Jakarta, Indonesia.
Late afternoon, 4:00 p.m. local time.
Inside a boutique in the city center of Jakarta.
A beautiful woman was gazing at her reflection in front of a large mirror that revealed her perfect figure dressed in a white wedding dress. Its design was simple and elegant, yet it looked incredibly beautiful on her. It made her face look even prettier, and the dress suited her perfectly, boosting her confidence several times over whenever she wore it.
“This dress looks perfect on me, and... the size fits perfectly too! I really love this dress,” she said with a bright smile, occasionally twirling to admire every detail of the gown from every angle.
“It’s so beautiful! This dress is absolutely gorgeous. His choice this time... Hmm... It turns out he has good taste too,” the beautiful woman said, continuing to smile endlessly at her reflection in the mirror.
While the woman was busy admiring herself, she failed to notice someone entering her dressing room.
A hand patted her shoulder, startling her.
“Huh! Who is that?” she exclaimed, instinctively turning around.
When she saw someone she knew, the beautiful woman immediately smiled.
“You! Why are you the one who came here? Wh-Where’s Devan? Why didn’t he come? Didn’t he promise he’d come after work?” the woman asked, disappointed that her fiancé had not come to meet her.
The other person immediately answered.
“Please forgive Devan, Tya! He... Ahem! He’s incredibly busy today, and his boss called a last-minute meeting this afternoon, so he... couldn’t come meet you, and... Ahem! He asked me to tell you this, Tya, so... I hope you’ll forgive him, and please, don’t be mad at him!” said the person, who was none other than Devan’s close friend and coworker. Her name was Tisha.
Hearing that, Listya could only nod. She couldn’t completely blame her fiancé, either, because she understood very well how busy he was.
“All right! I understand completely! Thank you, Tisha, for going out of your way to come here and tell me what happened to Devan. It makes me feel a little better. Hmm... I also want to thank you for being such a good friend to Devan. I... I feel really guilty that I’m not always by his side, but you’re able to stay beside him and help look after him whenever I’m not there,” Listya said, immediately hugging Tisha.
“It’s okay! I don’t mind at all. Besides, you know that Devan and I are very close friends, and so are you, Tya! You’re my good friend too. So you don’t need to thank me like that, and don’t hesitate to ask for my help whenever you need it,” Tisha said with a forced smile before quickly returning Listya’s hug.
However, deep in her heart.
Tisha was viciously cursing her, completely unlike the pleasant image she had shown on the surface.
“Tch! What’s so great about you that Devan wants to marry you? Tya, you’re just an ordinary woman with nothing special about you. You only rely on your face, yet you managed to charm Devan into marrying you! You’re so damn annoying, Tya! You cheap woman!” Tisha cursed inwardly. While hugging Listya, she quickly changed her expression into a cold, spiteful one, revealing the evil side she had been hiding. That was Tisha’s true face.
Meanwhile, innocent Listya had no idea what the woman she considered both a friend and practically a sister was thinking. She continued smiling, believing that Tisha sincerely wanted to be her friend and Devan’s close friend, with no ulterior romantic feelings involved.
After they had hugged for quite some time.
The two of them finally let go of each other.
“Tya! Since Devan can’t come here and I’ve already explained the reason to you on his behalf, I... I’d better get going now, okay? Hmm... There’s something I need to take care of. You know I’m Devan’s assistant at the office, right? So I have to help him too,” Tisha said, already in a hurry to leave Listya because she was fed up with staying there any longer.
Listya, who had no suspicions about her, couldn’t stop her or ask her to stay. She still wanted Tisha to remain with her because she was alone and needed a friend to ask for advice or simply talk to whenever she felt lonely.
But after hearing Tisha say that she was very busy—and knowing how busy her fiancé was, since Listya and her fiancé worked at the same company in different departments and positions—Listya understood how demanding his job as the company’s finance and HR manager was. So she allowed Tisha to leave.
“All right! In that case... you can go. Tell Devan not to forget to eat, and to let me know when he gets home,” Listya sincerely told Tisha.
Tisha smiled and nodded.
“All right! I’ll tell him everything. In that case... I’m leaving now!” Tisha said before immediately hurrying away without looking back at Listya.
After Tisha left.
Listya was alone there once again, still wearing the wedding dress on her body.
“Ugh! Alone again! Always alone! Even when I’m trying on a wedding dress, I still have to do it by myself!” Listya complained sadly, then looked at herself again in the large mirror in front of her.
“He’s always making excuses about being busy, busy, busy! Even though... I’m just as busy, despite being only an ordinary employee. But I was able to take time off to finish all these wedding preparations. But... it seems like he doesn’t really care about any of this, as if I’m... as if I’m the only one getting married, not the two of us together,” Listya complained. She had lost all her enthusiasm and quickly took the wedding dress off.
“Enough! I don’t want to talk about this anymore! I’d better just go home. What’s the point of staying here any longer when the person I’m waiting for isn’t coming at all?” Listya said as she removed the dress and changed back into the clothes she had been wearing before.
“Whew! I’m really pathetic! If things continue like this, what will happen after we’re married? Will Devan... Ah, forget it! Don’t think about it anymore, Tya! I’d better finish everything here, then go see Devan,” Listya lamented as she put her clothes back on. She felt completely empty, without any of the happiness a bride-to-be was supposed to feel.
However.
All of a sudden.
While Listya was busy getting dressed again.
She heard the door open.
Creeeak...
Listya was instantly startled. She quickly straightened her clothes, afraid someone might peek inside or see her while she was changing.
“Huh! Who is that?” she exclaimed, her eyes immediately fixed on the person opening the door.
The person who had opened the door then appeared before Listya. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the figure she had never imagined seeing at all.
The person standing before Listya was just as shocked when he saw the woman he had accidentally run into—the very woman he had been searching for all this time.