Fathia thought, her hand's grip slightly loosening as they arrived at the basement of the building she could never forget. Sebastian's apartment. Turns out, she was wrong. In fact, she felt even more drawn to Sebastian, to the point where she felt out of breath. Just trying to keep up with Sebastian's pace was overwhelming her.
"Sebastian," Fathia finally groans. They're in the elevator that specifically takes them right to the front door of Sebastian's apartment. "Hurts."
"Hurts? Did I hurt you?" Sebastian asks with concern, suddenly looking like a kidnapper. He releases his firm grip. He quickly brings Fathia's hand, which he was holding before, closer. He gazes at her intensely, causing Fathia to hold her breath. She tries to pull her hand away a bit, but Sebastian stops her.
He gently kisses the part that seems reddened because of his actions. He feels guilty afterwards because Sebastian went a bit too far. He shouldn't have scared Fathia or made her hurt li
"So all this time you've been learning to make coffee?"Without hesitation, Fathia nods. She slowly brings the freshly brewed cup of coffee to serve to Sebastian, who's now sitting comfortably in the living room. He's taken off his expensive blazer, leaving a faded green shirt rolled up to his elbows. The tie that was once around his neck now hangs with the blazer.And Fathia too. She's changed out of her uniform into more casual clothing. A sleeveless dress that clings tightly to her body, which she grabbed straight from her own room. Truly, entering her room again was something she never expected to happen so soon.Sebastian's prohibition wasn't a joke. He absolutely wouldn't allow Fathia to leave his sight. She carefully asked Vino about the file she needed. She also left a message with Jess, letting her know she's safe with Sebastian. Fathia is sure her friend will be searching for her with great concern.Her phone and bag were left in the locker. She
Sebastian never gets tired of gazing at the girl who's now sound asleep beside him. His daydreams have been granted by fate, where the beautiful image that has been teasing his thoughts for so long has finally come true. Her soft snoring serves as a soothing backdrop that Sebastian doesn't mind listening to. Her breaths are steady, and her peaceful slumber is so deep that it prevents him from acting on his urge to touch her, even just a little.Propped on his elbow, Sebastian has been enjoying Fathia's sleeping face in her room for maybe twenty to thirty minutes. The scent of lilies that Fathia loves remains, and Sebastian has kept it untouched in this softly pink-toned room. Nothing has changed, and his heart keeps telling him that this girl is still alive. And it's true. His heart is absolutely right.His mind drifts back to the many conversations they had earlier."Do you... want to hug me?"Fathia's movement through Sebastian's hair comes to a halt. T
Sebastian shakes his head. "You're not a ghost, are you? But even if you were, I wouldn't mind.""Sebastian! I'm being serious!""I'm just as serious." Sebastian tidies up a strand of Fathia's hair that's quite bothersome. He tucks it behind her ear. "Since you brought up the topic of faces, you owe me a lot of explanations about everything. Everything related to you."Fathia shakes her head softly, disregarding Sebastian's previous words. She needs to make sure of one thing. "My face doesn't resemble Felice anymore, right? So... who do you miss now?"Even though they're still looking at each other, Sebastian knows Fathia has slightly pulled back her body. Maybe deliberately creating some distance so they're not too close. This prompts Sebastian to pull Fathia back, pressing her even closer. And what Sebastian does prompts a surprised squeak from Fathia, met with a small chuckle from him. "You. It's you I miss, Fathia."Her bright brown eyes blink
Fathia squirmed slightly, breaking Sebastian's reverie. He still didn't want his girl to wake up. The occasional furrow on her forehead and the soft sighs escaping Fathia's lips occasionally raised questions in Sebastian's mind. All he could do was hold her tight again. Gently stroke her back and give a tender kiss on her forehead. Hoping that what he was doing could alleviate whatever Fathia was experiencing in her sleep.Truly, it made Sebastian curious. Was Fathia having a nightmare? About what? Was she still afraid of loud thunderstorms? Or..."I don't know what happened back then. All I remember is that I was in a hospital bed. And, well... you're right. Clara was there."The flashes of memories Sebastian had kept close in his mind for not even 24 hours started to play again."She said she saved me from an incident. I didn't know what the incident was at first, but eventually I found out that there was sabotage on campus." Fathia sighed softly. Her e
Fathia sighed softly. "I can't tell you.""Sure. Group Azure is yours, after all. Who's stopping you? It's just... it's kind of weird. You're not usually interested in business, right? Why suddenly want to know?" Fathia had prepared herself for Sebastian's question like this."There's something I need to find out, Sebastian."Sebastian felt increasingly puzzled. "Vin, I've already checked everything. Before it's shared with each division, especially finance, please email me the revisions first.""Sure, Sir.""And you can head home soon."Vino felt like chiming in that the two people in front of him didn't want further disturbance."And please leave a message with the receptionist. I won't be around. You're the one who's making excuses."Ah, Vino could already guess. "Sure, Sir." There was nothing Vino could do except obey his boss's orders, right?As soon as Vino moved away and the door closed again, Sebastian immediatel
Fathia used to live in fear after the events on the night after her parents passed away. Those bad memories often haunted her, gradually fading away as she found solace in realizing that Sebastian was never far away. Then the nights she went through, they returned. Peaceful and calm, though sometimes the sadness remained.Which child or sibling wouldn't be sad upon realizing they were alone in this world? Even though she still had relatives, considering the history through her mother's notes, Fathia didn't expect anything from them.What she had heard when Sebastian and Ronald talked one night was true. Alvin, her paternal side's relative, only saw Group Azure as a great inheritance full of wealth. How to get it without having to deal with the sole heir of the owner, Fathia, seemed to be their mindset.And then... that dreadful night returned. To be precise, it was utterly terrible. Fathia often fell asleep for only a few hours, exhausted from crying. Her eyes w
Opening the buttons of his pajamas one by one before stepping into the shower. He didn't take a long shower on purpose because he really enjoyed talking to Sebastian. They exchanged a lot of stories last night. Fathia remembered them clearly.A cup of coffee, two plates of buttery fried rice that Sebastian prepared for dinner, became the companions for their exchange of two stories that left Fathia utterly amazed.How Clara executed a grand scheme to hide her. The involvement of Larasati Acsia Claire. Not to mention how quickly the two of them made decisions. According to the results of Ronald's investigation, the mastermind behind making everyone believe that Fathia was critically injured due to the explosion that occurred. Even the fake funeral using another person's name, for which Larasati was paid a high sum; Alef Walker's wife.And the latest fact, where Fathia finally pieced together her suspicions and findings about Alef's cunning in relation to what hap
Fathia chose to enjoy their journey. Since the breakfast that was initially filled with cheerfulness, Sebastian suddenly became silent. Fathia wasn't afraid to ask. She was worried that his answer might just take away her sudden burst of happiness. No, she wasn't ready to let that slip away just like that. Besides, she used his silence to think about what she would do when she stepped into Mahesa's residence.Throughout her life, Fathia had never visited her uncle's house. Now, she knew the secrets of the past regarding her uncle's relationship with her mother. If Fathia could draw a conclusion, it was only after Jess opened up many assumptions in front of her, that her aunt... was in a forced marriage. Especially considering the stories her mother wrote about Alef still trying to reach out to her.All sorts of questions had taken over Fathia's mind, especially as she examined the documents that pointed to one conclusion. Unexpectedly, Fathia found out that there was a