---
The man stared at me without averting his eyes. It was as if he had completely claimed my wife. By telling me, her husband, the truth, he was trying to claim everything for himself.
"Husband, what do you think? Do you still have feelings for Noriko?" the man asked, his gaze unwavering.
Still have feelings for her? Were they trying to separate me and Noriko? And not just me—were they trying to take Noriko from me, our children, and our family? These men acted as if I didn't exist. But I wasn't angry. I could brush them off, no matter what they said.
"As of today, I'm cutting ties with your wife," the man said, his eyes still fixed on mine.
"Do you understand? Noriko is no longer the Noriko you knew. She's not capable of living a normal life. You should know that, after all you've seen in those videos."
What did this man want with my wife? It didn't matter. I just wanted to save her. That was all.
"So what? I've come to take my wife back from you guys. That's all," I replied.
Then, large tears began to flow from Noriko's eyes. "I'm… I'm polluted. I don't deserve to go home," my wife said, crying.
I wanted to hear her true feelings, not out of concern for anyone else, but her true feelings. "It doesn't matter what you think. As my wife, we're going home together. Either you want to go back to your old life, or you want to be with these guys!" I said firmly.
My wife began slowly, "I don't want to be with these people. I've never loved them before. But…"
"But your body didn't listen to you, did it? Even if you know it in your head, your body always suppresses reason. That's what women are like. There's nothing strange about it," the man interrupted, as my wife's head hung low, tears streaming down her face.
"I want to hear your true feelings!" I shouted at her. "It's not about what has happened in the past. It's about what you want to do from now on!"
"I… I want to go back to my old life too!" she echoed, louder.
Was that what my wife really wanted? I felt a brief sense of relief. Then I turned to the man. "What you guys did is unforgivable. But I'm no longer thinking about the past, only the future. As of today, please stop all contact with my wife."
The man asked my wife again, "Are you sure? Once you leave, you can't go back. Are you really satisfied with a life without anything from now on?"
"I don't want to go back to that world anymore," she replied immediately.
The man nodded. "Okay, husband, we'll stop all contact from now on. If she doesn't want that, there's no point in contacting her, no matter how much we try. We're a smart organization. If there's no benefit from a business perspective, Noriko has no appeal. Of course, it's true that many of our staff are attracted to Noriko as a woman."
These men only thought in terms of pros and cons. They only saw my wife as a business tool. But did that work out for the better?
"Of course. Delete all contact, including your contact information," I demanded.
The man took out his cell phone and began fiddling with it. He then gave instructions to the man behind him. "Hey, delete all the addresses and phone numbers on the computer. Delete them in front of her husband."
The man behind me brought the computer over and deleted the information right there.
"Listen, this is really the end," I said. "Considering what you guys did, I can't just let it go. But I've thought about my wife's future, and we've both decided this is the end. Don't do anything that will cause any more harm to me, my wife, or you guys. I want us to be on the same page about that."
"Yes, of course," the man replied, and he left the room with his associate.
In the elevator, where we were alone, my wife said in a small voice, crying, "I'm so… sorry… I don't deserve to go home…"
I told her, "What you did is unforgivable. But this isn't just your problem. I knew it too, but I couldn't do anything. And to our children, you're a great mother. That's what you should always be. And to me, too…"
My wife began to sob, and I remember the elevator not stopping even after it reached the first floor. The doors opened, and the people waiting looked at us suspiciously.
---
Two months have passed since then. The four of us are sitting around the dinner table together. I told our children that my wife had been away on a sudden business trip during that time. That's why I'm treating her as if nothing happened. Our children aren't young anymore. I'm sure they sense something. But for this family, it wasn't something they should make a big deal out of. Instead, we need to look ahead, to the future, not the past. Some might see that as running away. But we realized that this is what's truly important to us now. The joy of being able to eat dinner together as a family of four is a happy everyday life.
I never want to see this again—a wife I don't know.
---
A room in a hotel in Tokyo. The president of a large company was sitting on the sofa. A long-haired man entered the room.
The president began to speak. "Hey, it's been a while. I saw your show the other day."
"Yes, thank you," the long-haired man replied.
The chairman continued with a grin, "But I really liked that housewife you showed me last time. That anything-goes housewife. Is there a new release yet? I'd love to have her again sometime."
"Actually, she's not releasing any new content. She's left us. But we've found another woman, someone we think you'll like. This time, she's a full-time housewife," the long-haired man explained.
"Wait, what do you mean, left? We must have invested quite a bit in her," the president said.
"Yes, it's a shame for us, but that's what she wants, so there's nothing we can do about it. Here's a video of the new housewife we found. We brought it here so you might want to take a look," the long-haired man said, placing a CD-ROM on the table.
"Well, we look forward to hearing from you again," he added, then left the room.
The chairman took out his phone and made a call. "Oh, it's been a while. Actually, Nakanishi just came by and said that the series about that woman has apparently been discontinued. Have you heard? Yes, of course. How much do you think that guy invested? Well, we have the footage, so we know exactly where she is and everything. We'll do as we please."
The chairman talked for a while and then hung up the phone. He stood up from the sofa and made a call to another number. As the call rang, he muttered, "There's no way I can just end it. I know everything about that woman, from her naked body to the lewd parts she hides."
---
**END**