Chapter 2

The white wedding dress with a simple model but fantastic value perfectly wrapped Rakia’s body. She looks like a fairy tale princess now. She smiled, seeing her reflection in the mirror wearing her wedding dress in the locker room where she ordered the dress.

“Liz, take a picture, please; I’ll send Ben,” Rakia asked, to which Lizzy smiled.

“It would be better if it were a surprise for her,” said Lizzy, preparing to take a picture of Rakia on the woman’s cell phone. Rakia posed as well as she could with several poses. After finishing, Rajia sent the photos to Ben via W******p. After trying it on, she removed the dress; the bridal staff who had accompanied her packed it neatly. Rakia asks Lizzy to take her to get the dress because Lizzy has a car.

“Have you tried calling Ben?” Lizzy asked as they were on their way home.

“Yes, this morning I called, but it didn’t take long because he said he was taking a photo shoot.” Rakia stared at the highway, which was quite congested by vehicles. Three days without work was like being in prison.

“Have you been looking for a new place to work again?” Lizzy asked again.

“Not yet, but I have plans to apply at Red One.”

Lizzy frowned while still focusing on driving.

“Why there? Aren’t you afraid of being mistaken for a spy? You’re from his competitor’s TV station. Don’t you want to go with your father to National Geography?”

Rakia bit her lip, thinking. Lizzy’s suggestion is okay, too, especially after she called.

Her father received an offer to join the adventure team.

“I want to, but later, I haven’t talked to Ben about this either,” Rakia decided. She doesn’t want to make a unilateral decision because she can no longer make arbitrary decisions after she marries Ben.

“That’s right, then you talk to Ben as soon as possible, but how come he looks like he’s avoiding you like that?” Lizzy started with her speculation.

“You mean Ben?” Rakia confirmed. Lizzy nodded.

“You guys want to get married. It should be more intense, not like this, hard to contact; you don’t fight, do you?” Lizzy glanced at Rakia briefly.

“We’re fine, maybe just because he’s busy. That’s it; you have a habit of negative thinking that doesn’t go away.” Rakia pouted. Even Lizzy chuckled.

“Supposedly, I’m the journalist, right if you are suspicious of him? People can change quickly; the causes can be anything, from the cliché to the complex.”

Folding her arms in front of her chest, Rakia thought about what Lizzy said, which she felt had some truth. Their conversation stopped when they stopped at a simple Padang restaurant for lunch. For some reason, Rakia felt uneasy on one side of herself. As a result, she had time to daydream, and Lizzy also reprimanded her.

“What if Ben betrays you?” asked Lizzy, suddenly looking at Rakia seriously. Rakia, who was drinking her orange juice using a plastic straw, looked at Lizzy in surprise. Then she shifted her gaze to her orange juice and smiled with a sigh.

“Why do you ask that?” Rakia curiously raised her gaze and looked back at Lizzy. The stares just shrugged.

“Just wanted to ask,” Lizzy answered casually.

“If Ben betrays me, I will let it go even though it’s hard for me to accept it, but I don’t want to force him to be with me if he doesn’t want to.”

Lizzy smiled.

“Just kidding, don’t sweat it. Go home now?”

Rakia agreed to the offer; she walked out first and waited near the car while leaning against the car body where she would sit later. She looked around the parking lot. Her attention was caught by a shiny black Camry that had just entered the restaurant’s parking lot. She stared at the luxury car and wondered about its owner. A man wearing a white polo shirt has muscles printed on his arms. Jeans with torn accents at the knees hang provocatively on her hips, straight with a towering posture. His slightly tanned skin adds a masculine impression. They exchanged glances when the man turned around after closing the car door. Rakia stared at the man, observing. Without Rakia expecting, the man approached her. Rakia felt uncomfortable when the man approached her, pretending to divert her attention toward the restaurant building.

“Don’t look at a man that way,” said the man matter-of-factly. The Caught Rakia couldn’t help but stutter, and then she tried to control her nervousness and embarrassment. She turned to the stranger.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I didn’t mean anything,” Rakia replied.

“Maybe you don’t have any intention, but you can make a man fall in love just by looking at him; want to be my wife?”

Suddenly, Rakia’s eyes widened when she heard that ridiculous offer. The stranger laughed lightly.

“Just kidding, I hope we’ll meet again,” said the man before leaving the dumbfounded Rakia. His gaze didn’t leave the man until Lizzy came near the car and caught his attention.

“What’s the matter? Have you seen ghosts?” asked Lizzy, confused by Rakia’s dumbfounded attitude. Instead of answering Rakia, she wanted to get into the car, but the car door was still locked; she looked at Lizzy and motioned with a glare to tell the woman to unlock it. She quickly got into the car and closed the door. Lizzy, who felt strange about Rakia’s attitude, immediately followed the woman into the vehicle.

“Are you seeing a real ghost?” Lizzy asked while starting the car engine, and then they left the parking lot.

“No, I just... meeting a strange guy. When he asked me to be his wife, it was like offering a peekaboo on the side of the road.” Rakia opened her voice. Lizzie laughed.

“Handsome guy?” Lizzy was a little curious.

“Didn’t you see when you were still inside? He was just in when you came out.”

Lizzy thought for a moment, and then her lips formed an O.

“Who’s that hot guy? Did he say that to you? Why don’t you accept it while your wedding dress is ready? Lizzy chuckled at his joke. Rakia glanced at him.

“What’s wrong with you? If you want it, you can have it.”

“Really? He’s handsome. It’s rare to find a handsome guy like him on eart, and even exist that’s not so so,” Lizzy said.

“Then what will Ben do?”

“Yeah, just throw it away; he’s about to expire; don’t you ask for his cellphone number? W******p, I*******m, F******k, Twitter?”

Rakia wore a dramatic expression of disgust.

“Look, when it comes to guys, there’s no brake. Besides, I was looking at it when he just arrived. Yeah, it steals attention because he’s wearing a Camry that’s so sleek.”

Lizzy chuckled as she shook her head.

“You’re not being polite, are you?! Usually yes. If you stare at a strange boy, he will think that it’s a signal from you to him.”

“Is that so?” Rakia looked stupid. Lizzy rolled her eyes.

“Yes, yes,” Lizzy snapped quickly.

“I just stared at him because he just arrived because his car stole the attention,” defended Rakia, who disagreed with Lizzy’s argument.

“Yeah, right; the meaning of people’s gazes varies depending on the moment; it was just an ordinary moment. I’m a streanger who finished eating at the shop, and he’s a stranger who stopped by to eat at the shop,” Rakia added. Lizzy snorted.

“Ask Ben about this later. He must be thinking the same as I am.” Lizzy ended the little debate between them. Rakia is momentarily distracted by Ben. She also chose not to debate Lizzy further and diverted his activities and thoughts to social media.

“Liz, can I borrow your account? Want to peek at Ben.” Rakia asked while grabbing Lizzy’s cell phone on the dashboard. As he checked his fiancée’s I*******m account, he was back, assaulted by bewilderment. A photo shows his fiancé wearing a white suit; he looks like a groom at a wedding, and a woman beside him is seen wearing a wedding dress; they smile at the camera and tenderly embrace each other. The photo is set in a sea view. Rakia’s heart pounded as she swallowed her saliva a few times.

“Liz,” she called without looking at Lizzy, her eyes focused on the cellphone screen. Lizzy looked up momentarily and was again confused to see the expression her best friend had shown a few moments ago in front of the restaurant repeating itself.

“Why? Seeing ghosts on I*******m again?”

Those who were asked were silent. Rakia was still focused on checking her fiancé’s porch the last few days. Still, nothing was strange until the photo of a woman Lizzy found a few days ago. Rakia also read the caption listed on the picture she had just seen.

We are so blessed with this marriage.