Chapter 25

“Had I tried talking to her more… maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

It was Monday. We hadn’t discussed the matter during the weekend, maybe because we wanted to meet each other face-to-face before talking about it. As for what happened after that… Rizka ended up making her own apology video before Friday ended. She admitted that she had said some harsh things on purpose and that she had trapped Nadia with the photo.

It became a huge issue, but by Monday, the gossip had mostly died down. Rizka’s unpopularity worked in her favor. People forgot about her quickly, and the entire situation faded away. Some people still talked about it, and both Nadia and Rizka appeared on the news because of that. Still, people didn’t pay as much attention to it.

Both of them definitely gained new haters, but at least it didn’t seem to affect their careers too much.

Carol softly shook her head. “People will hate you, no matter how good you are. You tried your best.”

“... Yeah… You’re right. There’s no use thinking about spilled milk. Thank you very much for helping me,” Nadia said.

She still had her smile on her face, although she was visibly exhausted. In the end, she considered Rizka her friend for a couple of years. It must have hurt.

“So that was the stranger you wanted to reach…” I murmured.

I felt embarrassed for thinking that the stranger was me, even if only for a moment.

“Yeah, it was Rizka. She used to be my friend, or at least, I used to think of her as my friend. I… didn’t realize what she actually thought of me.”

In the end, Nadia never got the chance to say goodbye. This would be the last chapter in their relationship. Rizka faced a lot of risks if she tried attacking Nadia again, especially after her apology. They would part ways, never to greet each other again. Not as friends.

“Still, thank you.” Nadia returned her attention to us. “I… don’t know how things will go forward, but I’m not too worried about it anymore. Seriously, thank you. It… it feels like a weight off my chest.”

“I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Anyway, stop talking about me, or else I’ll feel sad again.” Nadia forced a smile. We adhere to her wishes.

“By the way, Carol, you said you actually found the person you’re looking for a long time ago, right?”

Carol tensed up, not expecting the conversation to go her way. “Ye- Yeah?”

“You have talked to him, right?”

“Yeah? Why is this conversation going to me?”

“... I sometimes regret things. What if I talked with Rizka more? I didn’t notice she harbored so much envy against me, and I never thought much about it. When we met on set, we didn’t talk much. I… wonder if things would be different had I talked to her more. I mean, I didn’t want you to regret it like me.”

Didn't you just say not to talk about this?

I guess she did say not to talk about her, and currently, she was talking about Carol. Carol, on the other hand, fidgeted. Maybe she considered this a personal matter.

“Should I go out?” I asked.

“N- No, Harto. This concerns you as well,” Carol said, although the second sentence came out much quieter.

“Should I tell him about you?”

“No, I'll tell him myself. Harto, do you remember the event six years ago?”

A lot of things happened six years ago, but my mind immediately went to one thing.

“About the fire six years ago?”

“Yes.”

I did remember seeing the similarities when I drew, but after Nadia said it was her way of trying to reach Rizka, I figured it was simply a coincidence. But… all things considered, it did feel too similar to be purely coincidental.

“... Wait, are you really the one I rescued back then?” I asked, looking at Nadia. She raised her eyebrow in confusion.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding," Nadia said, scratching the back of her head. “I didn’t remember being rescued from anything… Not counting messy relationships, of course.”

“... So you weren’t the girl I took out of the fire?”

Nadia shook her head. “I don’t even remember ever being in a literal fire.”

“... I’ve always known that the girl in the story isn’t her,” Carol said. I turned around. She gazed at me, holding her left arm. “Because that girl… It’s me. I was the one surrounded by fire.”