Take the Next Step

The Divorce

As Takumi drove back to his home, he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened back at Sakura's house.  Why did she have to fall asleep on the sofa and ask him these questions?  He knew that as he answered them, he couldn't resist his feelings for her anymore, which led to them finding themselves in the bed, where she and Ito slept.  If he didn't stop, they would have made another mistake, and they both would have regretted it.  He regretted saying that he would stay for a glass of wine.  He had hoped he was over her and that she hated him for leaving her and Aiko.

He didn't want to destroy her life or Aiko's.  Aiko didn't know that he was her father, and she thought that Ito was her father. Takumi knew how much Aiko and Sakura meant to Ito and Sakura hated him if he really would consider staying in Japan and living with Aiko and Sakura.  Her father would do anything possible so that he couldn't wait.  Takumi could understand why now her father didn't want them to be together.  If news came out that Takumi and Sakura had a secret daughter together, even if Sakura is married to Ito, everyone would know they had an affair.  The reputation of the Suzuki Family would be destroyed.  And this was something that Sakura's father couldn't let happen since he was a well-known and respected man in the industry.  And since Takumi and his company worked together, they couldn't afford to have such a scandal blow off their work project.  He knew that he still loved Sakura, but he also knew that they couldn't be together, so he didn't want to give her false hopes.  Also, she was legally married to Ito.

When Takumi arrived home, he took a shower and couldn't stop thinking about Aiko, she was such a cute, loving, and caring person, and when he saw the photos of her when she was little, he fell in love with her even more, and he wanted to stay by her side more.  But then he thought that in all the photos, Ito was there; on the other side, he was grateful to Ito that he had accepted Aiko like she was his daughter.  He cared for Sakura, but on the other side, he wanted to be the guy who had photos with his daughter and cared for Sakura.  And at this thought, he got angry and punched the wall.  He went out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist, and lay on the bed.  Maybe it was better when he would fly back to Singapore right after this project was over.  Of course, he still wanted to see his daughter, but he knew that it wasn't good for Sakura and would only get their personal feelings mixed.  So he decided that he should wait until he met Aiko again.

The weeks passed, and Sakura still was nervous because she didn't know what she should do.  She hadn't talked to Takumi for the past weeks, and Aiko asked if Takumi would come again and play with her.  Ito told her that their project was almost ready, and after that, Takumi announced that he would fly back to Singapore.  When Sakura heard that, she was angry at Takumi for leaving them again, so she wanted to meet him once before he passed.  She couldn't continue to live like this, and She relived her feelings to Ito that she still loved Takumi.  Ito was sad and heartbroken about this, but he couldn't control her emotions, and he knew that something must have happened between them weeks ago.  Even if Sakura tried to hide it, he knew her too well and knew something had happened between them.  So they decided to divorce each other and live their own lives.  Sakura's father didn't know about their plan, but they wanted to talk to him, she knew that her father was against her decision, but she wouldn't change her mind.  She didn't want to live this life full of lies and wrong feelings.  And for her daughter, she wanted her to grow up in a good environment and not somewhere where she should learn when she was older than her father wasn't her father and that her uncle who had played with her would be her real dad.  Ito could understand Sakura and supported her in her decision.

On the other hand, he wanted to know if Takumi still had feelings for Sakura, but they wouldn't meet each other after work only if they had a work dinner.  So they didn't have the opportunity to talk to each other, and Ito knew that Sakura didn't want Takumi to know about her plan.  So he didn't speak to him.