Chapter 4. Clinging Suspicion

"What does she look like, Shada?"

Now Ruth was really curious about the person Shada had told her about. How could her belief that Shada would meet the person in her dream be proven? She looked at her interlocutor impatiently.

"He's tall and stout, and his muscles look strong." Shada answered Ruth's curiosity by trying hard to remember the events of last night which still felt like a dream.

"So? Can't you just answer everything at once?!" Ruth urged irritably, she really could die right now from curiosity.

"Husss... keep your voice down, Ruth!" However, Ruth's voice was getting more and more uncontrollable.

"Oops! Sorry, so please continue until the end. And don't stop!" Ruth ordered sternly. Shada looked at her in horror. Her eyes almost fell out of their sockets, Ruth was getting serious.

"He's so unreal, Ruth. He was so handsome, I was mesmerized by him. And he had pale white skin, just like yours." Shada explained while pointing at Ruth's arm that was being crossed, then continued. "His hair was pitch black. And her eyes, uh, now they look like yours!" Shada almost choked at the end of her own sentence. Ruth was equally shocked. Yes, that's right, Shada had just remembered that her best friend's eyes were often black and sometimes bright. Like bronze.

"Are you sure his eyes are like mine?" Ruth blinked her eyes quickly. Trying to convince herself of Shada's statement.

"Yes, hmm I'm not sure. Maybe they're similar. It's something like that," Shada denied quietly. She observed Ruth's red-brown bead. Meanwhile, Ruth was getting awkward being noticed like that.

"Shada, let's go to the cafeteria. I'm hungry." Ruth whined, followed by Shada's nod of agreement.

The two of them walked hand in hand to the cafeteria. After arriving, they looked at the menus for the day.

They lined up and named some foods to fill their trays. Shada accidentally saw Ruth whose gaze was fixed on a corner of the cafeteria. Her eyes then followed the direction that had caught Ruth's attention.

"Eh, that's the new noodle variant that just hit the market?" exclaimed a stunned Shada.

"Let's try it too!" Shada invited Ruth to taste the new noodles that were launched a few days ago by her company where she worked. Enthusiastically, Ruth followed Shada's lead, trailing behind her.

They chose a table and sat down at one of the stools.

"Oh yes, Shada. You know, in the next few months the company will be holding a recruitment drive." Ruth started talking while they were busy filling their stomachs.

"Really? In what division, Ruth?" responded Shada, who still had food in her mouth.

"In our division, Shada. Marketing and distribution," said a serious Ruth and continued, "Richard will lead the HR team in the recruitment."

"Richard? Are you serious? I hope he doesn't just pick pretty employees, but at least smart ones," Shada grumbled, swallowing the food she had been chewing.

"I hope so too. I hope it doesn't add to our burden." Ruth hissed as Shada's cell phone rang.

"Hello, Mom. What's wrong?" Shada rolled her eyes lazily.

"Yes, I'm having breakfast with my friend in the cafeteria."

"What?—yes, Mom."

Ruth gave a glance at Shada who was nodding. Then she turned back to her food.

"How's Daddy?" Shada raised her face for a moment. "Ah, you haven't communicated with him in a while? Why?"

"Of course I haven't contacted him! I was afraid of disturbing Daddy's busy life." Shada almost shouted, she realized she was in a public place, then looked down again.

"That's okay, Mom. I'll go back to work after this. Bye." Shada quickly cut off. She disconnected her phone unilaterally. She was annoyed, but her cell phone immediately rang again.

"What the—" Shada gasped, followed by a frown on her forehead. It wasn't her mom calling her again, but Max. His face lit up again. Ruth almost chuckled at Shada's quick change of mood.

"Hello, Max." she said enthusiastically.

"I'm in the cafeteria, why?"

"Of course I'm eating only with Ruth, who else?" Shada frowned at her fiancé's barrage of questions. Since when did he care when, where and with whom he ate.

"Is that all, Max? Don't you want to join us?"

"Well, good job," said Shada emphatically, but still managed to contain herself. She was very upset with her mom and Max right now. Her mood immediately slid into free fall uncontrollably.

♡♡♡

Meanwhile, Max was immersed in his busy pile of documents. He had been flipping through several sheets of paper in a folder, unable to focus on reading or even studying them. He slammed the folder hard onto the desk in front of him. He then took an exasperated breath and threw it away roughly.

Since that day, every night he couldn't sleep thinking about how Shada could betray him. He had known the girl since he was 11 years old, when Shada first set foot in Toronto. Then they started dating in Grade 1 of high school, when they finally had the opportunity to attend the same school.

He was furious with Shada's attitude that she was covering it up. In fact, he knew that he really loved Shada. In his life all this time there was only Shada, no one else. That was the reason why he immediately ventured to propose to Shada two months ago. The days when the action of getting engaged to Shada had not received full support from his parents, although they were very supportive for him to be with Shada. This is because his father wants Max to focus on his company. It was inevitable that one day he would be appointed as the president of Holy Food, replacing his father's position. In addition, Shada's parents who are increasingly losing communication from them is also one of the reasons why Max is considered too hasty to get engaged to Shada.

It couldn't be like this, he had to act immediately to keep an eye on Shada. He wanted to know to what extent she had been playing with this relationship. She quickly picked up her cell phone. He typed in a name that he would call.

"Hello, I need you."

♡♡♡

The sky was getting darker. Shada couldn't wait for the darkness of the night. No, more precisely she couldn't wait for that figure to return. She immediately got out of bed, she walked along the cold floor of the room and deliberately opened the door that was directly connected to the minimalist balcony again.

After that, she busied herself glued to the monitor screen of her laptop. The wind blew against Shada's goosebumpy skin. It managed to sway the curtains in her room violently.

"Shada... "

This heavy, deep and masculine voice. Demian. Shada gasped and turned to the source of the voice.

"Are you waiting for me?" Demian's soft voice washed over Shada again. He was standing at the door.

Shada choked on her own voice, her throat dried up instantly. Demian took a firm step towards her who was still glued to her bed.

Meanwhile, Max swiftly turned the wheel of his car. This evening he planned to go to Shada's house. It had been a long time since he had seen inside Shada's house. And of course, he would look for evidence to corroborate his statement. Now he was only a few meters away from his girlfriend's house.

Demian was getting closer, now their faces were only 15 centimeters apart. Shada could even feel Demian's warm breath. She was even more mesmerized to see him from such a close distance.

Demian then pressed his lips to Shada's, looking deep into her beady eyes, wanting to see how she would react. However, Shada didn't move, because she wanted to.

Demian sucked on Shada's thin lips, savoring every bit of it. Meanwhile, Shada closed her eyes, feeling how her lust united with the lips of this unreal figure. She then reciprocated until she didn't hear the car roaring underneath her house.

Shada's cell phone rings loudly. Demian felt disturbed, and quickly grabbed the cell phone that happened to be nearby. He frowned as he saw Max's name on the screen. Annoyed, he accepted the call.

"Hello, Sweetheart. I'm in front of your home right now."