After Breaking Up with Geto, I Took the Gojo Route

[This story has an extremely high love-triangle-and-rivalry quotient, and is all about mixing things up. Read the notes after the blurb for details.] My name is Honami Ryoko. I really, really like Geto. I like his gentle face, his smiling eyes, and the way he stands in front of me when danger strikes. But I rarely talk to him. I only ever dare to secretly watch him. We barely spoke during our three years of middle school. Even when the three of us went out together, I rarely walked beside him. Geto is always so perceptive. If I show even a hint of affection, he'll notice, distance himself, and we won't even be able to stay friends. So I always use my friendship with Gojo as an excuse to see him. Gojo never cares about keeping his distance. He doesn't particularly like me, and of course he doesn't think I like him. But he's kind, and whenever Geto is about to catch me looking at him, Gojo steps in front of me and cheerfully chats with either me or Geto. I thought I would always keep spending time with them like that, always secretly watching Geto. Until one night. Geto, who had been missing for a while, came to find me wearing his monk's robes. He asked me to help him with a difficult, long-term mission, to help him achieve his "great cause." Even in the Star Religious Group, I still didn't dare look at him. But Geto, who used to look elsewhere and never understand how I felt, began smiling at me. He called me the cutest girl and said I had beautiful eyes. When I finally worked up the courage to tell him I liked him, he gently returned my feelings. I thought we would be happy together for a long time. But Gojo found me. He was in a hurry, his face full of anger and regret. He called me an idiot, said that Suguru was lying to me, that Suguru had defected long ago, and that He hesitated, but I knew what he was going to say. He was going to say that Suguru was using me. Ah... I knew it. I told you so. Geto could never like me, could he? And just like that, my beautiful dream, my love, my first romance, my hero... All shattered. * To Geto, Honami Ryoko was just a middle school classmate he barely remembered: an ordinary, fragile person with a special ability, a cute, shy girl who was always around them but rarely spoke. After he defected, all he thought of her as was "a monkey with a little bit of use." He didn't care who the monkey liked or what it thought about every day. Yet for the sake of her ability, he had to endure his disgust and talk to her, tolerate her stupidly gazing at him with those eyes. Every interaction with Honami Ryoko tested his patience. Still, he couldn't help wondering with cruel amusement how such an innocent monkey would react when she learned that he wasn't the hero she'd imagined. He eagerly anticipated the look of shock on her face. He should have been waiting for that day to arrive with delight. But when that moment finally came, Geto felt no satisfaction. He hated monkeys, despised monkeys, and had put up with Honami Ryoko for so long that he should have been glad to kill her. Yet when he saw the girl standing beside Gojo, gazing at him in disbelief, his mind held just one thought [...Don't look at me like that.] [Ryoko.] ★ The heroine is an ordinary person and a hopeless romantic. The love-triangle-and-rivalry quotient is high. Readers who expect the heroine to meet any standards of morality, combat ability, or intelligence should not read this. ☆ OOC. Every plot point exists to serve my personal tastes. If you notice your tastes differ from the author's, please leave immediately. This is a slow-burn, angst-inducing story. No writing advice, no BL, and a happy ending. Coming soon: "After Dumping My Down-and-Out Ex-Husband, He Came Looking for Me" As the beloved daughter of a down-and-out earl, the lazy Cynthia realized early on that the easiest way to live well was to marry a handsome, powerful, high-ranking Alpha. So as soon as she enrolled at the Royal Academy, she started approaching the sons of the dukes and marquesses she had carefully selected. But for some reason, her looks and pheromones, which she was so proud of, didn't work on them. The young noblemen were infatuated with her at first, but then suddenly started avoiding her whenever they saw her. After several failed attempts, Prince Isaac Caesar suddenly caught Cynthia's eye. As the emperor's only younger brother, Isaac held a very high position. But he was infamous for his explosive temper, so he hadn't been one of Cynthia's choices. But with all her other options having failed, Cynthia could only give it her all. In fact, winning Isaac over proved far easier than she had expected. Although Isaac was notorious for his temper and reclusive nature, he was indulgent and doting toward her. The beauty and pheromones that had failed with the sons of dukes and marquesses worked on Prince Isaac. She quickly rose to the top and was about to become the empire's esteemed princess consort. However, during a mission on the eve of their engagement, Prince Isaac Caesar was gravely injured. His gland was damaged, leaving him unable to sense pheromones. He was accused of colluding with rebels, dismissed from his post, and placed under investigation. With everything in turmoil, Cynthia acted decisively and broke up with him. * Two years later, Isaac Caesar returned to the capital from the border planet where he had been exiled, carrying the rebel leader's head. He was more prominent than ever. But his former fiancée, Cynthia, who had abandoned him, was about to marry someone else: a former classmate from the Royal Academy. Everyone guessed that Isaac would take a vicious revenge on Cynthia. And it seemed they were right "What a beautiful bride." In the fitting room, he pinned her against the mirror. Ignoring her trembling, he ran his fingers over the finely patterned wedding dress and pressed his lips to the fragrant nape of her neck. "Have you thought about how you'll atone, my Cynthia?" In the cramped space, he fixed his beastlike gaze on the woman who should have been his bride, through the mirror. Theme: Sincerity. Sincerity matters most.