63.


    The ticking of the clock in ra’s room was agonizingly slow. Standing while gazing at the city’s beauty from her room tonight did little to ease the unease in her heart.


    Remembering that Mrs. Linn and Doctor Gaston hadn’t responded to her messages for almost a week made ra wonder what was really going on. Initially, ra thought that the two of them were just busy. But the photos sent by Nadia made ra suspicious.


    ra got up from her seat. She left the room and immediately sought out her grandfather.


    “Where’s Grandpa?” ra asked the maid.


    “Mr. Lim is in his room, Miss,” the woman replied.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    ra walked towards her grandfather’s room, which was next to Aunt Margaret’s room.


    Knock.


    Knock.


    Knock.


    ra gently knocked on the door.


    “Grandpa,” ra called out.


    After a moment, the door opened, revealing the middle-aged man standing before her.


    “What is it, ra?”


    Freedy Lim observed his granddaughter’s face. There was a restlessness there. ra’s eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes were red.


    “Grandpa,” ra’s words caught in her throat. “I’m going to Jakarta tonight, there’s something I need to confirm,” she dered. Even if she were to leave for London, ra wouldn’t be at ease until she knew what was really happening with Joe.


    “Is this rted to that man, ra? Are you really so fond of him?” Freedy Lim scrutinized his granddaughter carefully. ra wasn’t much different from her mother, stubborn. Especially when it came to matters of the heart.


    Silence.


    ra hesitated to answer. She didn’t want to hear her grandfather’s reaction, which would likely oppose her rtionship with Joe.


    “Answer, ra, Grandpa won’t be angry,” the middle-aged man said tly.


    ra’s lips remained sealed, unwilling to respond.


    “Very well, Grandpa won’t interfere, as long as you leave for London on time. Grandpa will allow you to go to Jakarta!” Freedy Lim tried topromise. What happened with his daughter before, he hoped wouldn’t be repeated with ra.


    “Thank you, Grandpa!” ra said, feeling incredibly happy.


    Freedy Lim nodded. “Zio will apany you to Jakarta! Grandpa hopes you leave tomorrow morning,” he requested.


    “Alright, Zio will apany me, and I’ll leave tomorrow morning!” ra replied. She smiled, feeling relieved that her grandfather had allowed her to go to Jakarta.


    ==?==


    At 7:18 AM, ra arrived at Joe Sebastian’s residence. She took the first flight today from Singapore to Jakarta.


    After dropping ra off at Joe’s gate, Zio chose to go to Freedy Lim’s private residence. That was ra’s instruction because she didn’t want Zio to spy on her. Then she would report everything to her grandfather.


    The security guard of the luxurious house opened the gate for ra.


    “Thank you, Sir!” ra said. She walked across the yard towards the terrace.


    The house still looked quiet. ra continued walking towards the front door and chose to ignore Mr. Joko, who was staring at her with curiosity.


    ra’s right hand reached out, pressing the doorbell twice in session.


    Mbok Iyem opened the door for her. “Miss ra?” she eximed in disbelief.


    “Yes, Mbok Iyem, how are you?” ra asked impatiently, eager to enter the house she had left just a month ago.


    “I’m fine, Miss!” Bi Iyem replied, following ra, who had already stepped inside. She was confident that Joe would be having breakfast with his parents this morning.


    This was rude. ra was aware of that. However, she did all this to make sure of what was really happening.


    Tap.


    Tap.


    Tap.


    ra’s footsteps sounded loud. Her high-heeled shoes scraped against the floor. Her guess was right; she saw Joe sitting in the dining room.


    Mrs. ra was startled to see the girl’s presence. She felt guilty. Toply with Joe’s wish not to have any contact with ra again, Mrs. Linn had broken her promise to ra. Clearly, this was unfair to her.


    “Good morning, Mrs. Linn, Mr. Bond, and Uncle Joe!” ra greeted. She stood beside Joe and saluted the three adults.


    “Good morning, ra!” Mrs. Linn replied.


    “Good morning, ra,” Mr. Bond replied. Meanwhile, Joe remained silent.


    Mrs. Linn nced at Joe, trying to guess what her son was thinking. They were all silent, waiting for Joe to say something. After all, he didn’t seem bothered by ra’s presence.


    Yes, Joe was still busy chewing his food. He paid no attention to ra whatsoever. The fork and spoon continued clinking, even when ra’s frustrated breath could be heard.


    Gulp.


    Gulp.


    The sound of Joe drinking a ss of water indicated that he had finished his breakfast earlier.


    “Who are you?” Joe asked. Yes, he had told everyone in the house to act as if Joe’s memory hadn’t fully recovered and hadn’t returnedpletely.


    ra’s chest felt heavy. Her breath was racing, angry.


    “Do you forget me, Uncle Joe?” ra asked. She sat beside him, gazing at him gently.


    “Mom, Dad, who is she? Why is she calling me Uncle?” Joe protested, his face showing difort. “Wait, have we met before?” he asked.


    Joe nced briefly at ra. He looked quickly, then stored her face away. Honestly, Joe missed ra a lot. But he had to be realistic. ra was no longer the high school girl who was all alone. Now she had transformed into someone like a princess because she was the granddaughter of Freedy Lim.


    “I’m Uncle Joe!” he said firmly. ra stepped quickly. Standing right in front of Joe, preventing him from walking. Now Joe could see ra’s face more clearly and closer. His heart was pounding fast. His brain insisted on staying away from ra, but his heart said otherwise. Yes, he even wanted to hug her. Making sure she was okay. This time, his mind and feelings were not in agreement.


    “Have we ever met?” Joe asked, turning his face away. ra’s face, nose, lips, and both eyes. Yes, Joe missed everything about that girl. But Joe tried to stick to his decision.


    Mrs. Linn heard from a distance. She wanted to walk closer. However, her husband signaled not to interfere. Mr. Bond led his wife away to the backyard. Let ra and Joe talk without fear of being heard by anyone.


    “Uncle Joe, we not only met before, but we also had a rtionship. Uncle Joe himself promised to marry me, didn’t you?” ra protested angrily. Not believing and feeling furious. The man she had missed for two months. The man she always mentioned in her prayers. The man she remembered before going to sleep. Not remembering her at all.


    Joe chuckled. “You’re kidding, kid. I couldn’t possibly like you,” Joe replied. “Did I promise such a thing? I think you’re making it up! A widower with one child couldn’t possibly choose a young girl to be his wife!” he added.


    Joe’s feet moved sideways. Avoiding ra, who was still standing there, unwilling to move.


    “Wait!”


    ra followed Joe’s steps up the stairs. Joe’s back was visible from behind. His hair, which was always neat day and night, now looked messy.


    At the top of the stairs, ra reached for Joe’s hand. The man turned around, and they faced each other.


    ra tiptoed, bringing her lips close to Joe’s. She kissed him for quite a while. Although Joe didn’t return her kiss, he didn’t reject it either.


    If continued, Joe wouldn’t be able to remove the kiss from the strawberry lips of the girl. Indeed, although he didn’t reciprocate, Joe was swept away in ra’s kiss.


    ra’s eyes widened. Unexpectedly, Joe pushed her back. He looked at ra ufortably.


    Then, Joe wiped his lips with the back of his hand, then looked disgustedly at ra. From now on, he had to make ra hate him.


    “You dare to kiss me! I’m more convinced than ever that we’ve never met!” Joe snapped. Being near ra would only melt him, and he was afraid of the consequences if he continued to approach her.


    ra yed with her fingers. She didn’t expect Joe to scold her like that.


    “Leave immediately!” he ordered.


    “Okay, I’ll go. But I’ll make sure toe back!” ra replied casually. She wanted to meet Dr. Gaston to exin everything that happened.


    “Whatever!”


    Before ra could leave, Joe turned around and walked towards his room.


    “I won’t be fooled by your acting, Uncle!” ra grunted in frustration. Her hands clenched tightly with anger.


    A four-wheeled vehicle, ordered online by ra, took her to the hospital where Dr. Gaston was. Yes, although Dr. Gaston hadn’t been able to respond to her messages for a week now. That man was ra’sst hope. The person who could exin Joe’s condition to her.


    Throughout the journey, ra was very sure that Joe hadn’t lost his memory. It was unfair to ra if all those sweet memories were only remembered by herself while Joe didn’t remember anything at all. ra sighed in frustration.


    The car pulled over in front of the hospital gate. “Miss, we’ve arrived!” the driver said.


    “Yes, thank you, sir!” ra handed over a hundred thousand banknote and then got out of the car.


    The distance from the gate to the hospital entrance was quite far. ra hastened her steps to keep walking. Until she arrived at the hospital building. It still looked empty because it was still too early in the morning.


    ra walked to a nurse who was on duty at the ER.


    “Sister, can I meet Dr. Gaston?” ra asked. “I mean, has he left already?”


    “Dr. Gaston just went into his room,” replied the nurse, who was already familiar with ra’s face.


    The girl knocked on the door softly, then entered because the door wasn’tpletely closed.


    “Good morning, doctor!” ra greeted.


    “ra?!” Dr. Gaston eximed, finding the girl standing in front of him.


    “Yes, doc! Didn’t Uncle Joe tell you that I wasing here?” Nadia asked.


    “No!” he denied.


    “I want to know what really happened to Joe! Please tell me the truth, doctor!” ra requested.


    “Joe’s physical condition is fine, but he has partial amnesia, some memories have been erased from his memory,” Dr. Gaston exined.


    “But, doc, I feel like Joe remembers me!”


    “That’s clearly your wish, ra. You’re hoping too much that Joe will remember you.”


    “Enough! Dr. Gaston turns out to be like everyone else. I will make sure to uncover the simultaneous drama that you and Joe are doing!” ra left the doctor’s room, even before she sat down.


    “I’m sorry!” Dr. Gaston murmured.


    Before he went to the nursing home, Joe called him, informing him about ra’s condition. Dr. Gaston had toply with Joe’s request to lie to ra.


    “Once again, I apologize, ra!” he muttered quietly as he watched ra’s back move away.


    To be continued.