The Stranger Who Became My Boss

Chapter 10 : Turmoil

"Did the two of you break up on bad terms?"

Thirty minutes into the drive, Mr. Rian finally broke the silence.

"Is that why you're so terrified of seeing him?"

I kept staring through the windshield.

Everyone at the company knew Rico was my ex-boyfriend.

"Sir..."

"Please..."

I whispered without looking at him.

He sighed.

"Alright."

"I won't ask again."

"But if I ever find out what made you cry..."

"And if it's as serious as I think it is..."

"I'll make Rico regret it."

I didn't respond.

He remembered Rico as the man who had stolen me away from him.

He had no idea...

That dating Rico had only been my desperate attempt to avoid hurting him.

I had opened the gates of hell with my own hands...

Believing it was the only way to escape another path.

Before I realized it...

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

I wiped them away as quickly as I could.

Mr. Rian noticed immediately.

He pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to face me.

"Nam."

"I can't just ignore this."

"What happened?"

"This isn't like you."

"You're the strongest woman I know."

I heard his voice...

But none of the words truly reached me.

The harder I tried to hold back my emotions...

The faster the tears came.

My chest tightened.

I could barely breathe.

Rico had almost reached me back there.

The thought alone made my skin crawl.

Knock.

Knock.

Someone tapped on the window.

My entire body stiffened.

For one horrifying second...

I thought Rico had found me.

I couldn't even bring myself to look.

Mr. Rian lowered the window.

"Yo."

"You followed us?"

It was Mister X.

Instead of calming down...

Seeing him shattered the little control I had left.

The memories returned all at once.

That night.

Running out of the apartment with nothing but a blanket wrapped around my body.

Cold.

Terrified.

Humiliated.

It was the most disgusting memory of my life.

"Unlock the door, Yan."

Mister X's voice was calm but firm.

Mr. Rian unlocked the rear door.

The moment it clicked open, Mister X reached inside, unfastened my seat belt, and gently took my hand.

"Yan."

"Go back to the office."

"I'll take Namira home."

"I borrowed Uncle Subagyo's car."

Mr. Rian looked at me.

"Nam?"

"Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I'll go with Mr. Gio."

Without waiting for anyone else, I stepped out of the car.

I couldn't stay there another second.

Mister X caught up with me and opened the rear door of another car.

Not the front.

The back seat.

I climbed in silently.

He closed the door before walking around to the driver's seat.

Once he started the engine, he turned on the stereo.

The volume filled the entire car.

Then he looked at me through the rearview mirror.

"I'm turning the music up."

"Cry."

"I won't hear you."

That single sentence...

Destroyed every wall I'd built.

I buried my face in both hands.

And cried.

Not quietly.

Not politely.

I sobbed until my entire body shook.

The music drowned out every sound.

He gave me exactly what I needed.

Space.

Privacy.

Permission to fall apart.

Not once did he look back.

Not once did he ask what had happened.

He simply drove.

Steadily.

Silently.

Eventually...

Exhaustion overtook me.

I drifted into sleep.

Even then...

The nightmares refused to let me go.

I dreamed of that night again.

The night I turned my greatest humiliation into money.

There was no point pretending otherwise.

I had accepted the settlement.

After refusing to marry Rico...

His family had offered compensation on the condition that I remained with the company and never reported what had happened.

I accepted.

Not because I wanted the money.

Because my father had been critically ill.

The hospital bills were impossible.

I chose my family.

Even now...

I still hated myself for making that choice.

Maybe I should've walked away.

Maybe I should've trusted God to solve everything instead of accepting money stained with my own shame.

"Nam."

"We're here."

A gentle tap on my shoulder pulled me awake.

I blinked several times.

Outside the window...

My boarding house.

"We're here."

Mister X repeated softly.

I rubbed my swollen eyes.

"Thank you, Sir."

I opened the door and stepped out without looking back.

I only wanted one thing.

To sleep.

And forget.

"Wang."

"How are you feeling after yesterday?"

The next morning, Ms. Ida greeted me the moment I entered the HR office.

I only nodded.

No words came out.

"Wang."

"You look awful."

She hurried over and pressed the back of her hand against my forehead.

"You don't have a fever, do you?"

"I'm fine, Ms. Ida."

I gently moved her hand away.

The truth was...

I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.

"I'm making Mister Gio's coffee first."

Leaving my bag at my desk, I headed upstairs to the pantry.

Everything felt strangely familiar.

Grinding the beans.

Brewing the coffee.

Pouring it into his favorite mug.

Routine.

The only thing that hadn't changed.

On the third floor, Lastri stopped me before I reached his office.

"Nam."

"You look so pale."

"Are you sick?"

She reached for my forehead too.

I dodged her hand with a weak smile.

"I'm okay."

I knocked once before entering Mister X's office.

Without saying much, I placed the coffee on his desk and turned to leave.

"Didn't you read the message I sent to your personal number?"

His voice stopped me.

I remained silent.

"You didn't answer my calls either."

Still...

I said nothing.

"Take the day off."

"You can come back tomorrow."

His tone wasn't cold.

It almost sounded...

Concerned.

I quietly walked out of the office.

No.

I couldn't stay home.

If I was alone with my thoughts...

I'd lose my mind.

Back at my desk, I pulled open the bottom drawer.

Inside was a small bottle of pills.

I kept them everywhere.

In my handbag.

Inside my wallet.

At my boarding house.

Even in my office drawer.

Without hesitation...

I swallowed one.

Just before Ms. Ida returned.

Then the office phone rang.

I glanced at the caller ID.

Mr. Rian.

Maybe...

He wanted to discuss yesterday's interview.

"[Yes, Sir?]"

I picked up the phone.

"[Come to my office, Nam.]"

"[Alright, Sir.]"

I hung up and slowly made my way upstairs.

Mr. Rian's office was on the third floor, just a few doors away from Mister X's.

My body still felt weak.

But staying at work was better than being alone in my boarding house.

I'd already taken my medication.

Everything would be fine.

It had to be.

"Sir."

I knocked once before pushing the door open slightly.

Mr. Rian looked up from his desk.

"Come in, beautiful."

I couldn't help smiling.

He really was hopeless.

Always flirting.

Always joking.

Yet unlike other men...

He had never once crossed the line.

Even after finding out I was dating Rico, he had simply wished me happiness.

He deserved someone far better than me.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Sir."

He walked over immediately.

"You look terrible."

Before I could react, he placed the back of his hand against my forehead.

I let him.

At that exact moment...

The office door opened again.

Mister X.

Why...

Why did he always appear whenever Mr. Rian and I were together?

"I told you to take the day off."

His voice was noticeably louder than usual.

His eyes stopped on Mr. Rian's hand resting against my forehead.

Without thinking, I gently moved Mr. Rian's hand away.

"Shall we begin the meeting, gentlemen?"

I forced a smile, hoping to ease the tension.

"Nam."

Mr. Rian frowned.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm okay."

I answered more firmly this time.

"I really am."

The two men exchanged a brief glance before taking their seats.

Mr. Rian connected the recorder to the speakers.

"We need to review yesterday's interview."

"We have to decide which parts fit the anniversary theme."

I nodded.

The recording began.

Mr. Subagyo's voice filled the room.

We listened quietly, each of us writing down important points.

His childhood.

His struggles.

His dreams.

The reasons he built the company.

Everything was valuable.

Then...

The recording reached the final minutes.

My heart skipped.

Wait...

This was...

The moment Mr. Rian had gone to the restroom.

I shot up from my chair.

"No!"

Too late.

Mr. Subagyo's warm voice echoed through the speakers.

"I still wish you'd become my daughter-in-law, Nam."

The blood drained from my face.

Why...

Why hadn't I stopped the recording yesterday?

I remembered now.

I'd forgotten to turn it off until Mr. Rian returned.

The private conversation...

Everything...

Had been recorded.

I lunged toward the recorder.

"I'll stop it!"

But before my hand reached the controls...

Someone caught my wrist.

Mister X.

At the same time, Mr. Rian instinctively held my other arm.

The three of us had been sitting side by side.

I was trapped between them.

The recording continued.

"Sir... I thought we'd agreed to forget about that."

Neither man moved.

Neither released me.

Both listened in complete silence.

"You rejected my son because of someone else."

"Has he finally come back?"

I struggled again.

"Please..."

"Turn it off."

No one listened.

Then...

My own voice filled the room.

"He came back, Sir..."

I closed my eyes.

Please.

Stop.

Please.

"...but he'll never marry me."

"...because there's another woman."

Silence.

The recording ended.

The room felt unbearably quiet.

Neither of them spoke.

Both stared at me.

Slowly...

I pulled my hands free and leaned back in my chair.

How stupid.

I'd forgotten to stop the recording.

Every word I'd never intended anyone to hear...

Had reached the ears of the two men who mattered most.

One...

Loved me without reservation.

The other...

Was the man I'd loved without hope.

"So..."

Mr. Rian spoke first.

"There really is another man."

I looked straight at him.

"I told you that years ago."

"You thought I was lying."

He let out a long breath before leaning back.

"So even Mr. Subagyo's son wasn't enough."

"No wonder I never stood a chance."

Mister X remained silent.

His gaze never left me.

"I'm nobody."

I smiled bitterly.

"Not in his eyes."

"Not in anyone's."

"It was just a one-sided crush."

"That's all."

I looked at both of them.

"Can we please go back to discussing the anniversary now?"

No one answered.

Instead...

Mister X finally spoke.

"There are plenty of other men, Namira."

His voice was calm.

"So why stay loyal to just one?"

I lowered my eyes.

Easy for him to say.

He had no idea what it felt like.

If I could forget him...

I would've done it years ago.

Sometimes...

Love felt like a wild animal digging its claws into my heart.

If I ripped those claws out by force...

My heart would tear apart with them.

If I left them there...

They only sank deeper.

That...

Was exactly how loving him felt.