1 She was a stalker!
Today was like any normal day. Bella Lim woke up, readied herself and her six years old brother. Around 7 am, she would send her little brother to one of the cheapest primary school in the city. Afterward, she would ride her motorbike to her workplace; Simply Café.
She had worked for over five years in the same café. Her first job was as a waitress. Two years later she was assigned as a barista. Later, when her boss noticed her no-nonsense attitude, she was promoted to the managerial post. That happened just recently. In fact, it happened a week ago.
Bella Lim was happy yet unhappy at the same time with the promotion. First, she was happy because her pay would increase. Second, she was unhappy because of the workload.
Even though Simply Café was a small café, situated in the center of the city, the amount of customers that come and goes was a headache for the few workers in the café. Therefore, she had to share the burden of her fellow workers. In the end, her work doubled! She didn't know whether to cry or not.
When she suggested hiring more workers, the boss had rejected her proposal because they needed the money for the expansion project.
In the end, Bella Lim could only swallow her saliva and work tirelessly together with the rest. Thankfully, except for being stingy in recruiting, her boss wasn't that rigid in other areas and let her take full control.
"Good morning!"
Bella Lim who just entered her workplace smiled when her eyes met four pairs of eyes who were looking at her. Daniel and Lily, the only waiter and waitress were setting up tables. Carla, the newly recruited barista was wiping her lucky cup with a soft cloth. While Elis was about to put on his chef attire.
"Good morning guys!" she returned their greetings with her usual. Then, she proceeded towards the small office that was located at the back.
Bella Lim put her brandless bag on the desk and approached the full-body mirror that stood at one corner of the room. She stared at herself for quite some time before sighing. People who didn't know of her real age would often guess that she was around thirty. The truth was, she wasn't.
Bella Lim was only 23 years old.
Due to the sudden death of her parents, she was forced to leave school at 16 years old so that she could cater to the needs of her younger brother. Her 'old' look was the result of endless working hours she had dedicated herself too.
Plus, never once had she taken care of herself as most women did. Bella Lim believed that if she put on a good amount of sunscreen on her face, she was already taking care of her skin. Thankfully, her lips had the natural shade of pink or else, she might really think that she was an old, sickly woman.
"If you want to die, make sure you have no regret," she muttered once, twice, thrice, forcing each word to etch into her soul, mind, and heart. It was the sentence that put a soul into her life a long time ago. A long, long time ago, when she first met him.
'Time to work.' Bella Lim thought as her eyes glanced at the wall clock. 7.45 am. Simply Café would start operating at 8.30 am. That was the time in which the city would begin rustling and buzzing. Soon, she walked out of her office and gathered all the workers for the morning briefing.
"Carla, your popular coffee bean had arrived yesterday evening. There should be no problem with stock anymore so feel free to brew more,"
"Daniel, make sure to smile all the time,"
"Lily, please help Daniel whenever the counter is free,"
"Elis, don't be lazy. Make sure we don't run out of sweet things like yesterday,"
"Last but not least, don't slack! Understand?"
"Yes, mam!"
Bella Lim nodded satisfyingly at their response and instructed them to continue with their respective work. She noticed that Elis winked at her before he walked into the kitchen. She frowned and decided to ignore his weird act.
8.30 AM. Few customers were already seen occupying the tables at Simply Café. Bella Lim, who was counting and recording the new stocks walked out of her office after noticing the busyness on the CCTV screen.
Daniel seemed to struggle to keep up with the increasing number of customers.
Bella Lim could only sigh as she went out of her office and put on the waitress's uniform.
"Welcome to Simply Café, please have a seat," Bella greeted a male customer who just came in. She ushered him to an empty table next to a table that was occupied by two female customers.
"What would you like to have sir?" Bella asked politely. Her body was slightly bent to appear more polite. She was holding a tablet and a pen on both her hands.
The man pondered for a while when he finally decided on Breakfast Set A. This set comprised of a cup of hot coffee paired with a waffle.
As Bella Lim was taking note of the man's order, she heard the excited voices of the female customers nearby.
"Did you watch the broadcast last night? The number one bachelor in our country is taken! Moreover, he will get married next week!"
"I did! His future wife is a famous actress, Karen Yang. They are like a king and a queen! Both are handsome and gorgeous. God, I hope they'll broadcast the wedding,"
"I can't believe the one and only Eric Wu is taken. Everyone was saying that he is gay, now who's gay? God, I hope I'm Karen. Do you think, she has seen his smiling face?"
"Stupid, of course, she has. She is the future mistress of the Wu Corporation!"
Bella Lim frowned at what she just heard. She didn't realize the amount of force she put on holding the tablet. Her fingers that were holding the pen was trembling.
"Excuse me?" Bella Lim was awakened from her trance by a male voice. Then, she realized that she was still standing next to the male customer. The man was looking at her with a shock expression.
"Breakfast Set A will be right away sir," Bella Lim smiled at the male customer and left. She dismissed the anger that began to form inside her mind. The man with a shock expression was still staring at her back while thinking that what he witnessed earlier could be a false image. The woman's face was kind of scary. He shivered.
Bella Lim didn't know that she had unintentionally induced fear to a certain someone. She passed the order to Carla and helped to prepare the waffle. The man had requested the filling to be peanut butter and strawberry jam. It took them only a few minutes to prepare the man's order before Daniel volunteered to deliver it to the man.
An hour later, the situation inside the café was getting better. Customers were still coming in and out, but Daniel and Lily managed to handle all the work well. Bella Lim was relieved.
"Daniel, Lily, keep up the good work. If there's anything, you know where to find me," she said and then left after seeing the two nodded in unison.
Inside her office, Bella Lim drank a full glass of water, then threw her body on the hard chair. She recalled the news she heard outside and sighed.
Oh, how she wished to correct the gossip ladies' opinion about the so-called couple. But, who was she to talk about it? No one would pay heed to the gibberish of an ordinary woman like her.
Even if she screamed to the world that Eric Wu didn't love that woman called Karen Yang, no one would pay attention to her.
Maybe if she told them about her peculiar hobby, there could be a chance. But before the chance made an appearance, she would be condemned first. Because, who would believe the words of a stalker?
