"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.
"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.