That morning, Wulan stood in front of the mirror in the budget hotel room she had deliberately chosen—far from the five-star hotels she usually stayed in. She wore a faded blue cleaner's uniform, her hair simply tied back, and, as usual, no makeup on her face.
"Good grief," she muttered, staring at her reflection. "Am I really going to do this?"
Her phone rang sharply. Marsha was calling.
"Ms. Wulan, I've taken care of everything. The fake ID under the name Sri Wulandari is ready, complete with a recommendation letter from the cleaning outsourcing agency. I've also arranged for you to be assigned to the same floor as Mr. Adrian's office."
"Good. What about the HR manager there? Is she suspicious?"
"No, Ms. Wulan. I told her this was a special request from headquarters to conduct a surprise evaluation of the cleaning vendor. They didn't dare ask too many questions."
Wulan nodded in satisfaction. "Good work, Marsha. Remember, no one can find out about this. Adrian included."
"Yes, ma'am. But... are you sure about this plan? What if you're found out?"
"That's exactly why I have to take the risk," Wulan replied firmly. "I can't judge my future daughter-in-law solely by how sweet she acts in front of her future mother-in-law. I need to see how she treats people she considers unimportant."
"Understood, ma'am. I hope your plan goes smoothly."
Wulan ended the call, then let out a long sigh before leaving the room. In the hotel lobby, she took a taxi to Sentosa Corporation—a magnificent thirty-story building she had once built together with her late husband.
When she arrived, a middle-aged woman named Painah, the cleaning staff's field coordinator, greeted her gruffly.
"You're the new girl, right? Sri Wulandari?"
"Yes, ma'am," Wulan replied politely, lowering her head.
"Listen carefully. Around here, you work fast and clean, and you don't cause trouble. If an employee or guest is passing by, don't get in their way. Understand?"
"I understand, ma'am."
"You're starting on the fifth floor today. That's the executive area, so you need to be extra careful. Don't let anyone complain."
Wulan nodded, her heart pounding. The fifth floor was where her own office was located—an office that might now be occupied by someone else, or perhaps had deliberately been left empty, waiting for her return.
She pushed a cart loaded with mops and cleaning solution toward the employee elevator, not the executive elevator she usually used. When she reached the fifth floor, the familiar yet strangely foreign atmosphere swept over her.
"Excuse me," a young employee called out as he hurried past. "Please clean the area near the conference room. There's an important meeting coming up soon."
"Yes, sir," Wulan replied with a small smile.
She got to work, mopping the floor with awkward movements at first—as anyone would expect, since she had never done this kind of work in her entire life. But she gradually grew accustomed to it, all while keeping an eye on her surroundings and searching for someone she had known only by name until now: Bella.
Before long, the click of high heels approached, accompanied by the bright laughter of a woman talking on the phone.
"Yes, babe, we'll meet at Adrian's office later. I want to give him a surprise," the woman said coyly.
Wulan raised her head slightly, trying to look without appearing suspicious. A young woman in luxurious clothes, a designer bag in hand, strode arrogantly down the corridor.
That's... got to be Bella, Wulan thought, her heart pounding.
Bella paused in front of the conference room and checked her appearance on her phone screen, using it as a mirror. "Ugh, this floor is so wet. Who mopped here?"
"Sorry, ma'am. I'm cleaning," Wulan replied politely, moving aside.
Bella shot Wulan a scornful look, her eyes sweeping over her from head to toe. "Do your job properly. Don't let everyone who walks by end up getting splashed."
"Yes, ma'am. I'll be more careful."
"Whatever. Hurry up and finish. I don't want to smell floor cleaner when I meet my future husband later," Bella said curtly before walking away without another glance.
Wulan lowered her head, holding back the surge of emotion that had suddenly risen inside her. They had only met for a few minutes, but that first impression was enough to make her frown.
"Future husband..." Wulan murmured, her hand moving the mop again. "So this is the Bella Adrian was talking about."
From a distance, a young girl in the same uniform as Wulan approached, carrying a bucket of clean water.
"Be careful around her," the girl whispered as she handed over the bucket. "Her name's Bella, and she's the young CEO's fiancée here. She's really nasty when she's in a bad mood."
"Thanks for the information," Wulan replied with a faint smile. "What's your name?"
"Lina," the girl answered cheerfully. "Is this your first day working here? Your face looks unfamiliar."
"Yeah, I just started today," Wulan replied, trying to act as naturally as possible. "My name is Sri."
"Nice to meet you, Sri. If you need help, just let me know. It's tough around here, especially when you're dealing with Bella."
Wulan nodded, carefully committing the kind girl's name to memory. For some reason, out of all the people in this building, Lina was the only one who had shown genuine sincerity from their very first meeting.
"Thank you, Lina," Wulan said sincerely. "I have a feeling... we'll be seeing each other a lot from now on."
Lina smiled broadly, unaware that the woman she had just met was actually the true owner of the building where they stood.