Even if Rangga was much wealthier than her though not as rich as Oscar, the new cell phone he bought for her was nowhere near cheap. Lisa was well aware of that.

She had a principle about life that she kept in mind ever since she was little, that was she shouldn't be too dependent on other people. She knew that Rangga wanted to give it for free, but her mindset told her that she couldn't just accept things from others. Especially from a man who'd confessed to her once.

Lisa didn't want to make Rangga fall for her even more. Her relationship with him was no more than friends. Hence, she insisted on paying for the cellphone.historical

"Alright then, take care of your new cell phone carefully. Don't lose it anymore, let alone fall into the ditch," Rangga teased while sticking out his tongue.

"Damn you!" Lisa replied with a laugh.

"Do you want me to accompany you? I'm free until evening," Rangga asked casually. The man leaned his back against the back of the chair.

"Just go back, it's okay. I can be alone. There are nurses and doctors here. You don't have to worry," Lisa replied.

"Fine then, I'll see you the day after tomorrow, okay? Don't forget to eat and rest a lot," Rangga added. The man then waved his hand as he walked towards the exit, staring at Lisa who was leaning back on her bed.

"Take care on your way!" Lisa replied, waving her hand.

***

The next day, Lisa's health had started to improve from when she entered the hospital. The scars she got from that night had begun to heal. Lisa didn't forget to always follow her doctor's recommendations, such as eating and resting a lot. If she no longer felt weak and able to walk normally this afternoon, the doctor would allow her to go home.

Thank God when evening came, Lisa was able to walk normally. Her head was no longer dizzy like last time. Her vision had also recovered, no longer foggy.

That afternoon, Lisa came home from the hospital.

When she left the room and headed for the reception desk to pay for the hospitalization, a man came over to her. He tapped Lisa on the shoulder, making her jump from where she was standing.

Lisa immediately looked back wide-eyed. "My goodness, Rangga! You shocked me! What are you doing here again?"

Rangga tilted his head and crossed his arms casually. "Can't you forget what I said yesterday?"

Lisa was silent for a moment, she rolled her eyes while trying to remember Rangga's words two days ago. "Ughh.. I can't recall it?"

"I promised to visit you again, ugh... You bird head! You easily forget about things, huh?" Rangga teased. He rubbed Lisa's head as if the woman was a little girl.

"Well, I am paying for this and I can go home," Lisa said briefly and clearly.

"Eh, you don't have to. I'll pay," said Rangga hurriedly, grabbing the pen and paper from Lisa fast.

"God, why are you always doing this? Never mind, I can pay for it myself!"

"Come on, I'll pay it once! I know you must be broke right now. Just accept it, you don't need to be in debt to me!" Rangga insisted.

Lisa then took a deep breath. This time she couldn't refuse Rangga's help. "Fine, it's up to you then. I'm not begging you anyway," she pointed at the man's face like a mother scolding her child.

"Yes, Miss Lisa!" Rangga replied cheerfully.

"Alright, I'll go back to the boarding house first." When Lisa turned around, Rangga quickly grabbed her wrist.

The man immediately said, "Hey, just come home with me!"

"Don't bother. I can take a taxi by myself!" Lisa replied, getting annoyed.

"Lis, streets in Bekasi will be really crowded like hell this afternoon. You won't find an empty taxi, I swear! Why don't you want to go home with me?" Rangga asked.

"Ugh, fine! It can't be helped then," Lisa replied in a lazy voice as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Ah, don't be like that. Why are you even playing hard to get?" Rangga patted Lisa's shoulder teasingly. The man stuck out his tongue mischievously again.

***

The road that afternoon was really congested and jammed, just like Rangga said. In her heart, Lisa was grateful for choosing to go home with Rangga. With the traffic jams going on like this, it would be impossible for her to find an empty taxi.

During the trip, the two of them did not chat at all. The atmosphere inside the car was awkward and quiet. Rangga also seemed hesitant to make small talk with Lisa, who looked like she was feeling stuck.

She just stared straight ahead with a blank gaze, but her hands were hooked up like she was feeling restless about something.

Seeing this, Rangga was a little worried. What else was bothering Lisa right now?

The ringing sound broke the silence that drowned them, the woman then quickly pulled out her cell phone from her purse and picked up a call from her workmate.

"Hello? What's up?" Lisa asked the caller.

"Lis, have you recovered yet? You have to go back to the hotel immediately, the manager is angry! And he's looking for you!" Alia Gayatri, Lisa's colleague from the same department explained.

Hearing the sentence just now made Lisa gasp from her seat. Her eyes widened as if she had just witnessed a horrible accident. She immediately sharpened her hearing and listened more to Alia's explanation.

"Are you serious? Did the manager say anything to you?"

This was the first time Lisa heard that her manager was furious. Before this, her manager had never scolded Lisa when she made a mistake. To be more precise, the person was very patient.

There must have been a fatal problem that made the manager furious like what Alia had said on the phone.

"Lis, you just have to be mentally prepared if you meet the manager. Long story short, there a customer complained about you doing commendable acts with an unknown man near the hotel," Alia explained seriously.

Hearing the explanation just now made Lisa even more surprised. "Huh!? I did a commendable act with a man? Where did they find that fake news? Did the manager just believe in that?"

"The problem is they have evidence! They showed the pictures to the manager!" Alia replied.

"For god sake, I swear it's a slander! Come on, if you hear something bad, don't pay attention to it again, okay? It's clearly a misunderstanding. I'll explain it when I get to the hotel!"

"Okay, I believe you. But you just prepare in case the manager scolds you later, okay? See you then." The call was closed and Lisa took a deep breath.

"What's wrong? Is there any problem?" Rangga asked, curious and worried.

"Can you take me to the Cendana Hotel? I have business with my manager. This is important," Lisa said firmly.

"What's the problem?"

"Veronica and Karina framed me, they drugged me and dragged me out to a quiet alley and the mobs there attacked me. It turns out that those two snakes took a picture of me when I was raped as if to show I was doing it on purpose!" Lisa replied, snorting irritably.

She'd just got out of the hospital and another yet huge problem struck her again. This year seemed to be the most unlucky year compared to the last two years when she was still with Oscar.

If that man were still beside Lisa, maybe her life would be much better than it was now.