My wife believes me; how could I be a cuckold?

Although Yuta Yamada might be angry to hear her say that she seems to have feelings for Makoto Asano, he will eventually understand Eriko Miyajima's feelings and move away from there.

At that time, all problems can be solved, and the relationship between the two will even deepen because of this.

But that's no longer possible.

Because Eriko Miyajima has made an irreparable mistake.

So after realizing that she no longer liked Yuta Yamada, she remembered the decision she had made not long ago—to confess her mistakes to Yuta Yamada.

After all, whatever the reason, the fact remains that she cheated on her husband.

In her current view, a bastard like herself no longer deserves to be with Yuta Yamada.

Although Makoto Asano had previously said that we could hold off on telling Yuta Yamada until she had thought things through, it wouldn't be too late.

But she didn't want it to be like that.

She didn't want to drag it out any longer, nor did she want to keep Yamada Yuta hanging on.

Because keeping people in the dark about such a thing is cruel in itself.

So she has decided to talk to Yuta Yamada about this as soon as possible, preferably tonight.

No matter how the other party reacts—whether they want to break up, hit her, scold her, or do something else—she will bear it all.

Although Makoto Asano previously said he would face the situation together with Eriko Miyajima and share Yuta Yamada's anger, she is not now prepared to involve him.

In her view, Makoto Asano did nothing wrong in this matter; she was the only one at fault, so she had to bear the consequences alone.

That's why she didn't turn back to knock on the door when she left Asano Makoto's house today.

Besides being willing to take responsibility, she has one other characteristic: she cannot forgive herself for her mistakes.

Most people are unwilling to take responsibility, and instead, they will find excuses to shirk responsibility after making a mistake, then forgive themselves and make peace with themselves.

But Eriko Miyajima wouldn't do that.

Although Asano Makoto's words had temporarily buried the matter in her heart, she would be immersed in endless guilt once she thought of it again.

So even after confessing her mistakes, she still wouldn't forgive herself, even though Yuta Yamada forgave her.

She felt that she was no longer worthy of being with Yuta Yamada, and she didn't want to continue "harming" Yuta Yamada.

Despite lying in bed thinking about these things I've thought about countless times, I was immersed in guilt and pain.

But because she was so exhausted, she eventually fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was already 2 p.m.

She slept for a full five hours. When she first woke up, she was a little stunned because she didn't find Makoto Asano in bed. She felt empty inside.

However, after she came to her senses and realized how absurd her thoughts had been, she pursed her lips and silently began her slightly late daily routine.

I got up, washed up, made a simple brunch, and cleaned the house...

After finishing these tasks and resting on the sofa for a while, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. She needed to go out to throw out the trash and buy groceries for dinner.

As she passed by Asano Makoto's house, even though she knew he had already taken Kanno Yuna out, she couldn't help but slow her pace slightly.

Originally, if Yuna hadn't come, I would be the one accompanying Asano-kun out right now...

Looking at the tightly closed door, she subconsciously bit her lip, feeling loneliness once again.

However, she quickly regained her senses, then lowered her head and hurriedly left to attend to her own business.

After returning home from grocery shopping, when it was time to start preparing dinner, she was once again conflicted.

In her opinion, Asano Makoto and Kanno Yuna should have returned from outside by now, so she was wondering whether to go next door and invite them over for dinner, and also to see what the current situation was.

In the end, however, she still ate dinner alone.

Asano Makoto had told her before that she could rest assured and just wait at home, and that nothing would go wrong.

So she chose to believe them and abandoned her plan to call the two over.

After dinner, having finished all her chores, she had some free time again.

When people have nothing to do, they are most likely to have wild thoughts.

So, sitting on the sofa, she inevitably started thinking about the things she had thought about during her morning nap.

And once I start thinking about it, several hours will pass.

By the time she snapped out of her daze, it was already past 10 p.m.

She hurriedly heated up the water heater in the bathroom, and then somewhat frantically heated up the dinner she had prepared for Yamada Yuta in advance while cooking.

After she finished doing all that, a few more minutes passed, and the sound of the door opening and that long-lost voice finally rang out again.

"Eriko, I'm back."

Yuta Yamada is back from working overtime.

Because he had worked overtime for three or four days in a row, and even slept at the company last night, he was visibly exhausted.

Seeing his tired face, Eriko Miyajima paused for a moment before greeting him, "Yes, Yuta, welcome home."

As she spoke, she lowered her head and quickly walked to the entrance hall, bent down to help Yamada Yuta take indoor shoes out of the shoe cabinet, and then put the shoes she had taken off back into the shoe cabinet.

After she finished doing these things, Yuta Yamada had already changed his shoes and walked into the living room, where he lay down on the sofa.

Eriko Miyajima walked to the sofa and asked softly, "You've worked hard. Would you like to eat?"

With his eyes closed, Yuta Yamada said in a weak voice, "Let me rest for a bit."

Eriko Miyajima was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "...Okay."

After lounging on the sofa for about twenty minutes, Yuta Yamada finally got up and sat down at the dining table.

Eriko Miyajima brought over the food that had been reheated and then sat down opposite him.

Perhaps because she was a little nervous about what was about to happen, she was sitting very upright in her seat, and even looked a little reserved.

Because the change was so obvious, even Yuta Yamada could tell at a glance that something seemed off about her.

So Yuta Yamada put the rice he had picked up into his mouth and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong, Eriko?"

Upon hearing his voice, Eriko Miyajima visibly trembled, as if startled. She instinctively stammered, "Yuta, I..."

Because she was so tense, her voice even cracked a little.

Even so, she still couldn't bring herself to say those words.

She didn't know what to say.

Although she knew it was cruel to keep Yuta Yamada in the dark, Eriko Miyajima couldn't bring herself to say it when she thought of how exhausted he looked when he came home.

After all, isn't this also a kind of cruelty?

I'm already exhausted from work, so hearing that news at a time like this would be just too painful...

Regardless, the two were lovers for a long time. Although they no longer love each other, Eriko Miyajima did indeed like Yuta Yamada in the past.

So seeing how exhausted he looked, Eriko Miyajima couldn't help but feel sorry for him and wondered if she should wait until Yamada Yuta's work wasn't so demanding before bringing it up.

However, she eventually gave up on the plan.

Knowing full well that a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one, she finally decided to stop delaying and bring it up tonight.

Even though she had made the decision, the guilt in her heart still prevented her from speaking for a while.

Just as she was feeling troubled by this and increasingly nervous because of Yamada Yuta's increasingly suspicious gaze, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered a casual remark that Asano Makoto had made while chatting with her that day.

That's a Chinese proverb, "Alcohol emboldens the timid."

Although it's unclear why Makoto Asano knows so much, that's not important. What's important is that she understands the meaning of that sentence, and it happens to fit her current needs.

So, taking advantage of the last moment before Yamada Yuta completely doubted her, she quickly said, "Um, I mean, do you want to drink? Yuta, I'm kind of craving some shochu, want to have a little together?"

Yuta Yamada was taken aback, seemingly not expecting that Eriko Miyajima, after holding back for so long, would only mention such a trivial matter.

However, since his girlfriend had made the rare request, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

Moreover, due to the recent pressure at work, he did indeed feel like having a few drinks and getting drunk.

So he nodded and said, "Okay, let's have a drink then... Come to think of it, it seems like it's been a long time since I've had a drink with you, Eriko."

"Yes."

Eriko Miyajima forced a somewhat strained smile, then got up and went to the bedroom to get some wine.

Not long after, she returned with two bottles of liquor, and the two began to chat and drink intermittently.

Perhaps because he had been drinking, Yuta Yamada started talking more, mostly complaining about the company, the boss, and his job.

Eriko Miyajima didn't know what to say, and could only nod in agreement from time to time.

After all, she herself was also troubled.

Because both of them had their own troubles lately, they drank very quickly, and soon most of the two bottles of soju were gone.

At this moment, Eriko Miyajima, her face slightly flushed, looked at Yuta Yamada, whose face was also red, and her gaze became even more determined.

Just as Makoto Asano said, alcohol emboldens the timid, and Eriko Miyajima finally mustered up her courage.

However, things didn't go as she expected.

She overlooked one issue: Yuta Yamada's alcohol tolerance.

Because she already had a lot of worries, and she drank it too quickly, plus it was high-proof shochu, by the time she finally mustered up the courage to speak, Yamada Yuta was already delirious from talking too much.

And what happens to him when he's drunk is self-evident.

So Eriko Miyajima, who had finally made up her mind, stared in astonishment as he slammed his face heavily onto the dining table.

Eriko Miyajima naturally knew what Yuta Yamada would be like after he passed out; he certainly wouldn't be able to wake up for a while.

After being stunned for a while, she finally came to her senses and sighed heavily, feeling extremely helpless about the situation.

However, at the same time, she felt a little relieved.

No matter how much she dares to admit her mistakes, she is still just an ordinary person. She feels incredibly nervous when she makes a mistake and apologizes, especially in this situation. So she can't help but hope that moment will come later.

Perhaps even Heaven doesn't want me to bring this up tonight...

Thinking this, Eriko Miyajima couldn't help but give a wry smile, then got up to go to the bedroom to get a blanket.