What happened back then

After that emotional conversation, Lila cried herself to sleep. Haruka did not leave her side and just stayed there for a few minutes, watching her sleep. The stuff that left her lips after she agreed to talk horrified him. Now he understood why the girl was so reluctant to mention anything to him. To think she spent so many lonely nights like that, and he thought his experience was bad.

Haruka placed a light kiss on her cheek. 'I won't let you experience such things anymore.'

His thoughts broke off when he felt a wincing pain appear in his right eye. This again, the headaches aside. He ends up experiencing pain in his eye several times a day.

'I guess I ought to see Zane for a bit.'

Haruka looked at Lila. It should be fine to leave for a bit, right? He does not want her thinking that he is neglecting her again. But even more than that, Lila would hate it if he was in pain. No, he recalled her expression when she spoke about Sophia.

It is far too dangerous; who knows what she will do?

Haruka slipped on some clothes and exited the room, not before scribbling a small note and placing it in her palm.

He walked down the hallways deep in thought. This pain in his eye must be due to the torture he experienced. The memories of that time are still very blurry to him. Sophia got him to sleep with other women and drugged him. She also got a bunch of people to beat him up. But with how twisted her personality is, it would not surprise him if there was something else.

They must have done something to him. He concluded that much since he woke up. Even Zane agreed with that statement. But, what sort of experiments did they do to him? He cannot tell.

After walking for a few minutes, he arrived at a room at the very end of the corridor. There were no other rooms in the surrounding area. When they first came here, there was a huge debate about where Zane would stay.

At first, the others felt weird about letting Zane stay in the church with them. But considering how he was the one who suggested this place as a hideout, they gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Still, Haruka looked at his surroundings. There is a creepy aura around this area.

The moment he approached the doors, it slammed open, and out came Kiryu with a furious look on his face.

"No matter what you say, she is the one person I can never forgive," Kiryu yelled.

"She genuinely loved you," Zane mumbled.

This only seemed to further agitate Kiryu, who stormed off without saying a word to him. He only heard brief snippets of the conversation, but he understood. Did Zane talk about Rosalia in front of Kiryu? He should know that is a sensitive topic.

When Haruka entered the room, he found Zane staring at the marks on his arms. It seemed like Nobuhiko was just here.

"I am surprised you agreed for him to turn you into a lab rat."

Zane chuckled. "Being experimented on isn't new to me. Moreover, he hasn't done anything more than inject stuff."

"You should still be cautious."

"How was your date?"

Haruka slumped to the chair with a defeated expression. "What do I do? She is cuter than before."

Zane chuckled. "Your problems haven't changed. You often said that before too."

"No, this time around, there is something different."

She gets angry more is more outspoken. But, he found those sides of her equally adorable/endearing.

'It feels like I am falling even more in love with her. I did not think that was possible.' The day Lila left him, he recalled how he stayed sat on that park bench for hours just staring at the empty space where she had been just hours ago.

When he returned to the apartment they shared, it never looked so empty as it did then. Although they could not stay in a fancy place, he still made sure it looked luxurious on the inside. But who cares about all that high-quality stuff? When he saw that luxury, it made him sick. It reminded him of the past, the past before they got together.

He had all the luxuries in the world but did that matter? He always returned to an empty house. All the girls who slept with him never stayed overnight because they had partners/homes to return to. He was all alone.

That bed never felt as cold as it did that day. So he didn't sleep that night, or the next, or even the next day. If Rikka didn't ask Sano-san to open the doors up, he would have probably just passed away like that. He did not eat, drink or sleep. He just stayed in that spot lifeless.

….

20xx New York

"Haruka! Haruka!"

He could hear the sound of frantic cries yelling. For the last few days, somebody has been banging loudly on his door like this. He knew that voice, but it did not matter to him. None of it mattered.

He hears the sound of a door being forced open and a pair of rushing footsteps. There were two people standing before him now, but his entire body felt drained. He had no strength.

When was the last time he ate?

Or slept? He doesn't know anymore.

Haruka felt a pair of arms wrap around him. "Haruka, what happened? Where is Lila-san?"

Lila.

That name, the name of the person he was waiting for. The one he vowed to spend the rest of his life with. The reason why this house seemed so cold was because she was no longer there.

"She-" Haruka trailed off. It was hard to speak. "-is gone. She left."

Even after he said those words, he could not believe it.

Why would she leave him? Was she still angry because he slept with Rikka that time? Even though he brought her away from everything, perhaps she was still mad?

'If you ever cheat on me, I will break up with you.' It was something she made clear to him before. Is it true? Did she truly leave him because of this?

Rikka, he needs to not get involved with her anymore. Haruka mustered his remaining strength and pushed the girl away from him.

She looked at him with a pained gaze. "Haruka, I am just trying to help."

"You're the reason; you're the reason she is gone!" Haruka exclaimed.

If it wasn't because of her, if she didn't show up in his life again, then Lila wouldn't have been so insecure and afraid. She would not have left his side.

"I-"

"You're trying to help me? Hah, do you think you can take advantage of the fact that she is gone to make a move on me? You did that before, too, right? Whenever I fought with her, you would pretend to listen and to comfort me. To think I even bothered with you. You and that cousin of yours are exactly the same."