Eva, unable to deny his question about using him, lowered her head and said, "Yes, I did."
She didn't offer any excuses, still feeling the guilt eat away at her from the first incident. Christian, seemingly a little surprised by her clear and quick admission, had some thoughts about this subject. Yet, he didn't voice them. Instead, he asked, "You tried everything you could to avoid ending up in the hands of that trash, but you're fine with ending up in mine now?"
Eva, feeling insulted by his comparison of himself to the man she had tried to avoid, and his doubt about her choice… her taste, couldn't help but glare at him, her anger flaring up as she said, "Don't compare yourself to that man-whore trash."
"Even though you seemed like just a recently grown boy, attracted and mesmerized by an older woman, you didn't act degenerately. You didn't try to use any of your power in our relationship either."
"And, even though there was lust in your eyes, at least there was an equal amount of appreciation and respect."
"Unlike a certain someone who just looks at women like they're some flesh bag with a hole attached to it."
"You also always tried to get to know me… to know about my preferences, about the useless things about me. Your feelings were never just about satisfying yourself, but something more."
"But would that fucker do the same?"
"No! He would just bounce at the first possible chance."
"You never seemed to want to shrink from responsibility, but him? He would never do that."
"Christian, there's a lot more I could say about the difference between you and him."
"The difference, that is really like a chasm, never meeting."
"So don't compare yourself to that piece of trash."
"Don't belittle yourself, and don't belittle me for choosing you."
Christian, looking at Eva with her chest heaving up and down, could see that she was still angry, and her venting words had clearly not calmed her down. He couldn't hide his surprise, as it was the first time he realized just how good his impression was in Eva's eyes, and a smile appeared on his face. He felt like he had made some progress with that provoking line, and he couldn't help but feel pleased with himself.
But, Eva, seemingly catching onto his reaction, calmed down a bit before suddenly saying, "Just now, I said the good things about you, but don't think you don't have your bad sides."
"Because you actually have plenty."
"From how childish you can be sometimes to some very bad remarks you would some time make."
Christian, who sensed Eva would continue if he didn't say something, finally interrupted her with a grin. "Well, you know, how a human can't be perfect, so maybe that's just a side effect of my brilliance."
Eva couldn't help but think, 'Really now, this narcissism... do you think it's a bad thing or a good thing?' She almost asked him that, but decided against it, choosing instead to say, "Okay, then, why did you try to taunt me?"
"Couldn't you just ask what you wanted to know normally?"
"Or if you had something to say, simply say it?"
"Was there a need to do it in this unpleasant way?"
Against Eva's questions with her sulky and indignant tone, Christian smiled and shamelessly replied, "Because you look more sexy and beautiful now?"
Looking at her as she remained silent after hearing his answer, with her face slightly tinged with red, Christian found the sight adorable. He continued staring at her, contemplating everything she had said and the decision he needed to make.
In the silence that stretched between them, after her seemingly open confession and their brief argument, Eva felt as though her fate, their relationship's fate, hung on what Christian would say next. Her mind raced with thoughts, unsure of where this moment would lead them.
The next day after the assassin's visit, Christian wanted to have this kind of conversation. What did that mean? Was he trying to solve the problem? And where did she stand in all of this? Was this conversation meant to determine that?
With so many questions flooding her mind, Eva felt the weight of the silence pressing down on her. She couldn't take it any longer and, with a deep breath, broke the quiet by asking, "Okay, what now?"
Eva wanted him to hurry up with whatever he wanted to say, as she was sure he had something on his mind.
"What, what now?" But his response came with a clueless tone.
"There's a reason you started this conversation, right? So, say it."
"Using you... getting this statement was probably one of the purposes of it, so what do you want? What is your intention?"
Still smiling at her, seeing how agitated she was, Christian continued in a calm tone.
"What would I want in the first place?"
Narrowing her eyes even more, Eva replied, "Christian, don't play games with me."
"No, no, like really, what do you think I would want? I'm genuinely curious."
"Did I ever seem like I'm seeking something from you?"
Eva, after thinking hard with a blank look, couldn't come up with anything and finally said, "No?"
With a cheerful tone, seemingly applauding her for finding the right answer, Christian said, "See?"
"In the first place, I didn't care about your material state, I didn't care about your age, your daughter, or your wealth."
"Actually, do you know why I didn't bother mentioning the fact that you were Olivia's mother at first and just went along with the older sister setting?"
Without waiting for an answer, Christian continued, "It's simple… because I didn't want to feel burdened if it turned out you were in a happy family, with a normal daughter and a loving husband."
"Because I intended to still try to pursue you, even if that turned out to be the truth. I wanted YOU, but I still didn't want my conscience to hurt."