The Wedding

Chapter 3: Inconvenient Truth

If one asked which one I preferred, to tell a bitter truth or a sweet lie, I would prefer a bitter truth. A grown-up lady should be able to handle such things. However, not all people would have the same answer, including my best friend. 

I was on my internship on that time when I learnt that one could be so stupid believing a lie just because she did not want to get hurt. I had an internship with Nadya, Fendi, Risma, and Tari as it was decided by the uni. This internship lasted for six months, just enough time to know more about Nadya.

The company we worked in was a publishing company. However, we were not signed as a copywriter or a writer at all. We were in one of their bookshop. I got a job as the seller with Nadya and Risma while Fendi and Tari worked as cashiers. It was a hard job because we had to stand from ten until four with only thirty-minutes break time during lunch. I never stood up that long and the first days of working was like hell to my legs. Moreover, we were forbidden to talk to our friends, read books, moved from our position when we were not asked, and should wear high heels while standing. That was the time I realized that working was so difficult and not fun at all, totally different from what I thought when I was young.

The bill was not really satisfying, especially because we were still an intern. We got only Rp. 500,000 per month, that amount was actually enough for bus fares and lunch, but that's all. I still thought that we were lucky enough because some of my college friends were unpaid. Then again, my dream about getting a job and making money so that I can use my credit card to buy things, somehow vanished in a thin air.

I remembered exactly that it was on our payday and I was sorting out comic books when I saw a face I knew. It was Farhandaru Ghani. He was Nadya's boyfriend, a man with fabulous red car. I put up a smile on myself, just in case he saw me. But soon my smile was fading when I saw another person behind him. Okay, it was not the fact that the person was a woman, but because she held Daru's hand. On second thought, they were holding hands.

I turned my back, pretended I did not see anything as I was shocked. I turned my back again, tried to search Nadya. I walked a bit faster, tried to see the cashier's corner, but Nadya was not there. So, I returned to my position where I could see Daru and the girl. I hid between the shelves while spying on them without realizing that my heartbeat became faster per seconds. 

I was not an expert of relationship, but I could tell that the girl was not Daru's sibling or friend or cousin. Their face were different and they were holding hands! The girl leaned on Daru's arm. She smiled so brightly and he did too. So intimate that all would know with a glance that they were like... like err... a couple. No way! He cheated on her? How come? Did not he know that she was working here? Ugh, I hoped they would not buy anything so they would not have to meet Nadya, err, I meant the opposite. Hoped Nadya did not see them.

I had an idea. I took my phone and opened the camera. I aimed pictures of them and I got them. The thought of telling this to Nadya scared me. She must be really sad. On second thought, was telling her about Daru's betrayal a good idea? While I was thinking about how to tell it to Nadya, both couple headed to the cashier. I sneaked to different bookshelf section to get a clearer look of them. Nadya had gone somewhere, puff, at least she did not see them directly. There would be a chaos. Making a chaos in workplace would not make a good impression to the employer.

As expected, Daru paid the books the woman wanted.  After that, they left the bookshop. I took a deep breath, relieved they did not see me. 

"What are you doing here?" a voice startled me. I almost screamed, thank God I did not scream.

"Aahhh errr... I saw... a ghost..." I answered randomly. Our supervisor, Mr Dicky, was a grumpy and annoying person. He was always curious about everything. He looked at me