I Thought i could be happy

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Fumihiro Aoyama was living a blissful life with the love of his life, Ema. They even promised to marry each other after their graduation. However, the tranquility of their lives shatters when betrayal strikes, leaving Fumihiro entangled in a web of dark emotions. As new characters emerge with their own painful pasts, the story weaves a tapestry of love, forgiveness, and rebirth.

Navigating the challenges of everyday life, Fumihiro must overcome the pain of betrayal and rediscover the light within. Passions entwine, secrets surface, and Fumihiro's heart is torn between the past and the present.

"I Thought I Could Be Happy" is an exhilarating journey through the intricate fabric of human relationships, where pain transforms into hope, and rebirth takes unexpected forms. Will Fumihiro rise from the ashes of his pain, or will the weight of betrayal prove too much to bear? Or will he get his revenge?

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: Ryukiro

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 16
Views: 20,762

Chapters(74 total)

What readers say about I Thought i could be happy

“So, this is a pretty good romance story with very dark elements. But there are a few caviats related to grammar. Style: The style was pretty good. The imagery was great, and the tone was fairly dark despite it being a romance story. This is very fitting ove…”
SkarabraeRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“This story hit me hard. From the start, it’s obvious Ema is hiding something, but the execution is what makes it brutal. Nothing is confirmed, yet the patterns speak for themselves. The signs are laid out so clearly—if you’ve experienced this before, you do…”
Who_ loves_quintonRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(7)

SkarabraeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So, this is a pretty good romance story with very dark elements. But there are a few caviats related to grammar.
Style: The style was pretty good. The imagery was great, and the tone was fairly dark despite it being a romance story. This is very fitting overall, and I have no complaints with the story's style. Just know what you're getting into.
Story: The story is great. It is paced at just the right rate and develops at the right pace too. The story itself is sort of a slice of life story involving romance, manipulation, and trauma. It is very well done, and the themes are well depicted. As a result, I have no complaints about this.
Grammar: The grammar is mostly good. However, the author makes some repeated punctuation and spacing errors. Especially where quotation marks are concerned. I can't give grammar five stars because of this.
Character: The characters are pretty good. They are all interesting to agree and all have their own various tramas that fit into the story's themes. The MC is very tragic and sympathetic as well. So, no complaints.
Overall, I would highly recommend this story.
This was part of a review swap.
Who_ loves_quintonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story hit me hard.
From the start, it’s obvious Ema is hiding something, but the execution is what makes it brutal. Nothing is confirmed, yet the patterns speak for themselves. The signs are laid out so clearly—if you’ve experienced this before, you don’t need a confession; behavior tells the story first.
There’s no version of this relationship that survives this moment. Trust is broken, and once that foundation crumbles, what remains isn’t love—it’s a corpse with makeup. Painful, real, and impossible to ignore.
At some point, this stopped feeling like fiction. It mirrors my best friend’s love story almost perfectly: it started romantic, genuine, beautiful, and then decayed. Not because of one explosive betrayal, but because neither could let go. Guilt became leverage. Every word was analyzed, every action questioned. They stayed together not out of love, but history, fear, and manipulation. Even now, he hasn’t left, and it eats him alive.
Whether Ema physically cheated is almost irrelevant. Something went wrong, and that alone is enough. Her over-reliance on physical intimacy, her avoidance of honesty, her need to control the narrative—these are all guilt signs. Instead of being open, she manipulates, and he begins to rot inside, consumed by a love too intense to release cleanly.
That’s the tragedy. Not just betrayal, but how love curdles into toxicity when truth is avoided.
This story feels lived-in. I wasn’t just reading it—I was reliving it. If adapted, it deserves the same care as Domestic Girlfriend. Don’t water it down; don’t undermine this brutal honesty.
Ayela ArcanaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
If you love teen dramas, this book is for you! I Thought I Could Be Happy reads exactly like a web toon drama without the illustrations.
Character: I really felt everything Fumihiro was going through. His confusion. His passion. His pain at being betrayed and the difficulty of reconciling those feelings with the love, affection, and guilt. The author paints all of the characters richly, so you can see how thoroughly the manipulative people twist those around them. It’s very well done and realistic. The emotional pull is just like watching a drama.
Story: If you’re wanting a fast-paced action- adventure book, this is not the one for you. But if you enjoy dramas that keep you binging way past your bedtime, you’ll love this one. I kept reading and reading wanting to know what was going to happen to Fumi.
Style: It’s very impressive that this author writes and records his own music, so don’t miss his original soundtrack! The writing conversational just like a web toon, and the styling communicates that aspect. I recommend removing the “Comedy” tag because this story is more tragic than humorous.
Grammar: I took off half a star because there are punctuation and capitalization items that need attention. I listened in Speechify some of the time, so I know I didn’t mark them all.
Overall, if you like stories that are focused on relationship difficulties, character, and interpersonal tension, this is one to enjoy.
AlexanderScottRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This is the story of Fumihiro and Ema, who he thought was the love of his life, but then they face betrayal. This is a hard read, and it is deeply emotional, but for those who like a strong, relationship story—this might be for you.
The writing is solid, if a little bit confusing at times, and though Fumihiro faces challenges after he is betrayed, he also has to make hard choices. I only read the beginning of this story, the first four chapters, but it's off to a strong, compelling start.
The big question is: What will Fumihiro do next? Where will this story, I Thought I Could Be Happy, take us from here?
Lord Turtle the firstRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Warning: This review contains spoilers!
The main character, Fumihiro Aoyama, seems like your average guy—except for the fact that he really knows how to play the piano. And let me say, the songs he plays are sick (in the best way possible).
Fumihiro comes across as soft-hearted, and from the few chapters I’ve read, he goes through a lot of suffering. Betrayal always hurts the most when it comes from those you least expect, and that’s exactly what happens to him.
After what he’s been through, he seems completely devastated. Hopefully, as the story progresses, he’ll be able to recover and grow from the experience.
The story has a very strong anime influence. The dialogue and character interactions feel straight out of an anime, which can be either a good or bad thing depending on personal preference. If you enjoy that style, you’ll likely appreciate it. If not, it might not be for you.
Everything seems idyllic at first, almost like a perfect romance story—until Ema cheats on the MC. Why does she do it? No idea. Does it make me want to say rude things about her? Absolutely.
Grammar: Mostly solid, though there are a few minor mistakes here and there. Nothing too distracting.
Style: Simple and easy to follow.
Narration: The story is written in first-person, which helps immerse readers in the MC’s emotions and struggles.
Overall, it seems like an okay story. I’ll admit my personal bias—I’m not a huge fan of anime-style storytelling, so my review might lean a little more on the negative side. However, if you enjoy drama-heavy stories with an anime feel, this could be worth checking out.
Chau Nguyen V.H.Royal Road
★★★★ 4.0
The author should remove the comedy tag, maybe he made a mistake, this story is no comedy at all 😂
I ended up skipping two chapters because the characters’ trauma was a bit overwhelming for me. There’s a heavy feeling in my chest even now, and I was close to tears at some parts. The story reads almost like a personal diary rather than a typical web novel, which gives it a very raw and emotional tone.
I don’t think Fumi was manipulated or portrayed as foolish at all. And I genuinely feel sorry for Ema too. Even though, from Fumi’s point of view, it looks like she cheated, it also seems clear that she was struggling and not in a healthy mental state. If this were a real story, I’d hope both of them could eventually find better lives and partners with brighter, kinder souls who can bring them happiness.
if the author ever wants to improve the storytelling, he might consider describing the surroundings and environment a bit more. I can clearly feel the emotions, but sometimes I can’t imagine where the characters are or what the scene looks like. The names and school setting are Japanese, but the atmosphere and cultural details don’t fully come through yet. Adding more of that could make the story even more immersive.
Morbid writerRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
The emotional tension is strong.
The shift from normal school life to weird vibes to karaoke confrontation to accusations to late-night visit at Ema’s house to Chiko at the door is solid. The reader feels something is wrong way before it explodes. The side characters feel distinct. Ema is clingy, jealous, intense, clearly hiding something, and still genuinely in love. Benjiro is a loud idiot, plus a real pain around cheating. Kanna, the “truthful older sister” who’s clearly breaking down. The Mom. kind but complicit (“pretend nothing happened”). Ayaka, Arai-sensei, and Evangeline each have a clear flavor and function.
Good escalation. You keep raising the stakes from first odd behavior then lies to contradictions then open accusation. Structurally, the foundation is there.
But there are some problems.
Fumihiro’s “I’m good at reading lies” is not believable. He keeps insisting he’s good at sensing lies, but: He swallows obvious lies (Benjiro + Suzuki, Mom’s bread/text stunt, Kanna’s shaky cover). He repeatedly ignores his own instincts.
This makes him look dumb instead of conflicted. A good idea would be to stop claiming he reads lies, or make it clear he’s choosing not to see the truth because he’s scared.
Ema’s behavior is intense but muddy.
She’s deeply in love, jealous, using sex to distract, constantly anxious, crying, and clinging. She’s also supposedly just “jealous of Arai-sensei”
The “jealous of Arai” explanation feels weak for how extreme she is. It reads like a cover. A good idea would be to decide exactly what she did or didn’t do, then keep her reactions consistent with that truth.
The Prose is overloaded and repetitive.
You repeat a lot of “Something felt off.” “There was tension in the air.” “My heart was being squeezed.” “Too perfect to be real.” Same emotional thought, three different ways. Now, to be fair all writers deal with this issue. We get comfortable with certain descriptors.
Last, the sex scenes are too long for what they need to do emotiona