2

As soon as all her work was done, Indira packed up all her tools and headed home. The boss at work was a kind man who actually offered to let Indira stay in one of the boarding rooms that belonged to him not far from their office building. But Indira politely declined the offer because she was still thinking of her grandmother who lived alone in their old house. So, even though she had to squeeze onto a public bus every time she came home from work, almost fainting from exhaustion, Indira still decided to go back to her home, which was quite far from her workplace.

Fortunately, her grandmother was a woman who valued cleanliness, so Indira would at least feel more at ease when she came home to find their house neat and clean. In her spare time, grandma planted a small flower garden on their tiny balcony and just like any other time, Indira today got off at one of the bus stops close to the public market to buy some cooking ingredients and a small pot of roses.

After double-checking all her purchases and making sure that nothing was missing, Indira walked back to the bus stop and waited for the next bus to take her home. She sat limp and sleepy as she leaned her head on the pole supporting the bus stop. Indira's gaze was fairly blank as she watched the traffic jam of four-wheeled vehicles scrambling for the road during office hours.

After waiting for some time while looking at the small dark green leaves in her lap, Indira got up as soon as the bus she was waiting for finally arrived. Seeing that there were no more empty seats available, Indira weakly stood beside the bus entrance while holding all her luggage in a tight grip.

Indira continued to stand in that position until the bus finally stopped at a bus stop not far from where she lived. Indira immediately got off and walked gingerly until she finally arrived at the flat building that had been her home for so long. Fortunately, even though it was a fairly remote apartment building with very low prices, the maintenance of the building was still acceptable to common sense because the street lights and corridor lights of each floor were at least lit with warm rays.

As Indira arrived at her doorstep, she could hear the sound of the television gradually getting louder. It was the distinctive sound of the music from the strange soap opera that had been her grandmother's favorite. As Indira opened the door, the smell of food drifting into her nose made all her tiredness disappear and her body became more relaxed.

"Dira?" Grandmother poked her head out of the kitchen door and with a smile continued, "You really always arrive home just as I'm about to finish cooking."

For the first time in the entire tiring day, Indira revealed a gentle smile as she greeted back, "Hello, Grandma."

Afterward, Indira took off her shoes and socks and placed them neatly on the shoe rack behind the door. She then stepped into the living room and placed all her belongings unceremoniously on the floor. Afterwards, Indira excitedly placed her small flower pot on the table saying, "I brought another flower for grandma."

Grandma walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate. Her old eyes were glued to the small white pot as she asked, "How much is it? It looks pretty... and expensive."

Hearing the somber tone of her favorite voice, Indira hurriedly shook her head and explained, "The stall was almost closed when I stopped by, so one small pot was only ten thousand rupiah. It was cheap and I deliberately chose the freshest-looking ones."

A wide smile then bloomed on the grandmother's wrinkled face. After she placed the plate on the table, Grandma grabbed the tiny pot and joyfully walked towards the balcony saying, "Very nice. Do you remember the story about how Grandma used to grow beautiful roses in her greenhouse?"

"Mn." Indira grabbed the plate on the table and got up and walked into the kitchen. She gazed at the dishes neatly arranged on the dining table then casually set out the cutlery for her and grandmother to use.

Not long after, grandma rejoined her in the kitchen and sat at the dining table muttering in a sad voice, "You look even paler. Don't stay inside your study all day and take a few minutes of your time to sunbathe."

"Yes, I will do that."

While eating, the two chatted about various trivial issues in their lives. But as soon as Indira's gaze accidentally fell on Grandmother's white hair, which seemed to be growing more and more, Indira felt sad.

Grandmother had been born into an educated family. Even though she wasn't considered to be of the noble class, she still fell into the category of the wealthy. Unfortunately, her husband was a selfish and stupid crazy bastard. If Grandma hadn't married him, today, she might be quietly living in a luxurious villa tending to her flower garden without having to worry about money for the rest of her life.

Even after falling into this kind of miserable condition, grandma still maintained her graceful and wise nature. She lived well without ever troubling her granddaughter. But even though she seemed to be doing well all this time, Indira knew that her heart was actually broken by her husband's betrayal. The pain of betrayal and the huge changes in her life had damaged her mind and body, but she refused to show her sadness to Indira.

Remembering what Arya Wiratama had said a week ago, Indira was getting impatient to sell herself for some money. If she did that, she would at least be able to fulfill her greatest desire to give her grandmother a comfortable and quiet life.

Unfortunately, since accepting Arya Wiratama's offer a week ago, Indira has not received any other news from the man. At this time, Indira began to feel anxious and disappointed, but also felt a relief that was difficult to explain. In short, she had been feeling moody all week. Indira even began to doubt that their meeting a week ago was just her imagination who was already very desperate because of debt problems. What if Arya Wiratama changed his mind?

When Indira was still deep in thought, the vibrating cell phone in her pants pocket managed to pull the young woman from her reverie. She casually opened an email containing a short message sent by her boss. But before Indira could carry the content of the message, her cell phone vibrated long with a pitch black screen showing an incoming call from an unknown number.

Although she was hesitant because she didn't recognize the unfamiliar number, Indira still swiped the screen to answer the call. After that, Indira felt her heart just rippled strangely as an unfamiliar heavy voice entered her senses.