Ever since Arsen left, one question had kept circling through Naira’s mind.
Why had her father forbidden Arsen from coming back?
Naira tried to work as usual.
But every time she saw the rain outside the window, that man’s face returned to her memories.
Arsen’s gaze.
His voice.
And the words that had made her heart race.
“Fifteen years ago, I promised I would marry you.”
Naira rubbed her face.
“That’s impossible...”
She didn’t even know whether the memory was real.
But the photograph in her hand was evidence.
At eight that night, Naira closed the store.
As she walked home, she saw the black car from yesterday again—the one that had been parked in front of her store.
This time, it was parked across the street.
Naira stopped.
Her heart began pounding.
The car window slowly rolled down.
A woman stared at her.
The woman was beautiful.
Long hair, elegant clothes, and an unreadable gaze.
They stared at each other for several seconds.
Then the woman smiled.
It wasn’t a friendly smile.
It looked more like the smile of someone who had just confirmed something.
The car drove away.
Naira stood there, confused.
“Who is she?”
Elsewhere, Arsen was sitting alone in a restaurant.
His phone vibrated.
The name that appeared on the screen changed his expression.
Elara.
Arsen answered the call.
“What?”
A woman’s voice came from the other end.
“You’ve met her.”
Arsen was silent.
“I know, Arsen.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Really?”
Elara’s voice turned cold.
“Then why have you come back into Naira’s life?”
Arsen tightened his grip on the phone.
“Because I have unfinished business.”
“Business?”
Elara let out a soft laugh.
“Or an old love?”
Arsen didn’t answer.
“Arsen...”
“I won’t let Naira get hurt.”
“You’re the one who’ll destroy her.”
Silence.
Elara continued,
“Have you forgotten what happened fifteen years ago?”
Arsen closed his eyes.
He still remembered that night.
The torrential rain.
A young Naira crying.
Naira’s father standing in front of him.
And a threat that had left Arsen with no choice.
“If you still want Naira to live in peace, leave her.”
Arsen opened his eyes.
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“Then don’t repeat your mistake.”
The call ended.
Arsen stared at the table.
But his thoughts returned to Naira instead.
For the first time in fifteen years...
he allowed himself to hope.
That night, Naira opened her laptop.
She typed one name into a search engine.
Arsen.
There weren’t many results.
Until, at last, she found an old article.
Its headline made her heart stop for a moment.
“Wiratama Family Son Disappears After Old House Fire.”
Naira read the article with trembling hands.
The Wiratama family.
Arsen’s last name.
She scrolled down.
Date of the incident...
Fifteen years ago.
Location...
Naira’s family home.
Naira froze.
“So... there was a fire?”
She read further.
But the article ended with a single sentence:
“The cause of the fire remains unknown to this day.”
Naira stared at the screen.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced.
Flames.
Smoke.
The voice of a young Arsen shouting.
“Naira! Run!”
Naira jerked back.
The laptop nearly fell off the table.
She clutched her head.
“I remember...”
Tears streamed down her face before she even realized it.
“I remember that night...”
But the memory lasted only a few seconds.
Then it vanished.
Naira immediately grabbed her phone.
She searched for Arsen’s number.
It wasn’t there.
She tried calling the number listed in the old article.
It was no longer in service.
Naira let out a sigh.
Then a message came in.
Unknown number.
“If you want to know what happened on the night of the fire, don’t go to the old house.”
Naira stared at the message.
Before she could reply, a second message arrived.
“Because the person who set that house on fire is still alive.”
Naira froze.
Her heart pounded so hard it hurt.
Then the final message appeared.
“And they know you’ve started remembering.”
Naira stared at the screen, her face pale.
Outside the house...
a black car came to a stop.
Someone got out and stood in front of the gate.
Their phone rang.
“She’s received the message.”
The voice on the other end asked,
“How did she react?”
The person stared at Naira’s bedroom window.
“She’ll go to the old house the day after tomorrow.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
The voice on the other end gave a quiet laugh.
“Because that’s where everything will end.”
Meanwhile, Naira was still staring at the message.
She didn’t know who had sent it.
But there was one thing she was certain of.
Arsen had never left her without a reason.
And the more she searched for the truth...
the greater the chance that the love buried all these years would return to destroy their lives.
TO BE CONTINUED...