Chapter 10: Ch 10 - Fall Stepmom - Reina
The silence of the mansion at night felt unnatural. Not a single creak of wood or chirp of a cricket dared disturb the air. Keita—or rather, Toru Hazama now—sat on the edge of his bed, bathed in the blue of moonlight pouring through the blinds. The walls felt too clean. The air smelled faintly of roses and wine. He hadn't slept in days.
His heart had started racing the moment he saw Reina's reflection in the hallway mirror earlier that day. She wasn't his wife, but her smile, her hair, her soft eyes—they mirrored the woman who once shared his life. Only, this Reina was younger, untouched by years of financial strain or bitterness. She laughed more. She dressed boldly. She bent over in ways that were clearly intentional. This version of her haunted him more than any memory.
And then there was Mika.
The step-sister with fire in her voice and an eerie resemblance to Keita's daughter. He couldn't look at her for more than a second without his chest clenching. Her presence was wrong. Everything was wrong. He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to have a body that looked like this. Or a life filled with manga tropes and sexual tension drawn from the darkest corners of fanservice.
But this world wanted something from him. It craved indulgence.
That night, he heard the soft clink of glass outside his door. Then a giggle. Then a voice he could never forget.
"Toru...? Are you awake?"
His door creaked open.
Reina stood there with flushed cheeks and half-lidded eyes. She was wearing a silk nightgown, so thin it looked like fog wrapped around her body. Her scent hit him like nostalgia dipped in perfume.
"I... I couldn't sleep," she whispered. "Can I come in? Just for a minute."
Keita's hands clenched the bedsheets.