A man had just stepped out of a room marked “conference room.” Not long after, another man who looked younger than him followed close behind.
“Sir, you have an appointment with someone from Company Y this afternoon,” explained the man who had been Reno’s personal assistant for nearly three years.
Reno, the man who had just left the conference room, let out a harsh sigh. Then he shifted his gaze to the person who had just spoken to him.
“Can’t you handle this yourself, Ger?” Reno asked his personal assistant.
Gery only smiled awkwardly. “You know how complicated the person you’re meeting is, Sir.”
Reno clicked his tongue softly. Then he gave Gery, who was standing in front of him, a light pat on the shoulder.
“Fine. I’ll go. Just take care of everything.”
“Yes, Sir,” Gery replied, his smile slightly wider than before.
After that, Reno headed to his office while Gery had to prepare the materials Reno would need for the meeting that afternoon.
“What are you doing, Ger?” Hendra asked when he saw Gery busy working on his laptop.
Gery only glanced at him briefly before refocusing on the laptop screen. His fingers were busy dancing deftly across the keyboard.
“Same old thing. Getting the materials ready,” Gery replied without taking his eyes off the screen.
“Man, I feel sorry for you! Is being a personal assistant really that hectic?” Hendra sneered.
Gery snorted softly. He continued working and paid no attention to Hendra’s presence.
Meanwhile, in Reno’s office, the man was also busy checking several emails he hadn’t had a chance to read. Reno’s gaze remained intensely focused as he read through the emails one by one.
Reno was known to be a hardworking man. It was no surprise that, despite still being relatively young, he had already achieved success in his career. However, because he was so busy working, Reno had decided not to get involved with any women. After all, at his age, he was already expected to get married.
His parents often arranged meetings with women they had chosen for him. But Reno always refused, saying that he had no desire to pursue a serious relationship yet.
A knock on the door from outside made Reno stop what he was doing. Then Gery appeared from behind the door, carrying several documents in his hands.
“Sir, these are the things you asked for earlier. I summarized everything in here,” Gery said as he handed over the documents he had just brought.
Reno took them immediately and skimmed through them.
“Thanks, Ger!”
Gery nodded. He was still standing in front of Reno’s desk.
That made Reno raise one eyebrow. “What is it, Ger?”
Gery let out a long sigh. “Can I sit down, Sir?” he asked, pointing to the chair in front of him.
Reno rolled his eyes. “I thought you had something important to say. You’re acting like it’s a big deal.”
“It is important, Sir. That’s why I wanted to ask permission to sit down first.”
Reno and Gery were already very close. Sometimes they even seemed more like friends than a boss and his subordinate, which made things between them completely comfortable.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Gery sighed for a moment, then turned his gaze toward Reno, who was watching him seriously, waiting for the answer that would come out of his mouth.
“Have you ever thought about looking for…” Gery deliberately let his words trail off. He felt a little hesitant around Reno.
Reno raised one eyebrow. “Looking for what? If you’re going to say something, don’t beat around the bush, Ger,” Reno said, beginning to lose patience.
Gery took a long breath while nervously glancing at Reno, who was starting to look impatient.
“Don’t you want to look for a new secretary, Sir?”
At last, the words came smoothly out of Gery’s mouth. Reno had lost his secretary a few months earlier. She had resigned because she was moving abroad to follow her husband. Since then, Reno hadn’t looked for a replacement.
All the work usually handled by Asha—the name Reno’s secretary went by—had been taken over by Gery. As a result, Gery’s workload sometimes became even heavier.
“Why? Are you starting to feel overwhelmed?” Reno asked casually.
Gery nodded quickly. That was exactly how he felt. And with all the work he already had to do, of course the man was getting even busier.
“I’ll consider it.”
Melati trudged into her apartment building. The beautiful woman looked exhausted and completely dispirited. Every now and then, Melati roughly rubbed her face.
Melati swallowed another disappointment. For some reason, her life was far too complicated. Even so, she had tried her best not to complain, let alone blame her circumstances.
Before she knew it, Melati was standing in front of her unit. She sighed softly before finally turning the doorknob. Melati took off her shoes and walked toward the sofa.
Without any warning, Melati collapsed onto it. She closed her eyes, and tears began to stream freely down her cheeks. At last, the defenses of the twenty-five-year-old woman crumbled. She had been holding back her tears all this time. Even though disappointment, heartbreak, sadness, and anger seemed to have merged inside her heart.
“Mom, why does this trial have to be so hard? Melati can’t take it anymore, Mom,” Melati whispered through her sobs.
Though she was still relatively young, Melati had already faced countless hardships in life.
At first, Melati had the kind of life many people dreamed of. Born into a happy family, she had grown up happy too, with a life that felt perfect. She had parents who loved her dearly. Her family had even been very well-off because her parents were highly successful businesspeople at the time. Despite that privileged life, Melati remained humble. She had never once boasted about what she owned.
However, Melati’s happy life lasted only until she turned seventeen. Just as she reached that age, life’s trials began closing in on her. The business her father had built over many years, the one that had made him successful, went bankrupt. And that wasn’t all. A month later, her father passed away, leaving Melati and her mother behind to return to the Almighty.
Melati’s world truly felt like it had ended. The person she loved most had left her so suddenly. Now, she had only her mother to accompany her through life. Melati and her mother began a new life after her father’s death.
Melati thought her mother would always be with her. Her mother would remain by her side and watch her life unfold. But fate had other plans. Melati had to swallow another devastating sorrow. At just twenty-one, Melati became completely alone in the world. Her mother left her after spending the previous month in the hospital.
From that day on, Melati had to struggle on her own to keep living. She had to keep holding on, no matter what she would face in the future.
“Mom, Dad, come get Melati… Melati can’t do this anymore,” Melati murmured, her eyes still closed.