"She did what?" asked Sophie, appearing so surprised."Came to my house uninvited," Helena repeated the information she had just conveyed.As usual, Helena and Sophie's long-distance friendship was in contact with each other via video calls at least once a week. Whenever. It depended on the free time each of them had. And since Helena was a freelancer, her free time was unlimited. Plus, Sophie, who was taking her leave to prepare for the birth of Blue, their first daughter, the time they spent together became more frequent. Practically, on weekdays when Helena was alone at home, just like Sophie, they would take the time to talk, whether it was by telephone or face-to-face using video calls."How dare she!" cried Sophie, feeling annoyed. Just hearing her best friend's story already made her angry. How about she experiencing it firsthand? She could only hope that such an incident did not happen in her marriage life. "Then how did you react?" she asked enthusiastically.

Helena's fingers danced beautifully on top of the keyboard, pouring all her thoughts into a row of words lined up neatly on the laptop screen. Sometimes, she pressed the backspace key and repeated the sentence. Not infrequently, she also stopped for a moment to find the correct series of words to include in her writing.Helena had been struggling with her laptop for quite a long time. She hadn't written in a long time. Also, Helena hadn't looked at her blog for a long time. She didn't know how was it now? Was it getting more and more readers, or had it turned quiet because it had been left on for too long?She wrote the recipe that would be included in her blog. She also added the story behind the making process to make it more interesting. No less important, she also wrote a review from her husband so that the spice of the drama was more pronounced.Helena closed her worksheet as she felt she had had enough and had nothing to add to it anymore. What she had just writ

Keeping her promise, Helena visited Aaron's office this afternoon with a large bag containing their lunch. She made it, of course. She was still experimenting with a Mexican cuisine that she hoped would suit her husband's taste.She stepped excitedly. She didn't know why she was so happy. Her brain did not stop playing a pleasant rhythm that often turned into a slight hum on her lips. Even, for now, that tune was still there and made her cheeks raise, holding back her smile."Good afternoon, Mrs. Houston," said one of the security officers, who stood close to the escalator."Good afternoon," Helena replied with a friendly smile."Want to meet Mr. Houston, ma'am?"She nodded. The question reminded her of her first visit to this place. They knew and could guess the purpose of her arrival. How could Beatrice not realize that? "Yes. I have an appointment with my husband." She put her tote bag down beside her and began to dig into her sling bag. "And I have to le

"Wow.""What, wow?" Helena responded quickly with slightly pursed lips. She knew well why that reaction appeared on her laptop screen, showing Sophie's face. Only, she wanted to feign ignorance to save her embarrassment."You." Short and firm, Sophie answered her friend. "I didn't expect you to be that brave," she commented at the end of her sentence. All of her words referred to one thing. The scene inside Aaron's office. That was after Helena shyly told her about it. Her best friend was utterly unpredictable."I did nothing wrong," Helena replied, still in the same way."Yes, you're right. There's nothing wrong with making out with your husband." Sophie emphasized their discussion. She knew Helena purposely did not mention the incident anymore. But, she wouldn't let it happen because this was something that rarely happened. "But you know how it is in Indonesia. Beatrice must be shocked to see both of you."Yes, Indonesia differed from western countries. Ma

"It's nice to finally meet the new Mrs. Houston," commented a young man when he saw Helena's presence by Aaron's side.Yes, this was the dinner that Helena agreed to this afternoon. Because of that, she immediately recognized the man and woman they were approaching. Mr. and Mrs. Graham. They both still looked young. She estimated that their ages were not very far from her. Maybe about five to seven years older.That meant they were in their mid-thirties."Thank you, Mr. Graham." Helena gave a broad smile to her interlocutor. "I'm also happy to meet you and your wife. Thank you for the dinner invitation," she continued. A bit too much courtesy and pleasantries seemed needed in this situation. All of those were for the sake of maintaining relations between them. It was not only a matter of work but also a relationship as ordinary human beings.Ah, that was a wise sentence. In point, their relationship would affect many aspects."It's just a casual dinner since the honored lady is in Bal