But a tear escaped, trailing down my cheek.
Shiba-kun, flustered, muttered awkwardly.
"I didn’t mean to make you cry. I just… thought maybe… damn, forget it."
"Huh?"
I tilted my head, not understanding his mumbling.
"If it were me… I’d never look at anyone else. I’d treasure you."
Hearing him say that, I couldn’t help but think whoever ends up with him is incredibly lucky.
"You can’t trust the words of a guy who secretly has feelings for his best friend’s girlfriend," he added bitterly.
"Wait… what do you mean by that?"
This almost sounded like he was saying he liked me.
Or… was “his best friend’s girlfriend” referring to one of the other girls my childhood friend had been with?
What was this feeling?
My heart felt like it was about to burst from a mix of anxiety and hope.
“I love you. I’m hopelessly in love with you.”
“...!”
“I tried to suppress my feelings, to avoid contact with you. I thought that if I acted cold and made you hate me, I could bury these emotions. But it was impossible. I’m insanely jealous of him for having you, and I hate him to the point of wanting to kill him for taking you for granted.”
His grip on my shoulders tightened.
The face that was usually calm and composed was now distorted, as if he were about to cry.
“Please… accept my feelings.”
What should I do?
Why am I so happy?
Why is my heart leaping with joy so much that I feel like I could scream?
I’m supposed to be in love with my childhood friend.
“I love you. Break up with him and be with me.”
His straightforward words made my head spin.
I wanted to nod.
I wanted to leap into his broad chest and see his worried face break into a smile.
But that…
“I can’t…”
When did I become such a shallow woman?
To be drawn to my boyfriend’s best friend—how despicable.
I love my childhood friend; I’m his girlfriend.
I shook my head, and he looked even closer to tears.
The fact that even his pained expression made my heart flutter—how pathetic could I be?
“Then… being second is fine. Even if I’m just a rebound, I don’t care. Please, let me stay by your side.”
The normally upright, virtuous him would never say something like this.
That I was the one making him beg so miserably—what was I supposed to do?
Stop it.
You’re making me want to scream that you’re the most important person in the world.
“You’re not meant to be anyone’s second. You’re the type who should be someone’s first and most important person.”
“No! It has to be you! Of course, I don’t want to be second! But disappearing from your life entirely as the man you rejected would be even worse!”
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