Amora's slender figure followed behind her, both carrying bags of household items from the supermarket. They looked like a young couple living together.
Just then, Uncle Jhon came down to greet me and saw the scene. He was about to speak when I interrupted him. "Mom's gift for you has arrived. Check the expiration date; don't let anything get damaged."
I didn't even look at Fedrict, although this time he surprisingly took the initiative to explain.
"Clara, don't misunderstand. The neighborhood Amora lived in before wasn't safe, so I found her a new place to live. I didn't know that your uncle also lived here. By the way, why did you buy so many things?" Fedrict asked, paying attention.
When I asked the driver to bring the delivery, I replied indifferently, "You don't have to tell me about your work. My mom bought this stuff, we don't know when we'll be back, so she got a lot to give to uncle." I explained in detail even though I didn't look at her face. I was just concentrating on getting the few things I wanted to give to Uncle Jhon.
He turned to me and seemed to notice me. When he saw that I hadn't misunderstood, Fedrict looked relieved.
"No problem. The southern suburbs are not far from here. I even visited Borneo Village once when I had a job from my office. So I know the place well. Just let me know whenever you want to come.”
She still doesn't know I'm moving back for good, and I have no plans to tell her.
Uncle Jhon was about to speak, but when he saw how carefully Fedrict looked after Amora, his expression turned grim. He seemed to dislike Amora for getting too close to Fedrict, but he couldn't do anything to stop their closeness.
The four of us stood awkwardly until Amora, looking tired, finally broke the silence.
"I am tired. It would be best if the delivery of the ordered goods continues tomorrow, how about it?" Amora asked Fedrict for his opinion. The two seemed compact and even exchanged opinions. "Of course, we can postpone it until tomorrow, no problem!" He said.
Clara looked at him sarcastically, her disgust rising when Amora was so eager to be noticed by Fedrict, and he responded skillfully. She neither refused nor apologized for him.
Fedrict immediately ordered the driver to stop the delivery, saying that the heavy deliveries would continue tomorrow and the small items would be taken by elevator first. I looked at the bag of household goods he was carrying and stepped aside to let him go. I tried to remain calm and nonchalant as I looked at him.
Fedrict looked surprised for a moment, then hurriedly stepped into the elevator. The look on his face was full of questions for me. But I tried to ignore what Fedrict was doing at that moment.
As the doors closed, I couldn't help but catch a glimpse of my old self in Amora. Back when my uncle first moved in, Fedrict was just as considerate, running errands and taking care of me, moving all my things into his house with a smile, saying he was welcoming "my future wife".
While watching the elevator, Uncle Jhon sighed with some regret.
"Are you sure you don't want me to ask her? You have known each other for a long time. It would be a shame to part because of a misunderstanding." Pama Jhon reassured me.
I shook my head. "There is no need. There is no misunderstanding between us. She never lets anyone stay over. If she hasn't explained it yet, she hasn't."
Fedrict and Amora didn't actually bring that much stuff; they could do everything in one trip and have the big stuff delivered the next day. But even after I delivered the goods to my uncle and said goodbye, he was still nowhere to be seen downstairs.
Out of respect for an old friend, I took out my cell phone and sent him a text message asking when he would be back.
She immediately responded with a voicemail. I clicked on it and Amora's sweet voice came through.
"Clara, Fedrict helped me fix the electrical wiring here. This place has never been lived in, so there's a lot to take care of. You should go home first; don't let us get in your way!"
Just as I was about to close the app and hail a cab, he sent another message.
"By the way, Clara, don't worry too much. Fedrict is just doing me a favor. He just feels sorry for me because I live alone in this big city."
Remembering my parents who had moved away many years ago, I swallowed my words and ended the conversation.
After getting into the taxi and staring absentmindedly out the window, Fedrict called.
"Clara, why were you so rude to Amora? She's my subordinate and I'm just helping her find an apartment. The company hasn't given her a place yet; isn't it only fair that I help her?"
"Since when have you been acting like this, huh? At the birthday party, you sulked and said you weren't feeling well and wanted to leave. I didn't even react, and now you're making trouble again?"
I could hear Claran sobbing on the phone.
His behavior before me was nothing like the sweet, innocent Junior Fedrict had described.
"This woman is so weird, I didn't even say anything to her, why is she acting like I said something rude to her? It's so weird!" I grumbled in annoyance, even though I didn't know her very well, but I knew that if a woman was overthinking and acting like she wanted to be noticed, then it was obvious that she had other intentions.
As I took a deep breath, I finally understood her intentions, but I was too tired to defend myself. "I don't want to waste my time on a woman like that, this woman is so petty, hiding behind her pretty face. I admit she's prettier than me, it's only fitting that Fedrict pays so much attention to her." I grumbled to myself.
Then I made a quick phone call to explain to her. I was tired of this petty woman's theatrics.
"Yeah, you're right. My fault. I just asked. Don't worry, I'm home. I wasn't waiting for you.
