I'm sitting in a coffee shop with Misae, my cheating wife.

I came here to get her to sign the divorce papers.

Misae had pleaded for us to reconcile... but I rejected her. "……"

Misae hangs her head and remains silent.

She's drenched in sweat, and her foundation is starting to slide off.

She refuses to take the divorce papers I thrust at her.

I place the document on the table.

"How long are you going to just sit there in silence? It doesn't matter what you say, I'm not changing my mind. The fact that you cheated is an undeniable reality, isn't it?"

Misae... snaps into a sudden change of expression.

For a split second, her face twists, and then she says this.

"You see... I stayed quiet about something, but the truth is, that day... I was forced into sex with him. I was raped." "W...what?"

...What the hell is she talking about? "Raped? You were raped?"

Misae spoke with a suspiciously glittering gaze.

"It's true! Just listen to me! That day, that man... Kisogawa! He suddenly barged into our home!" Misae grew heated.

"You're making too much noise. It's disturbing the neighborhood. Cut out the clumsy lies."

"I'm not lying! I'll ask you a counter-question, then! Have you actually seen me cheating with Kisogawa?... Damn it, she's hitting a nerve."

True enough, I had never actually witnessed Misae and Kisogawa in the act of cheating.

When I came home, Kisogawa was just leaving the bedroom.

And there were signs on the futon that sex had taken place. That was all.

I know nothing of the process leading up to their physical intimacy.

I hadn't caught my wife red-handed, nor do I have any evidence to prove it.

"See what I mean? So there is no proof, right? If you claim I was cheating, then bring me some evidence! Give me proof!"

She banged on the desk. Thump thump thump!

Once she found a weak spot in my argument, she poked at it relentlessly.

«Without proof, we can't part ways...!» ...What a dark turn this is.

I was mulling over what to do next when it happened.
「There's evidence! I have it!»
I turned my gaze toward the sound of the voice.

There stood a beautiful black-haired girl, staring straight at us.
«Na... Nanaiko...»
«Akari is here too—»

The blonde schoolgirl Akari came over as well, joining her sister.

«You guys... what the hell are you doing out here?»
«Reinforcements.»

«I'm sorry. I know I was told not to come. But... I was worried about sensei...»

Like a scolded child, Nanaiko slumped her head.

But there wasn't the slightest bit of anger in me.

It felt as though my heart had grown lighter with their arrival.

«Who on earth are you?!»

Misae shrieked, hysterical with rage.

«Anyone's good enough. It's not your business, grandma.»
«G-Grandma...!»

"It's beyond contemptible for a woman of your age to cheat on her husband with a young man, get dumped, and then come crawling back with a sobbing mess while lying about it. Don't you see how pathetic that makes you?" Misae’s face twisted in anger.

"You little brat...! If I let this slide..."

Whoosh—Misae raised her hand high. Smack...!

"Wait!?" "Ah-ri..."

I caught Misae's wrist, stopping her.

"Sit down, Misae. Hitting a child is the lowest thing you could do."

"Y-Y-You! Are you, are you taking their side!? Do you prefer them over me?!"

"It's not about whether I like them or not. Where have you ever seen an adult hit a child? What you're doing is not the behavior of a rational adult." "..." Misae gritted her teeth in fury. "You okay, Ah-ri?"

"E...? Y-Yeah... it's fine. Um... thank you."

Blushing red, Ah-ri thanked me softly.

I really had just done what anyone would do.

"So, what brings you here?" "We brought the evidence."

"We've got a trump card, actually... Proof that this crazy bitch was cheating."

Akari pulls her smartphone out of her pocket.

She navigates through the album folders and shows us a single photo.

"What? No way! That's... that's..."

On the screen was a shot of the entrance to my house.

It looked like someone had taken it from the hallway leading to the back room, just as I'd stepped out.

Misae greeting the door with a beaming smile, and Kisogawa grinning with a sleazy smirk...

"We waited in the apartment building until our teacher got home. And then, we saw this guy walk into his room."

So they snapshotted that moment...

"Fuck you talking about 'suddenly forceful.' She's welcoming him with a smile like that."

"N-no way...! This is... it's a doctored picture..."

Misae screams, half out of her mind.

Ari tried to grab her phone again, raising a hand.

I seized Misae's wrist and locked in a joint lock.

"I-It hurts...! What do you think you're doing?!"

"I just told you not to raise your hand to a child."

"Let gooooon! Hand over that phoootooo! Pleeaaaseeee!"

Ari snorted, making a dismissive sound of contempt through her nose.

"Photoshopped image? Can you really say that after watching this video?" He swiped the screen.

This time, it wasn't a photo, but a video playing. A smiling Misae appeared.

She hugged Kiso from the front and shared a passionate kiss at the entrance...

"Stopppp! Don't make me lookaaaaa!"

Desperately flailing her hands, she tried to snatch Ari's phone.

But Misae, restrained by me, couldn't move.

Watching her howl like a stray dog, Akari flinched.

Nanaiko stepped forward, shielding her younger sister with her body.

"Given this evidence, we could take you to court. You’d lose hands down. In that case, there would be claims for damages—but can you actually afford to pay?"
"T-that’s...!"

"You can’t afford it, right? No money, huh? Dropped by your affair partner, so it was karma coming back to bite you. You couldn’t even turn to your parents... That’s why you came crawling back to Teacher. Am I wrong?"
"N-no... ugh..."

"If you keep harassing us, I’m giving this evidence to Teacher. I’m prepared to take the stand as a witness. With such solid proof stacked up, are you still going to lie?"
"..."
Misae slumped in defeat.

Her face drained of all spirit, she whispered:
"...I'm sorry."

Misae looked up at me with a face like she was on the verge of death and said:

"...I’m sorry for cheating. For betraying you... I’m sorry. For lying to you... I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything, all of it..."
"That's why—" Misae began.

"So please... forgive me~... Please forgive me, I beg youuu~..."

Misae said in a wretched manner:

"I have no savings... I’ve never really held down a proper job... And I can’t go back to my parents’ place either. They’d definitely ask for a reason. There’s no way I could tell them about the affair... And if I told them that was the cause of the divorce... they’d disown me on the spot too..."

Clinging to hope, Misae said:
"Please..."

"Yet you're going to abandon me?"

... Was it really such a pathetic woman that I had married?

My anger had passed into pure exasperation.

But... my resolve is no longer wavering.

"Yes. I am going to discard you. I hate you." "…………" Misae wore a look of utter despair.

Despite being only twenty-nine, she seemed twice her age.

"There's no use appealing to my feelings or trying to cover it up with lies. I will not change my mind. If you continue to cling to me like this, I will take you to court. That is where things will go against you."

I took my smartphone out of my pocket.

"I've been recording everything. Since the moment I arrived here, I haven't stopped."

Recent smartphones are convenient; they can even record voice memos.

I had been recording audio this entire time. I had anticipated exactly how this would turn out.

"I see, as expected of Okarin!"

「R-o, recording! Y-you can't do that! It's underhanded! That's eavesdropping!'

"You're a liar, so what's wrong with keeping a record? Besides, you call it underhanded? ...You're the one who betrayed me first." I said to my wife, holding the evidence in my hand.

"Can you at least understand which is smarter: being sued in a court case where losing is guaranteed, or getting divorced right here?"

Misae heard my words and... slumped her shoulders with a thud. Soon after... she gave a small nod.

Taking the pen I had produced, she signed the divorce documents with messy handwriting and pressed her seal.

After confirming it, I immediately stood up holding the receipt.

"I'll pay for the drinks at least. But this is the end between you and me. Bye, Misae."

I tried to leave the spot. "W-wait... you..."

What on earth was she going to say at the very end?... "...Divide up the property" ""H-uh?"" We all—both twins and I—were left speechless.

"It's marital community property, right? The apartment too. The furniture too..." "Y-you can't do that...!" I cut Akari off.

"The apartment is in my name; I bought it. I bought all the furniture as well. Everything you own was bought for me by me. You have no right to claim any of it as yours." "M-Mmph..."

"But I'll give you all your personal belongings. Clothes, cosmetics, everything—I'll send them to your house via courier. That settles it."

I didn't want to keep a single thing that bore any trace of my wife. So this was perfect. I'd dispose of every last item.

"And at the very end... you dare ask for money from your own husband? What kind of worthless scum are you?"

Akari spat it out.

"...As one woman to another, I despise you. Never get near Sensei again."

Nanako delivered her quiet fury. Misae said nothing.

Her head bowed, she stood frozen in place, stunned.

...I didn't look back.