She wasn't able to become a heroine to her childhood love, but she did grow up to be a beacon of hope to prevent Reiji to become the next heir to the town's darkness.
Or maybe it's already too late. Whether he's aware of it or not, Reiji already became the splitting image of his mother in the sense that anyone that cares for him is dragged down to his tragedy.
Blood runs deep in this family.
I grew up in this type of family, the only way to truly escape is to move away or for the people causing the trauma to die.
And you need therapy, a shit ton of it.
Every kid has to deal with 10 lifetimes worth of trauma and suffering, like Yuko, most people just stop trying to escape and delude themselves into thinking everything is fine, they stop caring and vent their PTSD and pain on their kids or those close to them.
They're terrified of being alone so they manipulate others and cause them to suffer so they don't have to suffer alone or be better. It's all about control in the end. The cycle can be broken, but it's really hard to do so as it becomes a part of who you are.
A hopeless delusional sociopath.