Chapter 7

In the room, Emi was crying sobbingly. She didn't expect that her suspicion all this time was true. Bara and Nicole did have a secret feeling for each other. Emi had just seen them joking around in the campus building yard. Her heart shattered into pieces. She felt Bara didn't care about their relationship that was on the edge.

Not many people knew about it, what people knew was that Bara and Nicole often fought every time they met. They always teased each other, mocked each other, and annoyed each other. But it turned out that it was all just a mask to hide their true feelings. Emi herself never suspected before, because she considered them only as competitors on campus.

After seeing the incident on campus this afternoon, Emi promised that from then on, she would try to forget Bara. Even though it was very hard and very painful for her. But she didn't want to be a barrier between Bara and Nicole. She didn't want to feel the pain too much anymore. She also didn't want Bara and Nicole to feel guilty. She just wanted them to be happy, even without her.

Emi took her phone and opened the photo gallery. She saw the photos of memories with Bara. She smiled sadly, then deleted all the photos. She didn't want to see Bara's face again. She wanted to start a new page.

Suddenly the sound of a knock on the door was heard.

"Emi, are you okay?" her mother's voice was heard from outside the room. "You've been in the room for a long time. Don't you want to eat?"

"No, Mom. I'm not hungry." Emi answered with a hoarse voice.

"Are you sick? Do you want mom to come in?" her mother asked again, worried.

"No, Mom. I'm fine. I'm just sleepy and want to rest." Emi lied.

"Okay, then. But if you need something, tell mom, okay." her mother said, then left.

Emi sighed. She felt grateful to have a mother who cared for her. But she couldn't tell her mother about her love problem with Bara. She didn't want to make her mother worry. She had to be able to solve her problem by herself.

Emi closed both eyes and tried to sleep. But she couldn't. The images of Bara and Nicole kept appearing in her head. She felt a tightness in her chest. She cried again, slowly. She hoped tomorrow would be a better day. She hoped the wound in her heart would heal and she hoped she could forget Bara quickly.

***

Jane had just arrived home after her first day at college. She felt happy and tired at the same time. She saw her father who was finishing his work in the TV room. Her father was a very busy lawyer who often brought complicated cases home. Jane admired her father, but also felt sorry for him.

Knowing that her only child had returned, her mother who was cooking in the kitchen immediately approached Jane. Her mother was a housewife who always loved and supported Jane in everything. Jane was very close to her mother and often told her about everything that happened in her life.

"How was your first day at college?" Jane's mother asked, kissing and hugging her beloved daughter. She wanted to know if Jane enjoyed her new experience in the academic world.

"Very fun. I also met Angel. It turns out he is my senior." Jane told her mother and then sat on the sofa next to her father. It had been a long time since Jane had met her cousin. Even though they were in the same city and also the same area.

"What is this?" Jane asked, seeing her father's work piled up on the table. There were many documents, laptops, and books scattered around. Jane wondered how her father could work in the midst of such chaos.

Her mother just smiled and returned to the kitchen. She was used to her father's habit of often bringing his work home. She always tried not to disturb her father when he was focused. And as a good wife, she also always prepared delicious food and drinks for Jane's father so that he would not lack energy when working and solving new cases.

"Father thought of bringing work home. So that father can work on it leisurely. Great, isn't it?" Jane's father said, typing on his laptop and throwing a smile at his daughter. Her father tried to joke so that Jane would not feel anxious. He was proud of Jane who had entered college and wanted to set a good example for his daughter.

Jane couldn't figure out her father who was really a workaholic. She worried about her father's health and happiness. She hoped her father could relax more and enjoy life. She also wanted to spend more time with her father.

Her father also smiled, looking at his daughter who was leaning on the sofa.

"Alright, good work. Then I will rest. Bye!" Jane said, going to her room on the 2nd floor. She felt tired after a day of activities at college. She just wanted to rest for a nap and hoped to have a beautiful dream in broad daylight.

Then, Jane entered her room. She immediately put her bag on her study table which was full of novel books. After that she also stepped towards the bed and started throwing her body on the bed. Her room was her favorite place in the house. She liked the pastel colors that decorated the walls, cabinets, and bedspreads of her room. She also had a lot of collections of books, toys, and photos that made her room feel warm and comfortable.

Suddenly she remembered when Bara smiled at her earlier in the auditorium. And she also remembered Angel's words saying that Bara was a very good person. Angel knew Bara since the first semester and he said that Bara was a polite, smart, and talented person. Angel also said that he regretted betraying Bara.

Angel's sad face made Jane think, why did her cousin look so regretful.

"But for me, he is a heart breaker." Jane muttered, concluding.

Jane just felt that Angel's step was right to leave Bara. After all, what she saw before was clear enough. The man even betrayed his girlfriend named Emi with a beautiful girl named Nicole whom she admired on the first day Jane entered college.

Jane immediately closed both eyes and tried to forget Bara. She wanted to rest to sleep and dream in the daytime about other things that were more enjoyable than other people's life problems. She hoped tomorrow would be a better day.

***