Chapter 12: Twelve

‘‘You got it all wrong. . .’’

Maeluthe frowned but continued walking. Who is he talking to, and do they still need to talk in the parking lot?

‘‘Of course not. It’s all my fault. I’m sorry about that, Isai. But I am back now, and I’ll make it up to you.’’

When she heard the woman’s voice, there were tons of speculation on her mind. Why is he meeting a girl in a parking lot?

Even before her chest was completely covered with thorns, she continued to approach them. Of course, she knew she had the right to do this. But all that confidence vanished when I heard what the man said next.

‘‘Everything’s over, Cyra.’’

Cyra. . .

‘‘Is she that beautiful? What’s her name?’’ she joked.

In fact, she even wanted to stalk her on social media. She can’t stop being curious about the woman.

‘"She’s Cyra,’’ Baste said with his eyes closed before falling on the sofa and going back to bed. ‘‘Cyra Genesis.’’

At that moment, I remembered my parents’ words again.

They always say that’s just a test. That there will always be a bright future ahead of me.

Just like a test, that will eventually pass as well.

Life is full of problems, and we can’t do anything about it, but how we approach those problems often determines whether we are happy or sad.

Problems are opportunities to disguise. We can definitely see that the problems are actually opportunities to learn about others and ourselves.

These allow us to live happier and more enjoyable lives.

They made me realize that problems are really part of what makes life worthwhile. These problems challenge us and allow us to do things we haven’t done before, to learn things we didn’t know before.

We all face challenges in our lives. Each and every one of us has our own approach to solving the challenges in our lives. Some people like to take the opinion of the experienced people around them. Others may take a long time to think before deciding. Some people want to take help from others because they think other people come to be more reliable to find information about their problems.

Primarily, problems are part and parcel of our lives. Everyone faces different types of problems in life, but their problems are not specific or specific. Many people are already facing similar problems in their lives. That’s why I prefer to take suggestions from them because they have more experience with that particular thing. Not only that, but they lived with the consequences of those problems to give us their pros and cons, making it easier for us to decide. My personal life is a compelling example of this.

And sometimes, we cannot find solutions even if they are simple and obvious. It happens to many people because they are so deep in their mess that they cannot feel what is right or wrong. At this time, people who know us personally will help us clear our doubts.

There are bound to be times of challenges we must face throughout our lives, but the real challenge is how we grow and learn from overtaking them. Being naive, innocent children, we unconsciously believe that life will be simple and effortless.

In fact, we can only dream that life will be that easy. My life, in particular, has been filled with countless tedious ups and downs. It was as if I was on an endless roller coaster of hurdles.

As we go from childhood to adulthood, we will continue to face countless barriers that only grow and become more consequential. I would do anything to go back in time when I thought division learning was complicated by untying a series of knots. When the obstacles we face are insignificant and goofy. Fortunately, life is not a game where we can only have one chance. Even if we stumble a thousand times, we can still recover.

Our lives were never meant to be easy. It was meant to be a journey full of adventures, a journey where we have to travel no matter how many obstacles lie ahead of us. Each of their lives has its own ups, downs, and plateaus, just like a roller coaster. And we can’t stop that roller coaster, the cycle of life.

In the life cycle, we are taught that even our failures are better than our successes.

Life does not punish us for our failures, but it rewards us for our own successes.

Obstacles should not be viewed as a burden, but as a blessing and a ladder to our future success.

Barriers give us the opportunity to grow and nourish.

Behind everyone’s face, lies a story. A story of their dealing with their own difficulties, and we all have our own stories. Life will continue to trip earning barriers. But we all have a choice; A choice to grow and learn from our stumbling blocks, or a choice to stay.

Maeluthe did not really plan to disrupt the conversation. She obviously chose to back off, just by chance that she hit the car at her back, causing its alarm to sound.

Cyra and Isiaah turned to the woman at the same time. Maeluthe didn’t have to be surprised because an angelic face appeared on her.

Cyra is not only beautiful. She is like a goddess. Long and slender black hair is the lead accompanied by porcelain complexion. She is like a diamond. Even the parking lot with her looks like a runway.

‘‘Mae,’’ Isiaah whispered after their silence.

Maeluthe smiled brightly at him especially since she didn’t know what was really going on. She only had in mind is to harass Baste over the love of his life’s alleged return.

‘‘Sir. . .’’ She tried to approach the man. Maeluthe doesn’t see anything wrong with that. Even she, was still amazed at the beauty of the woman in front. That’s why Baste was addicted to her, she whispered in her mind.

‘‘Ah, yes. Maeluthe, this is Cyra.’’ Maeluthe immediately smiled at her. ‘‘Cyra, this is Maeluthe–’’

‘‘Is that your endearment?’’

Cyra’s sudden speech caught the breath of the two in front of her.

Maeluthe did not expect that the woman would treat her like that. She almost forgot that she had cheated. In an instant, after seeing her face, the woman’s mistake seemed to be erased — even her true color was covered.

‘‘Sorry?’’ Isaiah asked. He knows the woman. He knows the tune of her voice as well as her words chosen. He wanted the two of them to meet well, but it seemed very vague when she said that.

Meanwhile, the expression on Maeluthe’s face was still shocked. In her mind, she had criticized the woman several times, repeatedly inserting her deception into anything.

‘‘I said, is that the endearment of you two? Sir–’’

‘‘Cyra. . .’’

Maeluthe was not a fool not to understand what was happening. They were so tense, and she no longer liked the tongue of the woman.

Who is she, by the way? Why didn’t she act based on the beauty of her face?

Maeluthe fixed her gaze at her, holding back. It’s because she can’t understand what kind of woman she really is.

She treated her well. She smiled incessantly. She didn’t even nod or shout. So why is she acting that way? It’s like a child who has suddenly snatched a candy.

‘‘Why?’’ Cyra laughed softly before continuing. ‘‘I was just asking if your endearment is like that because it’s ‘baduy’. Are you even dating?’’

Maeluthe’s restraint automatically switched off, and her head quickly warmed up.

‘‘Wait–’’ Mae quickly stopped talking because of what Isiaah said next.

‘‘She’s just my employee.’’

Pain.

That was the first dagger to pierce Maeluthe’s heart. She wants to argue. She wants to laugh and laugh.

‘‘I don’t want to be friends with you. I don’t want us to be just friends.’’ The words Isaiah had left when they went to the park suddenly entered her mind.

He told her that he didn’t want to be friends with Maeluthe. He didn’t want to be just her friend.

But when she heard what Isiaah said today, it was as if her mouth had been poisoned.

It doesn’t taste very pleasant.

The woman gathered the rest of her strength to speak from that embarrassment, “I should be going now.”

This is what she is saying. How often does she have to insert that she should not expect from the man into her mind? What they have is purely business. right?

She should always remind herself about their purely-business relationship.

He allows me to live in his house, and maybe my body is for the compensation, right?

It was clear that she had reminded herself that everything was for herself in the beginning, so why is her heart aching now?