BXBX NOVEL Chapter 176 - Leaning
Oscar went back into his car and immediately left Lisa\'s boarding house.
Rangga quickly carried Lisa and took her inside, laying down the woman\'s limp body on the sofa in the living room.
The wound wasn\'t that bad, but seeing Lisa\'s flawless face stained with bruises and blood made Rangga\'s heart clench. The woman still didn\'t regain consciousness. The blow landed by that man of European descent must have been so strong that it made her like this.
Instead of waking her up, Rangga rushed to the bathroom and grabbed a bucket filled with water. He brought the water to the kitchen and then boiled it. He also didn\'t forget to look for towels in the bathroom.
He then poured the boiling water back into the bucket and brought it to the living room.
Lisa was still not awake.
The man placed a bucket of warm water near the sofa and then dipped the towel. He slowly squeezed the towel, leaving some of the remaining water in it. Then, he gently rubbed the bruise in Lisa\'s face with it.
Rangga looked at her with a pitiful look. He wondered how come Lisa stayed strong after all that had happened to her. How come she managed to survive such a bad circumstance this far?
The boarding house where Lisa lived was an old house without any neighbors spotted. The man looked around the living room and noticed the dull, moldy walls.
The smell of a damp old house felt suffocating. The house also had poor lighting. Rangga thought that Lisa really lived in a haunted house.
After some time, the woman still hadn\'t regained consciousness. Seeing Lisa not opening her eyes made Rangga even more worried. He then grasped Lisa\'s palm gently. Her fingers were very tapered, contrasting to Rangga\'s thin and veiny fingers.
His hand then moved and touched Lisa\'s cheek, admiring the beauty of his childhood friend after he had not seen her for a long time.
"Oh Lisa..." he said softly. "If I were faster than Aditya at that time... Maybe you wouldn\'t suffer like now..."
Rangga took a deep breath. There was a strong urge in him that told him to protect Lisa until the end of his life. He then looked back at Lisa who was still not awake.
The man brought his face closer to Lisa\'s face so that they were only a breath away. He brought his lips closer, trying to kiss Lisa but before he could land it, the woman suddenly groaned in pain.
Rangga quickly pulled his face quickly before Lisa realized that he wanted to steal a kiss.
"Lis, are you okay?" Rangga asked. His hand gripped Lisa\'s hand tightly. The man\'s warmth flowed to Lisa\'s body, sending a feeling of comfort and safety.
"Nggh... I\'m fine. Is everything… alright? Did Oscar leave?" Lisa asked haltingly.
The woman wasn\'t fully conscious. She still closed her eyes, trying to open them slowly but the living room light blinded her a little as if she had just woken up from the operating table.
The woman narrowed her eyes, trying to see with one eye. She vaguely saw Rangga\'s figure sitting on the floor holding her cold left hand.
"My cheek hurts..." Lisa hissed, holding back the pain.
"Calm down, Lis. I\'ve cleaned your wound. But I didn\'t know where you keep the bandage and medicine," Rangga gently said.
The woman tried to endure her pain and get up from the sofa. Rangga immediately helped her sit down and leaned her back.
"It\'s in my room, try to look for a white box near the table," she replied, pointing to the second floor.
"You just wait here, don\'t move too much first!" The man immediately went up to the second floor, took the medicine box and then went down again.
He took a cotton swab and rubbed it on alcohol. Then he slowly rubbed the bruises on Lisa\'s cheek.
"Ouch, it hurts, you idiot!" Lisa exclaimed spontaneously.
"This is so that it doesn\'t get infected, you idiot!" Rangga replied then smiled ignorantly.
"Your ex-husband is a real jerk, isn\'t he? How could he still dare to approach you?"
"Well, I don\'t know either. I\'m actually tired of being bullied and it\'s true," Lisa replied weakly.
The man paused for a moment before finally saying, "The thing that Oscar was talking about, is that true?"
Lisa was silent when she heard that question. She looked away from Rangga\'s suspicious gaze.
"Lis, I\'m seriously asking you this. You don\'t need to worry, I won\'t be angry," Rangga said, trying to convince her.
Lisa cleared her throat, still not glancing at Rangga\'s face. "If I tell you the truth, will you change your attitude to me?"
The man shook his head firmly. "Why should I change? You haven\'t told me anything yet,"
"I\'m confused. I want to tell you but I\'m afraid. I\'m afraid I\'ll get ridiculed. I\'m scared that I\'ll be a disgrace to my family!"
"Lis, I\'m your childhood friend. I know you more than the basket-eyed Caucasian!" Rangga replied.
Hearing Rangga\'s sentence, Lisa took a deep breath and then exhaled. She tilted her head then looked at Rangga with a regretful look.
"My ex-husband suddenly came to my boarding house several times. Then…." Lisa could not finish her sentence, her eyes started to water. She felt like her tears would burst out soon, filling the living room.
"Just slow down, Lis, I\'m not in a hurry."
Lisa broke out crying after she heard Rangga\'s reply. She immediately hugged the man quickly. Tears flooded her cheeks so that they seeped into Rangga\'s clothes.
"Calm down... I\'m here..." The man gently stroked Lisa\'s jet black hair, trying to calm her down, hoping that she would tell him her problem.
The woman did not pay attention to the man she was embracing. She just wanted to hug him until her tears ran out. It had been a long time since Lisa had vented her feelings with relief.
"Lisa, calm down... I\'m here, I\'ll always protect you," Rangga whispered, calming Lisa\'s heart.
When her cry started to subside, she took a deep breath and wiped the tears that rolled down her bruised face. She lowered her head then looked up, edging her body from the sofa.
Lisa suddenly felt her tongue rolled back, the things she was going to tell was really embarrassing. Though she knew that Rangga would not judge him, still, she didn\'t have the courage to say it.
After pausing for a moment, Lisa finally spoke up, "I was raped by my ex-husband but I didn\'t fight him..."
"What!?" Rangga was surprised to hear what that Lisa said just now. It was such a heavy blow to Rangga as if he was hit by a high-speed train.
Rangga was running out of words. He didn\'t know what else to do but to hug Lisa tightly and let her feel his sympathy.
"Sorry... I can\'t say anything else..." he softly said.
"You didn\'t do anything wrong. I was the stupid one, I was raped by my ex-husband but didn\'t report him…"
"I understand. It\'s hard to defend yourself before the law. You can just cry if you\'re not relieved yet," the man embraced her with great warmth.
"I don\'t know what to do. Every time I tried to run away from him, that blue-eyed bastard always comes back to me and follows me wherever I go!"
Rangga did not have the heart to ask anything that had to do with Lisa\'s feelings for Oscar. He had a very strong hunch that the woman still actually had feelings for this blue-eyed bastard, but he didn\'t have much evidence.
Rangga only hoped that Oscar would leave Lisa\'s life and stop bothering her.
"Sorry, I can only help protect you from the bastard\'s approach. I can\'t do anything more than that," Rangga said with a mellow tone.
"Don\'t be. I\'ve been bothering you since we met again,"
The clock showed that it was already midnight. Lisa raised her hands, yawning from the living room\'s sofa.
"Rangga," Lisa called, covering her mouth. "Aren\'t you going to go back?"
"Are you okay if I leave you alone?" Rangga answered. His eyes showed concern.
"I\'m okay with it. You can go back."
The man then helped Lisa get up from the sofa. She straightened her back with a deep sigh.
"Thanks, see you at the office tomorrow...."