Love Worth Fighting For

313 Role model

Christian chuckles. “Let’s go to the balcony, enjoy the silence of the city when everyone is asleep gives a pleasant sensation. You will like it.”

“Really?”

Christian extends his hand towards Zwetta. “I guarantee you’ll like it.”

“What if I don’t like it?”

“I’ll bet you’ll like it,” Christian says confidently.

Zwetta pursed her lips. “What’s the stake if I don’t like it?”

“You can ask me anything, and vice versa.”

“Eh? What does that mean?”

An impatient Christian then grabbed Zwetta’s hand and forced her to get up. “You’re smart enough to understand where I was talking, Zee.”

.....

Zwetta who doesn’t like any kind of physical contact then pushes Christian’s chest hard to get away from her.

“I can walk on my own and definitely don’t need your help!” fiercely Zwetta snapped before finally walking towards the balcony in a hurry.

Getting unfriendly treatment from Zwetta only made Christian smile a little, because he didn’t want to make Zwetta enjoy the view alone, Christian rushed after her with a glass and bottle of wine that Zwetta had previously chosen.

As they almost reach the balcony, Christian stops in his tracks when he notices something is different about Zwetta. A triumphant smile appears on Christian’s lips when he realizes that he has won the bet he made a moment ago, because Zwetta is currently fascinated by the view of Luxembourg as Christian said a moment ago.

“When I first came and stayed in this apartment, I was the same as you,” Christian says quietly. “I immediately fell in love with this place, more specifically the view from this room.”
Zwetta who was shocked immediately turned to Christian, she looked nervous when she faced Christian who caught her admiring the view from where she was now.

Christian chuckles. “It’s ok, Zee. You don’t have to be so nervous.”

“I’m not nervous, who’s nervous?”

“Do we need to change rooms?”

“What?”

Christian immediately raised his hands up. “Don’t think bad of me, I mean good. I’m just making an offer to you to switch rooms so you can get this view.” Christian spreads his hand pointing at the dazzling twinkling city lights.

Actually, Christian’s offer is quite disturbing Zwetta’s soul, because Zwetta doesn’t have access to this beautiful view from her room at this time. What Zwetta saw was another apartment building adjacent to her apartment building. Contrary to the view from Christian’s room.

“How? You want to swap?”

“No need, after all I’m quite comfortable in my room,” Zwetta refused quickly.

“Are you sure? My offer is only valid once.”

Zwetta nodded. “Sure, 100% sure.”

“Okay then, I won’t insist,” Christian says softly with a smile.

Zwetta immediately turned her face the other way, trying to hide her disappointment because she really wanted the room Cristian was in right now. However, because her ego is too big, Zwetta chooses to refuse Christian’s offer.

“Here’s your glass.”

Zwetta turns and takes the glass from Christian’s hand. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing, Zee. You don’t need to thank me,” Christian replies quietly, he slowly lands his butt on the chair next to Zwetta.

Feeling uncomfortable standing alone, Zwetta decided to join Christian in sitting in the empty chair.

“Can I ask you something, Zee?”

Zwetta who just landed her butt on the chair immediately turned to Christian. “Ask what? Don’t you already know everything about me, don’t you? Has Oliver Lee, your informant not satisfied your curiosity yet?” Zwetta said sarcastically, he deliberately brought Oliver Lee’s name into their conversation.

Christian chuckles. “I’m no longer in touch with Oliver, since the information I needed from him was enough I stopped contacting him.”



“If you don’t need any more information, then why are you still asking me?”

“It would be more satisfying if I asked the person directly, wouldn’t it?” Christian asks smartly. “I just want to be closer to you, Zee. I want to get to know you better, despite your dangerous job.”

Zwetta narrowed her eyes, looking at Christian warily.

“I wanted to know your life before finally joining Robin, to be honest I was very curious about it,” Christian says honestly.

“Why do you know about my past? What’s in it for you?”

Christian smiles. “There’s no point in it, I’m just curious. It’s unfair that you know all about me but I don’t know anything about you, aren’t we friends? It doesn’t matter if I know about that childhood story of yours?”

Zwetta clenched her fists tightly, Christian’s words rattling her mind. Getting questions about her dark childhood made Zwetta so uneasy, her tearful childhood was a time that Zwetta wanted to erase from her life.

“If you don’t want to tell me I don’t force it, Zee. I just want to...”

“I never got a proper education because my father didn’t have the money to send me to school, the people who taught me to read, write and count were the bartenders where my father and I only then. Those kind women felt sorry for me, that’s why they wanted to share their knowledge with me so that I could read and write. I was only able to read and write well when I was nine years old.” Zwetta smiled sadly, remembering her dark childhood made her sad. “And when I was a teenager, my father who was a gambler and a drunkard sold me to a pimp to pay his debts to moneylenders. And the pimp who gave me turned out to be one of Osbert’s men from that bar. I chose to run away to save the only dignity I have as a human being who deserves to have a better life without thinking that night.”

Christian’s jaw tightened at Zwetta’s words, even though he was new to Zwetta, Christian looked so angry when he heard how Zwetta’s life struggles.

“I, who was so scared, decided to keep running regardless of the coldness of the New York streets at that time, until finally I accidentally bumped into Robin who had just come out of the coffee shop. breath with sweat that had soaked my whole body seemed to immediately make Robin realize that something was wrong with me. Because of that he immediately took me into his car, since then I have lived with Robin as a student as well as a worker at his house, “added Zwetta again. “If it weren’t for Robin, I might have become one of Osbert’s money machines. If it wasn’t for Robin that night I might never have felt my freedom as a free human, that’s why yesterday I was so angry with you when you said that Robin wanted me . Robin is a brother, father and mentor to me. It seems impossible for Robin to have feelings for me.”

Silence.

Christian is silent, he is at a loss for words. All the words that came out of Zwetta’s lips pierced the deepest side of his heart.

“That’s why I ask you not to badmouth Robin by saying Robin made me his money machine, because believe me, no matter how much I pay him it will not be worth what he did for me at that time.”