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“I, Toko Sakurajima, at this very moment, declare that I am breaking off my relationship with Tetsuya Kamokura.”
The venue fell deathly silent for a moment. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw even Kamokura’s eyes go wide, stunned into silence.
Seizing the opening, Toko-senpai handed me the microphone. Taking it, I spoke clearly.
“I, Yu Isshiki, also declare that as of this moment, I am ending my relationship and cutting all ties with Karen Mitsumoto!”
As those words left my mouth, the silence that had gripped the room broke into a wave of murmurs.
“Wait, what are they saying?”
“What’s wrong with those two?”
“What just happened?”
“Why here? Why now?”
The same questions whispered from every corner of the room. It was then that Kamokura finally made a move.
“Hey, Toko. What the hell are you talking about!?”
He started to step toward Toko-senpai…
“Don’t come any closer!”
Toko-senpai’s sharp command froze him in his tracks.
“Tetsuya, do you even realize what you’ve done?”
Kamokura faltered, but managed to shoot back.
“W-what? What exactly am I supposed to have done?”
“Do you really intend to make Toko-senpai say it out loud, Kamokura-senpai?”
The voice was mine.
“What?”
“I said, do you really intend to make a woman like Toko-senpai spell out everything you’ve done?”
“I… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Then let me say it for you. Kamokura, you were cheating with my girlfriend, Karen Mitsumoto!”
The room didn’t just murmur—it roared. Kamokura’s expression and movements turned to ice. But amidst the chaos, a hysterical, shrill scream rang out from another direction.
“Liar! Liar! Liar! Karen didn’t do that!”
I turned toward the voice. There stood Karen Mitsumoto, pleading desperately.
“Karen didn’t cheat! It’s true, believe me!”
The sight of her shouting with a trembling, desperate voice might have fooled someone who knew nothing of the situation.
“The one lying is you, Karen! I have proof!”
“What proof!?”
Is this woman really going to try and play it innocent until the bitter end?
“The Saturday of the last week of October. The day I told you I went on a trip with Ishida. Karen, where were you that night?”
For a split second, Karen’s eyes darted around.
“I—I don’t know. I don’t remember!”
“Then I’ll tell you. You were at Kamokura-senpai’s apartment that night. All night long. Both I and Toko-senpai know it.”
Gasps of “No way…” leaked from the crowd. Several girls began to look at Karen with eyes full of condemnation.
“Wrong! That’s not true!”
Then, Karen glared at Toko-senpai with eyes full of hatred.
“Yu-kun, you’re being tricked by that woman! Karen knows! That woman has been checking Yu-kun out for a long time!”
Hearing that, my anger doubled.
“The one who’s been tricking me is you, Karen! Ishida and Kazumi-san saw you enter Kamokura-senpai’s room that night! I even have photos!”
But Karen didn’t flinch.
“I just went to his house for tea and then went home!”
“You were drinking tea for hours? Until well after the last train was gone!?”
Karen, who had been putting on a masterclass in acting until now, finally looked shaken.
“Karen… didn’t mean for that to happen… he made me drink. And when I realized… something happened… Yes, I was raped! It’s not Karen’s fault! Karen didn’t do anything wrong!”
How dare she say that!
At the same time, Kamokura shouted.
“You! What are you saying!?”
Ignoring Kamokura, I spoke directly to Karen.
“Stop this pathetic acting! I have other proof! The SNS messages between you and Kamokura!”
I pulled up the exchanges between Karen and Kamokura on my phone and thrust it in her face. Seeing them, Karen’s face turned pale. The girls nearby, who were also seeing the screen, began to denounce her one after another.
“Is that…?”
“There’s no mistake.”
“She really was cheating with Kamokura…”
“That’s horrible, she was tricking Isshiki-kun the whole time.”
“And after acting like that…”
“Unbelievable.”
“She’s barely human.”
Whether Karen heard those voices or not, her expression shifted in a heartbeat. Her voice, previously high and pleading, changed into a completely different tone as she screamed.
“What gives you the right to look at my phone!? You’re the lowest! Unbelievable! What you’re doing is way worse! You’re a stalker! Gross, you’re so gross! Just die!”
Karen threw away her mask of the “innocent girl” and “tragic victim,” her face twisting into a demonic scowl as she revealed her true nature.
“Besides, you were probably cheating with Toko too! I know everything! I only cheated to get back at you! You’re the one in the wrong!”
Karen’s words had devolved into total incoherence.
“That’s not true,” Kazumi-san interjected, cutting her off. “Toko only met with Isshiki-kun to get evidence of you two cheating. I can guarantee that.”
“Yeah. I was the first one Yu consulted about Karen-chan’s cheating. Since then, Yu has only been talking to Toko-senpai for advice. There was zero contact between them before that. There is absolutely no way Yu and Toko-senpai cheated!”Ishida followed up after Kazumi-san, declaring it firmly.
“Karen! Give it a rest!” Mina-san barked.
“Exactly. It’s obvious you betrayed Isshiki-kun! And yet, instead of apologizing, you’re just snapping at him!?” Ayaka-san shouted next.
The other girls began to condemn Karen in unison. But Karen glared at them all and howled like a cornered animal.
“Shut the hell up! You pieces of crap! You’re gross! You lot are probably making eyes at every guy you see too! Disgusting, you’re all disgusting! Like I’d stay in a place like this! Morons! Go to hell!”
With that, Karen grabbed her things and stormed out of the restaurant.
…To the very end, she had no remorse and offered no apology. She truly was the lowest of women.
To think I ever considered her my ‘girlfriend.’ I can only say I was a fool…
Toko-senpai, who had been quietly watching the proceedings, finally spoke.
“Now you understand everything, Tetsuya.”
She spoke calmly, as if teaching him a lesson.
“I am breaking up with you. Our relationship as lovers is over. And tonight… I will be spending it with Isshiki-kun here.”
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