That afternoon, Wulan was still mopping the area near the fifth-floor elevator lobby. The floor cleaner she had just used had left the surface slightly slippery, even though she had placed yellow warning signs all around it.
"Watch your step, ma'am," Wulan warned an employee passing by.
"Yeah, thanks," the employee replied, walking carefully.
Before long, hurried footsteps sounded from the direction of the elevators. A formally dressed middle-aged woman came rushing over, carrying a stack of documents and moving quickly without paying attention to the warning signs.
"Ma'am, be careful! The floor's still wet!" Wulan called out, but it was too late.
THUD!
The woman slipped and landed hard on her bottom, sending her documents scattering across the floor. "Ow!"
Wulan immediately ran over. "Ma'am, are you all right? I'm sorry, I already put up a warning sign—"
"What kind of work is this?!" the woman snapped, wincing as she clutched her wrist in pain. "You just leave a floor this slippery unattended!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I already put a warning sign over there." Wulan pointed to the yellow sign, which was clearly standing several yards from where the woman had fallen.
"That's just an excuse! Now my hand hurts—who's going to take responsibility?!"
The area quickly grew crowded. Several employees gathered around. Some helped pick up the scattered documents, while others merely watched and whispered among themselves.
In the middle of the commotion, Bella happened to walk by and came over, drawn by the noise.
"What's going on here?" Bella asked haughtily as she approached.
"This cleaner's incompetent work made me fall, Ms. Bella!" the woman from earlier complained, immediately pointing a finger at Wulan.
Bella narrowed her eyes at Wulan. "Oh, you again. The one I reprimanded this morning about the wet floor."
"I already put up a warning sign, sis," Wulan replied calmly, though her heart had begun to roil at the injustice unfolding before her.
"Excuses!" Bella suddenly shrieked, her voice echoing throughout the corridor. "Do you know who this is? This is Ms. Retno, the head of the finance division! If anything happens to her hand, you'll be held responsible!"
"I tried to warn her beforehand," Wulan explained patiently.
"Shut up!" Bella cut her off sharply. She stepped forward, and her white high heels accidentally came down on a puddle left over from mopping. "Oh my God! You got my shoes dirty!"
Wulan held her breath, trying to stay calm even as heat began to build in her chest. "I'm sorry, sis. I'll clean them right away."
"Clean them? These shoes cost millions, you know! Do you think you can replace them with a month's salary?!" Bella grew even more furious, her voice making everyone in the corridor turn to look.
From a distance, Lina, who had just come out of the pantry, saw the commotion and hurried over.
"Bella, this seems to be a misunderstanding," Lina tried to mediate politely. "Sri already put up a warning sign."
"Who asked you to butt in?!" Bella snapped at Lina. "You're a cleaner too, aren't you? You're just as incompetent!"
"Please, don't talk like that—"
"You shut up!" Bella shoved Lina's shoulder, making the girl stagger backward. Then she turned and glared furiously at Wulan. "You'd better compensate me for my shoes right now!"
"I don't think this was entirely my fault," Wulan said, trying to defend herself while keeping her voice calm.
"Not your fault?!" Bella became even more enraged. Without warning, she forcefully shoved Wulan's shoulder. "How dare you argue with me!"
The shove sent Wulan stumbling backward. Her foot slipped on the still-damp floor, and she landed hard on her bottom, pain shooting up from her lower back.
"Sri!" Lina cried out in panic, immediately rushing over to help Wulan up. "Are you all right?"
"I... I'm fine," Wulan replied with a grimace, trying to get up with Lina's help.
Ms. Retno, who had fallen earlier, now looked pleased by what had happened, as though her revenge had been served. "Serves you right! That's what you get for not doing your job properly!"
Bella looked at Wulan with disgust, showing no remorse whatsoever. "Do your job properly next time. I don't want to see anything like this again."
Then she simply walked away, leaving Wulan sitting weakly on the floor while Lina loyally stayed by her side to help her.
"Sri, are you sure you're okay? Here, let me help you stand," Lina said gently, slowly supporting Wulan's body.
"Thank you, Lina," Wulan replied, her voice trembling as she held back her surging emotions. It wasn't the pain in her lower back that hurt most, but the bitter reality she had just witnessed with her own eyes.
"People like Bella are just like that, Sri. Arrogant and abusive, especially toward people like us," Lina muttered as she helped Wulan sit in the nearest chair. "Thank goodness Mr. Adrian is such a good person. He's nothing like his fiancée."
Wulan fell silent at those words, her heart aching even more. So she wasn't the only one who had suffered Bella's mistreatment. How many more people like her and Lina had become victims of that woman's arrogance?
"Lina," Wulan said softly, looking at the girl before her with deep gratitude. "Thank you for standing up for me earlier. Even though you just met me."
"You're welcome, Sri. I hate seeing people treated unfairly," Lina replied sincerely with a smile. "We're just small-time workers. We have to help each other out, right?"
Wulan nodded, though inside, her resolve burned ever brighter. What happened today only strengthened her conviction—Bella was not worthy of becoming Adrian's wife, and Wulan had to prove it, no matter the risk.