Chapter 18

Mentari Jingga stopped walking.

She swallowed hard and forced a smile at Arya who appeared from the opposite direction. The guy smiled back, then approached Mentari with both hands in his pants pockets. He stopped right in front of Mentari, then raised one hand to say hello.

"Hi, Mentari. Long time no see," said Arya. He looked around and returned his focus to Mentari. "How are you? As for me, I'm still hurt because you rejected my confession at that time."

Mentari is silent. To be honest, she felt the chill start to run up her spine. Is it true, Arya is the perpetrator of all these theft cases and the person who has threatened her? Is it true, it was Arya who asked her to meet tonight? If it was him, wouldn't she be in danger right now? No, no. Mentari has nothing to be afraid of. She is a brave girl. As long as she is not wrong, Mentari has nothing to fear. Even if she is dealing with someone who will harm her.

"I'm good," replied Mentari. "Oh, sorry about that. I can't do anything but reject you, because I really don't have feelings for you. I hope you can accept that now." Mentari pointed at the teacher's room using her chin. "I want to go to the teacher's room because I have to give these books to Mr. Senja."

"Oh, sorry for interrupting your time," said Arya. The guy let Mentari pass him and looked at Mentari who was walking away. Even Mentari could feel it without looking back.

Arriving at the teacher's room, there was no one there. Mentari had expected this because they were teaching classes. Senja, who had finished teaching in Mentari's class, was nowhere to be seen in the teacher's room. Mentari came to Senja's table, put the books she was carrying on the table, then gripped the side of the table while trying to catch her breath. Damn it. Since when did her legs tremble like this?

"What's wrong with you?"

The question made Mentari flinched and reflexively turned her body. Her face was pale and her eyes looked panicked. Mentari's eyes widened, making Senja frown and feel anxious. He immediately grabbed Mentari's arm and checked her condition.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you okay? What is it?" asked Senja repeatedly.

"I'm okay, Sir," Mentari replied in a weak tone. She forced another smile. "Earlier, it was… I just accidentally met Arya in the school corridor. Then, I suddenly thought—accusing—Arya unilaterally in my heart, that he was the culprit. And I got scared. Afraid that he would harm me earlier."

Senja is silent. His jaw hardened and he told Mentari to sit down. Then, Senja brought a glass of water and gave it to Mentari. Quickly, Mentari drank it and began to feel calm. She looked up at Senja and said, "Thank you, Sir. I'm calm now."

"Tonight, you're still going to see the culprit?" asked Senja. Mentari nodded.

"Of course, Sir. I had to meet him, ask him what he meant by stealing all those things and threatening me. I feel that I have no enemies in this school. If people don't like me, anyway...." Mentari was silent and glanced at Senja who raised one eyebrow while crossing his hand in his chest. "There are a lot of them."

Senja took a deep breath and returned to his desk. He checked the books that Mentari had brought, then looked at Mentari. "Okay, you can go back to class. I'm sure Arya has entered his class. You are safe. If something goes wrong, you can report it to me. You're really okay, right?"

Mentari stood up and nodded. The girl then approached Senja and said thank you, then waved at Senja. Senja who is now looking at his desk with a flat gaze and clenched his fists.

"Damn it!" cursed Senja. The guy closed his eyes and leaned back. "I really lost my composure at the moment. What should I do now? Was Arya really the culprit?"

###

Senja didn't have much time.

As soon as he returned home, Senja went straight to his room. It is now six in the evening. Soon, night will come. The time determined by the perpetrator of the theft case to meet with Mentari. The distance from his house to Mentari's house is quite far, so Senja should not be late. Fortunately, Senja had told Awan to go to Mentari's house first and take care of her.

"Senja, I want to talk to you for a moment."

Senja stopped and looked into the living room. His parents were already sitting on the sofa, making Senja's brow furrow. When do they come home? Wasn't it when Senja came to the house, his parents weren't there yet? Senja finally approached his parents and sat on the sofa.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

The handsome man looked at his wife and focused back on Senja. Smiling, he said, "This weekend, you're coming with me and mom to meet Dad's best friend and his daughter, okay?"

Senja's eyebrows raised one. "What for?"

"Talking about business." The man drank his coffee. "Because Dad's best friend wants to bring his daughter, I decided to take you too, so his daughter wouldn't feel bored."

"This… has no ulterior motives, right?" Senja asked suspiciously. He could see that his father looked a little panicked and the man cleared his throat.

"You suspect your Dad?"

"No." Senja shook his head. "It's just that, Dad is quite a cunning person."

The man chuckled, felt amused and glanced at his wife. "I was said to be a cunning person by our son."

"That's the reality." The woman who had given birth to Senja smiled and looked at him. "Where are you going? Any business to attend to?"

"Yes," Senja nodded. He stood up from the sofa and immediately said goodbye to his parents. "I have to finish some work. I'm off. You guys can have your dinner first, okay?"

Senja immediately got on his motorbike and rushed to Mentari's house. The plan is that Senja will ride a motorbike with Mentari, while Vivi and Yunifer will ride a car driven by Awan. Because of that, Senja should not be late to Mentari's house. He will wait outside of her house so he wouldn't have to meet with Mentari's father.

Arriving at Mentari's house, Senja could see that everyone had gathered in front of the fence. He stopped his motorbike and took off his helmet. Then, Mentari approached Senja and smiled.

"Sorry, I am late." Senja turned off the engine and looked at Vivi and Yunifer who were standing near Awan's car. "Are you all ready?"

When they all nodded, Senja immediately helped Mentari to get on his motorbike and gave the helmet to the girl.

"Tonight, it will all be over. I assure you, you will get the necklace left by your late mother and we will catch the culprit."