Chapter 6

Al swallowed hard, feeling that the opportunity he thought was in front of him was now gone. He decided to leave. He wasn't going to ask Cassandra for help.

"Opportunity doesn't come twice, Al," he whispered with a chuckle, laughing at himself.

"It hasn't even been a day yet, but it's already gone! I recognize," Al whispered.

Al continued to walk; he began to feel that the world was no longer in his favor.

After experiencing betrayal from his lover, he faced humiliation too. Even now, there is no company that wants to accept him. Only rejection is what he often gets.

"I've lost Angela, and I've lost a good opportunity with Miss Cassie. Now I've lost my mother's diamond necklace. This is so unfair to me!"

Al ruffled his hair roughly. His steps were heavy, but he tried to stay firmly on his feet.

Al returns to his small apartment, a place that was a silent witness to the relationship he had with Angela, which should not have happened before marriage.

When Al has the money, he intends to leave his apartment and look for a new one. This apartment holds too many sweet memories with that traitorous woman.

Arriving there, Al sat on the sofa and let out a long sigh. Suddenly, he remembered Gledy, his best friend, who had sent him the F******k link that exposed Angela and Crish's affair.

"Who knows, Gledy could help me," Al muttered. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Gledy, hoping his best friend could give him a loan or at least offer him a job.

"What's up, Al?" asked Gledy after answering the call.

"I have a need. Can we meet?" asked Al hesitantly.

"Yes, we can! Just come to the house tomorrow," said Gledy.

"Oh, okay, I'll come tomorrow."

After that, Al turned off the phone.

The next day, at around nine in the morning, Al arrived at Gledy's house.

Gledy greeted Al with a warm smile, as always. "Hey, Al! How are you?" he asked.

Al tried to smile, even though his heart felt heavy. "Not so good, Gledy," he replied, expressing how he felt.

"Why, Al?" asked Gledy.

"Actually, I came here because I need your help, Gle," he said honestly.

Gledy frowned. "Of course. Just tell me; who knows if I can help you?" said Gledy.

Al took a deep breath before explaining his situation. "I need money to redeem the diamond necklace my mother left me. And you know what? It was sold by Angela, and now the new owner is asking ten times the original price. I need a lot of money to get that necklace back. I know this might sound weird, but I really need help. It means a lot," Al explained, revealing his problem to Gledy.

Gledy paused for a moment, seemingly in thought. "Al, I understand how important the necklace is to you. But the amount of money you need is huge. How are you going to repay what you owe me?" he asked carefully.

Al felt offended by the question, but she tried to remain calm. "I will work hard to pay it back, Gledy. For now, I don't know what to do, but I'll find a way. Please, I just need help getting the necklace," she replied, her voice hopeful.

Gledy sighed, looking doubtful. "Al, you know I will always help you. But to give a loan of that size, I'd have to talk to my parents. And as for a job... I'm not sure there are any openings at my father's company, but we can try," he said in a concerned tone.

Al nodded, feeling a little relieved to hear that there was at least hope. "Alright, Gledy," Al said, still smiling.

"Well, we should go to my father's company now, in case there's a position that suits you," Gledy said, patting Al's shoulder.

"Okay."

Al and Gledy immediately went to the office of Gledy's father's property company. When they arrived, Gledy took Al to the HR room. They were greeted by a beautiful woman; she was the HR Director.

"Excuse me, Sheema. This is my friend, Al. He's looking for a job. Are there any vacancies available in this company?" Gledy asked.

"Did your friend bring his CV?" asked Sheema.

"Sure, I brought my CV," said Al, who immediately handed over his CV to Sheema.

The woman glanced at the CV Al had handed over. She shook her head sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but this company currently has no vacancies. And even if there were, this company requires someone with work experience in the property sector," she replied firmly.

Al felt his chest tighten as he struggled to breathe. Again and again, he was getting rejected. However, he tried to smile to mask his disappointment. "Thank you, Miss. I understand," he replied in a calm voice, though his heart was heavy.

Gledy tried to comfort Al as they walked out of the building. "I'm really sorry, Al. I was hoping you could get a job somewhere else," Gledy said.

Al smiled wryly, trying to hide his disappointment. "I don't know... I'm not sure! I've been looking for a job for a week now, but all I get is rejection. Maybe I don't deserve to work for the company, Gle. Maybe I should work as a construction worker," Al said, having given up on his ambition.

Gledy nodded, looking concerned about Al's story. "Don't talk like that, Al. Maybe you haven't found a company that will accept you yet! Cheer up, Al! I'm sure you can get the job you want," said Gledy, sincerely encouraging his friend.

Al could only nod. After parting with Gledy, he walked home with a limp step. In his heart, he felt hopeless, but he knew he couldn't give up. He had to keep working hard to fulfill his needs, even if he didn't work in an office. Working as a construction worker again was no problem; the important thing was to have a job instead of being unemployed.

"I won't give up," he whispered softly, strengthening his heart. "I have to keep going to fight the world that is now playing tricks on me!"

***

One month later, Al received news that Angela had given birth to a very handsome, healthy and perfect baby boy. Angela named the baby Cristian Edric Nevada. It turned out that a week ago, Angela gave birth to the handsome baby. 

Al could only smile sadly at the post on Angela's social media account, showing Angela kissing the handsome baby. 

"He's not your son, Al!" whispered Al, he could only swallow the bitter truth that the baby boy was not his, but Crish Edric's. 

Because he always got rejected, Al decided to go back to work at the construction project as a construction worker. 

He has been working as a construction worker for a week now, just to forget his problems for a while. He returned to his original habitat. Although it felt unwilling to give up the necklace, Al tried to be sincere.

Al lifted building materials, and did whatever he could. However, fate seemed to have other plans. Al realized that he was working on a construction project that was related to Crish's company.

While Al was resting, he saw Crish and Angela coming together, hand in hand. Al saw that Angela's body was already slim, and even more beautiful after giving birth.

Al felt his chest tighten at the sight, but he tried to remain calm. Angela approached him with a faint smile on her face, then took out an envelope from her bag.

"I was lazy to invite you," Angela said as she handed the envelope to Al. "But it's our engagement party, so... think of it as a farewell gesture," Angela said sarcastically. 

Al took the envelope with trembling hands, then opened it. It was indeed an invitation to Angela and Crish's engagement. Al squeezed the invitation tightly, feeling angry and hurt. "Why did you have to invite me?" he asked in a low voice, trying to contain his emotions.

Angela smiled sarcastically. "Don't forget to come, my ex," she said in a mocking tone before turning around and walking away with Crish.

Al stood still, staring at the shattered invitation in his hand. He felt like he was being humiliated again and again by the people he once loved.

When he was about to throw the invitation into the nearest trash can, Cassandra suddenly appeared in front of him and held his hand.

"You have to come," Cassandra said firmly.

Al was surprised to see Cassandra in front of him. "Miss Cassie! You-"

Cassandra smiled and sat next to Al, "You have to come. That traitorous ex of yours has invited you!"

"I'll never come! Why should I come anyway, I'll be humiliated at the party," Al said with a faint smile. 

Cassandra calmly tidied up the shattered invitation, then looked at Al with a meaningful gaze. "I'll accompany you," she said briefly, "So you should come."

"What?" Al was wide-eyed, he looked at Cassandra with a confused look. "You want to accompany me to the party?" Al asked incredulously, plus he didn't understand what this beautiful woman was really up to. Why would she want to accompany Al to Angela and Crish's engagement party. 

"Yes, Al! I will accompany you to the party," Cassandra replied with certainty. 

"But... what is your purpose, Miss Cassie?" asked Al, still looking at Cassandra with a serious gaze. 

Cassandra smiled sweetly, "I want to help you to-" Cassandra stood up, and she helped Al stand up too, then Cassandra whispered something in Al's ear making Al's eyes open wide. 

"How?" asked Cassandra after she whispered something in Al's ear.