"That's a wonderful idea!" Mum exclaimed. "Double celebration! Oh we have lots to plan. The venue, the food"
"All the guests that we'll invite" Dad said.
Her dad said; "I can see a bright future ahead. The Yamamotos and The Suzukis"
And this was how the comments kept going. The decorations, the invitations, the wedding, babies, business partnerships and so on. My brain was reeling with the new information. When did this even happen?
Yua.
It had to be her. I then recalled all the times I was told that she likes me but I never believed. How Sara nearly went mad because she thought Yua stole me from her. It was true. It was all true. What a complete fool I've been.
Yua kept smiling at me despite knowing the truth behind our relationship. She kept smiling, acting as if everything was alright. Anger surged up within me.
What right did she have to play with my life like that? With any of our lives? Wasn't Aera enough? Just how fucking twisted is she? Why was she even doing this? She had given our parents false hope. Made them happy for nothing because I sure as hell won't let this go on. I stood up, determined to put an end to the huge lie there and then.
"We're not getting married" I said. My voice was loud and firm.
The chatting and laughter stopped.
"What are you saying Aito?" Mum asked. "Are you angry we didn't wait for you to tell us yourself?"
"No!" I replied sharply. "Yua and I are not getting married"
Dad's face darkened. "I don't understand"
I exploded. "What part of we're not getting married don't you understand dad?! I don't want to marry Yua. I won't wed her. I'm not putting a fucking ring on her fucking finger. We're not having babies. Hell we're not having anything! There's nothing between us! Nothing at all!"
"Aito-"
"No mum!" I cut her off. "Whatever she said to you, she lied. I only see her as a sister. I’ve always told her that. Nothing else. Just the thought of us kissing freaks me out. I don't love Suzuki Yua and I never will!"
The person I love is sleeping in his home right now.
I turned to the Yua. "And what the fuck is your problem? Why do you like plotting things like this? What the hell do you gain?"
Yua got up and instead of facing the situation, she ran out the room, crying. I rolled my eyes. She's such a drama queen.
Her father stood up and threw his napkin on the table furiously. "What is the meaning of this?! What an insult! How can you let your son speak to us in such a manner?!"
"I spoke the truth!" I said, defending myself. "You should ask your daughter why she fucking lied in the first place!"
"Shut up you brat!" he roared.
"Do not speak to my son that way Mr Suzuki" my dad said as he stood up. "What is wrong in what he said? Your daughter lied to us. We're the ones that should be angry"
"And you believe him?!"
"As a matter of fact, I do" Dad said.
"So do I" my mum said. She also stood up. "Our son has no reason to lie. Maybe Yua loves him or maybe, you two planned this so she could marry into our family for the money"
Yua's mum gasped. "Mrs Yamamoto, we would never do that! We're honourable people! I swear to you, she told us Aito had proposed to her. She said they've been in a secret relationship for months now and they're planning to get married within a few years"
"That's a lie. I've never even thought of marriage let alone with her" I said.
Her dad cleared his throat. "I see. Well, we will question Yua and get to the bottom of this"
"Please do" Mum said as she grabbed my hand. "We'll see ourselves out"
********
"Oh my god! Really?" Haruto asked me. "She said that?"
I nodded, stuffing popcorn into my mouth. "I couldn't believe it either. Why will she lie like that? What was she trying to do? Tie me down?"
Haruto laughed. "Maybe. So it's true that she likes you. No in this case, she loves you. Just how many people are in love with you, Aito?"
He made it sound like I was the one making them love me. I didn’t want to start an argument with him so I just let it slide. "To hell with her love. She’s fucking obsessed. I don't want to have anything to do with her and I’ve made it clear but she’s too stubborn"
"Dude it's like our whole circle is falling apart. You and Yua are no longer friends and I don't even understand the shit between you and Toshiro"
I sighed. "It's better this way. We can go on with our plans without feeling any guilt."
Haruto and I were playing video games in my room and when we got tired, we decided to watch a movie but none of us were concentrating. Instead, we were eating popcorn and filling each other in with the latest news.
"Yeah about that, Kane is ready to fuck up Dai. Everything is set for tonight. All we need to do is wire him the rest of his money” Haruto said.
Wow. They’re ready already?
I nodded. "I’ll do it later. But Haruto, I don’t think we should record anything about Dai. Going through what we planned is already punishment enough. As Kane said, his parents are humble reputable people in the society. Let’s not trouble them further. What we’re about to do is enough to cause him psychological problems for life”
"No way” Haruto replied. “We agreed to publicize each one. We need to make him feel the humiliation Aera felt. Why are you going back on your words now Aito? You’re going soft on him? Have you forgotten what he did to Aera?”
“I haven’t!” I snapped. “And I will never forget but we also have to be considerate. Using him as their toy is already enough. We agreed to give them punishments equal to what they did. If I’m in Dai's shoes, after going through something traumatic like that and then have it known to the public, I will just kill myself”
He gasped “Aito!”
“I’m telling you the truth!” I insisted. “Aera already died because of me, Haruto. I don’t want another death on my hands. I survived Aera’s with much difficulty. You know that. You were there. I don’t think I’ll be able to live knowing I’m also responsible for Dai's death. I let you plan his punishment but no videos or pictures. Leave it at that. Please”
Haruto sighed but said nothing. This is the difference between Haruto and Ryu. Haruto holds grudges and he never lets them go until he fulfills them while Ryu is compassionate. He’s…humane and reasonable. He understands when to let go and when to forgive. He has taught me a lot and changed me for the better. I don’t want everything he has instilled in me to go to waste because of anger and hatred. I will avenge Aera as promised but I won’t go beyond what they deserve.
To me, what Haruto planned for Dai was already too much. Thankfully, it wasn’t going to be a gangbang. They’ll just make him give them blowjobs one by one until they were satisfied. Just imagining it made me want to puke. My heart trembled at the thought of enduring something like that. From people I don’t even know. Dai wil truly be traumatized.
“Fine” Haruto said after a long while. “No videos and no pictures. Got it.”
I smiled. “Thank you Haruto”
He just waved me off. I knew he was upset but he had to deal with it if he really cares about me. It’s time for him to also let some things go. Not everyone deserved extreme punishments. If we went by that, then I’m supposed to be severely punished too. Me almost going insane for 6 months wasn’t enough. I shou-
"Hey do you mind explaining what happened that day with Ryu?" he asked, interrupting my thoughts.