Chapter 11 I Never Had the Courage to Find Out Who My First Love Was Married To

I Never Had the Courage to Find Out Who My First Love Was Married To

Our order has arrived.

We had a light conversation while I sipped my coffee and Sophia-san ate her cheesecake.

“…! Itsuki-san, it’s so sweet. It tastes like sugar!”

“It’s a cake, so it must be sweet.”

“I can’t believe how delicious it is. I want my kids to have some…!”

Sophia stopped and put her hand on her cheek.

“…I still can’t get used to it. Even though they’re all grown up and there’s no one at home now, I still can’t get over the feeling of having kids.”

I think it’s a habit of being a mother for so many years.

Kids are such a natural part of being a parent.

“As for cooking, if I’m not careful, I’ll end up cooking enough for four people in no time…it’s terrible. I always felt like a mother, but suddenly I feel like a grandmother.”

“It’s too early to call you a grandmother; you look younger than me.”

“Ara, are you hitting on me?”

“Sophia-san knows that’s not true, right?”

All of Sophia-san’s kids had grown up.

They all went to college and graduated, which is amazing. All three of them are working now and doing what they want to do.

“It must’ve been hard because they were triplets.”

“It was. Having one kid is hard enough, but having three…I was too busy.”

Her expression is soft, even though she is complaining.

I’m sure that taking care of the kids was a blessing in itself for Sophia-san.

I’m sure she’s busy, but it doesn’t show on her face.

“And then when they leave, they just leave all at once… They’re terrible kids.”

“They show up a lot, don’t they? Then it’s okay.”

“Yes, that’s true. They come home once a week. I’m not particularly lonely…but they send me a lot of money, stupid kids.”

I think Sophia-san’s kids are very grateful to her.

Even as adults, they still have a single-minded love for their mother. I found that kind of relationship very dazzling.

I wish I could be a parent like that too.

“… Ara? Before I knew it, we’d been talking about me. If we don’t talk about Itsuki-san and Satsuki-chan, there’s no point in having this secret meeting.”

Sophia-san munched on the cake as if to hide her embarrassment.

I guess she couldn’t afford to eat cake when she had no money. So now she looked pleased on the cake.

“As I said before, Satsuki and I get along well. There is nothing else to report.”

“If you’re both fine, then that’s the best, but… if you’re ever in trouble, you can always tell me, okay? I couldn’t help you in the past, but I can now.”

…Obviously, Sophia-san is still concerned about the past.

I’m grateful for this secret meeting, but Sophia-san seems to be the one who wants it.

More than ten years ago, when Sasha died… Sophia-san actually wanted to take Satsuki in.

But at that time, she was poor and couldn’t afford to support another kid.

That’s why I offered to raise Satsuki.

Another big reason is that Satsuki herself wanted it.

After Sasha died, Satsuki couldn’t stay away from me.

It was as if she was afraid that I would suddenly disappear like Sasha.

So, after much discussion with Sophia-san, I decided to raise Satsuki. I decided to be her “father” and raise her well.

Since then, Sophia-san has not seen Satsuki.

Maybe she feels guilty, or maybe she was afraid to meet Satsuki.

However, she has always worried about Satsuki.

Even now, she regularly asks for such a report.

“I will do everything I can for… Satsuki-chan.”

I’m glad to hear that.

But it’s okay.

“Please don’t force yourself to take on that responsibility. I’m not a stranger to Satsuki; I’m her father… I’ll make her happy even though we’re not blood-related. So don’t worry.”

Blood, family records, and so on have nothing to do with it.

I’m Satsuki’s father. That’s all. I don’t need a reason to protect her.

It seems like Sophia-san has some reservations about me because I’m a stranger.

So I told her again that it was okay.

Then she narrowed her eyes and gave a small nod.

“I see… That’s fine then. Ufufu, you are a great father after all.”

“Yeah, I hope so. I’m still in progress, but I’m doing my best to be a great father.”

“…I wish my kids had a father like you.”

“e!? Geho! Geho!”

I couldn’t help but choke up at her sudden comment.

Sophia-san laughs happily when she sees me struggling.

I guess it’s in their blood to tease me like that.

Sasha, Satsuki, and Sophia-san all laugh happily when they play… pranks on me.

“Please give me a break… If you say things like that too much, the kids will get mad at you, you know?”

“Araraa. Well, they definitely don’t need a father now.”

If you know, please don’t say that.

…Still a father, huh?

“Speaking of which… Did you find out anything about Satsuki’s father?”

I’m suddenly curious about Satsuki’s father, so ask her.

So far, we have had several secret meetings, and during those meetings, I have asked her several times “to find out about Satsuki’s father.”

But Sophia-san also lives in Japan now.

So, she didn’t seem to have much new information about Sasha’s family or her father.

“I’m sorry. Sasha and I were indeed close, but… that girl had a lot of secrets.”

“No… it’s okay. In fact, I’m sorry I caused you any trouble.”

There is a possibility that she didn’t know about Satsuki’s father.

I think I know everything about Satsuki… But the truth is, I don’t know anything about my daughter’s real father.

No, maybe I didn’t want to know.

Or I didn’t dare to know.

(I wish I had asked Sasha that time…!)

I don’t know how many times I regretted it.

I’ve regretted so many things in my life that I can’t even count.

The thing I regret most is my weakness in the past.

I couldn’t ask about Sasha’s husband.

I didn’t want to know who married my first love.

So I still don’t know anything about Satsuki’s father.

I didn’t know if he was alive or dead, where he was, what he did—nothing.

I regretted it for a long time——