SEVEN

The lively atmosphere seen in Downtown Chicago stands in stark contrast to the silence that takes place in the car Zillion drives with Caroline. Since five minutes ago they had only been silent without making the slightest sound to enliven the silence that felt like it's not wearing for Caroline.

The woman looked annoyed in the silence that hit her because she didn't know what to do with the crazy man who suddenly dragged her into the car. Feel like she wanted cursed her client, spilling all her inner troubles today after listening to various kinds of problems that came from her other clients. If she hadn't been childish a few minutes ago to avoid this annoying client, she probably wouldn't have been stuck in an expensive car with her client in this kind of silence she hates so much.

"So where are you taking me, sir?"

Caroline tried to ask in a polite accent that felt very difficult for her to get out of in the middle of her mood that wasn't okay. But she is still trying to maintain her authority as a good psychologist in front of this crazy client.

"A quiet place to eat."

"What?"

Caroline squealed spontaneously, resentful of her client who would take her to eat. She thought they were going to have a counseling session like what the man said before. Instead of accompanying the man to a eat, she better go home and meet Aleyna at home. Tonight she was planning to take Aleyna to eat at a sushi restaurant owned by one of her classmates.

"You don't have to be noisy like that, Ms. Chauffer, because I'll be treating you too."

Caroline scowled inside. Did he think she was that poor that she wants to be treated food by him? Even now she brought in more than enough money to eat at the most expensive restaurant in Chicago. What she wanted right now was to immediately solve her problems with that man and get as far away from him as possible. If necessary, she would no longer wish to see the man's face in front of her.

“I don't really understand why are you dragging me like this? Do you want to make me angry?"

"Wow, where are your manners miss?" asked Zillion mockingly.

“To hell with my manners, I don't care. It's already out of my working hours, and I shouldn't be polite to someone who doesn't have manners to me," replied Caroline fiercely.

All of her patience had evaporated into the air until now she didn't have the slightest bit of patience to cover her irritation. Anger, resentment, hate, and also ridiculous have become one in her mind to create a large emotional bomb that at any time can explode in front of the annoying man.

“Oh, so this is how you really are? Really I feel cheated by the brochure that I got from my colleague. The brochure says that you are a professional psychologist with a work motto to serve clients wholeheartedly. Where's all that nonsense?"

“Are you testing my patience on purpose, Zillion? I've been patient enough to face your attitude since the past few days, but why do you always show your annoying attitude which is so disgusting? No wonder your wife continues to rebel against you. Even I would do the same if I became your wife," said Caroline emotionally. All the anger that she had been in prison since yesterday finally burst out until she unconsciously offended Zillion Malloy's ego.

“You don't even know me a bit, how do you know if I'm that bad? Where is your credibility as a psychologist?" Zillion muffled growls. He almost roared like an angry lion in front of Caroline. But his defense was still better than Caroline's until he just replied to her words with a hiss like a snake.

"How can I know you well if you keep showing such annoying since yesterday."

"Then from now on you have to learn to understand me. Now get down!"

Without them knowing it, they had arrived at a country-style restaurant, which was a strange place for Caroline. During this time she had never eaten in strange places where there would be a lot of risk. She thought that a bar-style restaurant was a restaurant with lots of drunken masher men with women in their lap. But after she walked into the restaurant with Zillion, all the prejudices in her mind evaporated. It turned out that the restaurant was not much different from other restaurants in general, it was just that the atmosphere was more dim than the restaurant she had been to.

"Sit!"

Caroline snapped out of her reverie when the man interrupted her in a voice that was annoying enough for her sensitive ears to hear. Ever since that guy was doing annoying things in front of her, everything related to him always looked sick to her. Even though the man was not doing anything, the stigma in her head was already bad when it came to that man.

"Why did we come here?"

“Because I don't think you've been here before, and this is one of my favorite restaurants. Don't you want to know me more so that you don't just judge me based on what you see." Zillion said fast, full of sarcasm.

Caroline snorted huffily at her place, and chose to remain silent while paying attention to the atmosphere in the restaurant that was quite strange to her.

"Give me your cell phone."

"What? What for?" asked Caroline fiercely. Zillion immediately snatched the square object from Caroline's hand, and typed something on the screen of the cellphone with a quick motion.

"Hey, give it back!"

She continues to fiddle with her cell phone that Zillion keeps on keeping away from her, and a few seconds later the man is silent while listening to his own cell phone ring.

"Hmm, now I get your cell phone number."

“Tsk, do you have to act childish like that? I will immediately give it to you if you ask." Caroline grabbed her cell phone as soon as he finished using it to call his own cell phone.

"Unfortunately I can not ask nicely."

"You're sucks. Why do I suddenly get a very annoying client like you? Is God giving me a punishment," muttered Caroline.

Zillion raised his eyebrows briefly and was quite surprised at the woman's words. He did not know if it turned out that his manners was that bad in Caroline's eyes that she called it a punishment.

“I don't know, maybe it's like that. So where do you live now?" asked Zillion to open a more serious conversation.

Caroline raised her eyebrows at Zillion and looked reluctant to answer the man's question. But Zillion's coercive gaze makes her have to mention her home address to the man.

"I live on the Northwest Side, Wilson Ave, you know, right?"

"I know. It's pretty close from my mansion. What does your husband do? "

"Is that important? You've gotten too deep into my private life." Caroline protested loudly.

Suddenly a waiter came in their midst with two large portions of burgers and fries and two glasses of beer which still spit out a bubbling bubble on the rim of the glass.

"Since when do we order food?"

“I ordered it. Eat up, the burgers here are the best."

The man then started to take his share and ate the burger casually without caring for Caroline who seemed unsure about eating hers.

"Just eat your burger, it's not poisonous. While eating, we will continue our chat. There are still many things I want to know from you. "

"Why should me? Instead I should know the background of your life because you are my client," replied Caroline loudly.

"Okay, up to you. Do I look really annoying in your eyes?"

Caroline looked up and looked at Zillion cluelessly. Suddenly the man asked a question whose answer was obvious to the man. In fact, she had been screaming so openly that her throat hurt.

“Honestly, you were the first client who managed to make me feel really ridiculous. Your attitude in my office really makes me want to strangle you. Why did you want me so badly at that time?"

"Because I don't know what else to do to change my life. My wife really doesn't like children. Perhaps because she grew up in the middle of a well-to-do family with parents who always spoiled her, she became a stubborn and arrogant woman. Increasingly I feel my marriage is not going well. I thought Cassie could bring me happiness. How can I make Cassie realize if I want her to be my fullest wife. Not a career woman who keeps leaving me at home."

"Eee— that's a little difficult."

Caroline suddenly felt like her brain was stuck. She was confused. What advice should she give the poor, annoying man in front of her. On the one hand, she looks sad with his story, but on the other hand, she also looks annoying with his various actions that almost make her patience run out.

When she was with Rein in the past, she also felt neglected and abandoned. Almost all of her days are spent alone struggling with her clients in the office. And because of her indifference to the situation, he ended up being left with another woman. What is happening to Zillion right now is very similar to how she was back then. It's just that Zillion cares more about his situation and is willing to try to fix it, whereas she never thought the slightest to fix it, and instead chose to give up with divorce.

"I'm proud of your efforts. You're willing to lower your ridiculous self-esteem by going to a psychologist's office and trying to find solutions to your personal problems. Your wife is really lucky to have a husband like you."

"So now your assessment of me has changed? In that case, good. But if I didn't start it, who would? I only have Cassie as my family. I was orphaned since I was twenty years old. My parents died from an illness that was slowly eating away at their bodies. So I felt like I had to find my own way out of all the problems that hit me. Have you ever felt completely disgusted by life and wanted to leave it?"

"Yes, everyone must have experienced it," said Caroline bitterly.

In the past, she was really stressed when Rein was proven to be having an affair with another woman. For more than a month she was always the target of the paparazzi who always wanted to know how her household was doing. It was the toughest moment in her life.

Even after all that had passed, she got back on the bad news because suddenly she had Aleyna. They think that all this time she also had an affair to have a child. But after that she chose to ignore it and focus only on Aleyna. According to her there is still more to worry about than just a slanted news about her that will never end if she doesn't decide to get out of that terrible circle.

"Tell me how your married life was."

Felt she could conclude what really happened to Zillion if the man told her in full how his life had been. Rather than just groping it from Zillion's obnoxious attitude in front of her. It would be more accurate if the man told her everything from the start.

"I'm not a good storyteller. All this time I just lived my life like water. It's just that recently I realized that the water that was carrying me was flowing in the wrong direction. So I have to immediately change my direction so that I don't get carried away with the uncertainty that leads me somewhere."

Caroline chuckled to herself. It turns out that apart from being annoying, Zillion is also quite poetic. How unexpected!

“Just tell me the things that you can tell. I can't give you a way out if you don't tell a little about your past," forced Caroline growled. Every now and then she glanced at her watch to make sure that her time was not wasted waiting for the man to tell his story.

Sometimes at certain times she really has to encourage her clients so they don't stop in the middle of the road like this. Telling something is not easy, especially if the story is an unpleasant part of life.

“Actually, the reason why I wanted Cassie to quit her modeling career was because I was afraid she would leave me. During this time I saw her slowly starting to move away from me. No more loving gaze she showed me. Now her attitude seems indifferent and she mostly ignores me with her colleagues. Do you think she has the potential to leave me?"

Suddenly, flashes of her past with Rein popping up one by one in her head when Zillion begins to tell about his wife who has become more indifferent after her career. In the past she had felt that way too. She has had moments where she doubted her husband and couldn't see any love in Rein's eyes.

At that time she was really scared, but she had no one to share with. She felt alone at that time because she was also not very open with her parents. Several times her mother worried about her situation, but she always managed to cover it up with a fake smile on her face that would look soothing to her mother. Her mother thought she had always been doing well, even though she was actually harboring a lot of problems.

"You really have to move before your wife gets away. Give her little attention so that she feels you really need her."

"Is that so? Then what can you suggest so that my relationship with her becomes more passionate as before. "

Instantly Caroline's cheeks flushed red as the man began to enter the topic of conversation about the hot life of love. It has been a long time since she had done this activity. Of course the last man who ever touched her was Aaron. And after she divorced, she never felt the touch of a man anymore. Well — she's an eastern-minded woman who's always committed to the one man who tied her up. She does not like the one night stand model who seems like the sloppy teenager she often meets on certain streets in Chicago when she happens to be passing after work.

"It actually depends on your wife. I wonder what makes her excited?"

“In the past, she was always passionate about whatever style I played. But now she is not like that. She always reminds me to use condoms, and if I don't use them she really won't continue playing. What do you think if a men being treated like that. I was horny, and he just ignored me."

Caroline grimaced, a little uncomfortable discussing such personal matters with her client. But again, it is part of the job. No matter how uncomfortable she is, she still has to rack her brains to come up with a solution.

“For now I can only give you advice to comply with whatever your wife wants. If she really wants you to use a condom, then just go with whatever she wants. The most important thing now is that you can win back your wife's sympathy. So you really have to give in to her."

"I'm not sure I can do it any longer." Zillion sighed heavily. He seemed lazy enough to endure all of his inner turmoil once again. He had done it before, and it only resulted in Cassie's stronger level of domination. Or maybe Cassie had been misinterpreting his body language as defeat, not as giving in.

“Try some of the things I suggest first, we can discuss the next steps if you are still not satisfied with the results you got. Maybe in two days you can come to my office, and we can do a little testing with the cards I have. I became curious about your true personality. Having come this far, I see you are not a bad man.”

"Hmm, should I be flattered by your compliment?"

 He didn't expect that Caroline's assessment of him would change so quickly. After he showed a bit of his weakness in quotes as the most embarrassing male ego in his entire life, but apparently it was not too in vain because in the end Caroline's view of him changed. The psychologist no longer labeled him a bad, coward man who could only force his will without ever doing anything good in his life.

“Well, first impressions are just wrong sometimes. But I hope it is you. Because I don't like hypocrite men." Caroline laughed with her joke.

Zillion also laughed at Caroline's words and immediately eat his last burger slice. Chatting with Caroline seems fun enough that he can forget for a moment all the problems that have been stuck in his brain since yesterday.

"Thank you, I hope we can become mutually beneficial partners in the future."

"Hmm, you're welcome. Hopefully it's like that,” Caroline replied with a sweet smile that looked even more beautiful in Zillion's eyes.

Now his views on Caroline have also changed, he no longer labels her as a fierce amateur psychologist who can't do anything. Caroline, what a wonderful woman. The woman is great, and he doesn't deny that.