Sumire stared at the gun and then back at him with cold eyes. "I see how it is. This is your means of escape. I can tell right away that you have never shot a person with that gun before. But you've pulled it out plenty of times whenever somebody gets closer to figuring out your feelings."

"You've gotten a lot braver since the last time. I'm warning you, Sumire, the only reason I feigned ignorance and let you be this entire time is because they told me they needed you alive."

This is a lie; what is he saying? He is the one who had to negotiate with those people not to hurt her. But since he has already come this far, he may as well continue. Besides, he hates it more than anything whenever she mentioned Tsueno Mamoru and Terashima Yuhi.

He thought the person's presence who bothered him the most was Ichinose Arashi, but that wasn't it. From the very beginning, those two were the ones obstructing him from getting her heart.

When they first dated, he could tell that Sumire already had somebody else in her heart. It was one of the first things he talked to her about when they became official. He wanted to know the reason why she went for him despite already having somebody.

It was a bit of a sensitive matter, so Sano didn't expect her to talk about it, so when she did, it surprised him. Perhaps there is a chance to turn this situation around. Perhaps it is possible for him to change her mind. He can make her fall in love with him.

He thought he was doing a good job right until that incident. The reason why he was so jealous wasn't Ichinose Arashi; it was Tsueno Mamoru. He insisted on saying that he disliked Ichinose because he didn't want to admit losing her heart to somebody who didn't even belong in the rich elite circle.

He never stood a chance from the start since she already has two people in her heart that she deeply cared for. It frustrated him when he found out.

"You can't continue to toy around with my heart like the other boys you play with."

She seemed to get angry when he said those words, but she remained firm. Her sharp gaze never left his. "Boys I play around with? This is ironic coming from you." She scoffed. "Or are you going to say those female garments at your place belong to your siblings again?"

"What does that have to do with this? Your the one who has been going around collecting a harem of guys. Or can you really say that you don't have over ten people who like you? It seems your quite good at seducing them." Sano dropped his gun and walked over to her.

The girl didn't budge an inch as he leaned forward and touched her cheek. "The reason why Tsueno got into the accident is because you fought in the car, right? You fought because you seduced so many men, and he found out."

".."

"What a bad girl."

At those words, Sumire slapped his hand away. "How dare you say that about my friends. Unlike you, those people have never had bad intentions towards me. Even if they did like me, they all stayed away and respected my happiness instead. Besides, are you really angry about this? You're the one who cheated on me."

"I had my reasons; you already know I didn't do it deliberately, right?"

"Just because you didn't doesn't make it okay."

"Then what about you? How many guys kissed you when we were together- no, how many times did Ichinose kiss you?"

Sano never saw this himself. But he got his people to follow her around, and they took photos. Ichinose initiated the kisses, not her, but she never tried very hard to push him away.

"So it was about that? Like you have your reasons, I had mine too."

"What kind of reasoning could you possibly have to lip-lock with somebody who wasn't your boyfriend?"

"Ha, I thought your behavior was odd. So even after so much time, your still consumed with jealousy. Even though we aren't dating anymore, you're still treating me like I am your possession. Then let me ask you this, Sano, would you still treat me this way if we broke up in a normal way?"

He never even wanted to break up with her; he had plans of marrying her one day. But based on what she just said now, it seemed like such a thought never crossed her mind before.

"I never thought of it that way before."

He never wanted them to break up, so he doesn't know how to answer.

"The point I am trying to make here is to disconnect the current me and the past me. I have changed Sano, and so have you. While some traits remain the same, we are fundamentally very different from when we first dated."

"So what are you trying to say? Just forget it all?"

Sumire shook her head. "No, you can't forget, I can't ask you to do something that cruel. But if you keep mixing up my past actions and my current ones, my presence will only be painful for you. If you can't get over me, that's fine, but right now, I have a hard time accepting your feelings as genuine because of your behavior. I feel like the one you're in love with is the past me and not the current me."

The past her? Indeed he did tell Hino with confidence that Sumire would return to him. But the only reason he said that is because he thought that she was still the same.

"The reason I am saying this is because of what Hino said to me. I truly think he is right; at this stage, if we continue meeting, we will both explode. After spending time away the last two months, I thought about it. Staying away and cutting you off isn't the answer. But to work out any kind of relationship with you, you have to separate the past and present first."

"Isn't it still the same? You still have those guys who like you."

"You know I never asked them to like me. I have repeatedly told them that it is bad to get involved with me, let alone obtain feelings. I think the current situation is very bad, and Im doing something stupid like setting them up with other girls even if it will upset them." Sumire trailed off. "Regardless of those other people, they have nothing to do with us. Your logic is twisted and wrong, and I am sick of you treating me like you have been."