14.1 Cindy's Arrival
Rizky's Room
That afternoon, Rizky's room was quite lively. Kak Ros, Rayan, Zikri, and Nabila were gathered inside, chatting casually and throwing jokes at each other. However, their conversation was abruptly interrupted when the sound of a car horn echoed from outside.
Kak Ros glanced at Nabila. "Nabila, go check who that is."
Without hesitation, Nabila got up and walked towards the window. She pulled back the curtain and looked outside. Her beautiful eyes widened in surprise. "Cindy? Cindy!" she exclaimed before dashing out excitedly.
The moment she stepped outside, Nabila ran straight toward Cindy and hugged her tightly. Her face radiated pure joy.
"Why did it take you so long to get here, Cin?" she asked, her tone playfully sulky.
Cindy chuckled, returning the hug. "Eh, it wasn't that long! I told you two days, didn't I?"
Not long after, Kak Ros appeared from the villa, eyeing the luggage and bags around Cindy. "You brought a lot of stuff, Cin?" she asked.
Cindy grinned casually. "Not much. Just a few things. Some snacks, that's all."
They started helping Cindy carry her belongings inside the villa. Kak Ros took the path through Rayan's room towards Rizky's, while Cindy and Nabila went up the stairs to Nabila's room.
As they walked through the villa's front yard, Cindy stole a glance at Kak Ros, who was taking a different route. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Eh, why isn't Kak Ros coming this way?" she asked quietly.
Nabila glanced briefly before answering nonchalantly. "Maybe she's going to the next room."
Cindy grew even more curious. "Next room? Who's there?"
Without thinking, Nabila blurted out, "The pervert."
Cindy froze in place. "Pervert?" she repeated, confused.
Nabila huffed in annoyance. "Ugh, forget it! I don't wanna talk about him. The point is, he's a pervert."
Cindy's curiosity only deepened at Nabila's exaggerated reaction. With furrowed brows, she observed her friend, who was suddenly acting strange. But Nabila ignored her scrutinizing gaze and quickly opened the door to her room.
Inside, Cindy immediately flopped onto the bed, stretching out comfortably after her long journey. However, her curiosity hadn't faded. She glanced at Nabila, who was still standing near the door.
"Eh, is that pervert still here?" she asked in a low voice.
Nabila smirked slightly, suppressing a laugh. Cindy was even more confused. This girl is acting so weird. She calls him a pervert, but she looks oddly amused…
Unable to hold back her curiosity any longer, Cindy slowly approached the door connecting Nabila's room to the next one. Step by step, she moved closer, peeking through the small gap.
But before she could get a good look, a sharp voice suddenly called out from inside.
"Oi, Cindy, what do you think you're doing?"
Cindy jumped in shock. Instinctively, she jerked back and stood up straight, her face flushing red with embarrassment. Meanwhile, Nabila, who had been watching from behind, burst into laughter.
"Oh, come on! Now I'm embarrassed!" Cindy grumbled, rubbing her face in frustration.
But her curiosity refused to die down. Slowly, she took a deep breath and, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, stepped into Rizky's room, with Nabila following behind, still grinning mischievously.
The moment she entered, Cindy froze in place.
Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the man sitting in front of her.
"Eh… Rizky?" she blurted out.
Rizky, equally stunned, looked up. "Eh… Cindy?"
Nabila, standing behind them, was just as startled. Her gaze darted between Cindy and Rizky, then back to Cindy again. Her heart was suddenly filled with questions.
Wait… how do they know each other?
How does this pervert know Cindy, my friend?
What exactly is their relationship?
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly, turning awkward in the blink of an eye. Everyone exchanged glances, while Nabila began to feel like there was something she wasn't being told.
And from the way Cindy was looking at Rizky, it seemed like she had a story to tell—one that hadn't been revealed yet.
14.2 Cindy's Excitement
The moment Cindy stepped into Rizky's room, her reaction was instant and full of enthusiasm. Her eyes widened, her mouth slightly open, and without wasting time, she bombarded Rizky with questions.
"Ei, what are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me? How long have you been here? And what happened to your leg? Why is it bandaged?"
Her rapid-fire questions left the entire room in silence for a moment. The atmosphere turned awkward before Kak Ros finally let out a sigh, furrowing her brows.
"Eh? I told you last night, didn't I? Rizky is staying next door," she said, puzzled by Cindy's obliviousness.
Cindy tilted her head, trying to recall. Kak Ros watched her patiently before adding, "Maybe it's fate? Remember, Cindy?"
Cindy stood still for a few seconds, her forehead creased as she tried to rewind her memory back to when she had left Nabila. Slowly, Kak Ros's words started to sound familiar.
Then suddenly, her expression changed. "Oh, right! Ya Allah, how could I forget that?" she exclaimed, laughing lightly.
From the corner of the room, Nabila remained silent, listening intently. She wanted to understand how all of this happened but chose to hold back for now.
Before Cindy could fire more questions, Rayan casually interrupted. "Oi, Cindy! You keep throwing questions like that. How is Rizky supposed to answer them all at once?"
Hearing that, Cindy grinned and turned to Rizky, who was still sitting calmly. His face remained relaxed, showing no sign of being overwhelmed by her endless curiosity.
Cindy shrugged and chuckled. "Fine, fine. I'll ask one by one, okay?" she said, trying to restrain herself.
However, unable to hold back for long, she quickly looked at Rizky again, eyes full of curiosity. "So, why are you here? What's the story behind this?"
Rizky gave a small smile before answering in a calm voice. "Originally, I was supposed to go to Jakarta, but the tickets were sold out. The only available ones were to Malaysia, so I took those instead. When I arrived, Rayan and his friends happened to be back in their hometown, so Rayan invited me to come along to his place. And, well… that's how I ended up here."
Hearing that, Nabila suddenly felt uneasy. Rizky mentioning Jakarta made her thoughts spin with unanswered questions. She tried piecing together fragments of the situation in her mind but refrained from drawing any conclusions too soon.
Cindy nodded, seeming to accept the explanation. "Oh, so that's how it happened," she said. "Then… how long have you been here?"
Kak Ros quickly responded. "He arrived a day before Nabila did. He got here in the evening, and the next day, Nabila arrived."
That answer made Nabila even more restless. She began counting the days in her mind, matching Rizky's arrival with her own. The more she thought about it, the more questions surfaced. However, she forced herself to stay calm, convincing herself that this might just be a coincidence. Quietly, she bit her lip, trying to hide her unease.
Still full of curiosity, Cindy pointed at Rizky's bandaged leg. "And this? What happened to your leg?"
For a moment, Rizky looked a little hesitant. "Oh, this…" he started but paused as if unsure how to explain.
Suddenly, Rayan and Zikri exchanged amused glances before letting out small chuckles.
Kak Ros immediately caught their mischievous expressions and shot a sharp look at Rayan. That glare alone was enough to make him lower his head, suppressing the laughter that was threatening to burst out.
On the other hand, Nabila struggled to keep a straight face. She turned away, but a small laugh still managed to escape her lips.
Cindy grew even more confused at their strange reactions. With an expression full of question marks, she muttered in her head, "What's going on here? Why does it feel like I'm the only one who doesn't know anything?"
As the tension in the room gradually shifted into lighthearted laughter, beneath it all, an unspoken secret seemed to be waiting to unfold.
What exactly happened?
That lingering question hung in the air, waiting for answers in the next chapter…