Three days had passed, and Giska’s fever had finally begun to subside. Aldo could breathe a sigh of relief, seeing the improvement in his beloved’s condition. Giska lived alone in her apartment, with no one to take care of her if she suddenly fell ill. Unfortunately, due to his overwhelming workload and university commitments, Aldo couldn’t stay by her side for too long.
During his lunch break at work, Aldo tried calling Giska. Her WhatsApp profile picture looked too stunning, making his brow furrow in displeasure. When the call connected, he could hear her coughing, still recovering from the flu.
“Can you change your profile picture to a monkey or something, Gis? What if some random guy prints it out and casts a spell on you? That’d be my loss—I’ve been waiting for you since we were kids, and now that you’re this gorgeous, someone else might snatch you away,” Aldo grumbled in frustration.
Giska chuckled, her laughter interrupted by coughs. “Is that supposed to be a compliment or what, Ko?”
“I don’t know, I’m just feeling sensitive,” Aldo replied.
“Oh my God, you called just to scold me about my profile picture? Then why did you leave me all alone? I’m bored, Ko,” Giska complained.
Aldo understood that someone as busy as Giska could also get stressed when she had nothing to do. A small smile formed on his lips—it was rare for Giska to act this spoiled.
“I’m sorry. So, how are you feeling? Any better?” he asked, relenting.
“Pretty much. I think I can go back to work soon,” Giska answered optimistically.
But of course, that only made Aldo worry more. “I already ordered your favorite food—it should be arriving soon.”
“Chicken porridge? Jengkol?” Giska guessed.
“Just make sure you take your medicine, okay?” Aldo said sweetly.
“Ah, now I really want to see you in person,” Giska sighed.
If Aldo had said that in front of her, they’d definitely be hugging by now. “Should we just get married so we can see each other every day?” Aldo teased.
For some reason, talk of marriage always led to silence. Even though Aldo had long ago placed an expensive diamond ring on Giska’s finger, claiming her as his, there were still countless obstacles on their path to marriage.
“I think the food’s here,” Giska said.
“Alright, eat up and get some rest. If I don’t get home too late, I’ll drop by. Can I stay over?” Aldo asked, clearing his throat.
Giska laughed, the sound of her moving back onto her bed and unwrapping the food reaching Aldo’s ears. He could hear her footsteps and the creak of the bed.
“No, don’t stay over,” she replied.
“Why not?” Aldo whined.
“You might catch my flu. If we’re both sick at the same time, who’s going to take care of us?” Giska reasoned.
“Oh, don’t worry. There’s Indra, Tomi, Ardo, and Rey. Just call them—they’ll definitely come. But if you’re the one who’s sick, they’re not allowed to take care of you,” Aldo said possessively.
“By the way, you guys aren’t doing anything weird this year, right?”
Aldo paused, thinking of the best way to answer. The truth was, this year, he and his friends had organized a crazy lottery that dragged an innocent girl into their twisted game.
“Nope. We’re all busy. What would we even do?” Aldo changed the subject, forcing a laugh to cover up his lie.
“Hmm, okay.”
***
That night, Aldo finally finished work around nine and headed straight to Giska’s apartment. Upon reaching the parking lot, he was startled to see a familiar car. He tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in his chest and entered the building, but his gut told him something was off.
“Naomi?” Aldo muttered.
He could already picture Giska’s delighted face when he arrived, but his bad feeling from earlier only grew stronger. Without wasting time, Aldo hurried to her unit. The door was unlocked, and the moment he stepped inside, his eyes widened in shock—Naomi was shoving Giska, making her stumble.
“Naomi! What the hell are you doing?” Aldo barked, rushing to help Giska, who was still weak.
“You okay, Gis?” Aldo asked gently.
Giska only nodded, resigned. Normally, if she wasn’t sick, she would’ve fought back against her sister’s antics. But right now, she was too weak. Thank God Aldo had come—who knew what would’ve happened if she had been alone?
“Giska, you’re just pretending to be sick so Ko Aldo will take care of you, right? Just admit it!” Naomi accused, crossing her arms and glaring at her sister.
Aldo never expected Naomi’s obsession with him to go this far, making his path to true love even more difficult. A part of him wanted to avoid both of them altogether, but deep down, he knew he couldn’t bear to lose Giska.
Helping Giska onto the couch, Aldo then turned to Naomi, ushering her toward the door. He still couldn’t understand what she saw in him to make her act this way, even going as far as tormenting her own sister.
“Naomi, how many times do I have to tell you? I have no feelings for you. You can be mad at me all you want, but don’t ever lay a hand on Giska again,” Aldo warned, his anger barely contained.
Most of the time, he could tolerate Naomi, but there were moments when he just wanted to snap at her.
“Let go of me, Ko!” Naomi shrieked, refusing to admit her wrongdoing. “You just wait, Gis! I’m going to tell Dad that you skipped work and made yourself sick on purpose!” she threatened, pointing a finger at Giska.
Aldo rolled his eyes. He sighed, irritated—what kind of pathetic threat was that? But if their father got involved, it could be a real problem for Giska, and Aldo didn’t want her life to get any harder.
“You’re ridiculous. Why would she do that?” Aldo scoffed.
They were already at the doorway, but Naomi was still resisting. She was beautiful, but her behavior was anything but. Her obsession with Aldo was unhealthy. Aldo clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her, staring directly into her eyes.
“Listen. Don’t go telling your dad to pull his investments from my father’s company over something this petty. If you ever get sick, I’ll take care of you just like I take care of Giska. Stop blaming her for everything,” Aldo lied. He had no intention of treating Naomi the same way. Once he was done talking, he released her.
“Seriously, Ko?” Naomi asked, hopeful.
“Yeah,” Aldo replied, forcing himself to agree.
“Okay, I’ll leave now,” Naomi said, standing on her tiptoes and offering her cheek for a kiss.
Aldo had no choice but to oblige. The moment he did, Naomi took the opportunity to steal a kiss on his lips. Stunned, Aldo froze as Naomi quickly fled. Aldo sighed in frustration and turned back to Giska, shrugging. She giggled between coughs, amused by what had just happened.
Sitting on the floor, Aldo rested his head on her lap, burying his face in her thighs. Stress, problems—this was just one of many. “I’m sorry, Gis,” he murmured.
Giska stroked his hair lovingly. “That was just an accident,” she reassured him.
“What if I slept with another woman? What if it was Naomi? Would you be mad?” Aldo asked.
Giska tilted her head, gazing at him. Aldo looked up at her softly, intertwining their fingers. “Hmm, would there be love involved?” she asked after a moment.
“Of course not. I’ve used up all my love on you,” he answered sincerely.
“I might get mad, but it depends on the situation. I’m open-minded, you know… terms and conditions apply,” Giska teased.