Miriam's steps hurriedly traversed the corridor to reach the elevator on the west side of the building."Damn!" Her slender fingers busily searched for the contact of a travel agent to call. Miriam had to leave the country immediately. Unfortunately, her cell phone signal didn't support her mission, so Miriam decided to postpone it until she reached the main lobby."Hello?" Miriam finally managed to contact her acquaintance. "Prepare a ticket to Washington for me tonight, at—""Dr. Miriam Rajapatni?" Someone suddenly interrupted her conversation on the phone. Miriam was surprised, half-distracted. Her mind wandered to the destination she was supposed to reach that evening."Who the hell are you?" Miriam asked, raising an eyebrow. She felt she didn't know the men in front of her wearing T-shirts. Three muscular men with an athlete's build. They looked out of breath, as if they had just chased a ghost or a criminal trying to escape."I'm Detective Ragas, you need to come with us to the
"Lara?" the voice on the other end of Lara's phone answered in a low tone. Lara could conclude that the voice belonged to Andre's sister, Shanon."Shanon?" Lara asked before continuing her conversation. She wanted to make sure that Shanon was indeed the woman she was referring to and not someone else.Lara had somewhat forgotten how Shanon's voice sounded. Dozens of years had passed, and today was the first time they had exchanged greetings again since the misunderstanding incident about Lara's mother's accident."Yes, it's me, Ra. Shanon. Andre is driving, we're heading back to the apartment.""Ah, okay. I'll wait here.""Alright! We'll be there soon, Ra. Wait for us, okay! I'm bringing some warm food from my favorite restaurant in Jakarta. Hope you like it!"Lara agreed, then ended the call. Her heart was still filled with doubt. She was still unsure how to act after being at odds with the wrong person for dozens of years. Hopefully, Shanon was the older sister figure she had always
Time passed quickly since the last time Lara heard about her case's progress. The final trial, which featured Miriam, truly became a benchmark of victory for her side.Seno couldn't dodge anymore. The presence of witnesses and the strength of evidence shattered his alibi, and all objections from his lawyer became futile. Lara could finally breathe a sigh of relief when the judge declared Seno guilty of assault and attempted murder.Lara's ex-husband had to rot in jail for his actions.***"How do I look?" Lara asked hesitantly after admiring herself in the mirror for some time. She had tried on the dress before, but when the long-awaited day arrived, Lara became nervous and didn't know what to do."You look absolutely beautiful!" Mahya exclaimed without any doubt. Shanon thought the same. Carol also seemed to give her thumbs up. The three of them agreed that there was nothing wrong with the appearance of the bride today, who looked stunningly beautiful.Lara smiled and felt even happie
Lara sighed as Andre still curled up in bed. The first few nights as newlyweds had passed, and now they were accustomed to each other's presence without being apart."Why aren't you waking up? Are you just going to stay in bed like that, Honey?" Lara waved a spatula. Andre still grumbled lazily, and Lara couldn't hear what he was saying."What?" Lara urged impatiently. She had just cooked breakfast, and her husband seemed unwilling to even get up, let alone eat breakfast.Andre continued to grumble, and Lara became even more irritated!"What are you saying?" Lara walked closer to the edge of the bed and was now right beside Andre. Her husband was still grumbling, and this time Lara could barely hear him."What are yo—Whoa!"Andre pulled Lara into a bundle under the blanket. His muscular body clearly outweighed Lara's petite frame, and she fell into her husband's embrace."Andre!" scolded Lara, annoyed, but his tight and warm embrace made her giggle. "Stop it!" she laughed while strugg
Lara tapped her forehead in frustration.Andre looked at Lara with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong, Honey? What's going on?"Lara pointed to the wide-open window. "We forgot to put up curtains for this window! My workspace will be too bright by the day."Andre laughed. "Oh, right! We can quickly buy curtains to cover that window. Don't worry."Lara nodded in agreement. "But, I really want to try out my workspace. I want to write now! I can't wait until tomorrow."Andre smiled understandingly. "No need to wait. You can use this room right away, Honey." He then pulled a chair for Lara and placed it in front of the desk. "Voila!""Thank you, Honey!" Lara hugged Andre happily. The window did need curtains, but the sunlight was currently subdued, so Lara wasn't hit by its strong glare.***Lara sat in the chair with a bright smile on her face. She immediately turned on her laptop and began typing enthusiastically. Every time her fingers danced on the keyboard, her world of imagination
Andre and Lara locked eyes. They truly didn't know what to do."Why would that fact hurt Shanon?" Andre probed. He understood his sister's nature, and Shanon wasn't a weak woman. If only he knew, surely Shanon could do something, or even... compromise?"Andre, I don't want Shanon to bear the responsibility that should be mine! I won't forgive myself if I do that. He's my father, my biological father. Shanon doesn't need to be responsible for his happiness." Darren's breath faltered, and Lara offered him a drink."It's truly ironic, Darren! And just because that fact is concealed, Shanon will file for the divorce. You didn't even know, did you?" Andre raised his voice, massaging his temples. He was truly baffled by this couple. Why couldn't they just be honest with each other?"That's true, Darren. Shanon wants to divorce you. I don't know whether I should tell you or not, but that's the truth." Lara hugged Darren, offering him encouragement, but he pushed her away."Wh--what? Divorce?
Shanon was completely asleep and hadn't had a chance to move to the bed. The golden-haired woman could only crawl to the sofa and curl up there until the next morning.“What the–” Shanon exclaimed as a barrage of messages flooded her phone screen. All from… Ian! “What is this?” Shanon trembled after receiving an unwanted video… a video of their kiss!‘Honey, I could easily release this video to the public and ruin your reputation, but I won't do it. Last night a nasty rat has captured our intimate moment, and I've beaten him to a pulp. You know what you should do.’“Fuck!” Shanon immediately called Ian amidst the pounding headache. How could she stay calm? And… what should she do? “Ian?”“Shanon ... darling! How are you?” Ian answered with a smooth voice. Instead of feeling pressured after such an unpleasant incident, Ian seemed to be on cloud nine.“What should I do, Ian? This video must not leak anywhere!” Shanon insisted. She didn't want Darren to hate her even more, especially his
Shanon and Mia walked side by side to the legal office on the 10th floor. The hospital, with its 12 floors, was quite efficient, and the management offices were located on the top two floors."Mrs. Shanon! We've been waiting for your arrival," Legal Manager, Tomi Winarta, extended his hand for a handshake. Shannon accepted it gracefully, though she can no hide her vulnerability. Shannon suffered from a severe shock. She couldn't deny it."What's the situation?" the blonde-haired woman asked with a worried expression. Tomi just nodded and gestured to his assistant. Unfortunately, the assistant only shook his head, saying, "It's bad, Ma'am. Several articles related to this scandal have been released, and we've received numerous complaints from the PR team."Shanon's heart felt torn apart. She never imagined that her problems wouldn't end with the argument with Darren but would involve her ex-lover as well."I should have sensed something suspicious from Ian! Damn it!" Shannon growled an