Part 1: My loneliness is killing me (Kevin)

Days by days have gone by and I couldn’t forget about how I felt when Ruby decided to leave me. This is what I have been feared the most since two years ago. I am afraid that no matter how hard I tried, she still could walk out from my life clean and clear without leaving me anything.

I am looking at her picture which has stayed in my wallet since I secretly took it in Sydney. She was still 16 back then. She was not as thin as now and certainly was not as beautiful as right now. However, this photo has always been the one I carry around in my wallet.

Most of the times during the night, my chest feels heavy. I am feeling as if there’s a large stone suppressing my chest. The pain just couldn’t go any higher than this. Living without Ruby in my life is like forbidding me not to eat rice for the rest of my life. It’s my basic needs. Without her in my life makes my life empty more than ever. Nevertheless, I am still feeling grateful about the pain. It reminds me that she exists in my life.

I am drinking again, probably the 10^th glass of wine back in Christian’s gorgeous penthouse, all alone. I am thinking to move and search for an apartment to rent as soon as possible. But, in order to do that, I need to get a job first. Now, I don’t even have the clear mind to do it.

My mind is travelling back to the break up scene when I told her that she should make a choice, a choice between me and Rudy. How can I be so stupid? Why can’t I be more supportive and accompany her to see her family? I should have understood her better. I always blame Christian for being irrational when he was jealous. Now, look at me. My jealousy puts me to become even more childish than Chris. I was the one who pushed her to be closer with Rudy. What an idiot!

I have been calling May every single day and all the news I have received from her is that Ruby is getting closer and closer with Rudy. She advised me that I should just give up on her. Ruby and Rudy even have lived together in her Jakarta apartment. I can’t call Christian or even Cindy anymore to verify the fact since I don’t have the face to ask anything. I know that I couldn’t win this “competition” at all. Rudy is just too tough to beat. Now, Rudy’s surname has even changed to Wong. He has made himself unbeatable.

I can hear footstep walking towards me. It must be a housekeeper. June should be really angry if she sees her neat apartment with wine bottles and trashes lying around on the floor.

Suddenly, there is a heavy grown man voice who says

“Kevin, wake up!”

I am a bit drunk but trying so hard to open my eyes to see who he is. If I am not mistaken, it sounds like Uncle Wong’s voice. When I look at him closely and trying to be more sober, yes…  He is in fact Christian’s father or should I say that He is only June and May’s biological father.

“Wake up and take a shower first. I have something important to tell you!” says Uncle Wong.

I am walking towards my room and go straight to the bathroom to turn on the cold water. I need to be sober immediately.

No matter what Uncle Wong has come to talk to me, it must be really important. He is like a ghost. We never see him unless he wants to. I finally finish showering and finally able to see things more clearly now. I am drying my hair using the towel and walking outside.

Uncle Wong has already waited for me. His facial expression is a bit weird as if he has been waiting to speak to me in a long time. He says

“I know exactly what you’ve been through… I lost my real love before my parents forced me to marry Betty. For this empire, I have to live together with the woman I hate the most! We only marry each other to get what we both want. However, at the end she betrayed me. Because of that horrid son of her, I now loose gaining control of my own company. Everything that I had sacrificed was for nothing. Kevin, help me to steal back what’s mine in the first place. You have my word that I should be able to help you get Ruby back in your life. I know how much she means to you.”

I am looking again at Uncle Wong and suddenly realize what this is all about. He wants me to betray Christian by helping him to get back Wong Enterprise back.

“Uncle, I have owed Christian my life. I wouldn’t do anything to harm him or his sisters.”

He replies “Who said that you need to hurt him? Even though he is not my biological son, I wouldn’t do anything against him. I have watched him to grow since he was a baby. I was talking about Rudy, not Chris. Do you think I would harm May and June? They are my own daughters, my flesh. Everything I own now would eventually be theirs anyway.”

“Uncle, I don’t quite know where this is going. What do you want me to do now?”

Uncle Wong answers “I want you to go back to Jakarta. I will give a full power in your hand to take care of my stock. I already have 15% and recently bought another 5% recently from some small stock holders. The first goal is simple. I want you to replace Rudy’s position as General Manager. We will have a share holders meeting on next Tuesday and I want you to fully corporate with me.”

I still don’t understand how this can help me to get Ruby back in my life. I am also not sure that Christian would agree. Uncle Wong finally explains again

“Kevin, don’t be a fool! Women are still women! They will eventually pick someone who is richer, and has a good position in the company. Do you think that Ruby will still be with Rudy if he has nothing now? Don’t be ridiculous!”

I am looking sharp at Uncle Wong and say

“But Ruby stays with me even though we were very poor back then. She never complaint… You don’t know her at all. That’s not how she chooses a man. If she only lover fortune, she would have stayed with Christian years ago.”

He replies slowly. It seems that Ruby has also made an impression in his cold heart.

“I have known about this unordinary woman but you have my words that sacking Rudy is only one step closer for you to get her. Step two is to get all of the people to hate Rudy including Ruby. I should inform you further details. Here’s your ticket and accommodation arrangement in Jakarta. You will have your own driver and car. These are few credit cards which you may use as you wish. IDR 200.000.000 will be deposited in your saving book to support your expenses in Indonesia.”

I look back at Uncle Wong and say

“Uncle Wong, I cannot do this to Christian. I just couldn’t…”

He looks back and me and replies

“Kev, look! I know Christian. I don’t think he really loves Ruby. What he feels for her is just an infatuation. But your feeling for her is different. What is it that make you to feel hesitate about? Rudy? He isn’t your friend! He’s your competitor. Do you still want Ruby in your life?”

I am still sitting on my couch when Uncle Wong leaves the apartment without saying good bye leaving me to answer the question all alone. Today is already Sunday and probably it’s already late in the afternoon. It’s been a long time since I have never look at the time anymore.

I am looking at the ticket and it reads the plane will depart at 17:50 or 05.50 PM. It’s too late anyway. I haven’t packed and I don’t think that I want to get Ruby’s back this way. Rudy is not my friend but it’s not a fair fight if I backstab Rudy by sacking him from his position. I won’t make another mistake which gets Ruby to hate me in the future. She’s already mad at me because I had lied to her about her past.

Suddenly, the house phone is ringing. I wonder if Uncle Wong forgot something.

“Hallo” I speak to the phone

“Hallo? Kev? This is Cindy.”

“Yes Cindy. What’s wrong?”

Cindy is screaming loudly “You have to go to Jakarta immediately! Ruby has been kidnapped by Lily. Please call me as soon as you arrive in Jakarta.”

She hangs up the phone immediately and I couldn’t think clearly what just happened. Did I hear it correctly? Lily kidnapped Ruby? Why? She wouldn’t do such thing. Lily is a nice person with a kind heart. She wouldn’t do it. Suddenly, I know who to call. I have to call Rudy now.

The phone rings for several times but there is no answer on his side. I am trying to call Christian but the same thing happens. Finally, I am calling Cindy again. She picks up the phone after several attempts.

“Hallo? Kevin?” says Cindy

“Yes. I tried to call both Christian and Rudy. They didn’t answer my call. Can you please tell me what happened?”

“Kevin, I have no time to explain. I am at the police station with Christian while Rudy is chasing the car which kidnapped her earlier. Get here as soon as possible.”

I ask Cindy again to verify the fact “Are you sure that she was kidnapped by Lily? You mean Lily my ex girlfriend?”

Cindy screams at the phone “Yes! How many times do I need to repeat? She tricked Ruby to meet her at the parking lot in a hotel. I don’t have time to talk right now. Bye!”

I know that the situation is really crucial at the moment. I am looking at my watch and it reads 12.30 PM. I have to pack my things as soon as possible and go to the airport. If possible, I will buy a new ticket which might leave earlier than my original flight. I know that Garuda has a flight which takes off at 02.30 PM. I hope that I could make it soon enough!

Why this has to happen to Ruby? She needs to be alright. I can’t bear if anything bad happens to her.

Part 2: Because you loved me… (Ruby)

I wake up in the morning at 07.00 AM. It’s a beautiful Sunday. I am going to the bathroom as soon as I wake up. I don’t know why but I am feeling very nausea. I must have eating the wrong food yesterday. I am trying to throw up but nothing is coming out from my mouth.

After several minutes, I am taking a shower immediately and starting to cook breakfast for Rudy. I am looking again at my watch to track the time. My meeting is at 11.00 AM with Lily. Rudy finally gets up at 08.30 and sits at the dining table right away. My maid is looking at us weirdly. I think I need to talk to her later explaining that I can’t even remember her. Hopefully, she won’t find it weird. I am eating my breakfast and start to have a conversation with Rudy.

“Rud, Amy asks me to go shopping today at 10.00 AM. She will pick me up in the lobby. It’s a girl day out. Do you want me to bring you anything?”

Rudy is looking at me weirdly and says

“No.. There isn’t anything I need. You just enjoy your day. I need to make an important presentation. It needs to be perfect for the share holders meeting on Wednesday. By the way, you will come to the meeting with me.”

I am smiling back at him and say “Okay!”

I am getting dressed and prepare to go to meet Lily. I am texting her again to ask the exact location of the parking lot. She said that it’s on level 7 (P7 at orange section). I am going down to the lobby and ask the front man to get me a taxi.

I am reaching the hotel lobby and ask the reception how to go to the parking lot. She points me the direction and I slowly take the elevator to go to level 7. When the elevator opens, the parking lot is very dark. It’s unlike any parking lot at the shopping malls I know back in Surabaya. I am looking at the pole and it’s blue. I am walking around to look for orange color. I am also texting Lily to let her know that I am already at the parking lot.

There is a large van which is going towards my direction. The speed is relatively faster than a normal speed at the parking lot. I am standing along aside to avoid being hit by a car. Suddenly, the van door opens and they are two men who are trying to grab me. I am struggling to get myself out but both of them are too strong. They block my air breath by pressing a handkerchief against my mouth and nose. It has a very weird smell too. Everything went dark afterwards.

I try to open my eyes but everything looks awfully blurry. Suddenly, my body is splashed with cold water. I wonder who did it and where am I? The last thing I remembered was meeting Lily back at the hotel. I am trying to open my eyes and look around. I just realize that my hands and feet are tiding up by hard strings. Finally, there’s a female voice which says

“I don’t think you still remember about me. We have met before back in Sydney. I knew right away that you would be my competition. I am Lily” says the beautiful lady in front of me. She is about my age and has short hair.

I am looking around to understand where we are right now. My hands and feet are still tied. I finally understand that she has been setting me up all along to kidnap me. I don’t know what her intention to do this is but I can see that she hates me a lot. Maybe Amy was right. She wants to make a revenge for what Kevin did to her. Lily continues to speak while touching my face harshly

“You must be curious now… Come on! Ask away… What do you want to know?” says Lily

I finally open my mouth and ask her

“Why and what do you want?”

She is laughing nonstop for several minutes. Her six other body guards are laughing along with her.

“They say that you are so smart but you are indeed very stupid! Can the memory lost affect anybody’s IQ? I really have to double check this with a Doctor!” mocks Lily

I am looking fiercely at her without saying another word.

She says “Do you know that you made my life miserable? Do you know that…. I hate you?”

I am nodding my head and she continues to speak

“Don’t nod your head too quickly! You don’t know the whole truth! You had no idea what I had done to be where I was until you came a long! You don’t know how much effort I have built in order Kevin to love me back. I have to change the way I was for him. I didn’t like music, I was not a feminist, and I certainly was not a good and kind hearted girl like you! You really had no idea. I had to pretend everything. Even I thought guilt and responsibility could keep him beside me.”

Suddenly, everything comes into a picture. Now, I know what this is all about. I have heard many stories from Kev, Amy, Lily and even Christian about their past. I need to reconfirm my suggestion.

I probe to her “You weren’t ill back then. You only used it in order for Kev to love you more. But, no… that’s not possible. How did you manage to get Roy to corporate with you?”

She smiles “Yes.. You are a smart girl after all.. I only need to mention one line and you already could guest what happens next. Roy didn’t corporate with me. He really thought I was sick.”

“What about your parents?” I ask Lily. I would never imagine that they are parents who support their children to do this.

“Parents? My real mother has died long time ago out of grief! My father doesn’t even know that I exist in the world. The parents who Kevin met in Sydney were a fraud! I paid them to act a long with me. Can’t you see my resemblance with someone you have met before?”

I am looking at her closely and can’t think about any other person who looks like her. She is turning her face to talk to one of the bodyguard to check the sound from outside. Suddenly, I can see what she has been talking about. I verify with her

“You are Chritian’s sister. Your face looks a bit like June.”

She is slapping my face as a sign of harassment. She says

“Right…. Right….. You have a sharp eye! But you would never guess that I am only June and May’s half sister. I am not even related to Christian. You see… Mr. Wong had an affair with my mother. When my mother got pregnant with me, she came to Betty Wong and begged her to accept me. She begged her that in my birth certificate. Mr. Wong could be written as my dad. Do you know what happened to my mother? She got rejected poorly and Betty even kicked her out during the rain, giving her some money to do an abortion. My mother chose to give birth of me anyway. We migrated to New Zealand for several years because she’s afraid that Betty would kill me if I was alive. My mother told me the real story when I was 16. She died on the hospital bed, still waiting for my biological father to come. He didn’t come even though she has called his secretary. From that moment, I knew that all the Wong’s family has no heart!”

I am looking back at Lily and says

“So, all this is about just to make a revenge on the Wong’s family? You used Kevin to get to Christian and his sisters. You want to make a perfect plan for them to lose everything. Is that it?”

She turns her head and says “Yes!”

I am laughing so hard to let her know that she won’t succeed to do it by kidnapping me. She is slapping my face again and asks “Why are you laughing?”

“You got it all wrong! You thought that you can kidnap me to hurt Christian. You are wrong. He doesn’t love me anymore. He has someone else. We are just friends. He wouldn’t risk his life to rescue me. What you are doing now will only get Kevin to hate you even more! You fell for him, didn’t you? It was never your plan but you truly fell for him!”

“Splash her with cold water again!!!!” she says to her bodyguard.

“Don’t you try to outsmart me!! Yes, I fell for him and Kevin is now far away in Sydney. He wouldn’t know that I am the one who kidnaps you. He will eventually love me back. He thought you were already with Rudy. I had May on my side. May was always on my side. She didn’t know the truth about my identification of course. I made her thought that you are only a bitch who likes to play around with guys. Don’t forget! She once had a crush on Kevin as well. So, it’s easy to plot her.”

“So, your plan is worthless now! You can just kill me! You can’t touch any Wong’s relative! None of them is willing to give their lives for me. Your revenge is meaningless.”

“Ups ups… Don’t be so sure dear… Do you think I don’t know that Rudy is Betty’s favorite son?”

Now, for the first time since the kidnapping, I am truly scared. My eyes are starting to fill with tears. They are tears of fear that she might try to hurt Rudy. She continues to speak

“Can’t get your tongue out right now, can you? You always can speak back to everything I have said earlier. Why are you quite now? Don’t worry honey! My revenge plan will work out perfectly just the way I want to. Now, I am going to call both Christian and Rudy. From Christian, I will ask a sum of money and also company stocks which will eventually can get me a good position in the company. By the time he knows that I am actually Lily Wong, it would have been too late. From Rudy, I can ask him to come here and torture him slowly as a revenge of my mother. Betty must be really sad looking from hell that her favorite son is being slaughtered here. Just watch me! Hahaha….”

I am struggling to untie my hands and shout “Nooo…. Noooo… Please don’t do that! Lily, there will be no turning back. You will eventually be in jail for life. Don’t do it!!”

She is laughing even harder and says

“Hahaha! Do you think I care about being in jail? They won’t even know that I am the kidnapper. My guy will call both of them. Mean while, I want to cut your faces and send the picture to the Wong’s Princes. I am sure that their heart will ache once they see your pretty face covered in blood. Just wait my dear. Your prince charming will come to the rescue the poor princess!”

Suddenly, there’s a bang sound from the door. Someone is walking towards us. Lily shouts

“Who is it?”

“It’s me! You don’t have to make any calls. I am here and I can give you the company shares and money as much as you like.”

I can recognize his voice everywhere. It’s Rudy. Why is he so stupid! He will be tortured! I shout

“No.. Don’t come here… Rud, run… just run… Don’t come here…”

Lily says “Oh…. What a joy… Erick, Handy; please check the surroundings and make sure that he doesn’t bring anybody although I am sure that he is coming alone for the sake of Ruby’s safety.”

“Please.. Rudy.. go… run… don’t come here.. She’s crazy..”

Lily is slapping my face again and she grabs my face. She says

“What a noise. I think that we should put a big duct tape around her mouth so that I can chat with my long lost brother over here. Rudy, welcome… welcome…”

The bodyguards are starting to grab his body. They made his hands to be tied against his back. Lily speaks again to her bodyguards

“Ups! What are you guys doing? Please don’t be rude to our little guest over here! After all, he is still a family.” says Lily

She continues to speak nicely “Ok… Now, let’s get down to business. This is my laptop! Open it and make the transfer! Ten millions US dollar wouldn’t be hard to get from you, yes?”

Rudy replies her “Ten million dollar? By cash? I don’t have that much money ready to be transferred. Who do you thing I mean? Donald Trump Jr?”

I am still trying to move and make some sound by screaming as hard as I can. I really want Rudy to go. This isn’t his fight. I couldn’t forgive myself if anything happens to him.

“Oh.. don’t be so sure. I have done my homework you know… You have half of them on the bank. I have checked all of it. What about you make a call to the bank and transfer the entire fund to my account now? The numbers are on the screen.”

Rudy is standing still and not making any moves. Lily continues to say

“I think you need a bit of motivation. Erick, open Ruby’s duct tape and kiss her beautiful lip. Enjoy her beauty, seduce her…”

There’s a big guy comes towards me and starts to make his face closer to me. I am closing my eyes. Now, I can feel his breath. He starts to kiss my cheek and after a second Rudy shouts

“Ok! Just leave Ruby alone. Don’t touch her. I will call the bank and make the transfer.”

“No… Don’t do it.. It’s your life’s savings. Rud, don’t do it” I shout repeatedly to Rudy

He is looking at me and says “I love you Cing… I will do anything for you.”

My tears start to drop again. I reply back to Rudy

“Rud, don’t love me. I am not worth it to be loved. I am a bad luck to everyone. Lily is right! I am just a bitch who likes to make a move on many guys! I am not worth for you to do this.. Just go..”

Rudy’s eyes are also teary. He says “Trust me when I say I love you because I will always mean it.”      

He is making a phone call to the bank. After he hung up the phone, he says

“Done! Now, please let her go!”

“Ups!.. not so fast my brother” says Lily.

Rudy screams “Are you playing me? What else do you want? Just let her go!”

Lily replies “You only have sacrificed so little things compared to what my mother had been through before. Be patient! Now, I want you to call Cindy to prepare an Attorney. I want you to transfer your company’s stock under my name. Do it now.”

She is putting a knife unto my neck. I know that I have to make a move as soon as possible. I don’t want Rudy to lose everything he has. I have no other choice but to end my life. This is the only way to save the one who truly cares for me. If I die, no one needs to suffer anymore. I am putting my neck against the knife and I can hear that Rudy is screaming loudly.

I am almost losing my consciousness when Lily is screaming into my ears

“Don’t you dare to try to end your life first! If you try to do anything to wreck my plan, I will kill Rudy and your family by tomorrow. You have my words Ruby!”

Lily says to her bodyguard “Let him go!”

Rudy is running towards me as soon as the bodyguards are letting go of his hands. He hugs me tightly from the back.

“Cing, stay with me.. Cing.. Please… Cing… Someone gets me a clean towel please! Quick! She is losing too much blood.” shouts Rudy.

Maybe no one is moving. Maybe they are only obey what Lily has to say.

“Please.. anyone.. help me… Cing… stay with me.. stay with me… Cing…” says Rudy repeatedly

Rudy is looking at me and says “After everything we’ve been through, I can’t imagine a life without you. You need to hold on. Please! Nothing is scarier if you tried to kill yourself. I can fight everything but I can’t fight your will to end your life. I couldn’t be scarier. Please.. Live for me.. We can go through this together. Please don’t leave me all alone. I have no one else to love.”

I can feel that something is pressing hard against my neck. It’s so painful but I still can manage the pain. Lily finally shouts

“Ok! Enough for the love fest! Now, call Cindy! Ask him to prepare you an Attorney. I won’t ask you twice. Do it or I will kill Ruby.”

Rudy says “You know that I have to ask Christian’s approval to use the company’s Attorney. Transferring more than 5% of company stocks must be legalized by our own company’s Attorney. Give me the damn phone and I will talk to Christian personally. Just don’t harm Ruby!”

Rudy is making a call and says

“Cindy, please put me through to Christian. Run along Cindy… Now! Remember… Run now!”

Afterwards, I can hear vaguely that Rudy is talking to Christian about selling his shares and ask him to transfer USD 5.000.000 to his account. I don’t think I can hold on much longer. Everything starts to go dark and suddenly Lily pressing my neck hardly.

I am screaming because of the pain. However, it keeps me awake. Rudy says

“Don’t hurt her. Please… I will do as you say.. Just don’t hurt her..”

Lily finally says

“Don’t worry! I am only pressing her neck to keep her awake. Otherwise, she would become unconscious. I want her to see with her own eyes what will happen next with you. I want her to see them personally and feel the pain. Handy, kindly serve him well!”

The biggest guy in the room tries to punch Rudy but Rudy knows how to fight. He ducks his head and even punches him back in the face.

Lily speaks again “Ow.. I forgot that little detail! You are a black belt. But let me tell you this, if you start to punch back once, I will press her neck even harder. If you start to punch back twice, I will scar her other parts. I believe that your heart will ache to see your beautiful princess turn into an ugly woman. Will you still love her then? We shall see.”

I open my mouth and speak weakly

“No… Rudy…. No…. Please Lily, don’t hurt him.. He’s not the reason your mother was suffered. Please… Please just let him go..”

She is pressing her hand against my neck and says

“Do you think I am Santa Claus? Let him go! No… But I can promise you this… I won’t let you die very before him.”

The guy named Handy keeps punching Rudy. There’s no greater pain than for me to watch from a distant without doing anything. After a while, another 3 guys start to punch him too. I am begging Lily to stop but she seems to enjoy Rudy’s pain. I really need to think fast. What should I do now to prevent them for hurting Rudy? God.. Please help me..

“Stop!… Stop it!!” I shout my voice loudly to Lily.

Lily raises her hand and all of them stop to beat Rudy. Finally, I talk to Lily

“I can help you to get back together with Kevin. I will leave him forever. Just stop hurting Rudy.”

“Oh.. how dear?” says Lily.

“I can make a call to Kev. I will tell him that I am now together with Rudy. I will make him to eventually hate me.”

Lily is laughing very loud and says

“Do you think I am a fool? Kevin already knew from May’s fault information that you already got back with Rudy. Why do I need you to confirm back to Kevin? Hearing your voice would make Kevin to miss you even more. What would I do that? Why??”

I really don’t know what to do anymore. Finally I am kneeling in front of Lily and says

“Please.. Ask me to do anything but stop beating Rudy. I will do anything you say”

Lily replies back and me and says

“Ckckckck….. I wonder who the person you really love the most is. Is it Kevin or is it Rudy? You seem to care a lot about Rudy. I might think of another way to torture Betty’s favorite’s son. I have tortured him physically and this time I want to torture him mentally. You said it yourself. Anything I say right? You won’t regret it?”

I am looking at Lily sharply and say “Right… Anything…”

“Okay! Open your clothes!” instructs her

“What?” I ask her again

“Yes! You heard me! Open up your clothes. Let’s see all the details in your body which had made guys to go crazy. Let us watch. I am sure all my bodyguards would be tempted to touch you.”

I hesitate for a while until Lily gives a code to Handy to punch Rudy again.

“Stop! Ok! I will open them. Just stop hurting him.”

Rudy whispers weakly “Cing, don’t do it…. Cing.. don’t do it…”

I speak to Rudy “Rud, close your eyes. I don’t want you to see this. You know… A girl is happiest when she knows that you make her your everything in front of everyone, every single time. Now, it is my time to pay back your love to me.”

I am starting to unbutton my shirt one by one with tears coming down from my eyes. I know that I wouldn’t forget about this humiliation but I need to do it for Rudy. I can’t see him being hurt because of me again. I am still wearing a tang top inside my shirt. After I put down the shirt on the floor, Lily screams again at me and says

“Now, open up your white tang top! Come on… Don’t be shy!”

Everybody is laughing. I can’t forget all of the bodyguard’s face. Their expressions are frightening me to death.

Suddenly, Lily stops me, laughs and says

“I am changing my mind now. I don’t want you to open the tang top. I want Erick to help you. Erick, please be gently with our princess. You may grope her as you like.”

There’s a guy who walks towards me and tries to undress me. I try to fight him by kicking him and punching him. Rudy is shouting at a distance. He screams

“Lily! I would remember about today! I won’t let you live after this! Erick! If you dare touch her, I won’t let you live once this is over. You have my word that you will die in the most painful death!”

Erick starts to kiss me around my face. He disguises me a lot.

Out of the sudden, there’s a loud bang with many policemen come in to the rescue.

“Raise your hand! All of you!”

Everybody except for Lily and Erick are already locked up by the police. They are pointing a gun directly to each bodyguard. Rudy has gotten help from the police. Now, it’s just Lily who points out a knife at me and Erick who is gripping my neck by his left hand from behind.

Lily says “Let us go or I will kill her.”

Rudy says “Let her go! Lily, it’s over. If you let her go, you will only go to prison. If you kill her, you will be courted against a death sentence. If you let her go, I promise that I will help you by providing the best Attorney to accompany you. Now, let her go!”

I am turning my head to look at Lily. She seems hesitate with her decision At the end, she still says

“Let us go! Back off! Put down all of your guns.”

Suddenly, Christian and Cindy are running to stand beside Rudy. Cindy says

“Lily, let her go! Kevin has already found out that you kidnapped Ruby. You will lose him. Do you want him to hate you even more by killing the girl he loves? Let her go! Everything can be fixed. We can help you find a good Attorney. Let her go.”

Christian is running towards us and stops when Lily points out the knife even closer to my neck.

“Please… Lily, listen to me… Let her go! I can help you.”

She stares at me and says “I am sorry.”

I am looking at Lily and suddenly feel bad for her. I know that she can only choose to stab me in the heart and let me die with her.

There’s a sound of shooting and I am screaming hard. It turns out that there’s a police who shoots Erick from the back. He’s now dead on the floor. Lily is looking at me and says

“I lose. You always got the love from everyone where I got the opposite.”

She is dropping the knife into the ground and grabbing her gun from her pocket. She points the gun straightly to my head.

She says “Don’t worry… The gun is empty… I cannot let you die. I won’t let Kevin to hate me. At least, if I die now, Kevin will choose to remember only the good things about me. Good bye!”

She is pulling the trigger. Out of the sudden, she was fired by many polices. I scream

“No! Don’t shoot her. The gun isn’t loaded… Don’t shoot!”

She is falling down on the ground. I am holding her hand and say

“I won’t tell Kevin about this. He will remember only all the good things about you. Please, you need to hold on.”

She looks at me deeply and says “Thank you” before closing both of her eyes.

Rudy is running towards me and hugs me tightly. He says

“You have scared me to death. Do you know that? Why did you still hold her while she is still having the gun! Please… Don’t scare me like this ever again. Don’t hide things from me. Cing, I just couldn’t lose you!!!!!!! I love you.”

I am smiling to the man who just risked his life for me. I really can feel his love. Who was I really? Why there’s a wonderful man like Rudy who is willing to sacrifice his life for me? I know that perhaps, there’s no one in the world who loves me more than him. He puts his arm around my waist and starts to walk out from the building. Everything is over now. Rudy is fine despites his bruises everywhere and I am still alive. I am looking at Rudy and say

“Thank you for risking your life for me. I understand now that love is not so much remembering what you said 5 years ago, but how you made me see who you truly are today.”

We are both walking slowly as I am looking up to see where we are exactly. It looks like an old warehouse. Out of the sudden, I see that lots of wood blocks are falling down towards us. I am pushing Rudy as hard as I can to save him. Everything went dark again afterwards.

Part 3: My love, my everything (Rudy)

I don’t know what just happened. I am looking back to find Ruby but she has been suppressed by many wood blocks. She must have tried to save me back then. How can she be so stupid? I can only cry and scream for help.

“Anybody! Please help me!! Please help me…”

I couldn’t imagine my life without Ruby. I am sure that she’ll be alright. She will be just fine! She has just escaped from death. She has survived from being kidnapped. Why does this happen to her? I couldn’t let anything bad to happen to her. She is my princess, my everything. She is my future wife!

We are removing all the wood blocks which has pressed all of her body. There is even a giant wood block which hit directly to her head. I can see her covered up in blood from head to toe. This view is my phobia. It’s certainly frightening! However, despites this accident, I can see that something has gone even more wrong. I could see many bloods coming down to her thighs. She is bleeding so badly. It’s like a woman having a miscarriage!

“Cing… wake up.. Cing, what happens with you? Don’t scare me like this.. Cing…”

I am carrying her immediately and apparently that Cindy has prepared an ambulance earlier. We are going to the hospital as fast as we can. I am sitting inside the ambulance along with Cindy while Christian is driving his car at the back. Cindy says calmly

“Rud, I think it’s better to bring Ruby to a big hospital. I will call the hospital and get the best doctors to take care of her. Her injury looks serious. We can’t risk her life to bring her to the nearest hospital. What do you think?”

I am nodding my head weakly. I can’t think straight at the moment. Cindy is right. We can’t just bring her to any hospital. Afterwards, Cindy is making few calls everywhere. Cing cing is still unconscious lying down with her oxygen mask. The nurse offers to take care of my bruises and injuries. I am waving my hand as a sign to not worry about me. They better concentrate to keep my Cing cing alive. I finally ask the nurse

“What happened to her? Why is she bleeding so badly? Does she need any blood transfusion? Our blood type is the same. You can take mine as much as she needs.”

The nurse says “We can’t make any transfusion while we are still moving on the vehicle. It’s too dangerous. Hopefully, we can save her but it’s very unlikely that we can save the baby. However, we will try to do our best. Sir, you also need to go to the emergency clinic for your injury.”

I am shaking my head. How can the nurse even think about me right now? Cing cing is much more important than me! After an hour, we finally arrive at the hospital. I am shocked to see many Doctors already stand by at the gate to greet us. Cindy is really something. I can even see Prof. Wendy who I remembered to be Anthony’s doctor is already there to see Ruby. Prof. Wendy is running down the hall with the rest of us asking Cindy what happened with Ruby.

Ruby is taken as soon as possible to the operation room. We are sitting outside the room while there’s a nurse who puts a roller bandage on my injury. She even cleans them here on the waiting area just outside the operation room since I don’t want to move everywhere.

Cindy finally asks me how I knew that Ruby was being kidnapped earlier. I finally tell her and Christian everything.

“This morning, I sensed something was wrong with Cing. You know that she could never lie to me. I could read when she’s trying to hide something from me. She might not remember now because she has lost her memory but I always find out when she is lying.”

“When she went to wash the dishes, I read the text message she just received. She told me that it was from Amy. It turned out that it was from Lily. I thought that Lily would only meet up with her to make her give up on Kevin. I let Ruby went to look for her but secretly, I followed her from a distant.”

Cindy speaks up and asks “What happened then?”

“I was so shocked when I saw with my own eyes that two guys were kidnapping her. However, I was too far and there’s nothing I can do. I can’t also report to the police since they have Ruby as a hostage. I wasn’t sure whether it was Lily who kidnapped her or someone who just wants to extort Christian or myself. Therefore, I could only follow them from a distant and call you for a back up.

“What? You called Cindy before?” shouts Christian

“Yes, I did. Your girlfriend is very smart. She is the best personal assistant I have come across in years. I bet that she was the one who even prepared the ambulance. She is very thorough. I am sure that we wouldn’t survive if it wasn’t for her help. Chris, you are lucky to have her by your side.”

Christian says “Please tell me the story from the beginning. Now, I am very confused!”

I am explaining all the details to Christian.

“I told Cindy that I would make a phone call to her if there’s anything dangerous with me. I told her that Ruby was kidnapped and 80% of the criminal was probably Lily. I know that she was seeing Lily. I opened her blackberry phone. I know that the last person who sent her the text was Lily. I told Lily to call Kevin home since he’s the root of the problems. I also gave her a keyword. If I say “run now” on my next call, it means that she needs to trace my car and calls the police immediately. All of our company cars are hijacked with a GPS to prevent any stolen acts from the drivers. Therefore, she can locate me immediately.”

Christian finally replies “Wow! I have got to say that you are very smart. However, I still find that it was a risky move! What if Lily has killed Ruby before the police’s arriving?”

I finally answer back to Christian

“She won’t kill her. She’s is not a killer. But, if Ruby dies, then I can only die with her.  By the way, there’s something that all of you including your sisters should know. Lily is Mr. Wong’s illegitimate daughter. Mr. Wong had an affair with her years ago. That’s the reason why Lily made a move to Kev before. It was only to get to you and come to make revenge to your family. Ruby is the victim. She was picked because all of you have loved her.”

Christian replies “If my love caused Ruby to be in dangerous, perhaps I shouldn’t love her in the first place.”

For the next 15 minutes, I am spending my time to explain what happened back at the dark warehouse to both Cindy and Christian.

Christian finally replies “Both of you are lucky to be alive. I can’t believe that Ruby was even willing to open her clothes rather than to see you hurt. Sometimes, she is very hard to read. I thought Kevin is the one she loves now but why on earth she did all those things for you?”

Cindy finally cuts in and says

“What she did was not to show that she loves Rudy. What she did is to save the man who just risked her life for her. I probably would do the same thing if I was her. But again, any girls would get melt if she saw a prince charming coming to the rescue. Poor Ruby… if I were her, I won’t even know who to choose. All of you have made everything difficult for her. One of you needs to let her go.”

Afterwards, Cindy is busy making some calls and also texting. Sometimes, I have to take my hat off for her. She never stops working.

I am looking at my watch and see that it’s already 12.00 AM. We have been waiting outside the operating room for more than two hours. I wonder what takes so long. Out of the sudden, there’s a doctor coming out from the operation room.

He says “I need the father’s signature to give a permission to abort the baby. We have done all we can but eventually, we cannot save the baby. She’s also severed with a serious head injury. We need to act fast. We can only try to save her life. I am so sorry.”

He points out the pen to me. I am feeling so shocked right now.

Cindy got me to sit down as I am feeling that I am going to pass out soon. So, it’s really true. Ruby is pregnant? How? I don’t know how to respond to the Doctor. I can’t sign it. I know that I am not the baby’s father. However, Ruby’s life is on stake. I am planning to take the phone but out of the sudden, there is a voice behind me who says

“I am the baby’s father. Please do anything to save Ruby.”

Kevin’s here. Now, I know to whom Cindy has been texting for all this time.

Kevin signs the paper immediately. I can see that he has been crying very hard. Cindy comes towards him and put her hand on his shoulder. He is crying out loud with punching his hand hard against the wall. I cannot react as well to what just happened before. I can’t believe that they even have slept together before. The way I am feeling now is I really want to kill Kevin immediately.

Cindy says “Rud, I am sorry. I need to let Kevin know that Ruby was having a miscarriage. The nurse at the ambulance has informed me about this possibility. I am sorry but Kevin deserves to know.”

I begin to stand up and grip his clothes while punching him hard on the face. I can feel that Christian is pulling me from behind.

I shout “You got her into this! You got her to experience this suffer! You!!!! Leave her side voluntarily or I will make you to leave her! How dare you make her upset in Surabaya? She has been crying almost every night since the two of you fight. You got her pregnant and you still hurt her!”

I am losing control and start to hit him repeatedly.

Cindy suddenly shouts “Rudy! This is a hospital! Ruby’s condition is still between life and death. What would she feel if she sees you two fighting like this? Please pull yourself together!!”

I am lowering my hand and Kevin sitting on the floor. He is crying badly. He finally says

“She didn’t tell me. She never tells me that she’s already pregnant! How can she hide this from me? Does she hate me that much? If I knew she’s already pregnant, I would never say those words. I am an idiot!!!!”

Kevin starts to punch his hand to the wall.

Cindy is still staying beside Kevin. I want to tell Kevin that I don’t think that Ruby even knew that she was pregnant. However, I can’t speak another word, not to Kevin. It’s because of him that Ruby’s life was on jeopardy. None of this would happen if it wasn’t for him.

After some times, Cindy told Kevin everything about what happened. She told him every single details including what happened at the dark warehouse. After it all happens, he finally says

“How can I not see it? I should have seen it when Lily was made a move on me for the first time. I can’t forgive myself. Ruby was lucky to get out from this alive.”

Cindy then adds her words by saying

“If it wasn’t for Rudy, I don’t think she still lives until now.”

Kevin is looking at me deeply and says “Thank you for saving her life.”

To be honest, I don’t know what to feel right now but I know that both of us agree that the most important thing is for Cing to get better.

I am turning my body to talk to Christian.

“Chris, please help me to find the best plastic operation surgery for Ruby. She must be very upset with what happened at her neck.”

Chris says “Don’t worry. Cindy has already made some calls about this.”

I am looking to all three of them and say

“Please don’t tell Ruby anything yet about the miscarriage. I don’t think she knew before that she’s already pregnant. Promise me that all of you won’t tell her. Please hold until she is better. I don’t want anything to upset her at the moment.”

All three of them are nodding their head. Honestly, I am afraid that if she finds out that she was carrying Kevin’s child, I would have zero chance to be with her in the future. After this accident, I won’t act soft anymore. I will do anything to have Ruby by my side.

We all stay at the hospital for the whole night except for Cindy. Even though I am tired as hell, I still cannot rest my eyes for even a minute. I am just too scared to miss out Cing cing’s news. Finally, at 04.00 AM, all the doctors are going out the operation room. They are telling specifically about Cing cing’s condition. Apparently, they did a head operation for her. Thank is what taking so long all this time. In conclusion, she will be fine but she will need to stay at the hospital for a while.

We all walk Cing cing to her room. I have specifically asked the nurse to provide her with the best room available. I ask both Christian and Kevin to go home but they don’t want to leave her side.

Christian says “Please let me stay by her side until she awakes. I am still worried about her. Don’t worry! I only love her as a sister right now. You don’t have to worry. Ruby also knew that I have grown to care to somebody else.”

I am nodding my head. I know that the person must be Cindy. They do look good together. We all stay inside the hospital room waiting for Cing cing to wake up. Christian has fallen asleep. Kevin and I have said nothing for the past few hours. Finally, he says something to me

“I won’t give up on her. I know that you have risked your life for Ruby but I just can’t give her up. I can give away everything for you. I know that I owe you too much. You saved Ruby. But, I couldn’t give Ruby up for you. I will apologize and make everything right with her.”

Before I could respond anything to what Kevin said, I can see that Ruby’s right hand is moving. I am taking her hand and whisper “Cing… How are you feeling now? You are okay. You are saved!”

Kevin is standing on the other side of the bed. She opens her eyes slowly and finally looks at me.

She says “I am okay. The only part that hurts is only my head.”

I reply “It’s ok. You just had an operation. I will call the nurse to come as soon as possible.”

She is gripping my hand and says “Please wait… Rud, I remember everything about us. I know who I really am now. I am in fact Ruby. I truly remember everything.”