Chapter 11: Two Sides in a Conflict

Enjoy!

When she finally got the heavy weight of her problems off of her shoulders, Kasumi noticed a drastic change in her mood over the course of a week. She doesn't feel as stressed out as she used to and has been seeing everything in a very optimistic light. This is wonderful, Kasumi thought. It feels like I have nothing to worry about. She was currently walking in a nearby park with Tina, who was happily whistling a tune that Kasumi didn't recognize at the moment. It's been a while since Kasumi and Tina have been able to do simple things like this, so they quickly decided to take advantage of the sunny day.

"This is great," Tina exclaimed, smiling at her friend. "I love this park! It's beautiful, the weather is nice, and I met so many nice people while we were walking!"

"I agree," Kasumi replied, pausing to look towards the center of the park. There was a group of children playing with each other while their parents watched nearby. They were tossing a ball back and forth until one child didn't catch it – letting the ball roll to a stop at Kasumi's feet. She picked it up and passed it to the little boy, who thanked her and ran back to his friends. "I'm going to come to this park more often."

"I was thinking the same thing," Tina admitted. Kasumi raised an eyebrow when Tina's bright smile turned into a sad one. "Kasumi, I know you've been going through a lot for the past two months and one week. It must've been hell for you."

"I have been going through a lot," Kasumi agreed. "Life has been very stressful." Between trying to figure out what to do about the relationship aspect of her life and making sure she doesn't make any more mistakes, she hasn't been able to relax as much as she wished she could have. She wasn't sure why Tina was bringing it up now, but she quietly waited for her to continue.

"That's the problem, Kasumi! All of this has been stressing you out, and I can't help you with anything. I'm right here, yet I can't offer any good advice that could help," Tina complained, glaring at a tree. Kasumi shook her head and placed a hand on one of Tina's shoulders.

"You help me by being a supportive friend, Tina. You, Hitomi, Leifang, Ayane and everyone else are great people! If you all weren't so helpful, my situation would've torn me apart a long time ago. Please don't be angry at yourself," Kasumi said. After a few seconds, Tina nodded then wrapped her arms around Kasumi, who didn't know that her problems affected her friend that much.

"Kasumi!"

When she heard her name, Kasumi let go of Tina and stepped back. She quickly tried to figure out who was behind her since Tina was frowning at the unknown person. Her friend wasn't afraid to show her displeasure when she saw someone she didn't like, so the list of possible people was pretty long once Kasumi really thought about it. I won't find out until I face the person, Kasumi thought while turning around. She immediately understood Tina's expression when she saw Rig. He was standing a short distance away with his hands outstretched as if he was reaching for her. There were bags under his eyes and he looked completely exhausted although Kasumi wasn't worried about his appearance. She was more concerned about why he was there.

"Rig?" she called. She knew it was him, but she honestly didn't expect to see him any time soon. After their last encounter, Kasumi believed they went their separate ways without telling each other the truth. Now she wasn't sure what was going on or what was going to happen.

"I really need to talk to you," Rig claimed, letting his hands fall to his sides. He took a small step closer and whispered, "I'm ready to tell you everything."

That sentence made her whole body freeze; the only thing she could do was stare into his light brown eyes. She didn't notice that Tina had quietly excused herself until she turned around and didn't see her. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the conversation helped her calm down a little bit. I don't know if I should feel nervous or not, she thought. She was ready to talk to him despite the possibility of walking away without at least having closure. Rig hasn't said anything during the past few minutes they've spent going to a less crowded area, so she figured there were a lot of things that she had to know about.

While trying to keep her face blank and her emotions under control, Kasumi turned to stare at Rig. "What kept you from coming to talk to me sooner?"

"I had to go handle some recent business deals and create a contract for a potential business partner. A new product has also been developed recently, so I had to work with that, too. I can't tell you much right now because it is still being tested," he explained. He paused for a second then continued. "Your sister also told me to give you some space. I'm here now, though, so I'll tell you what you want to know."

Are the deals related to what Hayate told me about? she wondered. She might have to mention it to her brother to see if anything lines up because Rig wasn't giving away much information at the moment. For now, Kasumi has to figure out what she wants to know first. "We can start this discussion with you telling me about that woman."

Rig visibly winced and turned his head away, unknowingly answering one of her questions. She had a feeling that he knew the woman – she just need to figure out how does he know her. Part of her has already came up with multiple ideas about that, but she knows that she shouldn't assume anything.

"I'm so sorry, Kasumi. I'm really sorry," Rig apologized. He lifted a hand then immediately dropped it. "It was wrong – all of it – and I shouldn't have been so stupid. I knew I shouldn't have done it."

"What did you do?"

"I..." he paused and met her gaze. "Kasumi, I cheated on you."

He finally confirmed her suspicions, and Kasumi couldn't ignore the sharp feeling in her chest. She still wanted him to tell her that she was jumping to conclusions when she accused him of cheating. She didn't want the current topic to be the actual truth. Rig was waiting on her to say something, so she swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke. "Rig…"

"I didn't mean to," he began. "It was two weeks after we started our break, and I went to a bar with a few coworkers in order to celebrate the development of the new product. I was buying some drinks when I met her. She was making advances and I was a little drunk then before I realized where my thoughts were going I knew I kind of wanted her the same way that she wanted me. We were kissing in the back of my car before things escalated."

"What do you mean by 'kind of'?" she asked. Did he try to stop himself before he slept with that woman? Or did he wait for certain circumstances before he decided to cheat? She really hoped it was the former because their relationship issues ran deeper than she thought if it turned out to be the latter. She frowned when Rig shrugged his shoulders then chose to ask the next question. "Was that the only time you slept with her?"

"No," he answered. "We met three or four more times after that. I'm so sorry, Kasumi!"

Three or four times? her mind repeated. That was enough to make the sharp pain double and she didn't try to hide the frown on her face. The way he said it was bothering her, too. He said it as if he doesn't regret it, she thought. Does he really care? His sincerity was written on his face, but his voice made him seem indifferent. Kasumi didn't know what to say to Rig because he was avoiding the questions that she really wanted answers to. She couldn't wrap her mind around all of the ideas that were bouncing around in her head and she really wanted to leave.

She couldn't leave though because if she did, she would never tell Rig about her wrongdoings. The memory of her father telling her and her siblings to always share both sides of the story when they were fighting about something made Kasumi see how valuable life lessons are. A bitter smile briefly appeared on her face before her expression turned into a sad one. "I guess the only thing we've been doing lately is hurting each other because I cheated on you too."

Looking away from Rig's shocked face was the only thing Kasumi could do to make sure she wouldn't lose it. Maybe it's because of her pride, but she refused to cry when she knows she has to take responsibility for her actions like an adult. Rig was over there mumbling about something although Kasumi didn't hear most of it. She honestly thought this conversation was going to involve a lot of emotions and hurtful words. It's only quiet moments and barely contained anger so far.

"Really? When? With who? Why?" Rig suddenly asked. There was anger in his eyes, and Kasumi knew Rig wasn't the best guy to be around when he's angry. She wasn't afraid of him though – she can protect herself when she has to.

"The first time happened during the night of my bachelorette party, which was the same day we started our break. We were drinking then Tina called a male stripper for entertainment. The next morning, I woke up next to him in my bed. I also slept with him a few hours after I saw you with that woman last week," she explained. Now that she thought about it, the last time she slept with Hayabusa was after she ended her engagement with Rig. Does that still count as cheating? I guess that depends how on Rig see it, she decided.

"What the hell, Kasumi?" Rig shouted. He was definitely angry and seemed to be hurt by her explanation. "You stabbed me in the back!"

"It was an accident, Rig! I wasn't trying to hurt you on purpose," she admitted while facing him again. "I care about you too much to do something like that."

Rig pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes and took a few deep breaths. She waited in the tense silence for another one of his outbursts; when the silence continued, she asked another question. "Who is that woman?"

"Don't worry about her because it's not like your going to tell me about your stripper toy. This is between us," he replied, motioning to the space between them. Kasumi briefly felt offended when Rig called Hayabusa her 'stripper toy' although she quickly remembered Hayabusa saying that she only used him for sex. I wasn't using him, she thought. The idea of using Hayabusa then pushing him aside made Kasumi sick; she wanted to apologize to him for making it seem that way.

"I know I made a mistake, but I really want to discuss this and try to fix our relationship," she offered. Her eyes searched his face for a clue about what her words meant to him; the only emotion she saw was anger.

"Do you, Kasumi? Because right now I don't see anything to fix," he snapped, clenching his fists.

He just threw our relationship back in my face, she realized. Those three years before his proposal were some of the best years in her life. She doesn't know what to think now that it sounds like none of it meant anything to Rig. His words felt like a punch in the face, but Kasumi suddenly didn't have the energy to put the same amount of pain behind her own words. He has every right to be angry, but he can't act like he's the only person hurt, Kasumi thought.

"Are you saying that our relationship meant nothing to you?"

"It meant everything to me," Rig passionately exclaimed, stepping closer to Kasumi. "It still does, but you cheated on me first and I don't know how to feel about that!"

"I don't know how to feel about you cheating on me multiple times either, Rig," she declared, glaring at him. The way he kept trying to shift the focus of the conversation over to what she did was beginning to irritate her. "Neither one of us have been completely faithful to the other ever since our break started, so maybe we should just go our separate ways now."

She didn't want to give up, but she was so tired of this conversation and the way it was beginning to lead to a terrible outcome. She's trying to fight for their relationship, but if they were just going to stand here in the park and waste each other's time, she was willing to admit to an early defeat. Kasumi sighed and stared down at her hands before she spoke. "I'm tired, Rig."

"Kasumi, I don't want to let you go," Rig announced as if he didn't hear her say anything. He reached out and grabbed her hand then continued. "I still want to marry you. I don't care about what happened between you and the stripper because we've both done bad things behind each other's back. I want to move on from this."

"I do, too," she agreed. "We need to talk about this before it becomes a problem later, Rig."

She raised an eyebrow when Rig lightly squeezed her hand while shaking his head. Her concern about the lack of discussion related to their affairs was increasing, but Rig didn't seem to share the same feeling. The feeling of Rig's thumb moving back and forth across her knuckles was beginning to make her relax; she hated how easily he could calm her down, yet loved it at the same time. I'm confused, she thought.

"I believe we already discussed everything," Rig claimed. "We both confessed and explained how it happened without revealing anyone's name. Kasumi, I believe the problem is the amount of time we're spending away from each other while we're preparing to spend the rest of out lives together."

A smile slowly appeared on Rig's face, making Kasumi wary of his words. "What are you trying to say, Rig?"

His hesitation could've been for dramatic effect or the need for the right words, but after a minute Rig answered her question. "I want to move the wedding a few weeks ahead. Before you try to protest, I want you to know that I respect your family traditions although I don't think a lot of time apart would be good for us. We've been nearly inseparable since we started dating, so maybe the break is getting close to the point where it's been going on for too long."

While she thought about what Rig was saying, she slowly realized that most of his idea made sense. She nodded in understanding then responded. "There are some things we still need to work on and it would be difficult to get things earlier than intended."

"We already have everything except the invitations and attire. I can work with Helena to move the wedding ahead – three weeks before the original date will still give us enough time to get the rest of it done. We might have to pay the entertainment and caterer more money though. That won't be a problem," Rig mentioned.

"Then it will only be one month until our wedding," Kasumi said in disbelief. Rig's plan was crazy, but she knew they could do it if they started as soon as possible. The thought of doing this made her both nervous and excited; she didn't even notice she was nodding her head and smiling until Rig kissed her and puller her into a hug.

"We can handle this, Kasumi," he assured after he kissed her forehead. Kasumi's happiness was so overwhelming that she couldn't say anything, so she simply returned the hug. A part of her was still bothered by the earlier conversation, but she believes that they will be able to move on from their past mistakes.

…

Sorry for the late update, I've been busy with other stuff. This chapter was difficult to write, but I had to do it this way for the rest of the story. Thanks for reading! Reviews would be nice.