The air between us seemed to thicken as Yuko’s hands fell limp at her sides, her entire body sagging as if the weight of the truth had just crushed the last of her strength. Her breath came in uneven, desperate gasps, her shoulders trembling violently as the realization carved itself into her heart.
"Haruna..." Her voice was barely a whisper, raw and broken, like the sound of something shattering inside her.
"That stupid, stupid girl..." She clenched her fists, her nails digging crescents into her palms, but the physical pain couldn’t compare to the agony twisting her expression.
"She actually likes you... But she pushed you away? Because she thought Hannah liked you?!"
She spun away from me, her body coiled with a storm of emotions—anger, sorrow, and something far deeper, something that sounded like betrayal. "That idiot!" she hissed, her voice shaking with a fury that bordered on despair. "How could she do this to herself? How could she just... give up?"
Her breath hitched, her voice cracking under the weight of her words. "She’s always been like this! Always putting everyone else first, even if it destroys her!"
She pressed a hand to her chest, as if trying to hold her heart together. "She’s willing to sacrifice her own happiness... for Hannah?!" The name tasted bitter on her tongue, laced with disbelief.
She whirled back to face me, her eyes wild and glistening with unshed tears. "Do you have any idea how much she’s been hurting?!" she demanded, her voice rising in a desperate, trembling cry.
"She’s been smiling less. She’s been quiet. She’s been avoiding me because she didn’t want me to see how much this was killing her inside!"
Her voice broke, and for a moment, she stood there, trembling, as if the truth had stolen the last of her strength.
"And all this time," she whispered, her voice thick with tears, "I thought you were the reason. I thought you’d hurt her. But no..." She let out a hollow, bitter laugh. "She did this to herself."
She turned away again, wrapping her arms around herself as if trying to keep from falling apart. "She’s so stupid," she murmured, her voice barely audible. "Always giving up what she wants because she thinks someone else needs it more. And now... now she’s doing it again."
Her fingers curled into fists, her nails biting into her skin hard enough to draw blood. "She likes you," she said, her voice trembling with a mix of fury and sorrow. "But she pushed you away. She wanted you... But she let you go." She shook her head, her voice breaking. "And for what? For Hannah? Does Hannah even know? Does she even care?!"
She spun back to me, her eyes burning with a wild, untamed fire. "You should’ve told me sooner!" she snapped, her voice trembling with rage.
"I could’ve fixed this! I could’ve talked to her! I could’ve—" She cut herself off, her breath hitching as tears finally spilled down her cheeks. "I could’ve saved her from this."
She pressed her hands to her face, her shoulders shaking with sobs. When she finally spoke again, her voice was raw, stripped bare by emotion. "She’s my little sister, Jack." Her voice cracked, the words barely making it past the lump in her throat.
"She’s supposed to be happy. She’s supposed to be loved. But instead, she’s suffering in silence because she’s too selfless to fight for what she wants."
Her hands dropped, and she locked her gaze onto mine, her eyes filled with a desperate, pleading intensity. "You have to fix this," she said, her voice fierce, unyielding. "Make her see that she deserves to be happy. That she doesn’t have to sacrifice herself for anyone."
She took a step closer, her voice dropping to a whisper, but no less intense. "Because if you don’t..." Her eyes blazed with determination, her jaw set in resolve. "I will. I’ll make her see it, even if I have to drag her into happiness kicking and screaming."
She turned away again, her breath coming in ragged, uneven gasps as she fought to regain control. "She’s such a silly girl," she murmured, her voice thick with tears. "Always giving up what she wants... always putting everyone else first..." She shook her head, her voice breaking. "And I let her. I didn’t even see it."
She took a deep, shuddering breath, her voice steadier now, but still laced with sorrow. "I need to talk to her," she said firmly, her resolve hardening like steel. "I need to make her understand that she can’t keep doing this. That she deserves to be happy, too."
She looked at me one last time, her eyes filled with a mix of pain and unshakable resolve. "And you..." Her voice was low, dangerous. "You better not hurt her again. Or I will make you regret it."
I watched Yuko as she poured out her frustration, her pain, her desperation. The raw emotion in her voice, the way her body trembled with the force of it—it was intoxicating. And as I stood there, listening to her, an idea began to form in my mind. A plan. One that would let me spend more time with her, one that might even let her fall for me.
I met her gaze, my voice careful, measured. "I know Haruna is like this," I said softly. "She’ll suffer alone, convinced she’s doing the right thing. So I told Hannah about it. And she came up with a plan."
Yuko’s eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. "A plan?"
I nodded. "Hannah was going to pretend to be my girlfriend. We thought that if Haruna saw us together, it would make her realize her true feelings for me. We wanted her to react, to finally stop pushing me away."
Yuko’s expression darkened, her voice sharp with disbelief. "And did it work?"
I hesitated, my jaw tightening. "No. It didn’t. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t react at all." I shook my head, frustration creeping into my voice. "She won’t hurt Hannah. Not when she thinks I’m Hannah’s boyfriend. She’ll just... suffer in silence."
Yuko’s hands clenched into fists, her voice trembling with fury. "You created a mess, Jack. You need to fix this." Her eyes burned into mine, her voice raw with desperation. "I can’t stand seeing her like this. I won’t."