R's legs were already weak. He desperately wanted to sit in the car and get the hell away from school. Cold sweat had taken over his body. He shouldn't have been standing for this long. He'd been waiting for Stela at the gate for an hour. His two friends had chosen to relax at home and leave him there alone. Even the school security guard was stunned by the kid's stunt.
R was famous for always showing up late but leaving the earliest. Seeing him standing around and waiting like this was nothing short of a miracle. The boy remained standing tall, faithfully waiting for Stela, even though he wasn't sure whether she was still at school or not.
His instincts told him Stela was still being held up. The information from Kenand had been like a gentle breeze to him. Rather than avoid her, R felt challenged to enter Stela's world. Besides, R had once promised himself that he would find a girl who didn't like him.
That time was now. The past was experience, and the future was still a mystery. R didn't want to worry about anything outside his own time. In his opinion, winning Stela's heart would be a challenge all its own—a feeling he'd never experienced before.
His eyes lit up and his legs grew stronger when he saw Stela's figure in the distance. His wait was finally over. He flashed his smile, ready to welcome her.
But instead of appreciating R's effort, Stela kept walking with her head down.
"Stela!"
R chased after her and roughly grabbed her hand. No wonder she'd been looking down—her eyes were red and puffy. She kept avoiding R's gaze and tried to pull free of his grip.
"Let go!"
Stela didn't want anything to do with R, the top dog at her new school. Her head was already exhausted after Teo had drained every last bit of information from her. She just wanted to go home and sleep for a long time.
"I've been waiting for you forever. There's something I want to talk to you about."
Stela didn't respond at all. She was still busy trying to free her hand from R's grasp. Red marks were beginning to appear from their tug-of-war.
"Let go! I have nothing to do with you, R."
R released Stela's hand when he saw that he'd hurt her. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. R felt guilty as Stela looked at him with an exhausted, desperate expression.
The boy continued blocking Stela's path without touching her. He moved right, then left, following wherever she stepped. His wait couldn't be for nothing. R was determined to tell her what he wanted and why he'd been willing to wait for her.
Stela let out an annoyed snort. Her sigh was heavy, as if she were fed up with R's behavior. She immediately looked up and stared straight at him. Instead, the boy flashed his smile as though he'd just won the lottery.
"What do you want?"
R took out his phone and held it out to Stela. "Here."
The girl reluctantly accepted R's phone. She was shocked when she saw a photo of a boy who had been beaten. Stela immediately handed the phone back.
"What are you getting at?"
"He's the one who spread your photo on the squad account. What Mia and Vero accused me of isn't true. I wasn't the one who did it."
Stela shook her head and tried to walk away again. But as expected, R blocked her path again. The boy still wasn't satisfied with her reaction.
"I'm serious. I've been waiting here all this time to prove that I wasn't in the wrong. Plus, I'll prove that I can protect you, Stel," R said confidently.
"So what? Was it really necessary? Did you have to beat him up to make him confess to all of this?"
"What's wrong with that? He made you upset and cry like this."
"Do you really think doing this makes me feel better?" Stela asked. Her gaze made R's confidence crumble.
R didn't answer right away. It was a difficult question. The guy really was hopeless when it came to things like this with women. As a result, Stela managed to slip past him on the left without any trouble. R was still lost in thought, swept away by the girl's last words.
When he realized his hostage had gotten away, R immediately chased after Stela and grabbed her hand again. Stela let out another annoyed snort. This time, she didn't try to pull free. She'd learned enough from what had happened before. These red marks were bad enough; she didn't want to make the injury worse herself.
"I did all of this for you, Stel. I want you to know who did this to you, and it wasn't me. I care about you. There's no way I'd do something this cheap," R explained.
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why did you do all this? For me, who isn't anyone to you?" Stela asked pointedly. She wanted R to come to his senses and get out of her sight.
"Do you really need a reason to care? You're not 'nobody' to me, Stel. You just aren't mine yet, and that won't last long."
Stela yanked her hand away, forcing R to release it. She immediately walked off, and R didn't stop her this time. Apparently, the boy had finished what he wanted to do.
R simply watched Stela's back as she walked away from him. He smiled happily, pleased that he'd managed to explain why he'd wasted money just to get the information for the gossip account's Instagram admin. That was reason enough for now. The boy was already preparing another reason to make Stela smile.
Stela didn't look back at R even once. But one thing was clear: she wore a faint smile she'd been holding back all this time. Keeping up her image always had to come first for her. Even though she was annoyed, Stela couldn't deny that she was happy now. Seeing the person who had exposed her past get destroyed by R gave her a sense of satisfaction.
The girl immediately slapped her own cheek to snap herself out of it. She'd promised to minimize the risks, just as Mia had said. Stela had only just started walking, and R was already too far ahead of her. She had only two choices: run after R, or wait for him to stop—or even come back to where she was.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone vibrated. She hurriedly pressed the red button after realizing Sanas was the one calling her. She wasn't ready to be interrogated a second time in one day.
Stela decided to turn off her phone and sit quietly at the bus stop. Her legs swung back and forth to chase away the boredom. She was waiting for a ride—not a bus, but another driver.
"Hey."
It didn't take long. The person she'd been waiting for was right on time. Stela immediately turned toward the voice. Without any small talk, she walked straight to the motorcycle and put on the helmet its owner offered her. The man kept his own helmet on, with no intention of taking it off. Or maybe he couldn't take it off.
"Where are we going?" Stela asked. She had no idea what the man's plan was. Her only job was to send messages and follow his every whim.
"To Awan's rental place."
R walked by dragging both feet behind him. He called out to his household staff one by one in an extremely quiet voice. There was no way they could hear him. R's vision began to blur, and his chest thudded erratically, making every breath feel heavy.
"Mbok? Mbak? Pak Yan? Mas Gus?"
R cursed repeatedly because no one came to him right away. The sofa only a few steps away seemed impossibly far. With no strength left, R collapsed where he stood.
R reached into his pocket and searched for his phone. He quickly held down the number-two button to connect to his mother's number. R tried with all his strength to stay conscious.
"Hello?"
"Mom..."
"R? What's wrong, sweetheart? I still have a meeting until four. Do you want me to buy you something for dinner?"
"Mom... R..."
"R? You're okay, right? Why does your voice sound so weak?"
R could no longer answer. Weakness took over his body. He stopped fighting the urge to close his eyes.
"R? R?"
Maria's voice turned panicked. She hung up without saying anything else. R could still hear Maria calling his name several times. He just couldn't answer her. He hoped his household staff would realize soon that he needed them.