I Fell in Love with Someone I Shouldn't Have Fallen in Love with

Siblings

Souji-kun accepted my apology saying,

“There is no need to apologize.”

In fact, he doesn’t even seem to harbour any hatred or resentment toward me.

As he’s saying so, Souji-kun gives his usual kind and gentle smile to both me and Emi.

At that moment, I finally realized.

The smile he has shown me many times before is the smile of an older brother to his little sister.

As Souji-kun told us so, me and Emi get into the kotatsu and take a sip of the hot milk that he has prepared for us.

I place the mug down for a moment and turn towards Emi.

“Emi, thank you for everything you did today. It’s because you’ve been so strong that I’m able to come this far. I’m sorry for being such an unreliable and pathetic older sister.”

If Emi hadn’t been there, I think I would still be in that house, crying and unable to do anything. Even though she is just a second-year middle school student, I can’t help but to rely on her today.

That’s why, I’m filled with the sense of apology and gratitude towards Emi.

“No, it’s the other way around. I think I’m able to endure it all because you are always with me, Onee-chan. If I had been alone, I would have surely given up.”

When Emi got off the bus stop and saw Souji-kun earlier, she immediately hugged him while crying. She must had been trying to act strong all this time, but the relief of seeing him must have caused her to let her guard down and show her true feelings.

I truly think Emi is amazing.

I don’t think there is any other 14-year-old girl who is as strong as her.

I’m truly happy to be her older sister.

While I’m thinking about these thoughts, I gently stroke Emi’s head, and she sees me with a happy smile on her face.

After a while of resting quietly, Emi begins to talk to Souji-kun.

“Souji-senpai, I know we had decided to not talk to Onee-chan about true relationship for the time being, but I ended up bringing it up. I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine, because there must be some reason for it, right? I feel like I’ve put you in a difficult position, Emi-san. I should be the one apologizing.”

“Umm…the two of you has known about this matter for quite some time now, haven’t you? Is it because Souji-kun told Emi about it?”

“No, that’s not it! It’s because I happened to find some old documents…I had a hunch about it, but I couldn’t be sure because there were a lot of difficult words that I didn’t understand, so I asked Souji-senpai to confirm it. That’s how I found out about the truth.”

“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding I have caused, Ami-san. I never intended to tell anyone about this fact. However, it seemed like Emi-san found out about the truth, so I decided to be honest with her and not hide it. I’ve been thinking about talking this matter to you for a long time, but I just couldn’t find the right time…I’m truly sorry, Ami-san.”

“Onee-chan, what Souji-senpai said is true. We have been discussing when and how to tell you about it for quite some time now. Souji-senpai also feels guilty to hide it from you all this time.”

“I see…I guess so…it’s not such an easy matter to talk about…”

I had a brief moment wondering if I was the only one who didn’t know about it, but I realized that there was no ill intent and it was all because the difficult situation we were in.

Afterwards, Souji-kun go to the nearby convenience story to buy us dinner.

As we are eating, I explain to Souji-kun everything that happened at home today.

What I overheard.

Emi confronting our parents about what happened 16 years ago.

My outburst to my parents.

Our decision to run away from home.

Souji-kun close his eyes as he listens to our story quietly, not saying anything.

Once we finished, Souji-kun opens his eyes.

“So, there is no doubt that our father cheated again and got the other woman pregnant, right?”

Souji-kun’s voice is lower than usual, I’ve never seen him get so angry before.

“From what I heard from the conversation, I think there is no doubt.”

“I see…it’s unbelievable that there is such an irredeemable, irresponsible and despicable person in this world, and it happens to be our father. The two of you should avoid meeting your parents for a while. It’s their problem, not yours. Getting involved with them won’t do any good, the other party involved might even target both Ami-san and Emi-san as their targets of resentment. Let’s prioritize your own safety first. Also, Emi, thank you for telling your mother the things I’ve wanted to say all this time. Thanks to you, I think my mother might feel a bit better. In fact, I also feel better now.”

After we finished talking to Souji-kun about what happened today, it’s already quite late, so we decided to postpose further discussions until tomorrow and get some rest. We take turns taking a bath and get ready for bed.

Emi and I share the futon, while Souji-kun decides to sleep in the kotatsu.

As Emi and I lay down and embrace each other, Souji-kun says,

“Good night.”

Then he turns off the lights.

Because of the socking incidents that happened today, my emotions and mind are all messed up. By the time I go to bed, I finally managed to calm myself down. However, I realized something important.

The person I have fallen in love with, Souji-kun, is my brother.

I fell in love with someone I shouldn’t fall in love with…