I Was Heartbroken After Discovering My Girlfriend’s Infidelity, but Suddenly I Became Popular With Girls - 17

Chapter 17: There’s No Way I Have That Kind of Right

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I told Nanami she didn’t need to come, but she decided to head over anyway, saying, “I’m going to give my big sister her final notice.”

“Kanou-san, that person named Nanami-san is your younger sister, right? Is she still a college student?”

“That’s right. She’s a freshman at XXX Female University. She’s got a high specs profile and has had a one-sided crush on Ryo-kun since she was in high school.”

Everyone was stunned.

“XXX Female University? Why, she’s my junior! And she’s only eighteen?”

Shinogi-san looked aghast as well.

“She’s younger than anyone here.”

“Wait, Tawara-san, do you actually intend to date that girl?”

“Well, I’ll talk about it once Nanami gets here.”

(At this point, I’ll just expose everything when Nanami arrives. The fact that I decided to date Nanami, and that our first date is tomorrow. That I’m officially breaking up with Riona. And that I won’t date any woman other than Nanami.)

Finally, Riona found and brought out my prized wine and single malt whiskey. Furthermore, claiming there wasn’t enough food, she went ahead and ordered delivery pizza. Sakurai-san took some cheese and salami from the fridge, arranged them on a plate, and brought them over. She was quite efficient.

(I feel like just telling them to do whatever they want. But I’m going to settle everything tonight. I don’t have a hobby of being pleased by a crowd of women hitting on me. The woman I love is just one… well, there are two right now. I can’t go public with Yuna, but I’ll declare Nanami as my girlfriend. Then I’ll have the others give up. I’ve had enough of this commotion.)

Just as I was getting quite drunk, some words floated into my mind and seized my consciousness.

『Have sex with many women and gain experience. Then, learn the true nature of women. Women inherently have the habit of seeking pleasure and the genes of a man they like or a superior man. There is no sense of chastity there, so grasp your partner’s sexual preferences and meet their expectations. Even if they have a lover, women are creatures that will betray them if they find their ideal man. The essence of a woman is not to suffer alongside a partner, but to seek only stimulation and pleasure. Usually, they just pretend to be chaste because their ideal partner isn’t around. The moment they find that person, they are creatures that will greedily seek only pleasure even if it means throwing away their life.』

(Whose words were these? They echoed inside my hazy head.)

『Men are the same; they want to leave their genes with many women. That is a man’s instinct. So there is no need to hold back. Follow your instincts. You have that right.』

(There’s no way I have such a right. But where did these words come from? I don’t understand at all.)

“Anyway, being young isn’t everything. There’s such a thing as being at the right age.”

“Sakurai-san, don’t you already have a boyfriend? And you’re in a serious relationship with him, right?”

“No, not serious at all. If Tawara-san would be my boyfriend, I’d break up with him right this second.”

“I wonder what Sasaki-kun from Sales Department One would think if he heard that.”

“Please absolutely do not tell him! If you do, I’m ending our friendship.”

“Well, I won’t say anything. Everyone already knows anyway. Right?”

“At any rate, I’m going to send Tawara-san a photo that meets his expectations. I believe Tawara-san isn’t the kind of person to show my photos to others.”

“Stop it! Don’t send such filthy things to Ryo-kun!”

“Riona, you’re the one who’s filthy. Are you stupid?”

“In that case, it’s first come, first served.”

(I feel like I can see the hidden faces of these women. Wanting to create a fait accompli with me, or thinking they’ve won if they get pregnant.)

 Just as I thought that, the intercom rang.

Nanami entered the room almost at the same time as the pizza delivery. Upon seeing Riona, Nanami let her anger show.

“Big sister—no, Riona Kanou-san—you probably can’t get in touch with Mom, right? That’s because I talked to her. Mom was incredibly angry. You know the reason why Mom broke up with Dad, right? You did something just as terrible as that. She said she’s disowning you—no, cutting ties with you. Mom was crying, saying she didn’t remember raising a daughter like that. Mom said she wants to apologize to Ryosuke-san. But she never wants to see you again.”

Hearing those words, Riona wailed, “Mom, I’m sorry.”

“Since Mom has cut ties with you, I’m cutting ties with you too. We aren’t family anymore. I don’t want to see you anymore since you made Mom so sad, so don’t ever show your face in front of me or Ryosuke-san again. Please get out of here quickly.”

“Hey, Nanami, that… the reason your mother got divorced…”

“My father… He abandoned our family and went far away with a woman from his workplace. After that, Mom worked from early morning until late at night to raise us. She even put us through college.”

“I see… Riona.”

“Yeah. I plan to talk to Mom properly and apologize. I’ll quit the company and live seriously near Mom in our hometown, and I’ll have her see that I’m reflecting from the bottom of my heart. I don’t know how many years it will take, but if Mom forgives me, I’ll come to see Ryo-kun again.”

It was Riona’s grim determination. Everyone in the room fell silent and gloomy.

“Shinogi-san, everyone, that talk about the photos earlier was all my delusion and a lie. Ryo-kun never made a promise like that, and photos like that are just a nuisance, so he’ll actually hate you for it.”

“….”

“Kanou-san, are you resigning? The manager knows the situation, so he might let you take a leave of absence for about a month.”

“Thank you, Shinogi-san. But I don’t have such naive thoughts right now. I will work and live seriously while reflecting under my mother’s supervision for at least two or three years. I don’t think I realized the magnitude of my sins yet. Being told off by Nanami reminded me of my mother’s hardships. I intend to turn over a new leaf and live my life.”

Seeing Riona shedding tears, my heart wavered too. Happy memories came flooding back, but I also knew things could never go back to the way they were. Seeing her truly wanting to reflect after remembering her mother’s hardships, perhaps Riona had grown up a little. Nanami was looking down as well, as if she hadn’t expected Riona to go as far as quitting the company and returning to their hometown.

“Riona, with those words, I already forgive you. Please tell your mother that.”

“Thank you, Ryo-kun. But I know that in your heart, you don’t want to see me. I also understand that this is all my own doing. I know that right now, I don’t have the right or the qualification to be happy with Ryo-kun.”

“…I see. But everyone has the right to be happy. You do too.”

Riona wiped her tears and shook her head sadly.

“Nanami, are you dating Ryo-kun?”

“Yeah. I confessed to Ryosuke-san and he accepted me.”

“Congratulations. I hope you’ll be happy.”

“You don’t even have to tell me that.”

Nanami brushed her off coldly. It seemed she no longer viewed Riona as family.

After that, I declared my relationship with Nanami to Shinogi-san and the others, and the gathering dispersed. Only Shinogi-san left behind the words, “I haven’t given up yet,” before she went home.

Riona’s resignation was set for two weeks later due to the hand-over of her duties. Riona was handed one million yen by Arai as a nuisance fee, but she tried to refuse, saying, “I am equally guilty.” However, the manager apparently persuaded her that she deserved it since she was even leaving the company.

One million yen was also transferred to me from Arai. I gave 200,000 to my administrative scrivener friend and gave the remaining 800,000 to Riona. Since her mother was moving in with someone and the house would be empty, Riona was going to live alone in the family home. Nanami said that when she went home for visits, she would go to the place where her mother was living. In this way, Riona left Tokyo.

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A letter arrived from that Riona. She was doing well. She was working a desk job at the same company as her mother. Her salary was about half of what it was at N Securities, but since there were no remittances to send and no rent to pay, it was sufficient. Her mother told her she would watch her for three years before deciding whether to forgive her. 

However, she was told that if there was even a shadow of a man during that time, she would be disowned and kicked out of the house. Her mother’s house was nearby, she was at the same company, and since it was the countryside, the eyes of the neighbors were also on her. The surveillance system was perfect. 

“Of course, I only have eyes for Ryo-kun, so that is absolutely fine.” 

Furthermore, she said her mother told her that since she graduated from university, she should get some kind of qualification. Since there was nothing to do at night, she intended to study hard and get a qualification that would be useful when she returned to Tokyo. Finally…

“Once I’ve reflected for three years and been forgiven by Mom, I want to return to Tokyo. I’ll come back there as a good woman, so please break up with Nanami by then.”

(She’s a persistent one.)

(Three years from now…. Yuna, Nanami, or even Riona since it seems like she’ll be back… I wonder what I’ll do then.)

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