“There’s gossip this explosive going around, and you didn’t even confirm it with me!” a woman of Indian descent snapped at the thick-glasses-wearing man sitting beside Naura. She shoved an online news article right in front of them. Her chest heaved with the anger that had been boiling inside her for some time. How dare the actress under her management make a fool of her like this?
“It’s ... I thought that since you were overseas, Boss, I shouldn’t bother you. Besides, Naura didn’t say anything either,” Wendi, Naura’s manager, replied nervously. The effeminate man stared at his boss in terror.
Wendi wasn’t entirely lying, because Naura really hadn’t told him everything that had happened. Even when she got engaged, Naura had only said she wanted to take a vacation for a few days. She’d turned off all her social media accounts and her phone.
In the middle of the tense situation, Naura remained relaxed, playing on the phone in her hand. As if Anjana’s anger, her boss’s anger, was no big deal. To Naura, playing Gardenscapes was far more interesting than listening to the curly-haired woman ranting in front of her.
“Naura, explain to me what really happened. Then we’re holding a press conference as soon as possible. I can’t let this gossip continue. Not before all your film projects are finished,” Anjana finally said.
However, no response came from Naura’s lips. She was still busy completing her mission to renovate a garden in the game.
Wendi and Anjana exchanged glances. The flamboyant man shrugged, signaling that he had no idea what else to do, either. Wendi seemed to have given up on Naura’s habit of doing whatever she pleased.
Anjana wasn’t much different. The big-eyed woman was becoming increasingly irritated with this particular actress. If Naura weren’t both a valuable asset and her best friend, she would have kicked her out long ago. Naura’s scandals with various men happened so often that Anjana was thoroughly sick of them.
Anjana sighed before speaking again. “Naura, can you put your phone away for a minute and listen to me!” she added. She even slammed the table hard enough to get Naura’s attention. They really were close friends, but when it came to work, they had to remain professional.
Naura merely glanced at Anjana without interest before speaking casually. “What is there to clarify? None of this is gossip.” The words left Naura’s lips almost without a care, and a moment later, Anjana and Wendi burst out laughing.
Maybe the sentence wouldn’t have sounded so funny if Naura hadn’t been the one to say it. The problem was that, to Naura, marriage came last on her list. She preferred living freely to being tied down, because deciding to get married was practically the same as killing her career.
“What’s so funny? I’m serious,” Naura continued, her expression and gaze flat but full of conviction. A conviction she herself still couldn’t believe.
Naura refocused on the game, leaving the two people with her speechless, their faces frozen in shocked disbelief.
Naura, this ambitious woman, had suddenly decided she wanted to get married out of nowhere. Of course it sounded hilarious, considering that in an interview just recently, she’d said she wasn’t ready to get married. What would people say? They might call her pregnant before marriage. Or, worst of all, accuse her of being a homewrecker, as usual.
“Don’t tell me you’re pregnant, Naura,” Anjana quipped, narrowing her eyes.
“Seriously ... I’m done here, right?” Naura shut off her phone and stood up. She completely ignored Anjana’s probing question. “Then I’m leaving,” she added.
“Come on, Wendi. We have a lot to take care of before this goddamn wedding actually happens,” Naura grumbled as she walked away.
Confused, Wendi followed behind Naura and glanced nervously at Anjana. He was sure Anjana was about to unleash her anger for real.
“NAURA!” Anjana shouted from inside her office once Naura and Wendi were outside.
Naura got into the car without saying much. She didn’t even listen to Wendi, who was busy complaining beside her. Her thoughts had wandered back to the previous afternoon, when she had met Rafa at a café.
Rafa smiled in satisfaction at how annoyed Naura was. The woman’s face had gone red from the scorching sun, and she pursed her lips in annoyance as she stared at the bridal gowns in front of her.
Rafa had forced Naura to come here even though she had resisted with all her might. The 6'1" man had even dragged her over by force when they were at the café earlier. As a result, plenty of people had witnessed the scene. Naura was sure the gossip would spread in no time.
“I already told you, I don’t want to marry you. And you’re still forcing me,” Naura grumbled. She was so annoyed that she ignored the fact they were in a public place.
“I don’t care. Come inside!” Rafa said firmly, ignoring Naura as she stomped her foot in frustration. In the end, the woman with narrow, sharp eyes could only resign herself to obeying.
As they entered the boutique, the couple was immediately greeted by a white interior with a modern-classic atmosphere. Ornamental statues were displayed in every corner. The boutique, located in an upscale area of South Jakarta, belonged to one of Indonesia’s most famous designers. None other than Amanda Wijaya. Several sample wedding gowns stood neatly in a row, as though waiting to be chosen.
“Assalamualaikum,” Rafa greeted warmly.
A hijab-wearing woman who had been intently studying some papers on the desk looked up and smiled at Rafa before standing.
“Wa’alaikumsalam. You finally made it.” The woman approached and greeted Rafa with a broad smile, as if she had been waiting for him.
Naura was still busy looking around the entire room. She didn’t notice Amanda’s presence. Naura was too lazy to be in a place like this, especially if it meant making small talk with a stranger.
“Hi, Naura. How are you?” Amanda extended her hand toward Naura. But the woman, now wearing blue jeans paired with a white blouse, still looked indifferent and chose to stand behind Rafa.
The moment her attention shifted to Amanda, Naura was startled. Her expression turned blank.
“You ...” Naura let the sentence trail off. She looked back and forth between Rafa and Amanda, then huffed irritably.
Naura couldn’t believe God was doing this to her. She had prayed so hard not to run into them again. And now, the exact opposite had happened.
“Oh my God ... I should’ve remembered that photo on Instagram.”
Amanda and Rafa looked at each other, unable to understand what Naura was talking about.
“And I was stupid enough to agree to get engaged to you. If I’d known you were still involved with her, I never would’ve agreed,” Naura continued.
Amanda smiled, though her friendly smile looked forced. “You’re still the same as ever, huh? Just like before. You haven’t changed.”
Amanda’s words were soft, even playful in tone. But Naura’s reaction was the opposite. She was furious to hear a sentence that felt like mockery to her.
Naura snorted and glared at Amanda with open hostility. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
“Naura, you—”
“It’s okay, Raf. I understand.” Amanda cut off Rafa’s anger at his future wife.
Naura rolled her eyes in annoyance at the way the two people in front of her interacted, so obviously close. Without waiting for Rafa’s permission, Naura chose to leave. She was furious to be there with them.
“This happened so long ago, so why does it still feel exactly the same? You’re still so annoying,” Naura muttered as she walked away.
“Naura!” Rafa shouted from behind her. The man jogged after his fiancée, ignoring Amanda, who watched him leave with an unreadable expression, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.
Naura chose not to care and kept walking without acknowledging Rafa. Now she was even more convinced that the man only intended to toy with her.
“What’s wrong with you? If there’s a problem, we can talk it out. Don’t act like a child.” Rafa forcibly grabbed Naura’s arm to stop her from avoiding him. Even though he was annoyed, he still tried to be patient with his wild fiancée.
Naura looked at Rafa lazily.
“Me ... what’s wrong with me?” Naura repeated.
Naura snorted. She couldn’t understand why Rafa was still asking after what he had done. It felt like they were repeating their story from high school all over again. Naura absolutely hated this situation—being shoved into a corner every single time.
“You’re still asking me what’s wrong? You should know. I had to force myself just to decide to marry you. And now you casually want to involve her in this goddamn wedding. I can barely stand seeing you, and now I have to deal with her too.”
“It’s not—” Rafa began to explain, but Naura cut him off first.
“Oh ... Wait, are you only marrying me for revenge? Revenge for the way I treated you back then?”
Rafa let out a heavy breath. He should have predicted this. Talking to Naura had never been easy. He needed extra patience to deal with this woman. Even though they were about to get married, Naura still treated him like her sworn enemy, using the casual gue-lo way of addressing him. It truly wounded Rafa’s pride.
“Okay ... I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this sooner. But I swear to Allah, Amanda is the only one who can help us right now. We don’t have much time to prepare the wedding.”
“That’s your fault for being so desperate to marry me. I’m suspicious of your real motives. You only want revenge, don’t you? You want to marry me and then dump me once you’re satisfied, right? Right? Just admit i—”
Rafa ran a frustrated hand through his hair at the accusation. Naura was still Naura: stubborn and completely used to doing whatever she wanted.
“Could you look at my sincerity just once, Ra? Even after all this time, you still can’t open your eyes,” Rafa interrupted. He looked at Naura sadly, hoping that just once, the woman in front of him would be willing to understand.
Naura fell silent. She couldn’t get a single word out under Rafa’s wounded gaze. Had she really been the one who had misunderstood everything all this time? Had she really been closing her eyes to all this man’s sincerity? Even when it came to everything that had happened in the past?
“I’ve never thought about dumping you. Even if you hurt me a million times, nothing would change,” Rafa continued softly.
Naura remained silent. When things reached this point, she had no argument left to use against Rafa.
“Run if you can. I’m not the same Rafa I used to be—the nerd who didn’t dare fight for the girl he liked. The Rafa I am now is stronger than you think.” After saying that, Rafa simply walked away.
Naura stared at the back of her future husband, her feelings in turmoil. If Allah had given her the ability to read people’s minds, Naura wouldn’t have had such a hard time understanding what was really going on in Rafa’s head. Rafa and everything in his heart had always seemed gray and unclear to Naura.
“Why did he look at me like that ...? Ugh! I’m going to go crazy because of him!” Naura grumbled in frustration.