「Mm.」 He hummed in thought, a hand reaching to nervously scratch at his chin. 「I suppose a pretty thing like you has already found an appropriate match, yes?」
Sanae froze, eyes wide and mouth turning into a frown.
What on earth is he getting at?
She bit her lip as her fingers inched over his knee.
「Oh, I certainly did.」 She replied with a laugh. 「I simply hope that a trip around the world didn’t make him forget about me.」
Placing her free hand atop his shoulder, Sanae smiled as Kazuma leaned in practically on instinct.
「None of those men can compare to you, and you know it.」 She whispered, her stained lips hovering dangerously close to his.
Seconds painfully passed like hours as Sanae patiently waited for Kazuma’s advance, only for it to never come.
「You flatter my ego as always, Sanae.」 Kazuma eventually muttered out with a shaky breath. 「I truly hope that you find a man who can help you forget about me.」
「Excuse me?」 Sanae sputtered as Kazuma rose from the lounge with one swift, near-robotic motion. 「I surely don’t know what you mean.」
Had he lost interest in her? Was there someone else? Her stomach sank at the thought.
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「What we had, those three years ago.」 Kazuma spoke steadily and calmly as he reached for the door. 「I was of the understanding that it was for our amusement, a pastime, and nothing more. That’s what we had both agreed on, was it not?」
Her head spun in confusion. Mister Takahara, her family, they were all wrong.
She didn’t know what to do except clench her knees in shock, her fingernails threatening to tear into the silk dress she had so meticulously chosen for the moment of their reunion, where the man she had waited for and daydreamed of every waking day would finally settle down and whisk her away into his mysterious, high-rolling world.
「I waited for you, for three years.」 Sanae’s voice was flat, shaking, and completely void of the previous flirtatious confidence she had boasted earlier.
「I am twenty-seven years old, Mister Kamoi.」
Kazuma’s hand remained on the door handle, shoulders tense and neck strained as he stared back into the room.
Mister Kamoi.
It was as if they were meeting for the first time all over again, distance and aloofness replacing their once vibrant charade of whimsy and passion.
「And I’m thirty-two.」 He grunted. 「You’re a smart, beautiful woman, Sanae. I advise you to choose a marriage-minded man rather than stooping to the same level as a washed-up bachelor.」
With that, Kazuma flung the door open before his old lover could shout at him, slap him, or cry, all of which were perfectly valid reactions, Kazuma had to admit to himself. The mirage had come to an end. Light poured into the moonlit room, illuminating Sanae and the pricks of water sparkling under her eyes.
「I apologize.」
That was all Kazuma could muster before Sanae tore away from the room, lips quivering into a forced smile as she strolled towards a group of women she had flower arranging lessons with. She shot a glance towards the Takahara heiress, still sitting pretty on her plush sofa as a group of men loitered around for her attention.
It was enough to make Sanae’s skin crawl.