Chapter 9: Ch 9 - Temptation
Keita sat on the edge of his luxurious bed, the silk sheets pooling around his thighs like a trap. His fingers trembled against the edge of his knees, knuckles white.
He had woken up again soaked in sweat.
The dreams were getting worse.
In one, Reina crawled across the floor on all fours, whispering sweet nothings with his ex-wife's voice. In another, Mika sat on his lap, calling him "papa" with a smirk that split reality in two.
This world—it was tempting him. Baiting him.
It wanted him to break.
"This isn't real," he muttered, voice hoarse. "This isn't me."
But his body didn't seem to care. It was young again, desperate, starved for things he had once lost. The hunger of a teenager with the trauma of a father—what kind of sick joke was this?
He turned toward the mirror across the room. Toru Hazama stared back.
Eyes too big. Jaw too sharp. Body lean, muscular. The ideal harem protagonist.
"You're not me," Keita said to the mirror.