Tigger Warning: Abuse

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Narration

"I'm sorry to bother you again, Auntie," Harold bowed and greeted Minami's foster mother as soon as he saw her. Mayumi Mayumi nodded at him in return.

"No, it's not a bother; I'm glad you care about Hashina."

"But I made her sad," he lamented.

"Don't just stand there; come and sit. Do you want coffee? Or tea?" Mayumi asked, a friendly smile on her face.

"I'd like a cup of tea, please," Harold replied politely. Mayumi smiled and rose to get her tea. Harold wanted to get the tea set himself, but Mayumi told him to wait and let the host do it. Harold had no choice but to listen to her.

"You're a great man," Mayumi said as she poured tea into his cup. "Thank you for taking the time to listen to my request."

"I'm not close to being great or anything, and I do get confused when it comes to her," Harold sighed dejectedly as he sipped his tea. He was an eloquent speaker, but for some reason he couldn't find the right words when speaking to Hashina's family member.

"Based on your appearance, it appears that both of you got into a fight."

"I didn't mean to fight with her. I had a vague idea about what happened to her during her childhood, and yet I carelessly spoke such things. It was thoughtless of me, and now I don't know what to do to help her," Harold replied, heartbroken.

"It's okay, iho; you have no idea what Hashina has gone through because of her biological mother."

Harold's hand trembled. He deduced that Minami's hatred for her biological mother had a reason. But confirming it and hearing it directly from her foster mother was one thing.

"M-may I ask what happened to Hashina and her biological mother?"

"I'll leave the important details to Hashina, but I'll tell you something: don't believe anything that woman told you."

Harold became perplexed. Why did she let him meet her if she told him not to believe that woman? Hashina wouldn't be mad at him if she hadn't met that woman.

"How come you let me meet her?"

"For you to judge her," she says, setting her tea cup on the table and asking, "What do you think of her?"

Harold pauses before responding, "If I had to describe her, she's an actress."

Mayumi was amused by the response given by her future son-in-law. "What a unique and amusing response; why do you think so?"

"I've seen a lot of movies, and I've even been to film sets, and the way she acted was no different than the actresses."

Thanks to his director friend, Rhein Javier, Harold was able to visit various film sets. He also invested in various movies he thought had potential, allowing him to go and watch them whenever he was bored.

"You're right. That woman was an actress and a terrible mother, which is why my cousin, Hashiro, divorced her." Harold was taken aback when he learned of Mayumi's relationship with Hashina's biological father.

"When Hashina was younger, she was a cute and lively child, but her relationship with her mother changed when her mother began abusing her." Harold detected a hint of anger in Mayumi's voice.

"Her parents began fighting because of this. Her father became tired of their routine and filed for divorce. She was then caught up in the fight for child custody. Fortunately, her father won the case because there was evidence that her mother was abusing her. Hashiro took her and they both live away from her mother. Everything seemed to be going well until her father passed away."

Harold's mind went blank when he heard this heartbreaking story. He couldn't process what Mayumi said next. He could only stare at his unfinished tea. And he had to restrain his rage toward the woman who had abused the young Minami.

Mayumi comes to a halt when she notices the young man's sorrowful expression. As if he were the one who had experienced all of it.

Although Mayumi felt sad remembering about what happened to Minami, she is filled with joy when she looks at her future son-in-law. She was relieved to know that her daughter had found someone who would unconditionally love her.