Chapter 73 - From Now On

Later that day, after the two siblings finished eating their lunch, Haru, who was observing his sister this whole time, suddenly sighed deeply.

"What's wrong?"

"Uhh… Nothing, I'm just feeling quite relieved."

"About what?"

Davi stared intently at her little brother for he suddenly looked a little different even though he was smiling pleasantly as usual.

"I'm just happy… whoever your husband is, I think I wanted to meet him to say my thanks."

A line appeared between Davi's brows as soon as she heard his statement. She looked puzzled as if a big question mark just appeared above her head. An expression that caused Haru to smile even wider.

"Sis… for as long as I can remember, you've always been the one taking care of me. You gave me everything. You worked really hard for me. You gave up too many things for me. You---"

"Haru, what are you saying?" Davi cut through her little brother's words. It was because she suddenly felt strange listening to him. This was the first time he talked that way towards her, as though he suddenly became quite mature, leaving Davi puzzled about what he was trying to say.

Seeing her worried and confused face, the young man stood and hugged her gently, causing Davi to feel even more worried.

"Haru… what is it? Is there something wrong?" she asked worriedly and the boy let go of her as he stared at her with serious eyes.

"Sis, listen to me. Honestly, I have wanted to tell you this for a long time now but there never seemed to be a right time. But now, please allow me to say what I feel."

"O-okay, I will listen. What is it?"

"As I've just mentioned, you gave up lots of things for me and I'm sure you did even more than what I can imagine. You even suffered along with me when I was sick. Honestly, during those times, the only thought I was holding onto was to not leave you alone. Truth was that… It was really painful for me watching you suffer for my sake for a long time and I couldn't even do a thing about it. I couldn't even help you."

"Haru…" For some reason, tears suddenly flowed down her cheeks. She didn't know why he was suddenly telling her all these things but seeing his earnest eyes made her remain silent as the boy continued.

"That's why, I'm truly glad to see you being happy on your own. At first, I was really worried to death when you told me you had gotten married. The truth was I couldn't believe it at all, but as time went by, you became happier. You may not know it but lately, you've become even more dazzling than before. I felt really relieved seeing you do things for yourself. Sis… I'm really happy to see that your world doesn't revolve only around me anymore."

Davi's tears didn't stop as she listened to him, even though the boy was smiling earnestly at her as he caressed her back as if he was a really gentle mother. Haru never opened up to her like this before. She didn't know that he was observing her to that extent and that he was secretly in pain.

"Listen sis… You will always be my only family, I never longed for a mother or a father because I had you. You became my parent since I was five years old and that will never change. That's why I want you to stop worrying about me now."

"Hey… what do you mean by that?"

"Sis, I'm not telling you to leave me, okay? I'm not telling you to stop supporting me either. I'm just saying that you can stop prioritizing me. I want you to prioritize yourself from now on. Especially now that you have a husband. Besides, I'm already old enough, I'm not a kid anymore."

"H-huh? You're just eleven."

"Listen, I'm already a man. I'm no longer your little baby brother and I will prove that to you soon. This is just a little injury and I can now manage on my own so I want you to go back to him. Don't worry about me, I promise I'll be careful from now on and I'll call you every day. Please, trust me. I will be fine."

At that moment, Davi realized just how her sweet little brother had been feeling all this time, without her knowing. She didn't have any idea that he actually felt like this, which was why, even though it was hard for her, she was truly glad he finally told her how he felt, or else she would have never known.