Shin'yuu no Furin Aite wa, Otto deshita - Vol. 5 Ch. 44.5 - Extra: The Other Side of the Door

[Friendly-Sentence710]

I get that it's tacky to give second hand gifts for an anniversary, and apparently bad karma lol. But the way this is framed where she first loves the ring and thinks its great but then hates it to the point where she considers this the beginning of her marriage failing and the end of her happiness just because it's second hand really comes off as very shallow and entitled. The only reason this works even a tiny bit is because Rei should have money for something better, but it's still a really bad look for Mahoro.

I get your point, but I think the reason she took it as the first sign of the marriage starting to fail isn't the fact the ring is second hand, its that Rei tried to pass it off as brand new.
That was his first deception.

When it was found it wasn't new, his backpedalling was about just how "you can't tell its second hand" - not how much he thought she'd like it anyway, or how it suited her, etc.
Now Mahoro's reaction is more than a little shallow to be sure (she is pretty damn shallow in general as @3141592653589 points out; i.e. she complains they don't go out to trendy cafes anymore) but it pales in comparison to her husband trying to pull a fast one on her.

 

[iris_19]

My feelings towards Haruto are a little neutral.

I agree he was introduced very out of left field and his purpose in the story seems to be like a "contrast" to the other prominent male scumbags in this story (Rei and Itsuki), very on the nose, perhaps, that "not all men are like this". But I think the problem resides in that the author doesn't really put much more effort in developing Momoka either?

We all see that Kyouko had her issues (and she has an antagonist role), and Rio is... well, we all know how Rio is (and the spin-off ends up focusing on her). What is left about Momoka's role besides eventually supporting Mahoro in all of this situation and divorce? The real friend that stays and helps her friend. One that knows her position due to past experience because she was the "other" in a cheating relationship. Also, she has a younger brother that has a major crush on Mahoro.

And Haruto's actions are also a little too convenient to fit in the story, not even realistic, so to speak. (Although I did like he didn't surpass some limits with Mahoro when things got ugly later on... but, I feel that's the bare minimum considering his flirtation towards Mahoro).

I feel like, if the author didn't spend jumping around the timeline too much (it had passed, what? a year and something after Mahoro received the letter and the used condom?, judging that next chapter is Rei and Rio's public humiliation show) at this point, and possibly letting us see more of Mahoro, Momoka, and Haruto spending much more time together or something (in very friendly manner), maybe that would be different... but this series isn't about that. The author simply implies at the end, "when one door closes, a window opens" for Mahoro, and maybe this guy might be that for her as an opportunity.

 

[Xamdiz]

What's wrong with second hand? God forbid a man try to save a little money... Looks like I'm on team Rei this chapter

What everyone already said, plus in the other series it was revealed that Rio was the one who suggested to Rei to buy a pinky ring for Mahoro and Rei deliberately picked a cheap one lmao.