revealed recently. I never told her who I was before it leaked because I'd always been very careful about that."
Then, all of a sudden, the front door opened.
"Mom, what do you think you're doing!?" It was Miu. She was visibly furious. "Why are you saying those things?"
So she'd been listening to everything.
"Miu!"
"Why are you saying those things to Kyo!? Are you trying to make him hate me? Do you want to leave me even more alone? Are you trying to push everyone away from me or something!?" Miu's eyes were filled with tears.
"I'm just worried about you. What if he was—"
"Worried about me!? You weren't worried about me even when I broke my arm. You didn't even look worried when I got lost and the police found me hours later. You're never worried about me! What are you talking about all of a sudden!?"
"..."
"Why do you have to interfere in everything?" Miu walked up to her mother and, with tears in her eyes, said, "I hate you... I hate you so much. You turned our family's life into hell. You ruined everything. You destroyed our family, and now you're trying to destroy my life too."
Hearing those words and seeing her daughter cry, Miu's mother froze completely, stunned.
She stared at Miu, and then suddenly shouted, "Of course I'm never worried about you! You shouldn't have been born in the first place! The day you were born, my life ended! Everything ended! You ruined my life, do you know that!? Because of you, your father left me! Because of you, I have to work twice as hard just to put food on your table! Because of you, I never get any rest! You're a cancer in my life!"
Miu, who had apparently expected her mother to say those words, didn't seem that shocked.
She wiped away her tears and smiled.
"Good. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. You haven't changed at all, just like I expected. I thought maybe our relationship could get better, but I guess that's never going to happen."
She walked past her mother and then asked, "Kyo... can I stay at your house tonight? P-Please..." She looked straight into my eyes. Her voice was trembling. She was clearly not okay.
"Miu! You're going to stay at that boy's house? Get back inside right now! Don't make me even angrier!" her mother shouted.
But Miu didn't care.
I held out my hand to her and said, "It's okay."
"Miu! Listen to me!"
"That's enough." Miu turned around and said, "I've had enough. I won't get in the way of your life anymore. That's what you want, isn't it? Don't worry. I'll manage on my own."
"..."
Miu's mother tried to say something, but no words came out.
We left her standing there, her mouth slightly open, and returned to the car.
As soon as we got in, an uneasy silence filled the vehicle.
Daiki, who had heard everything, looked at me with a horrified expression. He was clearly shaken by the words Miu's mother had said.
Those were not words a parent should ever say to their daughter.
Daiki was a father, so he understood the weight behind those words. The power they had to completely destroy a child. And it didn't seem like it was the first time Miu had heard them.
I looked at Miu. She was staring silently at her own hands.
Then she looked at me and said, "Kyo..."
"Yeah. I understand," I replied with a smile.
Miu smiled back at me, and tears began streaming down her face.
The car started moving, and the farther we got from her house, the more uncontrollable Miu's sobbing became.
I didn't care what she might think. I gently took off her glasses and pulled her into my arms, pressing her face against my chest to hide it.
"It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay," I said, gently stroking her soft hair.
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POV: Third Person
After the car drove away, Miu's mother stood there motionless for a few moments.
Seconds later, tears began running down her face. She rushed back inside the house and grabbed her phone.
She started calling Miu.
She called over and over again and sent countless messages, but she got no response.
"Damn..." she muttered, covering her face with both hands. "I really ruined everything this time."
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