Chapter 42: Aren’t We Friends?
There are some things that even the best parents can't teach their children.
Like how to face their own hearts.
How to confront guilt, regret, or fear without hiding behind pride or pretense.
For Eriri, this had always been impossible.
Whenever someone got too close—touched the vulnerable core inside her—she'd instantly throw up the wall of her tsundere persona. Her words became sharp, her attitude cold, her emotions locked away, even from herself.
But not today.
Not this time.
"Someone as important as me..." Sayuri repeated in her mind, still stunned by her daughter's words.
And then she smiled.
If only Eriri had reached this point a little earlier... Sayuri wouldn't have to constantly worry that her daughter would one day be deceived by a smooth-talking playboy, tricked into giving away her heart—and worse, her inheritance—only to end up penniless and heartbroken in some shady nightclub, shivering in the winter wind.
No. She refused to let Eriri's future go down that path.