Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

'Calm down, Rudy. Stop panicking! You didn't know anything about this because it was kept a secret from you! Yeah, so stop overthinking! But why did no one ever tell me about this? And who else knows about it?

Most importantly, why did this happen today of all times? Was it because I came to meet mom? Or was it because Janet's mom was sick and Janet came in her stead?

No, even if that's the case, why today? I meet Janet every day, so she could have told me… no, no. That's not possible. In truth, I know why it happened today, I just didn't want to admit it.

It happened today because I wished for it.'

'Only if she wasn't my mother.' Rudy recalled his words.

'Is it because I wished for it? But that was just a frustrating thought of mine. I wasn't serious about it. I had no idea my wishes even worked like that! Wait… could it be that my wish actually changed everything?

What if mom was truly my mother, but everything changed because I wished for it? That's hard to believe, but it's totally possible. What should I do… Angelica?

…she is not with me. Why do things like this always happen when I am alone? But wait… if I look at the bright side, doesn't that mean I can have an actual real, legal, official relationship with mom?

No one would ever question our relationship, and mom also wouldn't feel too repulsed by that idea… right? However, why… was she hiding this from me? Was it because she didn't want me to feel sad or bad?

And if mom isn't my biological mother, then who is? Janet mentioned something about mom's sister's death… oh…'

Rudy realized whose grave Rebecca had visited.

'Jessica. So she is mom's sister? So… my aunt? But… why would mom keep that a secret? I had no idea about this in my past life, too, and I never learned of it, of anything. So had Janet not told me everything, I would have never known… just like in my past life.

Uhh…. please tell me it's not what I am thinking….'

Rudy shook his head after a sudden thought crossed in mind.

'The only possibility I can think of is why mom never told me that I was adopted and why she never took me to her sister's grave is… that Jessica… is my mother.

And if that's true… then that would make mom my aunt." Rudy sighed and mumbled, "I tried to look at the bright side, but there is no bright side. She is either my mom or my aunt."

SIGH!

Janet bit her tongue and anxiously asked, "Am I in trouble for telling you this?"

"No… you are not. I am glad you told me."

"Please don't tell your mom that I told you everything."

"Don't worry. I need time to think more and find some clues before confronting her about this. I am sure she has her reasons, so I want to be a dick and annoy her," he uttered in a low voice.

"..."

"Anyway, let's get you home."

Janet and Rudy began to walk again, but there was an awkward mood between them after what had just happened.

'Do something, Janet. You messed up the mood by making everything awkward. Now you should do something to talk about. This is a one-in-a-million chance I will ever get to be close to him!'

Janet took a deep breath and opened her mouth to ask, "So… how is it going with Alice?"

'Argh! Why did I have to ask that of all things! I still don't know whether they are going out or not, but if they are… I have no chance at him! I am an idiot! I shouldn't have asked that!' Janet cursed herself inwardly.

"How should it be going?" Rudy responded. "Is there something that should be happening between Alice and me?"

'Does that mean they are not going out?' Janet wondered.

"Nothing. I see you two coming to school and leaving together. I sometimes see you two together in the park. You two must be close," she uttered with a judging look on her face.

Janet decided to take a direct approach if she wanted direct answers from Rudy. However, she still chose an indirect way to confirm whether Alice and Rudy were dating or just very close friends.

"We come and leave for school together because her house is on the way to school. And we both are childhood friends, so it's not that weird for us," Rudy responded vaguely.

'What's with him? Why is he avoiding answering my questions?! Well… he did answer what I asked him, so I cannot complain. Should I just ask him, 'Are you dating Alice?'? Then, I will get a direct reply with a yes and no.'

Janet gathered her courage and asked, "You know, you two are so close that some of our classmates think you two are dating. Are you two dating?"

"Hmm~" Rudy hummed in amusement and replied, "I wouldn't say no, but it's not a yes either. It's complicated."

"..."

'What's that supposed to mean?! Come on! Here I am, trying my best, and he is fooling around with his answers! Argh! I want to punch him so badly!'

Of course, Rudy was well aware of what Janet was scheming. She had confessed her love to him in his past life, but he didn't know when and how she fell in love with him. However, it was different this time; Rudy and Janet had interacted more in the past few days than they had in their entire lives.

Rudy didn't want to say 'yes' as that would have broken Janet's heart, and she would have made a wrong choice in her life like she did in his past life when she was in high school. He didn't want Janet to go through the same suffering and humiliation.

Sure, Rudy hadn't forgiven her for what she had done to him, but he didn't hate her. After all, she had changed completely and become good friends with him.

He wanted to give Janet a chance to redeem herself so she could one day confess her love to him once again.