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"Okay, now you give me two million."

Ken's hand was extended to Harry, making the man with the slightly plump body stop his footsteps. It had been fifteen minutes since he and Ken had exercised around the public stadium for a relaxing afternoon. Ken's 'strange' request, however, made Harry scrunch up his waist. He inhaled and exhaled, doing so repeatedly before finally responding to Ken's words. "What's two million? I don't feel like I owe you anything."

"Don't pretend to have amnesia, please?"


Harry frowned, getting more and more surprised. "I asked you, did I promise to pay two million to you?"

"Well, I'll remind you." Ken patted Harry's shoulder who was still trying to regain his breath, then continued, "You want to give me two million if I can get Gabriella close to me."


The big man laughed as he replied to Ken, he did the same, lightly hitting Ken's shoulder who was now furrowing his brow with an expression of surprise there. "Ken Kalandra, son of Mr. Subagya Kalandra and Mrs. Rinata Lim, please listen to the contents of our bet carefully. I'll give you two million if you manage to get that girl as your girlfriend, and... of course, after fucking her." Harry withdrew his hand from Ken's body, and his forehead furrowed deeply. "I can do that too. Here, I'll just ask for her number from you and then I'll approach her. How the hell are you!"

"Are you serious about your bet?"

Harry nodded his head, then started moving again, continuing the afternoon jog that had been delayed by their conversation. "I made this bet because I saw that the girl you told me about was hard to get close to. Does she work at your place now?"

"Yes, she starts tomorrow."

"I'll remind you once again, Ken. You only have a week, ask her out, sleep with her, and send me the proof."

Ken's black eyebrows were now linked, and he seemed a little confused by what one of his best friends meant, before moving to catch up with Harry and throwing a question. "Do you really have to send proof?"

"Well, so what? You just want to say that you've had sex with her?" Harry chuckled. "Then you can just be dishonest."

"Since when am I dishonest?"

"Anyway, for this bet, you have to be able to send me proof. Whether it's photos, videos, or voice recordings. Whatever, it's up to you, boss."

Ken turned his gaze forward, no longer looking at Harry who was running casually to his right. He then shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, before saying, "Don't worry, it's easy. I'll sleep with her before one week, you'll see."

"You're too confident."

The confident grin of the man in his thirties filled Harry's ears. Harry turned his head, while Ken moved his eyebrows up and down there. "It's Ken, what girl can't I conquer with my handsome face, hm?"

"You're really too arrogant, you'll regret it."

"Hahah, let's hurry up, so we'll follow Alan, right?"

"Okay, come on."



---

"Thank you, Glen."

Glen turned his body around so that he was now standing facing Gabriella. "For what?"

"Well, to accompany me on my walk, even though it wasn't intentional. But it's also fun to have someone listen to our stories," Gabriella said, then smiled a little. "Are you going straight back or are you going inside again?"

The man with the sleek black hair smiled, then chuckled softly. "Are you seriously telling me to go inside the mall again after we leave?"

"Hahaha maybe," the woman joked.

"No, I'm just going to pull out. It's too much work, right?" Glen put one hand in his pants pocket and took out the cell phone he had stored there. He held it out to Gabriella. "I'll ask for your number if you don't mind. Living in Los Angeles for so long, it's hard for me to meet new friends here. You're the first friend I've made here, do you mind if I ask you for help with anything?"

Gabriella's eyes blinked, slightly incredulous. But a moment later, the woman immediately accepted Glen's boba cell phone and nodded her head. "Don't call me if it's not really important."

"Didn't you just resign? You should be relaxed?"

The woman snorted and handed the phone back to the owner. She shrugged her shoulders and explained, "Actually, I'm starting work at a new place tomorrow. So it's not really relaxing, but it's not necessarily busy either."

Glen nodded in understanding. "Okay, noted."

"You just reminded me of my old job anyway," Gabriella chuckled. A sweet smile ended her words. "Then, shall we part ways here? Thanks again for taking me. It's really hard to find a car in this mall parking lot."

"Hahaha, relax. Alright, I'll leave."

"Okay."

Glen's body left her and disappeared after the man passed several cars that were neatly parked in the parking lot of the Grand Mall of New York. Gabriella took the car keys from her bag, then got into the car after successfully opening it. The woman's gaze wandered around, there were only cars parked neatly there. Occasionally there were visitors passing by, but it was nothing to her.

Gabriella took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly and now both hands were ready on the steering wheel.

Although her gaze was fixed on the road in front of her, Gabriella's mind drifted to a distant place. Childhood memories between her and her parents that were still complete suddenly played like dusty old tapes. The happy gaze of her mother and father when they heard Gabriella was doing well in school, the laughter that boomed from the lighthearted jokes that just happened, and the warm embrace that no one could ever replace.

Tears finally fell down, wetting Gabriella's clean cheeks. The woman pursed her lips, keeping her mouth locked tightly. She sobbed silently, while her hands were still running the steering wheel in front of her. The tempo of the vehicle, which was previously normal, now slowed down, the further away from the Mall, the more Gabriella pulled over, just in case her mood worsened and the woman wanted to stop.

At least she was only endangering herself, not anyone else behind her.

The woman lifted her face and took in as much oxygen as she could. Her chest was tight from the reality that was too painful. As much as she hated her own father, Gabriella also didn't want to lose him again. Because no matter how much you miss him, losing him to death will only make your longing more painful.

It was death... the only reason, that longing could never be avenged. And of course, Gabriella wasn't ready to feel that huge emptiness in her chest cavity for a second time.

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