My mother-in-law's heart

While Shishio wanted to meet Chihiro and his girlfriend, who wanted to ask about his mother, he decided to meet Rui first since when she called him before, she could hear her trembling voice, which made him wonder what had happened to her.

Still, while Rui might not have told him anything during their call, somehow Shishio had an idea of what had happened to her.

Shishio took his motorcycle and arrived at the park where they had decided to become more than a friend and less than a lover. This was a place of the beginning, and this place brought many unique memories to his mind.

Yet Shishio quickly knew there was a new memory on his mind about Rui at that moment.

Rui was sitting on the swing, the place where a kid played and felt happy together, yet at this moment, her figure seemed so lonely and forlorn, especially when there was a suitcase on her side.

Shishio couldn't see her expression since she hung her head down, yet he could tell she was crying at this moment. He couldn't handle this and called out her name as he approached her. "Rui!"

Rui quickly looked up and ran into his embrace without hesitation. Her eyes were full of tears as she hugged him tightly.

"What's wrong?" Shishio asked with a frown, wondering who dared to hurt his woman. Was it Natsuo?

If so, Shishio had to say sorry to Akihito Fujii since he was going to throw his son into the Tokyo Bay as a fish pellet.

"My mother..." Rui was sobbing, and it was hard for her to tell what was happening, considering how complicated her feeling was.

Shishio knew this wasn't a place for them to talk, especially when he could see a group of housewives who seemed to whisper and talk about them. However, this wasn't a surprise since he knew this situation was something interesting to talk about, especially on the dull life of the housewife. He wanted to tell them to leave, or else he would seduce them and make their husbands divorce them, but he knew he needed to take Rui as a priority. "Do you want to go to my apartment first?"

While his other girlfriends wanted to talk with him about their parents and many things, Shishio knew he needed to handle this girl first. When Rui had calmed down and knew what was happening to her, he could talk with the rest later. It was just his phone vibrating, and he saw Hina had called him, but Rui happened to answer his question.

"Okay."

"Let's go then." Shishio nodded, then said, "By the way, Hina-nee is calling me now. Do you want me to answer her?"

Rui hesitated, but she didn't know what to say.

Shishio, of course, noticed her hesitation, so he said, "Then, I'll text her that I'll call her later. Is that okay?"

"Yes." Rui nodded, and her expression was at ease.

After he texted Hina, Shishio brought Rui to his apartment where Mai and Nana lived. Anyway, many of his girlfriends often stayed there, and he knew he shouldn't let Rui be alone, so it was better to bring her to her apartment, especially when they couldn't stay in this place any longer. After all, if they stayed any longer, he was afraid those group of housewives might call the police to report them, considering how she had brought a suitcase with her, thinking she might run away.

Shishio looked at the group of housewives and noted their appearance on his mind, thinking he should seduce them when he had some time after he solved Rui's problem.

The two got into his motorcycle and left for his apartment together.

When they arrived at his apartment, it was fairly quiet, unlike the usual rowdy since most of his girlfriends stayed on the Sakurasou or back to their parents' houses, considering they had just finished their parent-teacher meeting. Nevertheless, he knew they had a lot of things they wanted to say, especially Chihiro and Nanami.

However, Shishio decided to handle Rui first, especially when she hugged him tightly as they entered his room. "Embrace me, Shishio."

"..."

Shishio didn't hesitate, and he just did it with Rui in the living room, letting her forget everything and drowning in the pleasure, especially when she was in her uniform. Her disheveled wrinkles on her uniform were so hot that he forgot how many times he had done it before he released her after she passed out, sleeping so soundly, peacefully on the sofa.

Still, when it was done, Shishio realized it was already dark, which made him speechless. He looked at Rui, who was sleeping on the sofa, caressing her soft hair before he took his phone, which was filled with many texts and missed calls.

However, the calls were from either Hina or an unknown number.

'Who is this?'

Shishio didn't have a hobby of answering an unknown number. He also had never shared his number with someone he didn't know, so this person should get his number from either his girlfriends, friends, or his family, which made him wonder who the identity of this unknown number was.

However, he ignored the unknown number and looked at the text sent by Hina.

Instantly, he understood everything.

Well, it wasn't everything since Hina also didn't seem to understand the real cause of the fight between Rui and her mother. However, she had texted him that she had given his number and email to her mother.

"....." Shishio was speechless and realized the unknown number was Tsukiko Tachibana, who was the mother of Hina and Rui. His expression became subtle, and he hesitated to answer Tsukiko's call, even though he knew how worried she was toward her second daughter.

Shishio looked at the unknown number on his phone for a while, hesitating, before he walked to a different room so he could talk with Tsukiko calmly. It might be weird of him to have such a hesitation since it was rare of him to show such a thing. However, he was just slightly afraid of being a housewife.

It was hard to describe his feelings, but Shishio was afraid if he really got closer to a housewife, he might do something that shouldn't be done. He knew it was wrong, yet the immorality of the tainted housewife made his body weird.

Was it because of the previous Shishio Oga?

Was it because of himself?

Was it because of the combination between the two of us?

Shishio wasn't sure, but if possible, he hoped Tsukiko would talk with him with her husband right next to her. He pressed the unknown number, and after just one ring, the call was connected, showing how worried she was toward her daughter.

"Shishio-kun, is Rui there?" Her voice was mixed with anger and worry.

"She's sleeping now."

However, hearing his calm voice, Tsukiko quickly calmed down. Then, she took a deep breath and asked, "Ho-How was she?"

"Well, she was crying before she slept. Right now, I am bringing her to my apartment. I haven't heard anything from her, but it has something to do with the parent-teacher meeting, right?"

That was the only explanation.

Tsukiko hesitated but heard his words. "Tsukiko-obaasan, please tell me. I am related. I am worried about her." She let out a sigh and knew Shishio was related to this since his relationship with her daughter was obvious, and her daughter also stayed in his apartment. She didn't hesitate anymore and told him what had happened during the parent-teacher meeting.

The meeting, which Tsukiko thought was smooth, turned into a disaster when she heard Rui's aspiration to become a chef.

"Is it not alright for her to become a chef?" Shishio asked.

"You don't know anything, Shishio-kun." Tsukiko's voice was full of spit and hate, especially when she thought about her ex-husband.

However, Shishio didn't feel surprised since he could imagine how hurt it was to be cheated by someone they loved. It was more painful than being killed, especially when the one who cheated could leave peacefully and even get a new partner, yet they still had the trauma of their partner who had cheated on them.

This feeling... unless one had experienced it, one couldn't imagine.

It was also the reason why Nietzsche often said love was a source of madness.

We might be able to control our body, gestures, and many others, yet an emotion was something that couldn't be controlled.

Shishio didn't say anything and just listened to her choke and cry. The damage caused by her previous husband was deeper than anyone could imagine. Hina and Rui might have been by her side before, but she was the only one who could feel her pain. Her daughters were also too young to understand her feelings back then. She couldn't trust anyone easily again, and she could fight everything alone.

Tsukiko couldn't share her feelings with anyone and just buried everything deep to the side of her heart while working hard so she could forget everything, yet could she?

Tsukiko couldn't, but when she almost forgot after she could trust someone again, her daughter told her she was going to follow her ex-husband's steps. She was furious, enraged, and sad, thinking Rui did this out of the spit.

As Rui's boyfriend, Shishio knew he should take Rui's side, yet at this moment, he couldn't fight his mother-in-law blatantly since Rui didn't know the feeling of being hurt by someone they loved.

Tsukiko had felt it and didn't want to be hurt again, yet Rui's decision hurt her again.

Shishio didn't say anything, listening to Tsukiko's cry, choke, and anger about her past when she was cheated on by her previous husband. While he listened, he saw Rui had woken up, seemingly listening to his conversation with her mother in silence.

Shishio had done this deliberately, so no one would misunderstand each other. After all, he had Rui know that her decision to become a chef would hurt her mother.

Right now, Rui was forced to choose between love or a dream.

If Rui loved her mother, she had to stop becoming a chef, yet could she give up her dream too easily?

Rui didn't say anything and didn't know what to do. She just stood in silence, lowering her head, while no one knew what she was thinking.

Shishio gestured to her to move closer, which she abided, moving closer, before she sat on the ground, leaning her head on his leg. He gently caressed her head while listening to Tsukiko's story. Still, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly since he hoped for Akihito Fujii to come and console his wife, or else he was afraid he might enter Tsukiko's heart at this moment.