Chapter 1

Staring at the white envelope in her hand with sad eyes, Rakia didn’t dare to open it. Her heart sank when she entered her superior’s room a few hours ago and received terrible news. The bus she was waiting for came; she turned her gaze towards the bus, then moved with Park steps onto the bus and sat by the window. She put the white envelope into a bag she slung over one shoulder. She tried to find topics for her to think about besides the bad news about her being laid off, but to no avail. It still hurts even though she wasn’t the only one laid off. She could have a career as a journalist at the television station, but instead, she kicked her out. Her cell phone rang, distracting her for a moment from the sadness and disappointment she was experiencing.

“Yeah, Ben, what’s wrong?” she asked with a slight smile. At least, when her fiancé called her, she still smiled a little amid sadness.

“I just want to say that tomorrow I will go to Brazil with the crew,” said Benjamin.

“Brazil? Why suddenly?” That sounded odd to Rakia.

“My client wanted the location of his pre-wedding photo to be changed, and he chose Brazil.” The silence between them.

“Honey, are you still there?” Benjamin said, removing the silence between them. Rakia nodded even though Ben didn’t see her.

“Yes, I’m here. May I come with you?” Rakia asked doubtfully but hoped Ben would say yes.

“How is your work?”

Rakia looked down and rubbed the surface of her nail with the tip of her other nail. She bit her lips. “I… am no longer working,” Rakia replied in a low voice.

“What does it mean? You stop?” Benjamin slightly raised his voice, making Rakia’s ears irritated.

“The television station where I work has laid off some employees, including me.” She tried to hold back her tears by biting her lip hard.

“So, can I come with you to Brazil?” Rakia repeated her request.

“Oh, Honey, I’m sorry about what you’re going through, but I’m sorry I couldn’t take you. Next time, we will go on vacation together again.

Rakia nodded with a single tear rolling down her cheek.

“Yeah, no problem; sorry for trying to interrupt your work.”

“No, Honey, see you later,” Ben said, and their conversation ended. When Rakia lowered the cell phone from her ear, the tears she was trying to contain were unbearable. Even in her current situation, he expected Benjamin to comfort her. She knew her fiancé was busy with his job as a professional photographer. But Rakia needed someone to comfort her, cheer her up. She wiped away the tears starting to roll down her face. She will marry Benjamin in a week, but she has to lose her job.

When the bus stopped at the first stop, Rakia chose to continue the journey even though she was stopping at this first stop. She wants to visit her best friend Lizzy’s house. Arriving in front of the woman’s house, Rakia pressed the bell; the homeowner opened the door at the first bell.

“Kia?! You....” Lizzy looked at her best friend inquisitively. Rakia could only smile.

“Why?” continued Lizzy, who originally wanted to ask directly.

“May I come in?” Rakia distracted Lizzy momentarily, and the woman lightly tapped her forehead, realizing her impoliteness. Rakia also followed Lizzy into the modest house. Rakia immediately sat on the fur rug in front of the television in the living room. She sat leaning on the sofa facing the television and threw her bag on the couch. Lizzy left Rakia to go to the kitchen to get a drink.

“Anything you want to say?” asked Lizzy as she came back from the kitchen and placed a tray on which were two cans of cola. Rakia stared at the cola can in front of her without blinking.

“I was laid off,” said Rakia finally. Her chest tightened as she said that. Lizzy couldn’t help but be surprised for a moment.

“But why?”

“I don’t know either; they just said to reduce the number of employees.” Rakia blinked, grabbed one of the cola cans, opened it, and took one gulp.

“Seriously? Do you still drink soda? You said you were going on a diet.” Rakia changed the subject after she sipped her cola, and her face scrunched up. She doesn’t like carbonated drinks, let alone alcohol. Lizzy chuckled.

“Only once in a while; after all, I managed to lose ten kilos,” she said as she stood up and spun around gracefully, showing off her slender body. Rakia sighed as she smiled crookedly. Lizzy returned to her seat, grabbed a rather large rectangular pillow nearby, and put it on her lap.

“How’s Ben? Does he already know this news?”

Rakia nodded.

“He’s going to Brazil tomorrow. He said his client asked for a change of shooting location. I had offered to come along, but he refused.”

“That’s weird,” Lizzy commented, which was immediately responded to by Rakia’s sharp gaze.

“You guys always seem to be together, but come on, maybe you better stay out of work with him. You can stay here if you want.”

Rakia smiled and was grateful for having an understanding friend like Lizzy.

“Your father and mother already know?” Lizzy got up to take the television remote and moved to sit next to Rakia.

“Not yet, but I’ll tell them later; maybe I’ll tell my father first.” Rakia moved their soda tray to her other side so that she could stretch out her legs. Lizzy was busy selecting broadcasts.

“How are your wedding preparations going? Everything okay?” asked Lizzy, changing the topic.

“Yeah, that’s fine; we didn’t invite many people, so there’s no need for a lavish event. I’m going to the bridal tomorrow to pick up my wedding dress.” Rakia got up, moved to the sofa, and lay down.

“At least there are still good things waiting for you in the future; you can find work again after marriage.”

Rakia nodded even though Lizzy didn’t see it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to persuade Ben again to come to Brazil?” Lizzy teases Rakia into trying to get a proper diversion.

“Should I try again?” Rakia sounded unsure.

“Yeah, tell him you need a distraction from this sadness.”

Rising from her lying position, Rakia took her cell phone from her bag and called Ben again. The man still needs to answer the first call. Then Rakia tried to contact him again, but he didn’t answer. Then, Rakia sent a message to her fiancé to get him. But Rakia felt uneasy that Ben didn’t usually act like this; after three years of their togetherness, Ben treated her like a queen; even Lizzy sometimes envied her because Ben seemed to monopolize her. Ben always has time for her, even during his busy schedule.

Rakia returned to lying down, but now she is busy surfing social media. She also tried to log into her fiancée’s I*******m account. Still, she was shocked because she no longer had access to it. She tried to enter the password she knew all along but failed. Rakia moved to Ben’s other social media as well. She doesn’t have access to it. She also switched to her account and checked Ben’s account through her performance, and what happened was that she could not find her fiancé’s account in her friend list. Rakia frowned, she called Ben again, but he didn’t answer.

“Hey Liz, you’re following Ben on I*******m, right?” she asked.

“Yes, why?”

“I can no longer access his account, and strangely, he has disappeared from my friend list,” Rakia admitted while trying to contact Ben via W******p or cellphone. Lizzy went to grab her cell phone, which was lying on the television table. Then, she checked Ben’s account on I*******m.

“I’m still friends with him, but it’s weird; who is this hot woman?”

Lizzy’s question distracted Rakia from her cell phone, and she looked over one of the woman’s shoulders to see what she was asking. Rakia was increasingly confused, and negative thoughts immediately appeared. Several photos of the same woman wearing only a bikini are uploaded on Ben’s account.

“Was the account hacked?” Rakia spat out her suspicions. Lizzy was silent for a while, continuing to examine the photos of the woman.

“Somebody uploaded the photos three days ago. It’s possible that he was hacked, or... you don’t suspect anything about his behavior lately?” Lizzy tilted her head slightly as she turned towards Rakia.

“No, he can’t betray me; we will get married soon.” Suddenly, Rakia experienced a change of emotions. Lizzy chuckled.

“Hey, I’m just asking, don’t panic like that,” said Lizzy. Rakia tried to calm herself down.

“Try calling him and asking about this,” Lizzy suggested then.

“Yes, but not appointed,” Rakia said. Lizzy didn’t say anything else because she was in the film she was watching on television. At the same time, Rakia was still busy with her suspicions and assumptions, making her even more nervous.