Part 1: Speak of the devil! (Kevin)

I got a call from the hospital informing me that Ruby is now unconscious. How can it happen? This morning, she was just fine! Did she get an asthma attack? I hire a motorcycle man to get to the hospital as soon as possible. It would take even longer should I am driving the car. On the way to the hospital, I am texting my superior to let him know where I am going. I run to the emergency room right away after spending only 20 minutes to get here. I can see that Ruby is lying on the bed, unconscious. I am really worried and asking a nurse who is checking her blood pressure.

“Nurse, what happened? Is she alright?”

The nurse says “She is alright. Her blood pressure is normal. She may have fainted maybe because she is just too tired. I already informed Dr. John. He will be here to see her shortly.”

Ruby has been seeing Dr. John since one year ago. The nurse must have seen her file to arrange Dr. John to see her. He’s a brain specialist. He is not as famous as Prof Wendy of course but he is the best in Surabaya. He knows about her memory lost condition. He also told Ruby that the injury inside her head is not permanent and thus there’s a good chance to recover her memory from the past.

Suddenly, there is familiar voice behind me. He called my name “Kevin?”

I am turning my head around to see who he is. Oh my! It’s Rudy. I can’t understand how he even finds us. I really don’t know how to react calmly to his surprise visit at the moment. He says

“Don’t worry about her. She is fine. I have already checked with the nurse twice. Let’s talk outside for a while. I have so many things to ask you.”

I am informing the nurse that I will go outside for a little while. He finally chooses to sit on a bench outside the hospital with me. I really don’t know how to make a good excuse on why I am hiding the girl he loves the most from him and anyone. I know that this day will happen sooner or later but I never expect that it would be today.

“Kevin, tell me what happened with her! She didn’t even recognize me when she saw me earlier.” says Rudy

I don’t dare to speak another word to Rudy. I am thinking “Should I lie? Should I just tell him that Ruby has died in the car accident?” Maybe it’s for the best that I lie to him now. I can just tell him that I met someone who looks exactly the same with her.

Rudy finally cuts off the imagination on my mind by saying

“Kevin, no more lies! Don’t tell me that she is not Ruby. Her parents are still alive. I can ask them to do a DNA test to prove that she is in fact Ruby. Please just tell me the truth!”

I know that I have no choice but to tell Rudy everything from the beginning until now. While I am telling the whole story, his reaction is so far from my expectation. He listens without interrupting any single word. His facial expression also does not change a bit. Finally, I dare to ask him hiding the truth from Ruby about this.

“Now, you know the whole story. I can only beg you not to remind her about what happened with Anthony. I don’t want to see her living in pain again or suffering her life under a severe depression. At least, she is happy now. Please don’t tell her anything about her past.”

Rudy then screams at me

“Are you crazy? Do you think that you can get away with this? Did you really think that I am that stupid? You took everything for granted. She told me that you are her fiancé now. She wouldn’t pick you as her boyfriend if she didn’t lose her memory in the past. You tricked her into this! You are just afraid that she will leave you should she finds out that you have been lying to her. Stop making an excuse to keep her beside you. I won’t fall for your trap! I can’t believe that you are this selfish.”

I am looking at Rudy and says

“Yes. I admit! But, I never force her to love me. She loves me naturally for the past two years. I know that I am being really selfish. I want to keep her beside me. But, her happiness is the most important thing for me. Again, if she remembers about Anthony and the whole tragedy, she will go back to her old sorrow life. Do you want to see that happen?”

Rudy comes back to sit beside me. He is covering his face with both of his hands at the moment. He doesn’t speak for a long time until he says

“Ok! I won’t tell her about her past. I won’t also tell her family and Christian that I have found her yet until I figure out what’s best for her. She can continue to live with you for a while with one condition. This is not negotiable!”

“What is it?” I ask curiously

“I want to offer her a job at my new office. I will tell Christian that I want to move to Surabaya and head our office temporarily here. I want to get close to her in my own way. If she chooses me at the end, you have to let her go. You told me that you only want her to be happy. If she’s finally happy with me, I want you to leave her when she asks you. She has the right to choose.”

I am looking at Rudy’s cold expression. I know that this is not the perfect solution for me but at least, Ruby will still be safe and can continue to live her life happily. After reevaluating everything, I answer

“Ok! But, you have to let Ruby to choose. If she asks me to leave, then I will let her go.”

He is shaking my hand and says “deal!”

Both of us go back to check on Ruby. Dr. John has already given her a quick examination. He says that we should do another MRI to check how she is at the moment. Rudy told Dr. John that she experienced to a headache before she fainted. Ruby finally awakes. She is looking around and finally looks at me standing beside her. She hugs me right away.

“Honey, I am sorry. I made you worry. I am ok! I just had a headache. I had some visions about something weird. But, the more I tried to remember, my head hurt even more.”

I am caressing her hair and says

“It’s ok! Everything is ok! Dr. John already examined you. He recommended you to take an MRI.”

“We don’t have any money left for unbudgeted expense this month. We have to make the down payment for our house in two days. I don’t have to take the MRI. I am sure that it’s nothing!”

She is turning away to look at Rudy. She asks me

“Is he your friend? He said that he’s knows you from Jakarta. He showed me your picture. He also said that my name is Ruby. He was mistaken me with somebody else.”

I am smiling at her and says

“Yes, he was mistaken you with somebody else. He thought that you were his close friend. Rudy is a friend of mine from Jakarta.”

She puts her head against my chest and talks to Rudy

“Thank you for bringing me to the hospital. How’s your leg? Is it ok?”

Rudy’s leg is wrapped up with the roller bandage. I can see that Rudy sheds a few tears. I am sure that it’s not because of his legs but because of seeing Ruby’s condition currently. He replies to Ruby

“I am ok! Don’t worry about my leg. It’s just a scratch. It’s you who need to take some rest.”

Rudy excuses himself to go outside. The nurse asks Ruby to change her cloth first before she can go. Rudy has taken care of all the administration issues. I tell her that I will wait for her outside. Rudy is standing in front of the entrance. I am approaching him and stand beside him. He says

“You don’t even have the money for her to do a simple MRI. What kind of life you have given her all this time? How can you let her suffer like this? I was holding her hand when she was unconscious. I was shocked that her hands were rough. You know that she is a piano player. I don’t understand. She still has plenty of savings. You also still have your belongings back at Ruby’s house including your passport, credit cards, debit cards and your savings books. You could have come back and get it!”

“Rud, it also hurts me to see Ruby have to live such a limited life like this. I cannot go back to Jakarta to get our money. It’s too risky. I know that you and Christian must be looking for her. I have no other choice except than to live out from our monthly income. We are both managers now and our lives have already getting better than last year. I have already asked her to get a maid to help her around the house. She said that she didn’t need help. She said that she’s happy to take care of me and our house.”

I see that Rudy is taking out his wallet. He is giving all of his money inside his wallet. He also gives me a couple of his debit and credit cards. He says

“Please give her a better life. The pin number is 060606. It’s the date of our anniversary before. You can use it to buy her whatever she wants. Please bring her to a bigger hospital and ask them to do a full examination. I cannot see Ruby living her life like this.”

I am returning all the cards and money to Rudy and says

“I cannot accept it. I promise to take care of her and give better a better life but I cannot take this.”

“I know that you have your own pride but I cannot let this go. Ruby’s life is on stake. You can pay me back anytime as soon as you go back to Jakarta. I will even help you to get your things from Ruby’s house. But for now, you really need the money. I don’t want Ruby to worry about money and neet to calculate what she wants to spend. She should be treated like a princess!” says Rudy

Ruby comes out from the hospital and holds my hand tightly. She is acting very spoil like the way she used to when she is sick. I know that it must be really uncomfortable for Rudy to see us smooching like this. She says

“Did you bring the car or you have to leave it at the workshop again? Are there any buses going to our house from here? Maybe we should start asking around.”

Rudy goggles his eyes to me. I know that he never lets Ruby to take public transportation.

He says “My driver and I can drop you to the house. Don’t worry.”

He is calling his driver to pick him up at the hospital. A limousine car arrives at the lobby after 15 minutes. I know that Rudy can give her a much better life but I really don’t want to lose her over it. She is the source of my happiness. Please allow me to be selfish when it involves Ruby.

We are sitting inside the luxurious car and Rudy finally offers Ruby a job.

“Miss. Livia, Kev told me that you are a very capable worker. You know that we are just starting to open a new branch here. Are you willing to move and work with us? We will pay you twice as much as your previous salary. I want to offer you a position as an HR Manager. You can choose to hire as your own subordinates. We can negotiate all the terms to suit your preference. Kevin is my good friend. I will give you a good deal.”

She is looking at me and smiles happily and says to Rudy

“Double to my current salary? Really? Wow!!”

She turns away her head and starts to express her enthusiasm to me

“Honey, we can use the money to get you a new car. We can pay it using installments. You can finally get rid of the bad car which always ruins your day when it got broke.”

I know that the old Ruby wouldn’t take any job offer easily. She used to be the most respectable and highest paid recruiters in Jakarta before. Rudy continues to offer her more benefit.

“We can also give you a company car with housing facility. You can meet me tomorrow to sign the contract. I will draft it tonight. Here’s my business card. Please call me if you want to add anything to our agreement tomorrow.”

She smiles at Rudy and says

“Wow! You are really a good friend. Thank you. Kevin and I really need the money for our wedding in August. You are welcome to attend the wedding as our honored guest.”

Rudy looks at me and gives me his most hideous looks. I know that he won’t let me to marry her ever in my life. I am telling the driver the directions to our house and ask him to stop at the main street closer to our home.

“Please stop here. Our house is inside. It cannot fit a car to go in. We could just walk from here.”

Rudy says “I need to use the bathroom. Can I use yours Livia?”

I know that he doesn’t need to go to the bathroom; he just wants to look at the house.

Ruby replies “Of course”

The road is tarnish because of the rainfall earlier. Rudy is walking with us with a beastly look on his face. I know that he would never go to walk on the small dirty rural area like this. We finally reach our house and Ruby lets go of my hand to grab the key. She says

“Shoot! I left the keys on my bed. Did you bring yours?”

Ruby always forgets to bring her key. Therefore, I always put an extra below our doormat. I open the doormat and give her the key. I am pinching her chubby cheek and says

“Here! I know that you always forget to bring your keys! That’s why I also leave a spare under the doormat!”

She is craning her tongue to mock me. She looks at Rudy and welcomes him to go inside.

“Come in! Our house is so small. You can go straight and turn right to use the bathroom. I will go to prepare you a drink.”

She is coming to the kitchen to make some tea for us. Rudy sits on the couch and says

“She will move from this house starting tomorrow. I will arrange the accommodation for her. I can’t imagine that she has been living in this hideous place! I don’t care if you bring her to live in the hotel first. I just can’t see her living like this. Her maid’s house is even better than this. Look at this! They are dirty clothes everywhere. Ruby is a neat freak! She wouldn’t want to live her life like this.”

I know that Rudy’s right. The old Ruby wouldn’t leave the house if she didn’t see everything is well organized. I have changed her to live her life more sloppy. She comes out from the kitchen and gives Rudy the tea. She says

“I am sorry that we don’t have any fine tea. This is just a local brand. You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it. We have mineral water.”

Rudy takes the cup from her and says

“I will drink everything you give me even though it’s poisoned.”

She looks at him and then stares at me. She is giving me her usual code of saying “Isn’t he weird?”

I know that Rudy did not joke about what he said previously. However, I can only laugh seeing her cute expression. I am taking her hand and ask her to sit. Instead of sitting beside me, she chooses to sit on my thigh. I am very happy when she acts spoil around me. She says

“What time and where should I meet you tomorrow?”

“I will send the driver to pick you up at 09.00 AM. You shouldn’t go back to explain to your current boss. I will settle of all the things with him. I am sure that he will be happy with my offer.”

Rudy is excusing himself and going out from our “hideous” house. I know that he must thought that this house is not for humans to leave. Honestly, I don’t fancy the house either. But, Ruby’s companion makes me to forget about all these things. It’s not a house but it’s a home whenever I spend my time with Ruby.

Ruby is taking all the cups back to the kitchen to wash them. I know that my time with her wouldn’t be long. Everything won’t be same as it was. Rudy will start to chase Ruby back and barge into our life. I trust Ruby but I know that Rudy has loved her so much for all these years. They had a meaningful relationship in the past. Anthony even told me once that Rudy was the love of her life. I am really scared to lose her!

I am walking fast towards the kitchen and hug her tightly from the back. I whisper in her right ear

“Darling, if loving you was wrong then I never want to be right. Please let me hug you for a while. I am really afraid of losing you in my life right now. I’m so lucky to have fallen in love with you. You’ve changed my life more than I could have asked for. I know that you didn’t remember anything other than the last two years we have shared together. But for me, I have known you my whole life and I know that you are the only thing I want in my life. I’m insanely attracted to you.”

She is caressing my hands which still tightened her waist. She says

“Kev, I don’t need the other twenty age years of my life. The past two years of my life have been enough. For me all it takes is 1 you to bring back 1,000 memories. I don’t need my old memory from another person. I only can pray that you and I will end up together.”

I am turning Ruby’s body in order for her to look at me. Both of our eyes are filled with tears. I dried her eyes, as she wiped mines, and asked me cautiously to come inside. Right now, I am really scared to lose her and many future possibilities. I don’t want to dream of having her anymore. I want her for real. I am moving my face closer to kiss her mouth. I want to kiss her as if this will be our last kiss. I am kissing her very passionately and fervently. My feelings are burning inside. I want her! I really want to have her. She is mine, she is only mine and I don’t want to share her with anyone.

She is responding to my kiss just as passionate as the way I kiss her lip. It is first time for us to kiss like this since two years ago on the night I got drunk and lost control. Back then, I can only dream that she is willing to do it with me and not imagining somebody else. Now, my dream is coming true.

We reach the dining room while all our clothes were hitting the floor. It seems like we met in our lives before, I said I’ll make you mines if you make me yours. We start to move out from the kitchen and make a stop at the dining table. She is leaning her body on the table as we are still kissing each other. We are moving to my bedroom which is the closest distant to the dining table.

I put her on my bed gently. We look at each other for a second. She said she will kiss me slowly then made me promise not to leave her lonely. As I kissed her lips and rubbed her thighs I seen seduction in her eyes, saying don’t you run, don’t you hide, I know exactly where exactly where is your heart. We reached the bed, as her legs spread; I kissed from her feet all the way up to her forehead. Her skin is so soft and white. I really like to look at her face over and over again. I never want to close my eyes and miss the opportunity to see her facial expression for even a split second. I can’t believe that I can love anyone this much. I love her more than my own life.

I am moving to start kissing her fingers, her hand palm and make a stop at our engagement ring on her beautiful finger. I want to let her know that I have committed myself to spend the rest of my life with her. I move again to kiss her lip with my eyes still open. This time, I don’t want our intimacy to end. This time, let me be selfish and not care about anything else. This time, I really really want her. We are both pressing our hands and bodies against each other. I can hear that she starts to moan.

We stop kissing after a while and look deeply into each other’s eyes. She says

“Kev, I love you.”

I reply “I love you too, with all my heart. I wanna be your last kiss, last love, and last everything.”

We continue to kiss, fondle and make love until the night is out.

I open my eyes in the morning and I am very happy to see the most beautiful girl sleeping beside me. Her face is smiling. I remember every single detail when I held her in my arms last night. Ruby is finally mine. Her body, her soul and her heart; are all mine.

I am thinking hard and wonder whether I did the right thing by having her last night. I can feel that both of us love each other very much but I am not sure that she will still love me should she gains her memory back. Part of me is feeling guilty where the other part is grateful to have her as my future wife. I never slept with anyone before, not even Lily. For me, sleeping together is only with one person for the rest of my life.

I am caressing her long hair and kissing her forehead. A few tears start to fall down on my cheek. They are not happy tears. These are tears of fears. I am more even terrified to lose her now. I can understand why people said that love can change everything. I thought I can live happily without anybody by my side. People have come and go from my life such my parents, my friends and even Lily. When Lily left me with Roy before, I was still able to live my life normally. I was sad but everything went back to the way it was in a short time. But, I know that it is different with Ruby now. I finally understand that my life would have no meaning if Ruby decides to leave me. I am gently whispering to her from a distant

“Rub, please forgive me. Please forgive me for wanting you too much. I promise that I would never love another woman. I will take care of you and love you until the day I die.”

Part 2: Blessing and Curse (Ruby)

I open my eye and see that Kevin is sleeping beside me. I can’t stop smiling. I am rubbing my eyes to see him clearer. He doesn’t seem happy. I wonder whether he regrets what happened last night.

“Honey, are you alright? Why are you crying?”

He hugs me and says “Nothing! I am happy that you are finally mine. But, I am scared that you won’t be in the future.”

He is so stupid and cute at the same time! How can I even have the heart to leave such a perfect boyfriend like Kevin. A boyfriend who adores me, loves me and always tries to give the best only for me. I know that he always saves his money to buy me nice things even though they were very expensive. Lots of my coworkers are jealous of the way he treats me.

Even when we went for shopping, he bought me very expensive clothes, bags and even beautiful make up kit. I know that he skimps down his every need to the very minimum. He has tried to give me the best of everything. I am whispering in his ears as we are still hugging each other.

“I thought that the reason for you to be sad because you already regret what happened between us last night. I thought that you………………”

He puts his hand on my mouth and says

“Is that what you are afraid of? That I regretted what happened last night? No! it was the best night in my life. I never felt the same level of happiness ever. I didn’t know that life can be so beautiful and can be so satisfying. I really enjoyed every second of it. I am sad because I am scared that this happiness will fly away soon. I am just afraid that I won’t have you in the future.”

I am resting my head against his chest and says

“No, our happiness won’t fly. We will have each other, marry each other and have kids together.”

Kev reminds me to take a shower soon and gets ready to meet his friend, Rudy. I don’t realize that we are already late. I won’t have the time to cook any breakfast for both of us.

I am thinking about Mr. Wong’s offer yesterday. I’ve got this weird feeling. It’s not a negative feeling at all. I just don’t know why but Rudy looks so familiar to me. That’s one of the reasons I took the job. He intrigued me as if we have known each other before. If reincarnation is real, I must have met him in my previous life. I am putting on my most favorite office attire. It’s a purple dress with a white blazer. Kevin and I go to Bumi Hotel together. Mr. Wong’s driver has already waited for us. Kevin even called his boss to take a day off. He wants to accompany me to meet Mr. Wong today.

We are already arrived at the hotel and I am asking the reception to call Mr. Rudy Wong. The lady lets him know that we are already waiting for him in the lobby. I am so excited about this new job. Finally, we don’t have to worry about tighten our spending anymore. I have been wanted to buy Kevin everything he needs.

The elevator door is open and I can see Mr. Wong is walking towards us.

“Good morning! Have you two had any breakfast yet?”

I only give him a smile. I don’t want him to think that we haven’t had any breakfast. It’s really embarrassing! I shouldn’t forget to put my alarm on last night.

Mr. Wong is reading my body language and finally asks us to join him to have breakfast together. We come in to a spacious restaurant. Kevin and I never eat in an upscale restaurant like this. It’s too expensive for us. The waiter takes us to a private corner. The chair is more comfortable than the rest. Mr. Wong must be a special guest in this hotel. They even greet him by name.  Suddenly, Mr. Wong makes his order for me without notice.

“Miss Wong will have two pieces of grilled beef sausages, one sunny side egg and an apple juice with two spoons of sugar. Please double check that the juice doesn’t come from the refrigerator immediately. She cannot drink anything too cold. Please also bring her a glass of Evian with no ice.”

I am surprised to hear Mr. Wong already made an order for me without actually asking me first. Maybe this is how bosses handle their subordinates in a big company. I am not even familiar with any of the stuff he just said. I am just afraid that I couldn’t even eat them later on. Anyway, I have to act politely to him and pretend that it’s all fine.

Instead of verifying with him, I say “Thank you for making an order for me.”

Another surprise comes from Kevin. He makes an order to the waiter just as smoothly as Mr. Wong.

Kev says “Can we order non breakfast meals right now?”

The waiter nods his head and says “Of course but it will take a while to cook them first.”

Kevin then says

“I will have the Australian Rib Eye 300 grams with the barbeque sauce. Please also bring a glass of red wine to match the rib. For the meat, make it a medium rare with no vegetables for so ever.”

The waiter nods his head. Kevin just ordered as if he’s has eaten a lot in a place like this. This ‘American’ style really freaks me out. I wonder why Kev is so familiar to order this unusual food style. Maybe he knows it because he used to take business clients to have meals outside the office.

I don’t see that Mr. Wong has ordered anything yet. I brace myself to ask him politely

“Mr. Wong, did you already have breakfast? I don’t see you making an order.”

He looks at me and says

“I am waiting for you to make the order for me.”

I raise my eye brow and say

“I beg your pardon? I don’t know about your appetite yet. I am afraid that I will order you the wrong food. I am afraid that you won’t like it.”

He smiles at me and says

“I want you to try. Please order. I will eat anything that you order for me.”

I am looking at the menu quite long time. I am not sure whether this is some kind of a preliminary test in order for me to get the job. I don’t want to order any meals which might make him throwing up later on but I really don’t know his preferences.

After looking at the menu, I am looking again at Mr. Wong. Suddenly, I have a bit of flash memory as if I had a similar scenario before. I don’t understand. But, I think I am seeing a vision of us eating together in a different restaurant but with a similar condition. I dare myself to make him an order and bet that what I saw in fact useful.

“Mr. Wong will have some…….”

I try to recall again. I am not familiar with all the names. I know what I saw but I don’t know how to make an order. I am seeing another vision. This time, I was making an order for Mr. Wong before. I am trying to repeat it and hopefully that it will turn out fine.

“Mr. Wong will have some French toast and garlic bread. Please make sure that you have to warm the butter first. He likes the salty one. He will drink an English breakfast tea. Please don’t mix the sugar with the tea. You may also bring him some water melon for his desserts later on.”

I don’t know where and how I got the vision early on but I feel like I know him and what he likes to have. I can even say it to the waiter early on without any pauses. I am looking again at him. He seems very satisfied with my order before. He says

“Perfect!”

Kevin excuses himself to go to the bathroom. He doesn’t look very happy. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He seems distracted. I decide to make an excuse to Mr. Wong and check whether everything is alright with Kev. I can see him standing in front of the men toilet.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing… Why are you here? Do you want to go to the toilet as well?”

I am shaking my head and take his right hand.

“No, I only came to talk to you. Tell me… What’s wrong? You seem distracted.”

Suddenly, he hugs me tightly and says

“Liv, don’t take the job! Let’s go home. Let’s move from the city. We can go anywhere we want and start a new life like before. You always want to go to Bali right? Let’s move there.”

I don’t understand why Kevin suddenly brings up this topic. I never see him as frighten as now.

“Kev, it’s ok. We can move anywhere you want. We can leave anytime you want. I will always support your decision. Let’s talk to Mr. Wong and tell him that we have changed our decision.”

I am pulling his hand to go back to our table. He suddenly says

“Wait! Wait! Liv, I am sorry. I just had a nervous breakdown. I am fine now! It’s rude to suddenly change our mind. Rudy is a powerful man. It’s not good to offend him. Let’s go back to our table and do things the way it was. I am really all right. I am sorry to scare you like this.”

I am very worried about Kev. He doesn’t look alright at all. He is insecure about everything now. This morning, he told me that he’s afraid his happiness will fly. Right now, he suddenly asks me to reject this amazing rare offer. I don’t know what’s on his mind and I really don’t know where this comes from. I wish that he is willing to share it with me.

We are sitting back on the table. The meals are finally arriving. I taste the eggs first. It’s really moist. I like the yolk better than white. I am glad that Mr. Wong ordered me two instead of one. The sausages are also delicious. Kev suddenly asks me

“Liv, why do you call Rudy Mr. Wong?”

I give Kevin an answer.

“He is the vice president of Wong’s Corporation. His surname is Wong. I read it on his business card.’

Kevin looks at Mr. Wong weirdly. Mr. Wong replies to him

“It’s a long story. It turns out that Christian and I are brothers. We have the same biological mother and father. Mrs. Betty Wong is our biological mother where our father’s surname is Liem. Mr. Simon Wong is June and May’s father. We all found out one week ago when our mother died. She wanted me to help Chris. He is the President Director now and I am his vice.”

Kev looks interested in the history of Wong’s Corporation. He finally replies

“Is Chris ok about all this? How about May and June? Is May still living in US?”

I am looking at Kev and ask

“Do you know them? Are they our friends from Sydney?”

Kev turns his head to me and says “They are my friends but you don’t know any of them. I have known them before I met you.”

I am nodding my head and continue to eat my breakfast. They don’t talk with each other anymore.

The waiter comes by to our table and offers “We are planning to give Mr. Wong and his entire guest our famous handmade ice cream. The guest favorite flavors are with vanilla, green tea or black sesame. What would you like to have?”

Mr. Wong is choosing vanilla while Kevin is choosing black sesame and I haven’t made my choice yet. Suddenly, Mr. Wong asks the waiter

“Do you have any strawberry ice cream? Miss Livia will have the strawberry one.”

I really have no idea why Mr. Wong knows I would prefer strawberry when I am eating ice cream. I don’t like strawberry as fresh fruits but I enjoy eating them after they are being processed into something else. Mr. Wong is calling the waiter again and asks for some Oreos.

Suddenly, my head feels dizzy again. It’s so heavy. I am seeing another vision that someone looks a lot like Mr. Wong used to eat his ice cream like an Oreo milkshake. The difference is only he is much younger than the current Mr. Wong. I see the person is eating his ice cream by shaking them with Oreos and waiting for it to melt. The waiter brings our ice cream along with the Oreos. I am asking Mr. Wong whether what I saw is actually his preference. He answers

“Yes. I like to eat my ice cream like a milk shake.”

I really have no idea why I am getting many visions about him. It’s like we have been doing this in the past. I wonder whether he knew me before I lost my memory. I need to verify with him.

“Mr. Wong, have we met before? I couldn’t recall anything except the last two years. Do we know each other? I find you very familiar.”

He doesn’t answer me with a yes or no. Instead, he is asking the waiter for the bill. We finally finish eating our breakfast. After the waiter asks for his signature, he says

“Livia, you can start calling my first name. You don’t have to address me so formally. Please follow me now. I want to give you a new company car and the housing facility we have arranged for you.”

Kevin and I are following Mr. Wong or Rudy now to the parking lot. There is a driver who gives him a car key. He presses the button on the key. I can see that one of the black cars is blinking its light.

“This is your car and he will be your driver from now. You can use both car and the driver for business and personal use.”

I am not familiar with cars but the car looks really expensive. There’s some kind of a tiger miniature trying to jump somewhere. Kevin whispers to my ear

“The car is a Jaguar. The price is more than one billion rupiah.”

“Is it true? Why does he give me such as expensive car?”

Kevin smiles and shakes his head. I really think I need to reconfirm this with Mr. Wong.

“Mr. Wong, I can use a more regular car. Kev said that this is a very expensive car.”

“You have to start calling me Rudy. This car is actually what the company rents for me as long as I am in Surabaya. Now, I am giving it for you to use. I can use the other one instead.”

I really don’t understand why Mr. Wong is so nice to me. Is it because of Kevin? I don’t have any close friends beside Kevin for the past two years.

Kevin also told me that I don’t have any good friends in Indonesia and I am not really in touch with any of my friends back in Sydney. I can see his point. I am not a type who can make friends easily. Although my job acquires me to meet new people every day, I am still rigid when trying to get closer to any of my co workers. They have tried to invite me to go out with them, and do other stuffs such as rock climbing and any outdoor activities. But, something has always been missing. It seems that I don’t fit with them and the environment.

However, having breakfast with Mr. Wong is really different. Even when I ate something entirely new for the first time, I have an odd feeling that I have been living like this forever. I know that it’s impossible. I think that Mr. Wong and I can become good friends in the future. Mr. Wong interrupts my mind by saying

“Let’s go to your new place. I already instructed my secretary and my driver to hire a professional removal company to help you pack your things today. You can go back to your old house and instruct them anything you want.”

I want to make my last inquiry about this ‘special treatment’. I also need to know the standard company facility when I am hiring staffs to the company in the future. I am verifying with him

“Mr. Wong, are all employees in my rank will get the same facility?”

He answers directly

“No! This is just for you. I will brief all of them tomorrow when you start working.”

He must have gone crazy! I don’t understand why he is giving me this exception. I want to ask him again but he already cuts the conversation

“Livia, you will find out why I have been treated you differently later on. I have my reasons. I won’t take no for an answer either!”

Although I find it very weird, I am really glad that we can finally move into a new place. The house is such in a rough shape at the moment. The roof is leaking, the paint is faded and many other issues. I am looking at Kev and say

“Honey, we will finally able to move and stay in a new place. I know that you never like our house.”

Suddenly Mr. Wong grabs my hand, gripping it tightly and says

“No! You two won’t leave together anymore. I will arrange another place for him to stay.”

This time, the way he reacts to this is really questionable! It’s like we are already a couple and he is jealous hearing that I will be moving in with another man. I look into Mr. Wong’s eyes and give him a sharp look. He really need to know his limits.

“Mr. Wong, thank you for all your kindness. But, I am not moving anywhere without him. I’d rather be a homeless person with Kevin than living in a castle without him.”

He looks back at me and says

“Ruby Lee, listen to me! You can’t live together with him! You just can’t!!”

I am struggling to let go of my right hand from his grip. Kevin finally knows that he is hurting my hand. He shouts

“Let go of her! You are hurting her!”

After Mr. Wong lets go of my hand, I finally express my first debate to him.

“Mr. Wong, I am not Ruby. I am Livia. If you are giving me all of this because you think that I am Ruby, we better forget all the deals. As I said before, I am Livia, not Ruby.”

I am holding Kevin’s hand and prepare to run with him in case Mr. Wong still insists. After a while, Mr. Wong dials down his tone and says

“Ok! In that case, I will move to the same place and living together with both of you as roommates.”

Kev suddenly starts to raise his voice and says things fiercely.

“I think Livia prefers to keep her personal life separately with her business life. I am sure that a professional boss like you will also respect your subordinate’s privacy. Livia can make her own decision in regards to her lifestyle. Outside of office hours, she is not your employee anymore and you can’t boss her around. She can choose to live with the one she wants.”

Both of them look at each other as if they are trying to kill each other. I don’t want my work affects my relationship with Kev. I’d rather be jobless rather than seeing him feeling unhappy like this.

“Mr. Wong, I am really glad to have this job. But, if this offer will make my fiancé to become unhappy, then I better reject it respectfully while it’s not too late. Kev is right. I don’t want to live under the same roof with my boss and then go with him together to the office. It would be just too weird. I want to have my privacy as well.”

Mr. Wong looks at me. I can see that his eyes are teary. I don’t understand why he is crying and why he is looking at me as if he truly cares for me. He finally says

“Ok! We will do as you say for now. We shall go to check the apartment.”

The driver takes us to the Somerset hotel and serviced residences. From my knowledge, this is one of the most luxurious apartments in Surabaya. Again, I am wondering whether we have come to the right place. There is no way that Kev and I will live in this prestigious place!

There’s somebody who already greets us in the lobby and ask us to follow him. It turns out that he is in fact the hotel manager. He takes us to a gorgeous apartment. It has purple wallpaper. The furniture is all white. I really fall in love with this place the first time I see it.

The manager is showing us the master bedroom, and two other bedrooms. There’s also a study room. I am taking Kev’s hand and make joke with him.

“Do you mind if I am taking the master bedroom? We can swap every six months.”

I probably say that too loud as Mr. Wong suddenly turns his head and asks me “Do you guys not sleeping in the same room?”

He is asking such a personal question but I can’t be as emotional as I should be. The more he probes many personal questions, the more I feel that he genuinely cares about me. I decide to answer his awkward question just this one time.

“No, we don’t sleep in the same room.”

Finally, I can see that the cold Mr. Wong is smiling. He is turning into a different guy. His expression is so warm and friendly. He even smiles at Kevin and says

“This is the key to your apartment. This is a serviced apartment meaning that there will be someone who will help you to clean up the apartment every single day. You can order any room service. They will bill all your expenses to the company account. You can also put your dirty clothes inside the laundry bag. If you ever need anything, you can contact Jack here.”

The manager finally speaks

“You may contact me at anytime. It’s our honor to serve you all.”

Mr. Wong finally leaves us alone and by handing me a piece of paper with the driver’s phone number. He is also giving me the Hotel Manager’s business card. He leaves the apartment and says his final good bye and closes the door.

“Livia, starting tomorrow, you will call me Rudy instead of Mr. Wong.”

We are finally alone at our new house. I am running towards Kev and scream

“Kev, are you happy? We finally can live in this dream house. I can’t believe that both of us can experience all of these facilities. I am so happy!”

Kevin hugs me tightly and says “Liv, I am sorry. I am really sorry.”

I am feeling confuse and put both of my hands on his face.

“Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He hugs me again and this time it’s even tighter. He says “I am really sorry. My love, I am sorry.”

We spend the next four hours by going back and forth from our old house to our new house. I don’t think this place is even called a house. It’s more like a mansion! The Hotel Manager serves us an amazing dinner. He says that it’s a complementary from the hotel.

Finally, the night is come and I can see that Kev is looking through out the window. He must enjoy watching this amazing view. I am hugging him from his back and says

“Kev, I am feeling like a Cinderella now. I remember when we were still living in the healing house back at West Java. You used to read me the Cinderella story every time I had a bad dream. Now, everything is turning around. Now, I really believe that fairy tales do come true.”

Kev turns his body and says

“It’s getting late! You probably should get some rest.”

He is walking away from me. I really don’t understand why he is not feeling happy at the moment. His mood changed drastically since last night. I am running towards him, taking his hand and says

“Kev, what is up with you? Tell me, share with me. I really have no idea why you are acting like this.”

He is looking back at me with a sad expression.

“I am ok. I just need to be alone right now.”

I cannot ignore his unhappy expression right now. He’s been acting weirdly today. We were just fine. I really don’t know what made him so angry to me.

“Tell me. Just tell me. There’s nothing hard to tell! It’s me, you can tell me everything.”

He is raising his voice and finally shouts at me

Liv, just give me some space ok!! I need to be alone!!”

This is the first time Kev raises his voice to me. I am walking out from him as soon as possible. I am going to my new bedroom and lock it right away. I am sitting down on the floor in front of the new door and crying. I don’t understand what has happened to him. Is it because we slept together yesterday and now he is feeling the pressure? But, I don’t think Kev is the guy who is afraid to commit with a serious relationship. He already proposed to me few months ago. It doesn’t make sense if he’s freaking out right now.

Suddenly, I can hear a repetitive sound of my door being knocked by Kevin.

“Liv, I am sorry. Please open the door.”

It’s not that I don’t forgive him. I know that he didn’t mean to yell at me just now. But, I really don’t want him to see my crying. I can’t open the door and let him know that I am hurt. I am a very sensitive girl but I don’t want him to see my sensitivity. He is still knocking the door for a while. Finally, he stops knocking after a while. I fell asleep on the floor that night.

Part 3: Visions and visions (Ruby)

I wake up in the morning with a back pain, cramp feet and a headache. Fallen asleep on the floor is certainly not my thing. I am looking at the watch and realize that it’s still five o’clock in the morning. I haven’t got a chance to explore my room yesterday due to the fight with Kev yesterday night. I wonder whether his emotion is not as bad as yesterday this morning.

I open the giant closet and see plenty of new clothes and they are all my size. I know that this must be Mr. Wong’s arrangement. He probably sees the way I dressed before and decide to give me brand new office attire for the sake of his company image. However, it’s still strange. I also see many different types of clothes including night gowns with varieties of colors. I am exploring the room and find that I have my very own bathroom. The size can actually fit five grownups to play soccer.

I wonder if this is just a dream. I keep reminding myself that someday, I will have to live without all of this once I am not longer working at Wong. For me, it doesn’t matter where and how we live. Everything will be wonderful as long as I have Kevin by my side. I am taking a shower and putting one of a new dress. I want to make Kev’s favorite breakfast this morning as my apology to him for not opening the door last night. I don’t know whether there’s any food in the fridge yet but I think I will still have some time to run to the mini market downstairs and shop for some groceries.

I open my room and walk towards the kitchen. I find out that Kev’s sleeping on the couch. He must have been waited for me all night. I am getting a blanket from my room and cover it on Kev’s body. His body is moving and I might even though I try to do it as gently as possible. He is opening his eyes to see me. I am caressing his hair and say

“Go back to sleep. It’s still early. I will wake you up once the breakfast is served.”

Suddenly, he is pulling my hand and makes me fall on top of him. He is directing my head to rest and lie down on his chest. He hugs me tightly and says

“I am sorry. Please don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I am sorry. Please don’t ignore me like yesterday. It was miserable when you ignored to see me last night. I was afraid that you won’t even talk to me anymore.”

 

I am lifting my head to see him and say

“No! I just want to give you some space like you asked me before. It’s ok. I know that you didn’t do it on purpose. But, I still don’t have a clue what made you so angry yesterday. I hope that you can tell me. I am not a psychic. I can’t just guess around.”

Kev doesn’t give any explanation to me. He is only looking at me deeply. It’s so deep that I can feel that he loves me, misses me and needs me. Finally, he says

“Liv, I love you. I get jealous over the stupidest thing sometimes. I was really jealous. I was crazily jealous with everything.”

I am raising my right eye brow and ask again.

“What is it that made you to get jealous? I don’t understand.”

I am still on lying down top of him. My back starts to hurt even worse than before. However, I choose not to move because Kev is finally willing to tell me everything.

“I was jealous with everything Rudy gave you yesterday. I am jealous that he’s able to give you this luxurious life that I haven’t been able to give you for the past two years.”

“He arranged the best for you. I was mad with the way you expressed yourself last night. I know you that you liked him and even liked living in this apartment. You like everything he gave you. I was just afraid. Liv; when I first met you, I honestly didn’t know you were gonna be this important to me.”

I finally understand what why Kev was angry yesterday. He was afraid that I would fall in love with Mr. Wong. Suddenly, I am feeling really mad. How this thought can even across his mind? I am not just a girl who can easily fall to a guy just because he is giving me luxurious stuffs. I am walking out immediately from Kev. I am so angry with him.

I don’t know where to go to express my anger as I am still not familiar with this spacious home. I need to be along! I am looking at the balcony on my right and decide to go there alone and cool down my emotion for a while. I don’t want to say anything which might jeopardize our relationship. It’s not good to have a conversation when the two of us are having high temper like this.

I am looking around at this gorgeous sunrise. It’s a very beautiful view but I don’t feel any happiness inside. Now, I really know what people have said that money can’t buy happiness. My tears start to drop. I cannot hold back the pain I am feeling inside. He even said that I like Mr. Wong. He is the only person who is close to me right now and he doesn’t even trust me back. I really don’t understand. He should know me better than anyone.

I can feel that Kev is opening the balcony window to come after me. He brings a blanket and put it to wrap my body. He says

“Put this on. I don’t want you to get cold.”

We say no words for a little while. Finally, he is speaking his mind to me.

“Now, it’s my turn to ask you. “Why you are angry with me. What’s wrong?”

I really want to tell him everything but I just couldn’t speak at the moment. Instead of explaining clearly to Kev, my tears start to drop even more.

“Liv, what happened? I am sorry. Please don’t cry. Whatever it is, I am sorry. I haven’t seen you crying like this in the past two years. I am sorry if I have hurt your feelings.”

I am sobbing my tears and still not speaking to Kev for a few minutes. He hugs me tightly and says

“Liv, don’t cry! When I fought with you yesterday, I’m really fighting for us because if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t bother so much about it.”

I finally express my disappointment.

“Kev, it’s not fair for you to say I like Mr. Wong. I never like him, at least never in the wrong way. I just see him as your friend and my future boss. Yes, I am grateful that he is giving us this new life style. But if you think that I am some kind of girl who can be bribed by any rich guys, you better stop loving me this instant. I thought you know the real me. I thought you trust me! You are the only person that I am close to. It breaks my heart when you thought I am some kind of a material girl. If this is true, then you better leave me right now.”

Kev is gripping my hand and says

“No, Liv.. Don’t! I am sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I am sorry. I trust you. There’s just so much history that you didn’t know about and I couldn’t tell you now as well. Please don’t ask me further about it. I just couldn’t able to explain everything. I am sorry. I should know that you love me very much. I am sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted your feelings to me.”

I am still sad with Kev for saying the accusation before. However, I know that he has his own reasons to feel insecure. I think that any guy in Kevin’s shoes will be jealous to Mr. Wong. I know that I can’t get angry with Kev for a long time. I pretend to let go my last piece of anger to Kev and says

“I thought you are the only one who knows me inside and out. Now, I know that I am wrong!”

Kev knows that I am not angry towards him anymore. He can see from my expression that I have put a little smile on my face. He smiles back at me and says

“Liv…. I love everything about you! Be real, be yourself, be unique, be true, be honest, be humble, be happy. I want you to continue to be yourself because I love every bit of it. I love you so very very much! Please don’t stay angry with me because I couldn’t think of anything else. I love you.”

He leans his face towards me and starts to kiss my lip tenderly. I know that everything is fine now.

My new driver takes me to my new office. Our office’s location and Kev’s are not far from each other. He could just walk for less than 10 minutes to get there. It’s only two blocks away. My driver even offers us to drop Kev to his office after reaching Wong. I am glad that Kev doesn’t need to walk. Surabaya is a very hot city. We finally arrive at my office. Kev kisses me good bye and says

“Be save ok! I love you.”

I am smiling at him and closing the car door. I walk straightly towards the lobby. It turns out that Mr. Wong is already waiting for me.

“Good morning Mr. Wong.” 

He smiles at me and reminds me to call his first name.

“Hi Rudy..”

Suddenly, I have another vision of us talking together in another time. There is a voice inside my head which says ‘Hi Rudy’ repeatedly in the beginning. I start to see that we were sitting inside one the Café. There’s another guy sitting beside me as well. I don’t know who the other guy is but his face looks familiar for me. The three of us are having coffee together. I am pressing my head again hoping for this vision to get clearer. I wonder that this is even real.

“Is everything ok? Are you not well?”

He suddenly touches me forehead. I am not familiar at all with this kind of gesture. I am looking at him curiously and wonder whether I am making the right decision.

“Mr. Wong, I mean Rudy. I prefer that you didn’t do that kind of gesture. We should maintain our relationship professionally. I can’t imagine how other colleagues will see me if they witness what just happened earlier.”

He is smiling at me and says

“Ok! I am sorry. I was just worried that you got a fever. That’s all!”

I am spending my day by attending the company orientation, and other regular first day activities. He also brings me to have lunch at a restaurant near the building. This time, I am quite familiar with the food since it’s only a regular Chinese food restaurant.

Rudy also shows me to my new corner office with a great view ever. He is briefing me about my job descriptions and also telling me the short term objectives.

He is really a thorough boss. He lets me know his expectation to me during the  three months. He also gives me a room to express my opinion. He even takes my advice seriously. They are not many local people yet working in the company. Most of the stuffs got transferred from Jakarta to head up a division in Surabaya. We are not having our official meeting together.

Suddenly, my phone rings and it’s from Kevin. I excuse myself to Rudy and pick up the phone

“Honey, are you done? Do you want to go home together?”

I am looking at my watch. It’s already 06.30 PM.

“I am not sure. I am still in a meeting with Rudy and other division heads. Maybe you should go home first without me. I am sorry.”

Kev replies and says

“It’s ok! I will wait for you at home and cook some dinner for you.”

“Thanks Hon. Bye!”

The situation is now in reserved. I used to go home on time with my previous job where Kev needs to work overtime. I go back to our meeting room. Rudy is now explaining every department’s KPI and how they cascade down from the top level. I remember something about this. It feels like I have worked with the same strategy approach before. We finally finish at 08.00 PM. Rudy has asked his secretary to buy meal packages for everyone. I don’t eat it as I know that Kevin’s waiting for me at home to eat dinner together.

Rudy walks towards me and says

“Why don’t you eat yet? You don’t like the food? It’s a Japanese bento. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“Kevin has already cooked for me. We will have dinner together back at home.”

He looks disappointed and says “Ok! Let’s drive you home then.”

I am grabbing my phone to call my driver. Suddenly, Rudy surprises me with another news

“I already text your driver and ask him to go home. I will drop you off instead.”

Now, I know that Rudy always does thing ahead of me. He never asks for my permission. I should draw the line clearly with him. Honestly, I don’t really like it having my life controlled by someone. I like having my freedom. I want to be able to decide when, how, and where I want to go anytime I want outside the office hour. Finally I dare myself to reject his offer.

“I am going to drop by somewhere first. It’s ok! I can go home by myself.”

I am leaving Rudy without giving him a chance to debate further. I am packing up my things inside my office. I can hear that someone is knocking at my door. It turns out that it’s Rudy. He says

“I am sorry if it seems that I am controlling you. I just want to spend some time with you in private.”

I give him a weak smile and say

“It’s not that. I just used to live my life freely. Even Kev never arranges anything without my approval first. I know that you are thinking for my own good but I am not really comfortable with it.”

“I understand. I just want you to play you some music on the way back to your apartment. This time, let me give you a lift. I won’t arrange anything again without your approval next time.”

Rudy finally explains his reason to me. Even though I don’t know why he wants me to listen to the music, I finally know that he’s not trying to control my life abruptly.

I am smiling at him and say “Ok!”

On the way back to the apartment, Rudy is playing a piano instrumental. The songs are very nice. I don’t know why but the songs are familiar with me. He asks

“Do you like the songs?”

“Yes, I do. But, I felt that the songs are very familiar. Is it famous? I wonder whether I have heard it before. Is it a soundtrack?”

“It’s a soundtrack from one of the Japanese drama series. Someone very important made this. I want you to take this CD and listen to the songs as often as possible. It would do you good and I am pretty sure that you will like it.”

I am nodding my head. I know that I will like them like he says.

“Have you played piano for the past two years?”

I am shaking my head. I can’t play the piano. I never touch them. He says

“Tomorrow, I will take you some place after lunch. I know that you are going to like it.”

Before I can agree with his invitation, we finally reach at the apartment lobby. There is a woman already waiting for us in the lobby. Rudy gets out from the car and says

“Cindy, what are you doing here?”