Chapter 292 : You Decide...
"Are you joking, Kafka?...When did I ever say such nonsense, like asking you to pursue me even after knowing that I was married?" Nina asked with a look of perplexity gleaming through her eyes. "When did I say such a foolish thing?...There's no way that can be true!"
"Well, Nina, you didn't exactly say it to me directly...But remember when I said that I wasn't willing to interfere in a 'harmonious' relationship for the sake of not breaking up a 'peaceful' couple?" I explained to her why I went back on my words and decided not to give up on her anymore.
"Well, I only said that I wasn't going to disturb a happy relationship, and not one that sounds like it's going to fall apart one day...And after seeing you continuously get stressed out whenever your husband was brought up into the conversation, I finally concluded that my dream of mamun you mine wasn't dead just yet and a new pathway had just opened towards me."
"What?!...W-Who said that my relationship with my husband isn't good?!" Nina asked in a panic when her husband was mentioned. "That's complete utter bullshit, since things are obviously going great with him and me!"
"Oh really...What kind of 'great' relationship do you have with him if you say that your relationship is 'complicated' when I asked about him earlier?" I asked Nina, which made her bite her lips and look away from me, seeing that she had already admitted how 'splendidly' their relationship was going.
"'Great' and 'Complicated' are worlds apart in describing a relationship, don't you think so, Nina?...Don't you?"
"B-Be quiet, Kafka!...What's it got to do with you about how my relationship with my husband is going on!?"
Nina snapped back while eyeing me in an indignant manner, like she couldn't believe that she was clarifying her marital status to a kid like me.
She then gave a mocking smile and looked at me like she was looking down on me for trying to reach heights that I could never touch and said,
"...Or, is it that you actually think that you have a chance with me because my relationship with my husband isn't so stable at the moment?...What a joke it would be if you actually thought that."
"Why not?...I don't think that it would be really hard to replace someone in your life who doesn't even come to your help when he's actually your husband, who swore in his vows to always protect and cherish you." I returned her sly remark with one of my own.
Nina couldn't even say anything in response, as it was really hard to defend a man who left his wife to have some fun with his friends, and she could only stare at me in indignation since it felt like I was bullying her with all her vulnerabilities that she had exposed to me, while she knew none of mine that she could use against me and felt that this was an unfair fight.
"It's not a case of whether my husband is a decent partner or not, or you being a better replacement for him, Kafka..." Nina said with a solemn look on her face, like she was trying to get all the facts straight.
"...It's a matter of me already being a married woman who shouldn't be considering other men just because my husband messes up from time to time...And more importantly, it's you being a literal child in my eyes who I simply can't see as anything else other than my little brother that I want to coddle and tease."
"...After hearing that, do you have some idea of what I'm trying to say?" Nina asked, hoping she got her point across to me.
"I see...So, you can only look at me as your little brother, huh, and nothing else beyond that."
I sighed and gave a sarcastic chuckle.
I then looked at Nina, who was looking at me like she was hoping that I would understand and give up on her so that we could go back to how we used to be, and asked,
"If it's like that and you can only consider me as your little brother, then what are you going to do about this 'little brother' of yours who you've just found out has feelings for you and even wants to snatch you away from your husband?"
"Are you going to push me away to protect the sanctimony of your family?...Or are you going to leave a massive threat by your side that could very well potentially change your entire life against your will?"
"...You decide."
I stated in a rather casual manner as I felt up the sofa, wondering what material it was made up of to be this soft, and let her decide what she wanted to do, while Nina had a troubled look on her face as she wasn't expecting me to ask such a heavy question.
To help her with her decision and make sure that there were no hard feelings involved, I even added saying,
"You also don't have to worry about me taking your decision the wrong way, Nina, as I'm not petty enough of a man to be mad at you for pushing me away when I'm clearly in the wrong here for asking a lady who is bound by a vow to have an affair with me...You can also rest assured and know that I won't ever bother you again, nor will I step foot in this hotspring if that's what you really want me to do, since I'm a man who was taught to never be a nuisance to anyone by my mother and was also taught to let go of someone that I truly love, if it means that person can live a more content life."
I was basically betting my whole life with this little statement of mine, as if Nina really does tell me to get lost and stop interfering in her life, it would be close to impossible for me to ever get close to her again and conquer her heart like the Gods up above want me to do, which automatically means I would be forfeiting my life as well.
I didn't say such bold and risky words on a whim and gave Nina such a bold statement to show that as sly and shady as my true self was, I was also a man with character who followed principles of my own that I adhered to, which I thought someone like Nina would appreciate and make her take me more seriously.
My bet also seemed to be working in my favour, as Nina didn't outright reject me and tell me to get out of her place and looked to be really considering what decision she wanted to make.
"That...That...I..I don't-" Nina looked really troubled at the moment with how her hesitant eyes were moving all over the room in a fluster and how she was biting her lips and clenching her fists, like she was making the hardest decision in her life.
That was totally understandable according to my understanding, as on one hand she had finally found someone that she truly thought of as her little brother, that she had wanted her whole life, who she absolutely enjoyed spending time with and couldn't stop smiling while whenever she was in her presence.
Not to mention that he was the one who went out of his way to help her out today in her husband's absence and was the reason she wasn't involved in a bunch of court cases.
But at the same time, that very little brother of hers, whom she cherished, openly expressed his feelings for her as a person of the opposite sex and even went as far as to threaten her, saying that he would ruin her current relationship if she were to keep him around.
This made her confused as to what decision she should make, as both of them had their own ups and downs and were trying to choose the option that was best for both of us.
Nina had spent her whole life being carefree and making decisions on a whim, like the free-spirited person she was.
But today, because of the child in front of her, she was forced to think and brainstorm like everyone else did and actually use common reasoning for once.
This made her feel all dizzy from overthinking about the choices in front of her, and she glared at me with a rather pityful gaze for forcing her into this torturous corner that she wanted to escape at all costs and making her peaceful life ever-so complicated.