Sandra woke up with swollen eyes, her head throbbing with pain. "Ah, hopefully the headache will go away after I take some painkillers."

She slowly got up, furrowing her brow. "I'll use one day from my business trip to relax and go for a walk, so I'll go to the office tomorrow."

As an only child, Sandra had taken over her father's company. If she didn't go to the office, it didn't really matter to her. However, Sandra was disciplined and assertive. In the office, she was a figure of authority.

Sandra comforted herself by humming softly in the bathroom. Afterwards, there were so many things she wanted to do. Her conversation with her boyfriend last night had traumatized her. So now, all she wanted to do was move on.

Once she stepped out of the bathroom, Sandra searched for her best outfit and applied a minimal amount of makeup. "I don't like excessive makeup. If allowed, I'll wear a hijab after this."

After getting ready, Sandra prepared to leave the house and stopped in front of her favorite silver car. She turned on her phone and saw several new messages from an unknown number. "Block!"

At the same time, another message came through, and it was from a special number. "A reply from Simon..." (I'll wait for you at the central park, see you...)

The corners of her lips curved into a smile. Sandra immediately drove off, feeling a surge of happiness and impatience to meet with the person she had just gotten to know. She felt that there was something different about Simon, even though they had only met once.

On the other hand, she felt sad and lost her self-confidence as a woman, even her self-worth. What woman could accept infidelity? She had seen it with her own eyes.

"Oh well, thinking about it only makes me angry. I don't want to dwell on this issue!" Sandra pushed away her negative thoughts and played some music to dispel the uneasiness in her heart.

At 8:09 a.m., Sandra arrived at the location she had been informed of beforehand. She got out of her car and locked it. Not far from there, someone familiar was standing, waving at her.

Sandra smiled and quickly made her way towards the man. The outfit she wore today was simple enough, so it didn't hinder her movements.

"Have you been waiting for long?"
Simon shook his head. "By the way, it seems like the cafe over there just opened. Let's sit there!"

Sandra paused for a moment, then an mischievous intention emerged, accompanied by a slight smile on her lips. "You didn't forget your wallet again, did you?"

Simon scratched his head, even though it wasn't itchy, but he wasn't offended at all and instead gave her a smile. "This time, definitely not!"

"I was just kidding. You probably don't know my straightforward nature yet. Well then, let's go there."

As they entered the cafe, Sandra smelled the delightful aroma of coffee that filled the air, stirring up a feeling of satisfaction. They found seats near the window.

Sandra didn't immediately sit down; instead, she observed every inch of the room. "What's wrong?" As it turned out, Simon had been watching Sandra all along.

"Ah, nothing. Besides, why rush? I need to see the layout of this cafe..." Sandra's manner of speaking remained authoritative.

Simon nodded, understanding Sandra's criteria as a slightly carefree woman. However, considering the moment she had cried, Simon still saw Sandra's vulnerable side.

"So, how do you like the cafe?"

"Of course, I love it."
Simon was pleased that his choice didn't disappoint Sandra. "Black coffee, less sugar." Simon glanced at Sandra. "What about you?"

"I'll go with the same." Sandra nodded.

The waiter who had just arrived quickly wrote down their orders. "Anything else?" he asked politely.

Simon looked at Sandra again. "No, maybe later."

"Why?"

"I've been wondering what to order."

"Well, in that case, let me order. Do you like spicy food?"
Sandra nodded eagerly.

"Alright, wait a moment." Simon approached the waiter and whispered something. Then the waiter went away.

"Oh, by the way, since we didn't fully finish our conversation yesterday, I still want to know more about you. I hope you don't mind."

"About what?"

"Lately, what have you been up to? Um... I mean, your daily activities. I'm afraid that you're busy with work, and my presence might interrupt your routine."

Simon took a deep breath and shook his head. "I don't have a job. Sometimes I just go fishing. Well, I catch a little, but it's enough to sell..."

"Fresh fish, right? Wow, I haven't had grilled fish in a long time. The last time I tried it was during my vacation in China."

"It seems like you travel overseas frequently."

Sandra nodded. "It's all part of my job. Just so you know, it's exhausting every day. I want to live a more peaceful life than this."

Simon furrowed his brow in surprise. "Why? Isn't it good to have a steady job? Not like me, living as an unemployed person."

Seeing Simon's expression, Sandra quickly added, "No, you do have a job. Fishing is a job too, isn't it? It's better than relying on others."

Simon looked down, observing the floor he was standing on. "Well, it's not a steady job. It also depends on the weather and the condition of the waves."

"Meaning?"

Simon took a deep breath. "The changes I mentioned refer to the high tides."

Sandra listened attentively to his words. "So, being a sailor is that challenging?"

Sandra fell silent, deep in thought, as they continued sipping their drinks. "Simon..." Sandra startled him.

"Would you like to work with me?"

This time, Simon took it seriously. He had actually planned to find a job that suited his abilities. Although he was born into a poor family, he was determined to uplift his family's name and provide a decent living. Besides, his younger sister's education needed financial support.

"Are you serious? Where is the vacancy? Please let me know..." The young man was genuinely excited and couldn't wait. "Are you interested? By the way, do you know what kind of work it is?"

His enthusiasm gradually faded. Simon tried to remain calm. "If it's a halal job, then yes, I'm willing."

In fact, since a long time ago, Simon had been determined to work so that his sister could finish her education, even if it meant he had to work continuously. He did it so his sister wouldn't end up like him.

"Ehhmm... Suddenly Sandra's voice was heard again. "There is a vacancy, but unfortunately, you have to live outside the city..."

It was a tough choice for her. If she agreed, would she be ready to be far away from her family? Honestly, Simon had never left his mother and younger sister before. But he needed this job with a stable income.

"Okay, I agree..."

A black car slowly stopped next to the entrance of the everlasting housing complex, catching the attention of the residents inside the complex.

Shania got out of the car, trembling. Then someone spoke from inside the car, "For now, don't meet with me in person. Let's just exchange messages."

Shania remained silent, a hint of disappointment on her face. "I understand."

Shania clung tightly to her bag, muttering to herself, her hand holding a check worth one hundred billion, whether it was genuine or fake, that wasn't important right now.

Slowly, Shania entered the complex and stopped in front of her house. As she opened the door, her mother crossed her arms over her chest, stepped away from the sofa, and walked towards Shania.

"Where have you been? You didn't come home last night, nor did you call, not even a phone call. Did you intentionally want to make your father and me worried sick?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. Yesterday, I…" Shania's eyes turned red, her mother's anger seemed to lessen a bit. She thought of a way to lessen her mother's anger. "Maybe I should lie." She thought to herself.

"Yesterday, my friend organized a special reunion party for our university alumni. The event only ended late at night, and I was worried that there wouldn't be any buses on the road at that hour, and even if there was, it wouldn't necessarily be safe for me to travel alone."

Shania explained with hesitation.

"Then where did you sleep last night?"

"I slept at my friend's house, and I thought that night you and dad might not be able to sleep, so I didn't call immediately..."

"You're already grown up, Shania. You have to be smart in taking care of yourself. There are many people out there who target the innocence of girls like you. Next time, you can't be like yesterday, do you understand?"

Shania nodded as if she truly understood, but behind her nod, her heart was uneasy for violating her mother's advice. "Why are you still standing there? Quickly go wash your face, I just cooked soup for breakfast."

Although she was very emotional earlier, seeing her daughter coming home in good condition made her feel relieved.

Shania is the only child of the couple Leslie and Baron, her life with the Simon family is not much different, but Baron is a civil servant who works as a teacher. Although they are in a lower social class, it is still better than having no income at all. Furthermore, Baron does not have any other skills, such as fishing like Simon.

Shania entered her room after showering. She bit her lip when she remembered the man she was currently dating. "Can't we meet for now? Why? Because of the engagement? Relax, Shania, they won't reconcile, they will never!" Shania grinned mischievously in front of the mirror.

Her outfit had now changed to her work clothes, her eyes glanced at a check briefly, and she put it back into her bag before heading out for breakfast with her parents.