Asuka had a reason why she chose this day to demand a divorce—a reason that had kept her silent for years, even through the birth of Kota.
It was because her father was still alive.
His cold, sharp words had always pierced her resolve, leaving her unable to muster the courage to fight back.
Her fear of him was deeply ingrained, especially after her mother's death. Knowing that her mother had died upon seeing Asuka's humiliating pornographic video had been a wound that never healed.
Her father's gaze had grown sharper, cutting into her like a blade, and she had no strength to resist.
In front of him, Asuka had always been a doll—obedient, passive, and devoid of agency.
She knew that the moment she defied him, she would be discarded like a broken toy, deemed worthless and unwanted.
But now, with her father gone and only her brother, Renji, remaining, she finally found the courage to stand up for herself. Especially when her son was already gone, she didn't has any reason to stay by Isamu's side.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Haruto's unwavering support and fierce determination to fight for her had further ignited her courage, the embers of resistance blooming into a flame within her heart.
"Please, let me do something I truly want with my life," Asuka continued, her voice steady but laced with emotion.
Renji watched her in silence, startled by the transformation. The sister he had always known—the lifeless doll molded by their father's will—was no longer before him.
This was a woman with spirit, with agency.
And he, as her brother, had failed to protect her when she needed him most. He had allowed fear of losing his position as the head of the Furukawa family to paralyze him.
He knew how much she had suffered, but she had never asked for his help. To her, he had merely been an extension of their father—a complicit enforcer of her oppression.
Still, Renji couldn't ignore his responsibilities. As her elder brother, he had a right to question the man she had chosen, especially when that man was still so young.
"I understand what you want, Asuka," Renji began, his tone measured. "But Haruto... he's still a high schooler. Can he truly provide for you?"
Haruto met her gaze, his hands twitching with the urge to embrace her, but he restrained himself, unwilling to shatter the fragile peace in the room.
Isamu, however, could not hide his fury. His clenched fists shook, his face red with anger.
"Asuka, how could you do this to our family?!" he bellowed. "What about our son, Kota? That man sitting beside you killed him!"
His voice cracked with anguish as he slammed his fists on the armrest. "How could you talk about divorce on the day our son died? How could you leave me for another man so heartlessly? Don't you have a shred of decency? Are you a demon?!"
The accusation hung heavy in the air, the raw emotion slicing through the room like a dagger.
Tears welled in Asuka's eyes, but she met his glare head-on. "Of course I'm sad, Isamu. I'm still a mother," she said, her voice trembling yet firm.
"But I know for certain that Kota was already lost long before this. And it wasn't Haruto's fault."
Her tone hardened as she continued. "It was ours—yours and mine. Our loveless marriage turned our son into a broken person!"
Her words were like thunder, silencing even Isamu's outburst.
Deep down, Isamu knew she was right. He had never truly seen Kota as a son. To him, the boy was merely a tool—a shackle to bind Asuka to his side.
There was no love in his heart for the child he had fathered, no acknowledgment of his humanity. His mind had been consumed by a singular obsession: Asuka.
But now, Kota was gone, and with him, the last chain Isamu had used to tether Asuka to his will.
Even his desperate accusations and attempts to burden her with guilt over their son's death had failed to sway her.
He had lost her.
Forever.
Asuka's liberation was complete, and for her, it was a triumph. But for Isamu, it was a bitter, hollow defeat, leaving him alone with the ruins of his obsession.