e-booksonline Chapter 472 Arranged Marriage
Chapter 472 Arranged Marriage
as the last guest of the bustling morning crowd disappeared into the changing room, nina let out a dramatic groan, slumping against me like a marionette with its strings cut.
"i'm exhausted." she muttered, her voice muffled against my shoulder. "i swear, i miss the days when we only had a handful of customers. this...this is too much."
i chuckled softly, gently steadying her.
"come on, nina, don't give up on me now." i teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulder for support. "you're the proud owner here...what happened to that endless energy of yours?"
she let out a huff and waved me off.
"that energy ran out around the thirtieth guest." she grumbled, her head flopping against my chest.
"alright, my drama queen." i said, smiling as i slowly guided her toward the counter.
with her groaning all the way, i managed to seat herself on her chair.
"well, at least money's pouring in, nina." i said, settling into the chair behind the counter beside her with a light grin. i leaned back, stretching my arms lazily before adding, "you could buy whatever you want with it, you know...fancy clothes, a mountain of sweets, maybe even a vacation somewhere with actual peace and quiet. all this hard work's gotta pay off somehow, right?"
she wrinkled her nose at the comment, flicking her gaze at me with half-hearted irritation.
"i've never cared about the money, kafka." she replied, her voice quiet but sincere. "i already have everything i need in the world...and if i really cared about money, i would've sold this place for an astronomical price."
"that is true." i glanced at her, my curiosity piqued. "then why not limit the number of people who can come? you could cut the crowd in half and make your workload easier."
she straightened a little, her fatigue fading as something stronger flickered in her eyes.
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her words made my chest tighten in the best way, but, of course, i couldn't let a moment like that go without adding my own twist, so i leaned closer with a teasing grin and said,
"well, if that's true, then why don't you just leave your husband, nina, and come with me?...i'll make sure that there isn't a day that you feel like you're carrying a burden, and even if you are, it will be with me right by your side."
her reaction was immediate. she gasped, her eyes going wide before narrowing into a glare.
"kafka!" she yelled, her cheeks flaming. without missing a beat, she punched me square in the stomach, not hard enough to do damage, but enough to make me stumble back, laughing.
"ow, ow!" i protested between chuckles, holding up my hands in mock surrender. "what? i was just joking!"
"joking, my ass, you little twerp!" she snapped, her face still flushed as she shoved me further away. "this and that are completely different! m-my relationship with my husband is way more complicated than you think, and it's not simply a matter of leaving him or not!"
"complicated how, nina?" i asked, my voice light but laced with genuine curiosity. she looked ready to fire back, but before she could, i pressed on, my tone casual yet deliberate. "it's not like you married him because you were madly in love or anything."
"...it was an arranged marriage, wasn't it? set up by your parents."
her sharp inhale was all the confirmation i needed.
she stiffened, her lips parting as if to deny it, but the words wouldn't come. instead, she turned her face away, her hands balling into tight fists at her sides.
the silence stretched, heavy and unspoken, as memories i'd pieced together over time filled the space between us.
nina's parents had always been her anchor, their quiet but enduring love shaping the person she'd become. as they grew older, their worry for her only deepened. they'd given her the tools to run the hot spring, to carve out her own place in the world, but they feared it wasn't enough. they feared for the days when they might no longer be there for her, when the strength they'd always lent her would no longer be hers to lean on.
she, of course, didn't see it that way. nina had always been adamant, stubborn even. to her, the hot spring and her family were everything she needed. she didn't want a partner. she didn't want to tether herself to anyone, and she made that perfectly clear. but her parents weren't so easily convinced. they saw past her bravado to the quiet loneliness she refused to acknowledge.
but when her mother's health began to decline, everything changed.