Chapter 1: Prologue

In the chaotic rush of her morning routine, Mia Rosamund, affectionately known as Mia , finds herself on the brink of suffocation as she races against the clock with only 30 minutes left to spare. Each moment feels like a battle as she scrambles to complete her tasks in record time.

With her heart pounding, Mia hastily dons her attire and snatches her bag from its place on the wall before darting out of her room toward her roommate, Fillia Valencia Heidi, seeking a lifeline in the form of her motorcycle.

"Fillia, can I borrow your bike?" Mia blurts out, interrupting Fillia's breakfast.

"Of course, take it, Mia . I won't need it until noon," Fillia responds between bites of bread.

In a frenzy, Mia searches for the key, and upon Fillia's lazy direction, rushes into her friend's room. With nimble fingers, she retrieves the key from the nightstand and bolts out without a moment's hesitation, leaving Fillia to ponder her friend's perpetual rush.

As coworkers at Jakarta's largest company, Mia and Fillia's bond transcends the office walls, their chance encounter blossoming into an inseparable friendship. Despite their divergent backgrounds, they've chosen to share a living space, unwilling to be apart even outside of working hours.

Straddling Fillia's motorbike, Mia 's mind races faster than her wheels as she speeds toward work, acutely aware of her no-nonsense boss's intolerance for tardiness. With adrenaline coursing through her veins, she pushes the limits of the white motorcycle's capabilities, determined to defy the consequences of lateness.

But fate has other plans. At a bustling intersection, a sleek black luxury car hurtles into view, catching Mia off guard and sending her spiraling into chaos. In an instant, the screech of metal colliding fills the air as Mia 's world shatters along with her bike, leaving her stunned and shaken in the aftermath of the collision.

"Owwww!" Mia na screamed in pain, when she just realized that one of her legs was crushed by the motorbike.

As soon as the incident happened, the car owner immediately got down and approached Mia na.

"Hey! Are you crazy?" The baritone voice instantly distracted Mia na who was still focused on holding her leg, trying to endure the pain.

Mia na looked up slightly, then noticed the man who was now standing in front of her. There were shiny black loafers in front of her. She raised her gaze upwards. The appearance of a young executive-style man who was now in front of her. Seeing the man's appearance, Mia na was able to confirm that the man's face had a handsome face. However, she was instantly flabbergasted, when her gaze stopped right at the man's face.

It wasn't the ugliness that she saw, but something else that made her eyes widen. How she was very surprised when she found a handsome figure that was familiar to her.

"You?" said the man looking wide.

In fact it was not only Mia na who was surprised, but the man as well.

"Mr. Julian ?" Mia na seemed to round her eyes to Julian , the CEO of the company where she worked.

"You? Aren't you an employee in my office?" Julian asked, staring intently at Mia na's face.

"Right, Sir." Mia na hissed.

In an instant Julian 's expression turned even more furious and his gaze was so piercing. This suddenly made Mia na tremble in fear. Julian seemed to want to show his anger to Mia na.

"What did you do to my car? You wanted to destroy it on purpose, huh?" his sudden snap made Mia na even more nervous and scared.

"N-no, Sir," replied Mia na with slightly quivering lips.

"Then what is this?" Julian pointed to the dented part of his car, as if to make Mia na aware of the damage to the car.

Mia na, who had not paid attention to that part from the start, was again taken aback. Sure enough. As a result of her actions, some of Julian ' luxury cars were badly damaged.

"Oh my God, how did Mr. Julian ' car get so badly damaged?" Elena muttered to herself.

Before Mia na could end her daydream, Julian suddenly spoke again.

"You see? What have you done?" The loud voice that came out of Julian 's mouth suddenly made Mia na turn her attention back to the man.

However, just as Mia na was about to open her mouth to say something, her legs suddenly hurt even more. "Aawww!" she cried as she strengthened her grip on her feet.

Instantly Julian looked away in any direction when he saw Mia na's actions which were too classic to get his attention. He thought Mia na was deliberately distracting him, so that she could avoid any charges for the damage to the car. That was the reason why he kept Mia na whimpering in pain for a long time.

More and more he could not bear to see Mia na who was constantly groaning in pain. Who would have thought, it turned out to be successful in making his heart moved.

"Troublesome!" Julian immediately lifted the motorbike that hit Mia na's feet. At least he still has a conscience, so he is willing to help the woman who destroyed his luxury car.

"Thank you, Sir." Mia na tried to get up, although it was a little difficult because the pain had not completely gone. Even so, she still tried to do it well, without Julian 's help. After all, Julian didn't offer her any help either.

Now she was standing in front of Julian .

"So what about my car?" Before Mia na had finished moaning, Julian suddenly surprised her again.

When asked what to do, Mia na did not know the answer. What was she supposed to do with a car that was already so badly damaged. even if the car had to be taken to a repair shop, she wasn't sure she could pay the service fee, which might reach tens or even hundreds of millions of rupiah.

Where did she get that much money from? In fact, if she paid with her salary for even one month, it probably wouldn't be enough.

Mia na begins to worry about her own fate and the fate of her family in the village. Her goal in coming to town was to earn a lot of money in order to pay off her late father's huge debt. However, what would happen, if she gave up her salary to pay compensation for the car belonging to her boss? Not to mention she has to think about the cost of boarding and living expenses for her mother and sister in the village. She was already frustrated with the difficult situation she was in.

"Sorry, Sir, I didn't mean to," said Mia na, hoping that Julian would forgive her mistake.

"What? Sorry?" Julian snapped. "Do you think this car will ever go back to the way it was with you just apologizing?" Julian looked furiously at Mia na's face. He looked really, really angry about it.

"Then, what should I do?" asked Elena.

"Of course you have to compensate for the damage to my car!" Julian said

"Excuse me, if I may ask. How much do I have to pay for the damage to the car?" Mia na ventured to ask the nominal she should change.

"100 million!" Julian answered briefly, which suddenly surprised Mia na.

"Sorry, Sir. I can't seem to afford it, if I have to pay that much," answered Mia na honestly. She hoped that Julian would still have the conscience to free herself from this situation.

"I'll cut your salary for two years!" Julian said, suddenly making Mia na laugh. Two years? It's really not a very short time for her, then what will happen to her family? She thought.

"Sir, please don't do that. What will happen to my family in the village? I'm their only hope. My mother is sick, my younger brother is still in school, please don't do that to me. Where can we eat, if I have no paid work. Please don't do that!" said Mia na pleading, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

Without her realizing it, her eyes were already filled with tears, then the tears spilled out of control. She really didn't want to be faced with such a difficult situation anymore. It felt like God was being unfair to her. Why is she always given a complicated test, in the midst of her life that is getting more and more suffocating.

Seeing Mia na's attitude, Julian immediately raised an eyebrow. He was sure that Mia na was serious about his request. "So you can't compensate for the damage to my car, can you?" He asked which suddenly made Mia na reflexively nod her head.

"I will do whatever you ask, but please don't cut my salary. I really need the money to support my family in the village. I beg you!" Mia na explained while putting on a pitiful expression.

Julian was silent for a moment as if in thought. "Okay. What's your name?" He asked which suddenly made Mia na smile happily.

"Mia na, Sir," answered Mia na which made Julian frown instantly as if something was strange.

"If you really can't make amends, you have to do one thing for me." Julian said.

"What is it? I promise I will." Mia na replied a little enthusiastically.