The man standing in front of Luana looked familiar.

With a short haircut that still hadn't changed, and dimples that seemed to curve his face every time he smiled. His height had probably increased by a few centimeters, and now his body looked stronger with broad shoulders and a broad chest.


Luana's eyes widened. Not expecting to find him on her doorstep, she nearly screamed.

"Mario?!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

How could Mario be here?


The man called Mario turned his smile into a small grin, unceremoniously pulling Luana's hand that was hanging at her side.

"It's really you, Lue!" he exclaimed no less incredulously.


Luana chuckled.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked again. Unaware of letting her hand remain in Mario's grip, the woman was only focused on speaking to her guest now.

"I work here, Lue," Mario said.

Luana smiled at the greeting 'Lue' that Mario had only ever given her, and it had been so long since she had heard that name.

"I think I've got the wrong person," Mario said again. "I saw you walking from the front, and I knew it was you. But I didn't dare say hello because you were with some other people, so I chose to buy some time."

Luana seemed to be listening carefully to the words spoken by Mario, her best friend. It felt like a long time had passed, and who would have thought that she would meet Mario on her first-day landing in Heidelberg?

"Ah, I see," said Luana.

"Where have you been? How have you been?" asked Mario quickly. He missed his best friend, and ever since Luana had left their city a few years ago, their communication had fallen by the wayside.

Luana smiled.

"I'm fine," she said. "As you can see, I'm fine. And how is Aunt Anne?"

Mario smiled back. Luana still hadn't forgotten him, and that was a great relief to him. Moreover, the woman also remembered Anne -- Mario's biological mother, who had known Luana very well.

"My mom is good," Mario replied. "She'll be happy if she knows you're here, Lue. When do you have time? We can visit my house after work. How about it?"

Luana shook her head vaguely. She wasn't there for vacation, and she didn't even know if she had a chance to tour the city or not. She didn't know where Rey Lueic was right now, and if they would be staying there for long.

"I don't know if I can, Mario," Luana said honestly. Looking down, there was a hue of sadness on her face.

Mario squeezed Luana's fingers, releasing the feelings of longing that had built up inside.

"But are you here to work?" he asked. "Is your employer inside?"

Mario knew Luana Casavia couldn't rent their super deluxe room for herself. They were used to living in the lower classes, and being in a star hotel like this was just wishful thinking.

So Mario simply assumed that Luana must have come to work and that her employer was probably already waiting inside. But noticing the clothes Luana was now wearing, Mario squinted slowly.

"What do you do, Lue?" he asked probingly. "Your clothes look different and they're probably quite expensive. Don't tell me that..." the man paused in his sentence, guessing with eyes that glared deeply at Luana.

Luana grimaced. It was a long story if she had to explain to Mario right now, while her body was already feeling tired by now and she was eager to rest.

"Uhm, it's..." Luana stammered, trying to find the right words to explain her situation.

Mario was still waiting, this time with a more probing gaze.

"Lue, don't tell me you came with...."

Luana knew she didn't have much time. Explaining everything to Mario would take up her time, and this was not the right time to have a reunion with her friend. Although Luana was happy to see Mario again, the fate of her life was still in question.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to answer, a loud thud coming from down the hall was heard.

Reflexively, both Luana and Mario turned their heads towards the source of the sound and found a man with a shirt whose sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows ruffling his waist not far away.

Luana swallowed hard.

That man was Rey Lueic.

Stepping with a wide swing of his legs, Rey cut down the distance between himself and the two people who were holding hands with each other. Stopping right in front of Mario who was wearing a hotel uniform, Rey glared at the man deeply.

"Who are you?" he asked flatly. "And why are you holding my wife's hand?"

Luana gave a small gasp, with her ears held high.

My wife? My wife, he said?

Something seemed to evaporate right then and there, as Luana reflexively withdrew her hand from Mario's, followed by Mario's lightning-fast removal of the woman's hand.

Half bowing, Mario gave a respectful gesture to Rey who had just arrived. Mario certainly knew who Rey Luiec was.

A high-ranking nobleman who was already a VVIP guest at their hotel, who was also a successful businessman was the target of the mothers of other nobles.

But Mario didn't expect Rey to come and interrupt the conversation with his old friend, especially since his ears had just caught the words 'my wife' coming out of the nobleman's lips.

Rey Lueic's wife? Luana? This Lue?

"I'm sorry, sir," Mario said quickly. "I didn't mean to."

"Go away," Rey cut in quickly. Not giving Mario a chance to explain, Rey had already turned his gaze towards another person frozen there.

Who else, if not Luana, who was now also bowing her head although she seemed to occasionally steal a glance to check the situation?

Mario nodded his head, saluting once more before he quickly left the doorway of Luana's room. Leaving Luana who was now biting her lower lip hesitantly, worried about what she would face this time.

Rey chose to remain silent. Likewise, Luana had been playing it safe by avoiding Rey's gaze. The more she looked down, the more her bead highlighted Rey's long legs standing right in front of her now.

Rey cleared his throat, but this time in a quieter voice.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" Rey asked no less flatly.

Luana took a deep breath.

"Sorry, sir," she said.

She really didn't realize that she had been holding hands with Mario, especially since she didn't know Rey would appear like a ghost in the hallway of her room.

Didn't Mare say he was taking care of business? So, why did he suddenly come here? What does he want?

Rey snorted. There was an annoyed tone that the man could not hide, and it made him riled up all of a sudden.

"I'm not asking you to say sorry," Rey said again. "I'm asking what did you do wrong?"

Luana felt like disappearing right now. She secretly prayed that the earth would shake and sink her to the bottom so that she would never have to deal with this man.

"Uhm..." Luana stammered. "He's my best friend. And just like that, he came to say hello," Luana tried to defend herself. She didn't realize, really. "I didn't know he worked here either."

Rey took a breath, followed by two steps that brought the man closer to Luana. The air around them was now filled with the scent of Rey's perfume, and it simply made it almost difficult for Luana to breathe.

"I didn't ask about that," Rey said again. "Looks like you really don't know what you did wrong, huh?"

The man's voice was low now, but Luana could clearly hear every word Rey said to him.

Luana rolled her eyes, raising her head slowly which brought her face to face with Rey's eyes. The man was looking at her with a thin smile that was full of scorn, and Luana didn't like it.

"Tell me," Luana pleaded. Her head was back upright, and she seemed to have the courage to reply to Rey's words. "What did I do wrong?"

Rey chuckled. His head twitched at the sight of Luana who was now looking straight at him, making the hand grip around his waist tighten even more. The woman's eyeballs waited, with a face that looked a little tired.

Rey approached. Barging into Luana's room, the man left Luana still silent in the doorway.

Turning around, Luana watched Rey's back as he entered her room, followed by the man's voice in the air afterward.

"Because you didn't welcome your husband home."

W-what?!