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Because of yesterday's incident, Gabriella and Wendy chose not to go anywhere and only spent time chatting at Gabriella's boarding house. It was from there that Gabriella finally found out about the events that happened to Wendy, including when she finally caught Rian cheating on her, the scene of almost hitting Rian with her car and how Wendy got to know Alan in the end.


Gabriella also finally found out that Wendy started to be attracted to Alan because of his Kensa attitude and very gentlemanly. But Wendy asked the woman to pretend not to know and let her feelings be a secret.

On the way, Gabriella then thought, if it was that easy for Wendy to open her heart to a new man in her life when just a few days earlier she had just broken up with her boyfriend, shouldn't Gabriella also try to open her heart? Five years passed, it should have been enough time for the woman to organize her broken heart, put it back together and make the locked door of her heart open again. However, was the door really supposed to open for Ken?

"Gabriella?"


A familiar voice made Gabriella turn her head. The woman who had just gotten out of her car squinted curiously, before raising both eyebrows curiously as the figure who had called her approached.

"Glen?" Gabriella gave a small smile. "You're here early?"


Glen, who was dressed formally in a long gray shirt and black pants, flashed his best smile in front of Gabriella. His hawk-like eyes gazed enthusiastically at his old friend's face. "I wanted to invite you to breakfast."

"But I have to work," said Gabriella.

"We can have breakfast here. The restaurant is open too, right?"

"But-"

"That's it. Don't bother. Your boss won't be mad if we eat inside, right? Besides, I paid for it. My treat, right?"

The woman with her hair pulled back looked around hesitantly, before finally nodding her head and agreeing to Glen's offer. "Yes."

The two then walked towards the inside of Selera Chinnese Food together. Every Monday, the employees at the place usually held a weekly meeting. As Ken had said when they signed the contract, this weekly meeting would be to evaluate the system and the performance of the workers.

But fifteen minutes after Gabriella sat down with Glen and enjoyed one of the menus, Kwetiauw and seafood fried rice, Ken had yet to show up at work.

"So you plan to work here for a long time?"

Gabriella, who had just finished chewing the food in her mouth, looked at Glen. "Hm, I don't know really. During the few days I've been working here, everything's fine. I enjoy the work."

The man who was now sitting in front of Gabriella nodded his head. "I see... Uh, next week, let's go for a walk?"

"Go?"

"Yes, just the two of you. How about just traveling around New York? Let me know the areas here too."

But Gabriella's attention was not focused. Her eyes, which were wearing gray softlens, wandered around, seemingly looking for someone she hadn't found at first.

"I'm coming back to Jogja next week," Glen added, which made Gabriella gasp instantly. Preoccupied with his food, the man didn't realize that Gabriella wasn't paying attention to him. "So it would be a shame if we didn't go for a walk first."

Gabriella's lips rounded. "Ooh, back to Jogja again?"

Gabriella's very casual question made Glen snort with amusement. He stirred the chocolate milkshake in front of him, before looking up and nodding. "Yes. But I'm sure... our meeting wasn't just a coincidence."

The woman's brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"

"You know that I had a crush on you at school, right?"

Gabriella snorted, then crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought it was just kids' gossip. We were never in the same class again after eleventh grade."

"But rumors start with the truth," Glen said calmly.

But Glen's calm-as-sea-water demeanor made Gabriella feel strange. She tried to divert her discomfort by getting busy again with the super-spicy kwetiauw on the table. Gabriella lowered her face, pretending to notice the blend of Chinese rice noodles on her plate.

"I like you, Elle." Gabriella stopped what she was doing and looked up at Glen with a surprised expression. "Back in school."

"Oooh, okeee," Gabriella sighed, slightly relieved.

But that relief was only temporary. Because afterward, Glen continued, "But when I met you yesterday ... I became convinced of something."

"Something?"

"That feeling is still there today," Glen continued.

Strangely, the euphoria when Glen revealed his feelings was not the same as when Ken was the one who opened up about his heart. There was a very noticeable difference there, Gabriella felt absolutely nothing in her chest.

Only awkwardness and discomfort filled her at the moment.

Especially when the man who was the same age as her moved his hand to touch the back of Gabriella's hand. Gabriella watched the movement without doing anything, then slowly, Glen patted it gently. Glen smiled a little while Gabriella just wore a disinterested expression on her face. "I don't like seeing you sad like that night. I'm sure I can be the one to take away all your sadness. At least, I'm sure I'll be able to keep you happy."

Gabriella drew in oxygen silently, then withdrew her hand from Glen. Leaving him too long only made her feel uncomfortable. She pursed her lips for a moment, before saying, "Sorry, Glen. I'm not used to being touched by other people."

"Oh, sorry, sorry," Glen said guiltily. He then pulled his glass closer, then stirred the straw again to make the light brown drink more mixed. "If you accept my feelings, I hope we can meet the day after tomorrow, before I return to Jogja. But if you don't come... that means... well, it's time for me to open my heart to someone else."

There was no meaningful response from her interlocutor, Gabriella just chose to remain silent and listen to Glen's words without justifying them.

"I hope my wait for a dozen years can bear fruit and at least, you can see me as one of the guys who is serious about falling in love with you, Elle." Glen smiled. "We'll meet in the Kemang area at eight in the evening. How about it? I'll let you know the exact location when you've thought about my question."

"Okay, I'll ... reconsider."

"Thank you very much, Elle."

Although secretly, Gabriella already knew the answer to Glen's question even without reconsidering it.


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