Chapter 625 - Dark Times

A few days ago, Vira did protect Lisa from being hit by the wooden stick. She did that because Lisa was her friend and she didn't want anything to happen to her. 

Before she fainted, Vira caught a glance of Oscar's figure. Deep in her heart, Vira hopes that Oscar will turn warm around her, knowing that she saved Lisa. However, she did not expect that the man would want to give her money instead.

Hearing the door open from the outside made Oscar reflexively lower his hand. He put the check back in his coat pocket and tried to look like nothing had happened.

Lisa entered the room with some photos and Vira's inspection report. Her entire attention fell on the paper which stated that Vira's condition was fine, and Lisa had no idea that the atmosphere in the room felt awkward.

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief and then put a few sheets of paper into a clear green folder. She gave the clear green folder to Vira and said, "This is the photo taken with the doctor's inspection report yesterday. The doctor said you're fine and there is nothing to worry about or need to be followed up."

"You don't have to protest much but I will bear the entire cost of your hospital. So you just focus on your health first." Lisa continued seriously.

Vira wrinkled her forehead but still took the folder, "What are you doing? Paying for my hospital fees? Why? Doesn't this make me owe you..."

"Think of this as my gratitude for always helping me." Lisa's words made Vira remember what Oscar had said, "The doctor said you can go home this week. But before that, you still have to do another CT scan to see if your body is getting better or not."

"Thank you sis." Vira replied slowly.

Lisa cleared her throat, "You're welcome. The important thing is that you get better quickly so I don't feel more guilty."

After that, they both spent time in the VIP room. None of the three of them looked awkward or uncomfortable. Whether they really feel comfortable or just good at acting, no one knows. At the time of the afternoon meal, Dani came and rushed to bring them food.

"Mr. Oscar! Oops, sorry I didn't notice your text so I came late!" Dani rushed in carrying some plastic food wrappers, "But this is the food that you want me to buy!"

Vira can only swallow her saliva and enjoy the food from the hospital while looking at the other three people enjoying their restaurant food. Since she was still in the healing process, the woman was only allowed to eat mashed rice. 

Every single day.

But at least her diet changed from the time she was hospitalized. The first few days when she woke up, she was only allowed to eat porridge and drink water. But now, she can eat mashed rice, side dishes that change every day, and water.

Around 8 pm, Lisa and Oscar decided to go home because they still had work tomorrow. The woman took her tote bag and stood beside Vira's bed.

"Vir, I'm going home first. I'll come back tomorrow for lunch." 

Since 4 hours ago, Vira tried hard to look normal. The woman kept smiling and sometimes laughing when she heard their jokes. But deep in her heart, she felt empty.

Vira nodded her head and waved her hand, "Be careful on the road, okay? Don't speed up."

Lisa's hand reflexively found Oscar's warm hand, making the ex-husband and wife join hands. Oscar squeezed her hand and said goodbye. 

"We're going home first." Oscar said quietly, without seeing Vira's eyes.

"See you tomorrow!" Lisa said at the same time as Oscar.

On the lonely night street, Dani sat behind the wheel while Lisa and Oscar sat in the back passenger seat. During the trip, Lisa kept silent and looked out, enjoying the street lights and the sparkling buildings. 

Earlier when she heard the good news from the doctor that said Vira's condition had improved and that she might be released from the hospital this week, Lisa felt like she could fly freely into space. Her chest felt relieved and the weight on her shoulders disappeared without a trace.

Finally, after a long time, Lisa can sleep well.

"Lisa, what's your relationship with Vira?" Oscar asked suddenly, breaking the silence. "I mean, are you and Vira good friends?"

Lisa took her eyes off the street outside and looked at Oscar. "Hmm, Vira is a good friend of mine and I consider her as my own sister. When she came to Jakarta, we worked together, trying to start an online shop."

"Online shop? How come I didn't know that you opened an online shop?" Oscar asked in disbelief.

Lisa sighed, "I started the business with Vira when we were divorced, so it's obvious you don't know. I started an online shop with the money you gave me. It used to run smoothly. Everything was fine, the reviews were always good. Well, the income wasn't that much, it's just enough to pay for my daily life."

"So what happened next?" Oscar asked curiously.

Hearing that made Lisa gasp. Reminiscing about that dark time made her feel like she had found a dead rat on the street. Just remembering it made her heart ache and her breath hitched, not to mention that she had to tell Oscar that.

However, Lisa decided to tell Oscar about it.

"I don't know why my online shop was suddenly flooded with bad reviews, saying that the cloth was cheap, or smelled musty. It turns out that the mastermind behind all of them was Karina!" 

"You still remember Karina, right?" Lisa asked suddenly.

Oscar just nodded his head.

"She threatened my customers with burning their house down if they didn't give bad reviews to my online shop! Then you know what gifts Karina gave to those women if they did what she asked for?"

Oscar shook his head.

"A fucking rice box, Oscar! Rice box!"