All Chapters of Always Been You: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30
47 Chapters
21 The Dinner
Improving mood wasn’t an easy thing to do. Grace didn’t want to ruin the dinner with Evan. She wanted to make that night into an enjoyable moment. Her best friend had just passed a critical stage related to their parents’ affair. Hence Grace tried her best to positively respond to every topic Evan brought up along the way. Either with light laughter or some jokes. Luckily, it quite successfully lightened up her mood. “Whoa. A French restaurant. So this is the talk among my colleagues. They said it’s a fancy restaurant. And it’s expensive, Evan—ah, you’re a GM. It’s dirt cheap for you.” Grace chuckled, realizing who her best friend was now. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she got out of the car. Evan came from the other side. He locked the car and stood next to Grace. "Frankly speaking, I googled some good restaurants and found this as the first on the list," he said. "Aw. My dress doesn't match this place. It's too… plain." Grace looked up to Evan, pouting her lips in slight disappointmen
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22 Rivalry
Living only with her mom wasn't always easy for Grace. Ever since her dad left, she had been paying more attention to the only family member left she had. Compared to her peers, she grew up and matured faster than them. When the others could still have fun, hanging out with their friends, she spent most of her time helping her mom. A few years back before living in England, Evan also regularly came to their house and helped deliver some orders. Now that his relationship with Grace was on the mend, he took the initiative to help again. Unfortunately, Grace didn’t approve of it with such firm resoluteness. Consequently, he only came several times a week to buy two or three kinds of pastry and a drink. That evening after a light debate, Evan drove Grace to her house. When they arrived, Indah was found to be busy in front of the house, serving drinks to many customers. As quickly as possible, they got out of the car and approached her. “Mom, why aren’t you finished yet? Everything would
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23 This Feeling
As usual, the hotel's marketing department held a special internal event for office staff to celebrate Valentine's Day. This year's theme is 'Feeling Nostalgic', where anyone could send a secret love letter to someone they admired just like in school. Many of the staff were enthusiastic to participate in it, even though it wasn't obligatory. Every secret love letter would be collected in a special box, placed next to the door of each department before February 14th. These letters were distributed to each of the receivers on D-Day. That morning Grace found several love letters on her desk. Some were typed, and the rest were handwritten. She read them all and none impressed her. Thus they were just like the passing wind that left no mark. “This one looks like it's from Mario, ahem, Mr. Suganda, I mean.” As Nita received only a letter, she read all that Grace received. “It's neatly handwritten, has fine diction, and seems to express how he knows you well, Grace.” Grace responded casua
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24 Confusion
‘Grace … is into someone else. Not me.’ Evan chose to back off at once. He did not want to face another affair once again in his life, as his mom had committed. He learned that his parents didn’t love each other when they got married. No wonder divorce was inevitable. “I think I have an appointment with someone else. I almost forgot. See you tomorrow, Grace,” said Evan as soon as they came out of the elevator. “Eh? Why—Alright. See ya.” It somehow made Grace upset. She looked at his back as he walked fast leaving the hotel. Now, Grace had to prepare her heart to face Anthony. From where she was standing, she could already spot the guy and his motorcycle. His red shirt beneath the jacket was seen and he waved at her as she walked closer. “Hi, Grace.” Anthony smiled seeing his crush coming. Grace smiled back at him. “Where are we heading?” she asked. “You’ll see. Now hop on. I know you don’t want to return home late.” Anthony gave another helmet to Grace and then hopped on the moto
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25 Bar Fight
"Grace, are you okay?" Mario's voice broke Grace’s reverie. With a quick nod, Grace responded, "I’m sorry, Mr. Suganda. I was just lost in thoughts about some personnel of the F&B department who complained about their employee entitlements." That was an excuse that Grace could quickly put up with. Luckily her brain could work together to cover up the confusion that had plagued her mind since last night. Mario pulled out the blue folder in front of her and handed it to Grace. "For that one, you don't need to think about it. Now, please go to Mr. Williams's room and deliver this. Please note in detail if there is anything that he asks for revision. Because this one is urgent," he said. Since morning Grace had been trying not to get involved with Evan, or even just run into him. She didn't want to show her high curiosity and opened her mouth to directly ask the thing bothering her mind. Anthony had asked her not to talk about this before stalking him at a bar later this night. However
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26 Time Out
With all the bruises all over Evan’s body and face, Grace wasn’t sure to take care of him herself at his apartment. She was too worried that something serious related to his health both physically and mentally would happen. Therefore she rushed him to the hospital to be taken care of well.After about an hour of medical check-ups, the doctor said there was nothing serious about Evan physically. His wound was cleaned and the doctor gave him a prescription.“All is good, Mrs. William. But noticing Mr. Williams’ medical record, I can see he experienced psychological issues a while back?” The doctor confirmed it to Grace, whom he thought was Evan's wife.However, Grace didn’t bother correcting the wrong assumption regardless. “Yes, Adjustment Disorder. Some trauma caused by internal familial conflicts,” she spoke frankly. “Do you understand his psychological condition?”The doctor took off his glasses and put them on the table. “You better discuss this matter with the specialist. I can’t t
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27 Bad News
Everything had been going well until about a month later. There was no sign of both Grace's dad and Evan's mom, and they jump to the conclusion that their parents didn't come to Bali to meet Grace. Things got better and even progressed. Evan's psychological health improved, and Grace returned to her routine at the office and helped Indah after work. Additionally, with sufficient savings, Indah's small store had officially turned into a pastry shop. For Grace, there was nothing better than times like this. She started to see good things happening in her life with Evan being the old best friend she used to have and some improvements in her little family. She didn't hope for anything other than peace in life. It was Saturday noon and Grace knew it was time for her to take turns with Indah to stay in the shop. She left the house in a fairly perfunctory fashion and her hair tied up. The sun was high and it dazzled her eyes. She walked with her hands over the front of his head. Before en
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28 Support System
“Why did you follow us here? Your presence does more harm than good!” Grace almost yelled but quickly suppressed her angry voice as she remembered where she was.Randy tried to reach out to Grace but failed as she dodged right away. “Please, don't ask me to just leave like this. Give me just one chance. At least by helping your mom,” he pleaded in desperation.“Listen to me carefully, Mr. Harris. You have no right to take part in this family ever since you walked out of the house and stayed with another woman. I can take care of my family without your help.” Overwhelmed by great anger, Grace's ego grew even bigger. She didn't want any interference from someone who had hurt her and her mom.On a chair next to the bed where Indah was sleeping, Grace propped her spinning head with two hands. She couldn't think clearly after her dad's sudden appearance. Not to mention the diagnosis result had come out, stating that Indah had Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Since this disease was serious enoug
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29 Stroke of Fortune
Working at a hotel as well as managing Indah’s pastry shop wasn’t a piece of cake. Having lesser time to rest was energy-draining. Moreover, the HR department was never without work to finish. Indah wouldn’t have been able to do anything if she hadn’t pleaded with Grace. Eventually, she allowed her mom to make pastries but in a lesser amount than usual. Meanwhile, she dealt with the sales, assisted by Evan and Anthony. Seeing how hard Grace worked, Evan couldn’t just stay and watch. He knew that it was time for him to do something. Therefore, he deliberately created a new position that had never existed in the history of hotel management. After his proposal was approved by the hotel owner, he gave Mario, as the HRD manager, to internally spread the news. “Grace! Have you seen this? There’s a new position that best suits your skills!” said Nita, after running toward her colleague. Unenthusiastically, Grace turned to Nita. "What's that?" Without getting Grace’s permission, Nita open
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30 Self-efficacy
“Grace, you left your purse at home.” The sudden call coming from Indah stopped Grace from walking, right when she stepped into the hotel. “Goodness! Did I? I think I left it on the dining table?” Grace was reminded of her rare recklessness. “Kid, you got too nervous due to the pre-employment test.” Indah cackled with laughter. “I’ll send your purse over. Just calm down. Take a deep breath, and pray. I’m sure you can do it.” Grace’s smile appeared as soon as she heard Indah’s words of encouragement. She felt a little calmer, especially with her mom’s full support. “Okay, Mom. Please tell the delivery man to tell security to send it to Grace HR. There are several Graces here.” “Break a leg, mama’s girl!” This remark marked the end of the call. With a steady heart, Grace continued walking and stopped in front of the elevator. There were some people, whom she didn't know, waiting there too. Even so, she still showed a friendly smile to them. “Miss Grace!” It was clear who the cheerf
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