Rendra kept smiling as he stared at a small box wrapped in purple gift paper with horizontal stripes. The box contained a pair of rings, the result of his three months of hard work at a restaurant after college.
He felt happy because he could buy a birthday gift for his lover, Selvi. Actually, Rendra could have bought her anything without having to work so hard.
Just by using his black card, he could buy anything Selvi wanted. After all, Rendra was the sole heir of the Wilson Family. But Rendra chose not to use his family's wealth. He wanted to buy a special gift, the result of his hard work as a waiter at the restaurant.
Love can make someone go crazy. Perhaps that was the perfect description for Young Master Elvaro Rendra Wilson. Imagine him working as a waiter at a restaurant. Since childhood, he had never once served food, or even washed his own dirty dishes, let alone someone else's.
And now, just to get money to buy a birthday gift for his lover, he was willing to work as a waiter.
"I'm sure Selvi will love my gift this time," Rendra's smile continued to grow, not caring if people around him looked at him strangely.
'Poor thing, so young and already crazy'
That was probably what everyone passing by Rendra was thinking.
A teenage boy stood alone, slightly leaning against a black sedan. And of course with a smile that never left his lips, while continuously staring at a small box.
Of course anyone would think that the teenager had lost his mind. But who cared about what others thought. Rendra was drunk on love, especially since this was his first love.
Rendra began to leave before anyone would actually call the municipal officers, seeing him still smiling to himself like a madman.
His steps led him into the city park filled with visitors, both children and adults.
The nighttime atmosphere was perfect for relaxing, playing, or for a couple to weave their romance under the moonlight. Today, Rendra asked Selvi to meet at a park bench near the fish pond. Besides giving her a birthday gift, he also wanted to spend time with her tonight.
Rendra began to walk faster, unable to wait to see Selvi's happy expression when receiving his gift. But before Rendra reached the fish pond, his feet slowly stopped moving.
His body froze in place. And his heart felt like it had stopped beating. Rendra couldn't believe his own eyes as he saw ...
"Baby, when are you going to dump Rendra?" asked a man with a textured quiff hairstyle, stroking the hair of a girl sitting beside him.
Seeing the girl's figure from behind, Rendra was certain that it was Selvi, his own girlfriend. But why was she with another man? Who was he?
Rendra didn't want to jump to conclusions. He believed it wasn't Selvi, maybe the girl just looked similar. After all, he was only seeing her from behind.
Rendra chose to leave the place and continued walking toward where Selvi was supposed to be. But his steps stopped again when he heard the girl speak.
"I don't know, I guess I'm just playing around with him."
That voice… Rendra muttered, widening his eyes as he vaguely recognized Selvi's voice.
Rendra looked back toward the bench. He saw the girl resting her head against the broad chest of …
"Bastian?" Rendra was even more shocked when he realized the man sitting there was Bastian, his senior at university.
"Don't tell me you've fallen for him?" asked Bastian.
The girl shook her head. "No way. You know I was forced to date him because of a bet from my friends. If it wasn't for their bet, there's no way I'd date him. Sure, he's a handsome Young Master. But unfortunately, he's not my type," she continued, tilting her head up to look at Bastian.
"So what is your type, Beautiful?" teased Bastian, lifting the girl's chin.
The girl released her embrace and moved to sit on Bastian's lap. Meanwhile, Rendra felt his breath choke as he realized that the girl was truly his girlfriend, now sitting on another man's lap.
"My type is someone handsome, naughty, and sexy like you Bastian," Selvi whispered sensually into Bastian's ear.
Bastian smiled. "Isn't it you who's naughty? Seducing your senior like this, especially when I already consider Rendra like my own little brother," he said, gently caressing Selvi's lips.
"Yes, I do feel guilty toward him. Or maybe I just feel sorry for him because without him knowing, you already truly belong to me." Bastian pulled Selvi closer to his body. Selvi happily wrapped her arms around Bastian's neck.
"See? That proves you really are naughty," Selvi said while seductively stroking Bastian's face with her fingers.
"Because you keep teasing me. Who wouldn't be tempted by the beautiful face of a sexy woman sitting on their lap like this?" Bastian replied with a smile.
"So, do you want to try something new?" Selvi asked mischievously.
Bastian didn't answer. He chose to devour Selvi's soft lips fiercely. Meanwhile, Selvi welcomed it with a smile in between their kisses.
They were like two people intoxicated by love, without fear of anyone discovering their obscene actions by the fish pond. Bastian and Selvi chose not to care.
Especially since the place was quite deserted, with no one passing by except one person who remained faithfully watching them.
Rendra's eyes reddened as he held back the anger that was boiling inside him, yet he chose to remain silent.
What was this? A dream or what? Rendra felt like he was being toyed with by two people who were now losing themselves to lust.
Rendra clenched his fists tightly until the gift in his right hand lost its shape. He desperately wanted to approach them and unleash his disappointment.
But it seemed pointless. Especially when Rendra saw Selvi suddenly look in his direction. And instead of stopping her intimate act with Bastian, Selvi looked like she was enjoying it even more while staring straight at Rendra, who was burning with jealousy.
The gift slipped from Rendra's hand and fell to the ground. He smiled bitterly as he saw Selvi deliberately playing with his feelings. With no desire to confront them, he chose to leave the place.
His steps staggered as he wandered the city streets like a madman. His eyes looked empty, and his mind kept replaying the memories he had just witnessed.
A bet?
So all this time, Selvi had been deliberately playing with him. Even Bastian was involved in this sick game. All this time, Rendra had tried to fulfill everything Selvi wanted. Was this the repayment?
Disappointment was inevitable, along with the shame that spread through his veins. Rendra felt like the biggest fool.
Just for his first love, he was willing to work as a waiter. And when he finally managed to buy a gift with his own hard-earned money, it was repaid with betrayal.
Thud
"Damn it! Are you blind?!" Rendra cursed angrily when a 13-year-old girl suddenly crashed into him.
The girl looked pale as if terrified. "Brother, please help me!" she begged while gripping Rendra's arm tightly.
Still consumed by anger from his heartbreak, Rendra roughly shoved her hand away. "Don't touch me! Get lost!"
"Brother, please help me! They want to take my bone marrow. And after that they—"
"Luna!" someone shouted from a distance, making the girl panic even more.
Seeing that Rendra didn't want to help her, Luna chose to run away before those people caught her.
Without caring about the crime that had just passed him by, Rendra dropped himself to the ground. His head leaned slightly against the wall of a small shop building.
He stared up at the night sky. The twinkling stars and the moonlight made his thoughts drift far away.
What was lacking in him that made someone change their heart? Was his wealth inferior to Bastian's, the son of an Indo-Dutch businessman, Mr. Carlos?
If that were true, then why did Selvi bind herself with promises of love to him? Especially when it was all just a ridiculous bet. What did she gain from all of this?
Rendra's mind felt overcrowded, as if it were about to explode. His first love, which he had hoped would end happily, now ended with wounds and trauma.
"If only I hadn't loved you so deeply back then. Maybe now I would still know how to let you go," Rendra muttered, no longer able to hold back his tears.
He cried like a desperate man, not caring if others mocked him as a weak man who cried over a woman.
She wasn't just a woman. She was someone I once allowed to live in my heart. I made her comfortable in my embrace. I offered her all of my love.
And now I allow her to leave me after she has finished destroying my entire soul.
Ilove you, but now I hate you