Chapter 273 - Attention
Lisa got up early in the morning because she had to go back to work. Her mother was still asleep in the room, so she left a message on the dining table in case she looked for her.
After taking a shower and changing clothes, Bella suddenly came out of her room. Usually, Lisa\'s younger sister would wake up in broad daylight, but it seemed like something was bothering her mind so she couldn\'t sleep well last night.
Bella came over to Lisa who was busy having breakfast in the dining room. The girl, with her hair still unkempt and heavy eyes, pulled a chair on the dining table and sat down. She looked at Lisa with a regretful face.
Lisa greeted Bella in a friendly manner as if nothing happened yesterday. Bella replied with a soft snort, she was ashamed and felt guilty. She did not expect that her sister was still kind to her even though she had been hurt in such a way. But deep down in her heart, she still owed Lisa a debt because she hurt her big sister\'s heart.
Grabbing a glass and then filling it with water, Bella lowered her head and said, "Lis, about my words yesterday... I\'ll take it all back."
Lisa stopped chewing her breakfast then looked at Bella.
"I still couldn\'t forgive myself because I\'ve accused you and even told you cruel words as if you\'re not my sibling. I\'ll take all of my words, it\'s really complicated. I\'m so sorry. If I could reverse time, I would never repeat it!"
Hearing Bella\'s apology for the second time, Lisa got up from her chair and walked over to Bella. She embraced her younger sister from behind and then said, "Come on, Bel, I already accept your apology. Don\'t be too hard on yourself."
"But Lis, I\'m really bad at you. I\'m no different from Karina\'s sister. I\'m bad, really really bad. I\'m a bastard. I can\'t forgive myself!" Bella screamed, holding back her tears.
"Bella, come on, I already forgave you. Now it\'s your turn to forgive yourself. You don\'t need to owe me because I love you for who you are. I\'m your big sister," Lisa said softly. She stroked her younger sister\'s head then smiled.
"I\'m really selfish, I didn\'t want to listen to your advice. I\'m so sorry. If I had listened to what you were saying, surely we wouldn\'t have had to fight long," Bella added. Her tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Bella, the important thing is that you realize your mistake now and you promise not to do it again. I also ask you to forgive yourself. Now, can\'t you forgive yourself?" Lisa asked, comforting Bella who looked grim.
The girl could not help but feel the deepest pain and regret from her heart. She let go of all that sadness and regret through the tears that poured down from the corners of her dark eyes.
"I\'m really sorry, Lis!" Bella exclaimed. Her eyes were smeared with pain.
Lisa held her sister\'s body closer and tighter, letting her positive energy flow to her so that Bella no longer felt guilty and pained.
"As long as you want to improve, I\'ll always forgive you," Lisa said softly.
The clock showed 6 am, Lisa rushed to the office using public transportation. She kissed her younger sister\'s forehead and said, "Take care of yourself too, Bel. Don\'t forget, finish your college and get a job until you are well-established, okay?"
In return, Bella nodded and escorted Lisa to the gate and waved.
***
Arriving at Colors Advertising office, Lisa strolled into the finance department room at a brisk pace before it was too late. When she looked at her desk, she found a flower bucket there.
Lisa stared at the wreath of red roses wrapped in gold velvet ribbons with astonished eyes. Who might have sent her the flowers on her desk?
She went straight to the table quickly. A small piece of paper tucked between the stems of a red rose bloomed and then she read the letters written in it.
Do your best, don\'t forget your lunch.
—Oscar.
Reading the simple but attentive words made the corners of Lisa\'s lips, which were polished with red lipstick, smile. Without realizing it, her face immediately turned red. Luckily, she was wearing a blush on, so her other co-workers didn\'t know that she was blushing.
"Hey… Why are you smiling by yourself like that!" Sarah cried, tapping Lisa on the shoulder from behind. The gossip lady managed to surprise her.
"Sarah? When did you come?!?" Lisa replied in surprise.
"Who is this flower from? Heyyyyy, could it be from Mr. Rangga, huh?" Sarah said carelessly.
"The hell are you talking about? Watch your words! There, go back to your desk! Let\'s work work work!" Lisa replied, waving her hand.
***
Her workload kept piling up every day and even after office hours she still had to work overtime at home. Arriving at Oscar\'s residence, Lisa took out her laptop and struggled with the rest of her unfinished work in the office.
The night was getting late and Lisa was still struggling with her laptop. When Oscar came home, the man saw her looking tense and serious while staring at her laptop\'s screen. Oscar then looked worriedly at Lisa. He approached her in the living room and said, "Lisa, why are you working late?"
Lisa nodded, her eyes were still fixed on the laptop.
"Have you had dinner yet?" Oscar asked worriedly. The man sat across from her.
Lisa shook her head, her long fingers swiftly typing on the keyboard.
Seeing that his future wife was very active in working made him worried. He was worried that the woman would go too far and fall ill. Not to mention that Lisa hadn\'t eaten at all. He then sighed.
"What if I start a new company and make you the CEO? So you don\'t have to bother working late at night like this?" Oscar said idly.
Hearing Oscar\'s ridiculous remark made Lisa stop typing and then cast her gaze at the golden haired man who was grinning mischievously. "Huh, are you stupid or crazy? Being the CEO is much heavier! I\'d often come home at night or not even coming home at all like you. "
Oscar laughed lightly at Lisa\'s honest, irritated reaction.
The blonde haired man got up from the sofa and said, "You just finish your work, let me cook you something."
Lisa ignored Oscar\'s words just now. Her eyes were still focused on the laptop while typing fast like a racing horse.
Ten minutes later, there was a burnt aroma coming from the kitchen. Lisa\'s sense of smell was immediately intrigued to find out what was going on in the kitchen right away. The woman put her laptop on the table and hurried to the kitchen.
She found Oscar cooking something, but the shape of the dish was very messy with a distinctive burnt aroma.
"What are you cooking, Oscar !? Why is that thing... so burnt?" Lisa asked spontaneously when her eyes fell on the burnt flesh on the pan held by Oscar.
Oscar fell silent as he glanced at Lisa. "Err .. I tried to make you Indonesian food? What is it called, Rendang?"
Lisa patted her forehead as innocent words escaped Oscar\'s lips. She shook her head while holding back laughter. "Oscar, that\'s not how you make Rendang! Oh my... You are so funny I swear!"
"Oh, so I was wrong, huh?" Oscar replied naively.
The more Lisa looked at him, the more she couldn\'t help laughing. She immediately burst out laughing, amused by Oscar\'s charred meat.
"Ouch Oscar, you are a foreigner. You don\'t have to try cooking Indonesian food if you can\'t. You can just cook European dishes or something that is easy like fried chicken. It\'s weird if you cook Rendang, and you burnt it..." Lisa said, laughing amusedly.
"I bought instant spices at the supermarket, I thought I just had to fry it," Oscar replied innocently.
"Ah, you can\'t make an instant Rendang, alright. You have to boil the meat in coconut milk until it dries up. Okay, since you have tried to cook it then let me try. It\'s fine we still can eat it. Fried Rendang is pretty delicious,"
Lisa cut the burnt fried rendang meat then chewed it. "Okay, this is really weird. Haha, oh my goodness I want to laugh again. Ah, but it\'s okay, you\'ve tried too. I\'ll finish this even if it\'s a bit burnt. Thank you for your attention..."
"Sorry, I\'ll learn more about it next time,"Oscar said shyly.
Even though the Indonesian dish made by a European-blooded man tasted strange, Lisa was still very happy. Her heart was touched by Oscar\'s caring attitude.
"Next time we eat Indonesian food, I\'ll cook it!" Lisa exclaimed confidently.