Chapter 1
It was the morning after I found out that Shoji had cheated on me and I felt hopeless. I had taken the day off from work and slept in, while Nana

headed to her job. I was laying in bed contemplating my situation, with tears running down my face when I heard a knock on the door.

I didn't feel like answering it, but I convinced myself to get up.

I wiped off my tears and hoped that whoever was behind the door wouldn't notice that I had been crying. I guessed that it was going to be the delivery man, because I had ordered something online a week before. I turned the knob and slowly pulled the door towards me. While I was in the midst of opening it, I had a flashback of the night before. The image of Shoji and Sachiko kissing came into my mind, but I shook it off to pull the door open fully. I looked up and saw Nobu standing there with his small smile that I've always loved. I started crying as soon as I saw his face.

His smile instantly disappeared and he asked with concern,

"What's wrong, Hachiko?"

It was that very moment when I broke down into tears and fell to my knees.

He immediately joined me on the ground and we stared into each other's eyes. I struggled to see through my tears, but it was almost impossible to notice the water that was forming in the corner of his eyes. I watched him turn his head away and try to hide his sorrowful face. The room was filled with silence until Nobu broke it with his reassuring words.

"You don't have to tell me what's wrong Hachi. Just know that I'll always be here for you," he said in a soft voice.

I reached out to gently move his head so we were face to face.

"Shoji cheated on me," I confessed.

He pulled me into a hug and said,"I would never cheat on you, Hachi."

We stayed in each other's arms without saying a word.

I took his hand into mine and told him while looking into his teary eyes, "I would never cheat on you either."

Then we both leaned in and kissed each other. It felt like the best feeling ever. I never wanted to pull away from his lips or his hand.

When we finally stopped kissing he told me,

"I love you."

We both wiped away each other's tears and smiled.

"I would do anything to make you happy, Hachiko," he confessed.

I knew right then that he was the one.

"I love you too, Nobuo."

Nobuo kissed me on the cheek and I blushed lightly. He stood up from his position on the floor and reached out his hand to me. As I grabbed it, and he helped me get up, I felt like I had finally found a man that truly loved me. That it wasn't just in my head like all of my previous boyfriends.

We both went to sit in the booth as I told the story of how my heart was broken again by Shoji. I didn't feel embarrassed or uncomfortable while talking with Nobu. I just felt love, warmth, and like my heart had finally found its home.