Chapter 243 - Not As You Think

"Why are you back?" 

That was the sentence that came out of Lisa's lips when she found the figure of a tall, slender man wrapped in a black bathrobe standing in front of the door with his arms crossed. His eyes narrowed, staring at her with a look full of suspicion. The aura around the room suddenly turned cold and awkward, as if Lisa seemed to be dealing with a border guard.

"Where are you from, Lisa?" Oscar asked. His face looked displeased of course. He still crosses his arms. His eyes swept Lisa's figure from foot to head.

"From the office, where else?" Lisa replied slightly curtly. She tried to hide her nervousness from Oscar. She didn't want him to suspect her. Then she took off her shoes and put them on the shoe rack. 

Oscar was still standing with his arms crossed, his face still looking suspiciously at Lisa's gesture when the woman opened the door and looked at him with an astonished face.

"How come you have come back now? Aren't you working out of town?" Lisa asked, breaking the silence. She didn't dare look at the man.

The man grunted, he walked over to Lisa and then grabbed her shoulder and pulled her. He gave the confused woman a condescending look.

"Don't try to lie to mie. Where were you yesterday?" Oscar asked in his cold voice. His eyes were still looking at Lisa with a suspicious look. His right hand pulled Lisa's shirt so that their bodies were close together. Now, their faces were only one inch different.

Lisa was silent for a moment. The question made her a little nervous. Oscar seemed to know that she had been going to Rangga's house for the last few days to meet Julian. She was very confused about how she should answer him so that he would not get jealous and get angry. 

Lisa racked her brains, looking for ways to avoid misunderstandings. 

"What do you mean? I went to the office yesterday, where else could I have gone?" Lisa replied, covering up the truth. Her voice was raised a little higher than her usual volume, hoping that the man would not suspect her actions. She pushed away from the man's grasp then went upstairs to change clothes.

"Don't dodge my question, Lisa! Our conversation is not over!" Oscar exclaimed from downstairs.

Lisa did not pay attention to him, instead she was thinking about how to prevent Oscar from asking questions about Rangga and her activities while he was out of town. 

'How did Oscar know that I wasn't at the boarding house yesterday?'

As Lisa changed clothes, she was lost in her own thoughts. Memories with Julian during this week, her work that never ended, and some flashback from her past suddenly came back. Her mind began to fall into chaos. Lisa couldn't stop it even for a moment then looked at her biased face in the mirror, making sure her facial expression didn't look suspicious.

'Should I be honest that I've been going to Rangga's house just to help him take care of Julian this week? But Oscar will be really jealous, right?'

Lisa touched her forehead, she blinked then shook her head to wipe the foggy thoughts from her head. She took a deep breath and then held it for a few moments. 

As far as she knew, Oscar had sent her a message that the man was going out of town for an indefinite period of time. Lisa used the opportunity to help Rangga look after Julian. But how could that man suspect her? 

Oscar suddenly walked into Lisa's room and then stood in the doorway with the same face as when Lisa saw him in the living room. The interlocked brows, the cold stare, and the crossed arms. The man cleared his throat, breaking Lisa's reverie.

"If you really don't hide something from me, you shouldn't be surprised when you met me here earlier," he said spontaneously.

Hearing those words just now made Lisa even more amazed. She frowned while rubbing the nape of her neck. "Oscar, I seriously don't understand your question. I told you I came home from the office. In fact, you haven't answered my question earlier!"

Oscar ignored Lisa's question. The man still insisted on digging out the truth that the woman had hidden from him. 

"Come on, Oscar. Don't you trust me a little?" Lisa asked, trying to change the topic.

The man corrected his standing position. He took a deep breath and then said, "I have a feeling that you are hiding something from me, Lisa. And that something seems to really bother me,"

Lisa was getting confused. "Is that what your hunch told you!? Be clear. Oscar, what are you trying to say!?"

"I have a feeling that you met another man behind my back," Oscar replied coldly and frighteningly. The man looked more and more intently at Lisa.

"Are you saying I'm having an affair!?" Lisa responded in surprise. "Are you so confident that you can accuse me of cheating behind your back? Did you hire someone else to keep up with me all this time? Is that so?"

The play didn't seem to be working. Oscar approached Lisa quickly and then loomed on top of her with burning jealousy. His hand gripped Lisa's tiny hand tightly so that she wouldn't run away from him.

"Oscar what are you doing!? Let me go!" Lisa shouted, struggling.

"Lisa, don't lie to me, you went to Rangga's house, right? Say the truth!?" The man's voice began to sound angry. His breath began to rush. His grip was getting stronger than before.

"How do you know I went to Rangga's house? Did you really hire someone to follow me? Why don't you trust me that Rangga and I are just friends!" Lisa replied in her high-pitched voice, irritated by the accusation that stemmed from her ex-husband's hunch.

"I know it because I didn't actually go out of town as my company was in trouble yesterday! I was here last night and I didn't see you at all! I tried calling Andien but she said you weren't in her apartment. Don't you understand my feelings, Lisa? What if it turns out that you were kidnapped? What if it turns out that you are cheating on purpose?" Oscar's glowing eyes, which had been fiery, now became sad and pitiful. A spark of worry could be seen from within his blue eyes.

Hearing Oscar's explanation, Lisa was surprised. She did not think that the man could care about her. "If you didn't work out of town yesterday, why didn't you call me, Oscar?"

"You didn't pick up my phone yesterday!?" Oscar replied curtly. Without realizing it, his eyes began to water.

Lisa was confused, she immediately grabbed her cellphone and checked it. Sure enough, the cellphone died. She immediately showed Oscar the black cell phone screen. "Oh, my God. My phone is dead! The battery is running out, I forgot to charge it!"

Oscar took a deep breath. The man tried to calm his emotions, which had flared up with jealousy. He got up and sat on the edge of Lisa's bed. His eyes turned back to her, this time his face looked more relaxed than before.

"Tell me, where did you go yesterday?"

Lisa couldn't hide it anymore, she had been caught by Oscar. After all, that man was her lover and she must be honest so no more fatal misunderstandings like the one that caused their marriage to end two years ago happened again.

"Okay, let me explain to you but I want you to be patient and believe me. I did go to Rangga's house, but don't get me wrong, I didn't intend to have an affair there. I was asked to take care of Julian, Rangga's adopted son, do you still remember? This week, Rangga is on a business trip outside of the town and he had entrusted the boy to no one other than me to look after him. Julian is very fond of me and he loves being with me," she explained at length. Her heart was immediately relieved.

Oscar was silent, trying to digest all of Lisa's explanations without any rage. "Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true. Trust me, Rangga wasn't at his house when I was looking after Julian," Lisa added, reassuring Oscar.

Oscar only nodded in silence in return. The man then got up and stepped downstairs. He didn't look angry but Lisa could feel the man's aura was very different. It looked like he was really disappointed with her.

A few moments later, Lisa heard the sound of the front door closing firmly.

It seemed like Oscar was really mad, she thought.