Bab 1. Hate You
"What are you trying to do exactly, Shane?"
The rain continued to fall amidst the dark, cloudy night sky. Shane was still staring at the window on the towering floor of the apartment. His sad eyes was glued to the light that was still on in one of the rooms on the third floor.
"What time tomorrow will Joana get engaged, Olive?"
Olive came closer after earlier, Shane refused to take umbrella from her. The rain was getting heavier, it was meaningless because the pain in Shane's heart was getting more and more inflamed.
"Seven o'clock, Shane."
"This is my last chance to explain to Joana, right? I never had an affair with Risa. I never slept with her."
Olive still clearly remembers the incident a week ago at the nightclub. Joana decided to end the relationship because she saw Shane sleeping in the same bed with another woman. Since then, Joana refused to meet her ex-boyfriend. Without a chance to speak, without remembering the love nesting in the heart. Then in anger, Joana accepted the arranged marriage by her father, Leonard Gustav.
"I really love Joana."
The gentle twinkle in the man's eyes was just completely swallowed up in Olive's sympathy. Shane sent a message to his ex-girlfriend. No reply.
[You're in the apartment, right? Olive saw you earlier. May I meet? At least, let me retrieve something that was left there.]
Shane turned to Olive, then said, "You were right in what you said before. If she loves me, at least she listened to my explanation first, right?"
Olive just nodded. "Fight one more time, Shane!"
Shane smiled, then hurriedly left Joana's cousin.
His long footsteps closed the distance quickly. In fact, he couldn't wait for the elevator door to open, Shane ran up the stairs to get to the third floor.
His breath hitched, then Shane approached the code door in front of him.
'It's still our anniversary date, right?'
A little hesitant, Shane punched in the six-digit number which is the day they first started dating. The clink of the door opening brought a smile to Shane's lips.
'You still love me, Joana,' he thought, convinced that feelings were still linked because Joana had not changed her door code.
Shane opened the door, looking for his sweetheart. He heard from Olive that Joana had been spending some time contemplating her engagement the next day to Peter. There is still time to break up a stupid relationship based on the temperament of the lover.
"Joana! Can we talk?"
Joana didn't answer. Quickly Shane towards the open door of the room. His smile rises in the midst of a fast beating heart. He was sure he could melt Joana's heart and explain the misunderstanding that occurred.
"Joa-"
The word hangs on the tip of the tongue. His heart sank to see the woman he loved, the woman he hoped to see, instead filling the time with hot sessions of wrestling with other men.
The beautiful Joana is under the strong arms of a man who Shane knows that he is Peter, a successful retail entrepreneur who becomes her future husband.
Joana's hot expression, her thin sigh that was clearly recorded in Shane's ears, made his step back.
Collapsed, Shane leaned against the wall. His hands clenched hard on his chest. Gripping seemed to reinforce that the heart must be strong against the pain to see the woman he loved had surrendered her honor to the future fiancé.
'Joana.'
Even though Joana was only a former lover, his heart was aching. His knees buckled until he fell to the side of the floor. His ears full of the man's moans r****g her beloved Joana.
Destroyed. Crushed. Shane's heart was shapeless again.
'You never even want to hear my explanation, Joana. It’s my fault to still standing waiting for you, while you have let go of our relationship first.'
Shane crawled slowly to reach the top of the couch, holding on so he could steady his legs to stand up. Unknowingly dropped a vase of flowers on the side of the sofa. Not even caring about his injured palms flowing fresh blood, Shane just wants to run away from all the pain, as well as the stupid love he has.
'I hate you, Joana Abigail. Even if I have to die, I will only hate you.'
His heart was filled with anger. Shane leaves the apartment. The long streets, which were still raining, were filled with heavy traffic as the day wore on.
'Me? Selling myself just for money? You insulted me like that before, didn't you, Joana? Then what did you do?'
Though full of hatred, his heart was torn with sorrow. His eyes began to dim with tears, mingling with the falling raindrops. His staggering steps unknowingly brought him to the edge of a crossroads.
Bang!
The bang sounded loud. Several people approached Shane who was lying on the side of the road. His body was thrown when a car hit him from the corner.
"Joa-na," he hissed, before his eyelids drooped and he lost consciousness.
*
"Are you sure?"
Joana looked at Olive who was approaching her from behind. The reflection of the cousin's worried light in the mirror was only answered by a nod by Joana.
The beautiful princess of the conglomerate already looks stunning in a dusty pink dress that drags the floor. Her hair’s as black as ebony, combined with a beautiful silver hairpin. Even though she was dressed beautifully as a royal princess, her face looked gloomy. Since then, she has been stealing glances at the cell phone on the table.
"You can refuse the engagement to Peter, Joana."
Joana smiled, ignoring her. She straightened her beautiful dress again. "Why did it have to be cancelled? I don't even have a man to go back to."
"Shane. You still love him so much!"
Olive is very emotional with Joana's stubbornness. That woman took a seat on the sofa while smoothing back her hair ornament with a mirror.
"He has betrayed me, Olive. That man is very bad and cheap. Even for him, he doesn't know what sacrifices I have made so far. Yes, it's not his fault, I still love him very much even though I still remember how that woman slept in his arms. "