Chapter 14: Lies? Chiko?

"What's happening?" I thought.

I was in a panic, but at the same time, I felt quite guilty for snooping through Ema's phone.

The strangest thing was that the person who had stopped by was a male, not a girl.

Ema explicitly told me that it was a female friend of hers.

At that exact moment, I was trembling with anxiety and fear of Ema's lie, all mixed with a small pinch of anger.

"Why did she lie to me?" I asked myself.

The terror that everything Benjiro had said was true began to etch itself into my thoughts.

I was increasingly afraid of uncovering the truth.

Even my sixth sense started telling me the same thing.

I wanted to confront Ema by showing her that message, but after our discussions, it wouldn't make sense.

It was better to wait for the right moment.

But after seeing that message, my curiosity told me not to stop.

So I unlocked Ema's phone and entered the conversation between her and "Kiko".

I scrolled up and down, reading everything they said.

I had never behaved like this before, but at that moment, I needed answers.

Sometimes not knowing hurts much more than knowing.

Between Ema and Kiko, there were very ordinary conversations.

As I scrolled through their conversations, a mixture of relief and confusion washed over me.

There was nothing suspicious or incriminating in their messages—just the normal chatter of friends catching up.

But despite the apparent innocence of their exchange, doubts continued to nag at the back of my mind.

Why did Ema lie about Kiko's gender? Did she meet with him behind my back?

I felt a knot tightening in my stomach as I struggled to make sense of it all.

Was I overreacting?

Was there a reasonable explanation for Ema's behavior that I was overlooking?

I glanced over at Ema, who was still peacefully asleep, unaware of the turmoil brewing within me.

Part of me wanted to wake her up and demand answers, but another part hesitated, afraid of what I might discover.

I found myself at a loss in that situation.

I had never experienced anything like it before, and precisely for that reason, I didn't even know how to react.

I wished someone could tell me what to do in those moments.

A flood of intrusive thoughts swirled in the recesses of my mind, and my heart truly ached, so much so that it began to physically hurt.

I kept scrolling and scrolling and as I read through all their messages, there was one in particular that caught my eye.

It was sent a few days before the dinner at my house.

The message read, "Don't be late, I have some wonderful surprises and news to tell you, sweetheart. Don't tell your boyfriend anything, okay? It's a surprise!"

As soon as I read the word "sweetheart," a wave of sadness, anger, and jealousy engulfed my entire being.

My hands trembled as I tried to process the implications of what I had just read.

As my emotions swirled in turmoil, I couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal creeping in.

The term "sweetheart" echoed in my mind, mocking the trust I had placed in Ema.

With trembling hands, I scrolled back to see if there were more messages like that, each one feeling like a stab to the heart.

But to my dismay, there were none. It seemed like an isolated incident, but the damage was already done.

I felt a surge of anger rising within me, directed not only at Ema but also at myself for being so naive. 

But amidst the anger and hurt, there was also a glimmer of hope, a tiny voice urging me to confront Ema and demand answers.

The messages weren't really incriminated but... Why did she lie about Kiko's gender and name?

Something was surely going on.

I couldn't let this deception fester any longer.

We needed to have a serious conversation, and I needed to know the truth, no matter how painful

it might be, but not now or tomorrow.

I couldn't just stand by anymore.

I needed real answers, something that could dispel all doubts.

I couldn't continue to dwell in uncertainty, and for that reason, I devised a plan.

I decided that from the following morning, I would overlook every single strange behavior of Ema's.

I would start giving her more attention, more love, so that she could let her guard down and continue doing whatever she was doing, thinking that I wouldn't notice.

That way, I could observe her behavior more closely and even spy on her when possible.

It was a despicable thing to even think about, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I also decided to ignore everything Benjiro told me, so as to throw Ema off, making her think that I blindly trusted her.

All of this that I had planned was solely fueled by my anger and jealousy.

I didn't want to lose Ema for any reason in the world, and that's exactly why I wanted to execute this plan to get all the answers I needed.

Asking Ema for explanations or a confrontation would have been the worst possible choice.

Most likely, she would have found some excuse, or even blamed me for being despicable for not trusting her, the woman who would have been my future wife.

So I decided to execute this plan.

It was the only possible way.

I couldn't trust anyone, not even my mother, for this situation that had arisen in a couple of days.

It's incredible how events like these hit you suddenly when everything seems to be going well, like a bolt from the blue.

So, with a heavy heart, I set her phone back down and crawled back into bed, but sleep eluded me once again.

My mind raced with a million questions, each one more troubling than the last.

With that, I slipped back under the covers, wrapping my arms around Ema and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

She smiled in her sleep and whispered my name, saying "I love you so much... Fumi... Let's get married..."

Her words pierced my heart like an arrow.

They hurt me deeply. I felt truly guilty for spying on her phone and not trusting her, but I had no other choice.

I'm so sorry, Ema.

In response to her heartfelt declaration, I whispered back, "I love you too, Ema," my voice tinged with pain.

After my reply, Ema buried her head in my chest, like she was seeking comfort and protection.

"But is she really asleep?" I thought, chuckling softly and stroking her head.

Ema leaned into my touch and wrapped her arms and legs around me.

Her favorite position to sleep.

My plan was already in motion.

I knew that something awful was going to happen.