Take the Next Step

Sorry

She wondered if she and Takumi would have a chance to talk alone, but then she asked herself if she was already ready to talk to him alone. She was not afraid that he would do something to her, but she was heartbroken and didn't know if she could see him alone. Sakura was on the way to the bathroom when she bumped into someone. It was Takumi, they looked at each other, but nobody said anything, then Takumi said: Aiko is a beautiful girl, you raised her well. Thank you.

Sakura was taken aback by this comment. She thought he would ask something about her life, but he told her that she raised Aiko well. She realized that Takumi knew Aiko was his daughter, and she couldn't believe how dumb she was. Of course, he knew it, but why didn't he say anything? She looked at him and said: Why didn't you tell me that you know?
Takumi: What if I had told you? Would it have changed something? It wouldn't have, and I know it was the best that you didn't know. As she heard him talk, Sakura broke down in tears. She knew that he was right about it. But hearing it hurt her, and she couldn't think. Takumi looked at her and couldn't see her crying like this. He knew it was hard for her to know the truth. He wasn't sure if he should hug her, but as he saw her standing before him and crying, he hugged her. He held her tight, and Sakura began to cry even more. She had missed this. She had missed him so bad. She had realized that she had missed him when he stood before her. Even if she was forced to be a stranger to him, she couldn't deny her feelings toward him. She knew that she still loved him even after he had hurt so much.
And when he hugged her, she cried even more.
They stood there for a moment. Takumi hugged her and comforted her. They didn't talk.

Ito looked at his watch and wondered where Sakura and Takumi were. He said that he had to go to the bathroom. He asked if they had met and would talk to each other on his way. As he went around the corner, he heard Sakura talking; he knew she was talking to Takumi. So he stood there and listened. When Takumi thanked Sakura for raising Aiko. Ito found out that Takumi knew that Aiko was his daughter. He was angry at him. Why did he leave her then and didn't tell her that he knew? He wanted to punch Takumi in the face but stopped himself because Sakura asked: Why didn't you tell me that you know?
Ito knew that this was a shock to her and he heard her crying, he thought he should go to them but then decided that they had to talk and so he left.

Takumi was glad that Sakura knew that Aiko was his daughter, but he couldn't change anything. Now Sakura knew, but she couldn't decide if he could meet with Aiko since she was still married and Ito was officially the father of Aiko. And he knew that Sakura's family wouldn't allow him to meet his daughter. But, even though she was young, Aiko was a clever child, so she soon discovered that Takumi was her father. And Takumi didn't know what he should do, maybe she would ask him where he had been, and he couldn't answer this question her. But right now, he was happy that finally, he could tell Sakura about it.

After calming herself down, Sakura freed herself from the hug and looked at Takumi. She didn't know what to say to him, so she thanked him for comforting her and told him they should return to the dinner. Otherwise, her family would notice something. Takumi didn't want to let her go and wanted to talk to her more, but he couldn't do anything about it, so he agreed. Sakura went downstairs, and Ito asked her if she was okay. She told him she had to say something to him later and looked toward Takumi.