"Ethan!"Ethan, who was just about to sip his drink that he had ordered at a simple food stall, turned his gaze away.A man in a neat suit was seen approaching Ethan with a big smile."Sorry. I'm late, right? The road here was a bit jammed. I didn't know it would be difficult for four-wheeled vehicles to get through these streets," said the man, who was none other than Leo. This was the first time in Leo's life that he had set foot in an ordinary and simple food stall like this. He would always make appointments to meet at a big and fancy restaurant."No problem. I also just got here, Sir. Sorry, I forgot to tell you that. Indeed, it takes longer for cars to get through these streets," Ethan replied, gesturing for the man to sit across from him.Leo then pulled out his chair, sitting down while looking at the menu Ethan handed him."Though the place is very simple, I can assure you it's kept clean. The food available here is just as delicious as food at restaurants."Leo seemed hesit
"Shit! Now what do I do? He still hasn't woken up since earlier. We don't have time to practice that again. There are only a few hours left."Citra muttered softly, looking anxious. She glanced back at Ethan, the man still had his eyes closed.One thing Citra was grateful for was that there were no visible bruises on Ethan's face, luckily the thugs had only focused on beating his stomach and back.But, still. Even though the man's face was unharmed, his body clearly wasn't. It seemed Citra didn't have another chance, maybe she really did have to bear the shame and go to the event alone."Wake up! You made a promise to me. Is this how you keep your promise? Wake up! Hey!"Citra tried to wake the man up. She had brought Ethan to her apartment, and she had also brought all of Ethan's belongings.Now all that was left was for the man to wake up, then they could practice a bit before finally getting ready.Tring! A notification sound indicated a message had come through to Citra's phone, c
Everyone seemed surprised. So were Citra's parents, who immediately widened their eyes, staring towards their daughter who seemed to be humiliating herself."Citra! What are you doing?! Have you lost all your sanity?!" Citra's mother scolded her daughter.She unhesitatingly pulled her daughter's hand, moving her away from Ethan, who at that time didn't understand why that woman was pulling Citra away.After looking at her face, Ethan finally understood why the woman pulled Citra's hand.Indeed. Her face, not much different from Citra's, her features mostly passed down to Citra, made Ethan immediately realize that she was Citra's mother.Meanwhile, Martin's parents, seeing their son being toyed with and humiliated in public, immediately approached him."What is the meaning of all this, Martin? Who is that man? How could he come here? Isn't this a private event? Did he also receive an invitation?" Martin's mother asked, representing his father.Martin remained silent, his emotions still
"Nice to meet you, Miss Citra. I hope our companies will be able to establish a contract for working together in the future," Leo said, shaking the hand of the woman at Ethan's side.It was clear that her hand was not released from Ethan's arm.A wide smile spread across her face, and she felt her mood improve. The thought of just resigning herself and getting through it all with irritation instantly vanished.Fortunately, Ethan came. Everything on her mind suddenly turned to Martin. That man could only let the party go on, the embarrassment he felt made Martin not want to continue the party anymore.Citra then looked at Leo, nodding her head and smiling."Of course. We can discuss all of that later, Mr. Leo."Besides that, seeing Leo who had helped the man by saying that Ethan had a convincing company made Citra want to repay his kindness.She would give a fairly large work contract to Leo's company solely because she did not want to be indebted to that man."Come, Miss Citra, Mr. Et
Ethan frowned, realizing that everything happened not by coincidence but was indeed planned.Moreover, recalling Citra's response, it clearly stated that the woman had done something."Did you just do something, Miss?" Ethan suddenly asked.Currently, the two were still in the dancing position. The event continued even though Martin had clearly left.Everyone seemed to just enjoy dancing without thinking about the host of the party who had been humiliated at his own event."Is that an important matter?" Citra replied by asking the man a question in return.With an innocent face, Ethan nodded. He couldn't help but ask Citra about it, he was very sure that the woman had done something."Not much. I just did what I should have done," Citra said, shifting her gaze.However, Ethan's gaze, which clearly demanded a more detailed explanation, left Citra with no other choice.She had to explain everything to the man."So, when you went to the toilet..."Citra was forced to recall what she had
"Are you sure you're okay?" Ethan asked, looking intently at the woman.Citra's face showed that she seemed to have a lot of problems. The woman did not look like her usual self, she seemed closed off and was facing a burdensome issue."It's fine. You can leave now or just take my car back to the hotel. I need some time alone," Citra said, not wanting to be disturbed.Seeing that the woman did not want to communicate much more with him, Ethan just nodded his head.He was about to give her the car keys, but thinking again, Ethan would have a hard time getting an online taxi this late at night."It's okay. Just take it. I'm giving you permission. So you don't need to worry," Citra said again, causing Ethan to immediately nod.The woman then quickly got out of her car, entering her apartment room.A fairly long sigh came out of Ethan's mouth. He was sure the woman must have been thinking about her parents.Ethan wanted to help, but what could he do? Moreover, Citra was not the type of pe
Ethan was now ready with a hoodie outfit paired with matching baggy pants.Using the hoodie's hood, Ethan walked towards the car that he would return to the woman this morning."Hopefully she's okay. I hope she's not feeling pressured," Ethan muttered, full of hope for the woman's condition.Without further ado, Ethan got into the car and drove it to the address where the woman's apartment was located.***Not long after, Ethan finally arrived at the apartment lobby.Initially, Ethan wanted to buy something for the woman's breakfast, but he was afraid of choosing something she didn't want.Finally, Ethan decided to just buy cooking ingredients. He would cook whatever the woman wanted later."Hopefully she's in good condition," Ethan muttered again, feeling uneasy in his heart.He was really worried about the woman, afraid that Citra would do something beyond the limit. However, Ethan's heart slowly calmed down when he remembered that an educated and indifferent woman like Citra would
Click!Citra opened the very large door handles, wearing a blank expression as if she had no other facial expressions left."Madam! Sir! Miss Citra is back!" her household assistant shouted so loudly.She accidentally looked outside and saw Citra entering without saying a word."Come on in, Miss. Your mother and Miss Citra's father have been trying to find you since yesterday," the household assistant said again.Citra only glanced at the woman, not heeding her words at all.She was still too upset with the unilateral decisions often made by her parents.No. Citra shouldn't have followed Ethan's words, why should she listen to that man? It seemed Citra had lost her sanity.Now, she regretted the decision she had made. Before meeting her parents, Citra immediately stepped up the stairs in her house, wanting to avoid them by going straight to her room.However, due to the shouts from her household assistant. Before Citra could take a single step up the stairs in her house, the loud voic