14. This Is Another Discussion

14. This Is Another Discussion
"What? No!" Florence of course immediately denied it. She shook her head quickly. "No way! You're thinking too far."

A look of disappointment crossed Jess' face. "Ah, I thought—"

"Jess, I'm not close to anyone. Why do you have such expectations?"

"Because maybe you've started to want to be serious about a relationship."

Florence rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on."

"I was enthusiastic earlier. I thought..." Jess sighed softly. "Yeah, I guess I was thinking too far."

"I've told you several times, I'm not interested in having any relationship right now. I thought everything was very clear."

"I know, but who could possibly change your mind, right? Maybe you feel lonely and it turns out that all you need is a man."

"Nope." Florence shook her head firmly and without hesitation gave a definite answer. "I don't need it."

"Don't say that, we as women will always need men."

"Where did you get that idea?"

"That's the truth, isn't it?"

"Not really, and I don't agree. Not all women need a man in their lives. Some choose to be alone and that's okay. It's not a mistake. It's their choice."

"Just like you?"

"Yes, just like me." Florence nodded firmly. She looked at Jess more seriously. "We don't need other people, we need ourselves."

"Flo, that's not what I meant."

There was a split second of silence.

"There are many alpha women in this world. Some women don't need a man in their life just for company. They can do everything on their own. They can depend on themselves. The world of women is wide, Jess, it's not all about men."

Jess took a deep breath. "I get what you mean, but I don't think you're stupid enough to know the main issue I let slip."

"I just brought it up."

"Yes, but that's another matter."

"Not at all, what I said is still in the same discussion. You said women will always need men. And I gave my reasons because I disagree."

Jess looked clearly tired. She took a deep breath. "Are you serious, Flo? We have to argue in this conversation?"

"You started it."

"Okay, fine." Jess raised her hands, a sign that she surrendered. "I lose, you win now."

"This isn't a contest. There's nothing wrong here. We just have different expectations, and that's okay, I just don't agree with what you said, but that doesn't mean you're wrong."

"For God's sake, Flo!" Jess suddenly felt dizzy. She massaged her forehead. "What are we talking about? Stop it here, I don't want to get further away from discussing it. My head hurts. Forget it. Yes, I respect your opinion."

"Okay, thanks."

"But look at me."

Florence obeyed, she stared at Jess without blinking.

Jess had the chance to speak, and she didn't waste it. "You still like men, right?" She looked at her sister with a probing look.

Hearing that kind of question, Florence stared in disbelief. She was surprised by that kind of question, it felt foreign and so sudden, even completely unexpected.

"You—" Florence felt her brain spinning, her thoughts suddenly out of sync, her mouth felt like it was erroring, she didn't know what to say for a few seconds. The only thing she did was gape while staring at Jess without blinking.

"Wait a second..." Florence closed her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "What did you just ask?"

"Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I heard, but..." Florence didn't need to doubt her listener, she knew exactly what her sister was asking. "Are you seriously asking that question?"

"Why not? My question doesn't sound ambiguous. It's not weird at all." Jess was very confident, she didn't feel guilty or embarrassed. For her, this was a reasonable question.

"You know me, Jess."

"Of course I know you, but when it comes to love affairs, I don't know you at all. That's another discussion."

Florence didn't answer right away, she just exhaled roughly, even too openly.

"You've never dated, I've never seen you close to any man. It's only natural for me to ask questions like that, right?"

Florence was starting to get fed up, she was irritated because the direction of the conversation had been going around in circles about her. This had to be resolved.

"Why are you silent?" Jess demanded an explanation.

"Just because I'm not close to any man, doesn't mean I like girls. You're accusing me of being a lesbian."

"What? I accused you?" Jess flinched in her place. She chuckled softly. "You clearly know the difference between an accusation and a question. And it's clear that I asked, not accused."

"You're accusing because you're in doubt. If you knew for sure that I like men, that kind of question would never come out of your mouth. Yes, you think I'm a lesbian."

"You concluded it yourself."

"Because I'm right."

Jess growled softly. "Look..." She pulled her sister's hands and held them tightly. "I believe you still like men, but I'm worried because you've been single for too long, Flo. I don't mean anything bad, I just care about you, okay? I don't want to fight with you."

"I know, but there's nothing to worry about. I'm Okay. I'm totally fine." Florence smiled thinly.

She also didn't want to fight with her sister, especially over a trivial matter like this. It was just a waste of energy and time, while she had much more serious problems right now, which had to be prioritized and faced. She came here to kill time, calm her mind for a while, and take a break so that everything would at least feel better. If she and her sister were fighting and arguing over silly things, there was no point in her coming here.

"Everything will come when the time is right. I don't feel sorry for you. I'm happy. You don't have to worry about me, I appreciate you feeling anxious, I'm grateful to have a sister like you, but trust me, trust me on this one time, that I will find my true love." Florence paused for a moment, she shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, it might take a long time, but I believe that good times will come. And for God's sake, I still have a crush on men, I'm a normal woman, Jess. Don't you ever think about things that are not true."

"Yeah, I'm so sorry about that. I'm sure you'll find a man who will love you, just like you who will love him madly."

Florence chuckled. "I know."

"So, why did you ask a good place to meet someone? Who are you going to meet?"

"I haven't answered that yet?"

"Not yet."

"Yes, someone." When Florence saw Jess narrow her eyes, she said again, clarifying her statement. "A client, okay?"

It wasn't entirely wrong, Florence felt that way. David was her client, even though he wasn't. Because their current situation was so difficult. But, she was sure he wasn't easily conquered. He must have a plan for her to do something to restore the situation to how it was. She was almost sure he wanted her to make him her client again.

And this was a big disaster.