I met her gaze without flinching. "I get Haruna to stop lying to herself," I said simply. "I get her to finally see me the way I see her."
Yuko's eyes burned with fury. "You're a selfish bastard," she hissed, her voice shaking. "Using me like this. Using Haruna's feelings like they're some kind of game."
"I'm using the truth," I said, my voice steady. "Haruna likes me. She's been hiding it, sacrificing her own happiness because she thinks Hannah deserves me more." I stepped even closer, my voice dropping to a whisper.
"But if she sees me with you—if she thinks you took me from Hannah—she won't be able to stay silent. She'll fight for what she wants. And that's the only way she'll ever be honest with herself."
Yuko's breath came in sharp, uneven gasps. She wanted to refuse. She wanted to scream, to hit me, to call me every name she could think of. But she also knew I was right. Haruna would react. Haruna would finally stop hiding.
And that was all that mattered.
