Hate anyone to an extent, because we will never know when the hatred turn into love. *** The light of blitz flashed countless times. It shined on the faces of the bride and groom who were doing a pre-wedding photo session. Many times both of them changed positions according to the photographer’s direction. Qeiza watched every scene with a satisfied smile. Joanna looked very stunning in the wedding dress she designed for her. “Okay. We’re done!” shouted the photographer. Qeiza immediately helped Joanna with her wedding dress. She lifted up its tail with much care. Standing applause welcomed Joanna when she walked towards the fitting room. “I don’t remember I’ve ever invited you to come here, Xander,” said Joanna. Xander smiled awkwardly. “You didn’t,” he said. “As usual, I escort your naughty cousin whenever he goes.” “If he’s coming here just to make some troubles,” said Joanna. “You’d better ask him to leave. I don’t wanna him destroy my happiness.” It was the last session o
Now or later, I can’t stop loving you. ~ Ansel ~ *** Knocking on the door followed by the appearance of a man at the age of his thirties made Chin Hwa turned away. He was tall and a bit thin. He bowed at Chin Hwa. Chin Hwa handed two bags to him—his bag and Qeiza’s. After taking over the bags from Chin Hwa’s hands, the man immediately turned around and left Chin Hwa’s office. Chin Hwa took a deep breath. He looked at Qeiza who was still sleeping soundly. With a very careful movement, he lifted up his fiancée’s body. He carried her in a bridal style. Arriving at the parking lot, Chin Hwa found out that the man had opened the car door for him. He sat Qeiza on the seat behind the driver. His movement was so quiet. He didn’t want to wake her up from her sleeping. After Chin Hwa circled the back of the car and sat beside Qeiza from the other door, the man started the engine. “To your apartment, Sir?” he asked. “No,” said Chin Hwa. He mentioned Dae Hyun’s address. Thirty minutes la
Friends are not always sweet. But at least, they don’t pretend to be nice either. *** Qeiza smiled in satisfaction. Her desk was neat again. She could leave the room with no worry about losing some of her things. She slightly looked out through the window. The sky was cloudy. The weather in the fall was really changeable easily. It also often rained. Luckily, she had promised Dae Hyun not to work late. If not, he would deliberately be very worried about her. Qeiza left her room with light feeling. Her designed was done. She just needed to send it tomorrow morning. It seemed she was impatient to know the result of the fifty top selections then. Drrrt! Drrrt! Qeiza’s cell phone vibrated. She immediately reached into her pocket and checked an incoming message. “It’s still cloudy,” she whispered, looking at the sky from the distance. The sender of the message invited her to meet in a café. Qeiza was so eager to go there. She had been ages not see the one who sent her the unexpected
People can change over time. So, everyone has a right to get a second chance. *** Dae Hyun landed the corners of his eyes look on the hand that gripping his shoulder. His gaze continued down that muscular arm all the way to his face. His sight captured an oval face with a sharp jawline. Black and thick eyebrows sheltered a pair of dark brown eyes which stared at him sharply. Dae Hyun hid his surprise behind a slight smile. He didn’t understand why the man looked at him with a hatred gaze. The guy even didn’t smile back at him. “Don’t misunderstand me!” said Dae Hyun. “I don’t forbid you to be friend with Qeiza, but … it’s almost evening.” Dae Hyun thought Adnan held him because he was still unwilling to let Qeiza leave the café. Vany pulled Adnan’s shirt and whispered. “Don’t be crazy, Ad! All people here are looking at you.” Adnan proved what Vany said by paying attention to his surroundings. That was totally right. All eyes in the café were now pointing at him. He quickly lowe
Qeiza was on her way to the office. She drove her car. She wanted to arrive at the office earlier. She still wanted to recheck her design. Today was the day for her to submit her work for the prestigious competition. Arriving at her office, Qeiza walked fast to her room. As soon as she got in, her eyes rounded perfectly. The room was messy. The pieces of papers and her drawing equipment were scattered everywhere. “What happened?” She rushed to close her desk. She took the pictures of the room mess from different angles. After gathering enough evidence in form of pictures and video recordings, she started cleaning up the mess. She picked up her equipment that was scattered on the floor. “Oh, no!” Qeiza screamed when she remembered the design she would send. She then put back the things in her hands on the floor. She ran back to her desk. Her fingers were shaking when she switched on the computer. Even, she didn’t think to sit. She kept searching the file of her design, moving from
Qeiza still couldn’t free her waist from Chin Hwa’s arm wrap. Their eyes glued each other. It caused her feel uneasier. The rhythm of her heartbeats was now like the beat of Tamatam. It was a kind of a Dol hitting techniques—a traditional musical instrument from Bengkulu. The tempo was fast and constant. It’s just that speed was not born from a cheerful mood, but rather anxious. Someone knocked the door loud enough. Qeiza was grateful. The sound of the knocks made Chin Hwa pulled free his hand. Qeiza quickly stepped backwards then intended to go out of her boss’ room. “Good morning, Miss Kim!” Freud greeted Qeiza. He didn’t expect that she was with the boss. Qeiza just smiled slightly and nodded. She was standing on the left side of Chin Hwa’s desk. “You got it?” asked Chin Hwa. He turned away his gaze from the computer screen to Freud’s face. How smart he pretended. “Here you are!” Freud gave him a flashdisk. “Did you watch it?” “Yeah.” “Then, you know what you have to do ne
Friends will not protect you forever. Once in a while, they are the ones who stab you from behind. *** Qeiza was cleansing her face from her make-up. Her cell phone had been ringing. She ignored it. She was lazy to move from the mirror just to get back there again. “Who’s that?” Qeiza grumbled. Her device was continuously singing. It forced her to get up. Qeiza glanced at the wall clock. It was almost midnight. Her memory immediately drifted to Abbas. 'Wanna borrow some money again?' Qeiza thought. She reached her phone reluctantly. Her forehead furrowed. It’s not Abbas’ name that popped up on the screen. Qeiza lowered her hands. Her bones felt like being powerless instantly. “What else now?” Qeiza was really frustrated facing Ansel’s attitudes. He never had the term of give up in his life. Being annoyed because her female routine was disrupted, Qeiza threw her phone onto the bed. She certainly had muted the ringtone. Just let Ansel call her as he pleased. Later, he would get b
A man and a woman can never be close friends until adulthood. If they can be, maybe it’s only one in a thousand. *** Qeiza was awake. She opened her eyes, but could see nothing. She found out that she was in a dark room. She was lying on the floor with hands and feet tied. Qeiza tried to sit up. Her head felt dizzy. She shook her head, trying to shake off the remnants of the drug that was still affecting her brain. 'Where is this?' Qeiza thought. She stood on her kneels. The room felt stuffy and dump. It was like it hadn’t been used for a long time. 'Is this an old warehouse?' Qeiza sharpened her sight. She hoped she could recognize the things available in that room. She was lucky for finding that the moonlight seeped in from the upper part of the wall on her right side. She rushed looking around before the moonlight hid back behind the cloud. Qeiza was aware that right now she was in a basement. No wonder the temperature was very different from the normal room. Her eyes rolle