A few days later, Giska had fully recovered from her illness. Meanwhile, Aldo was calmly working on his report, having not called her since this morning, trusting that his beloved was doing just fine.
The clock on his computer screen showed it was almost midnight. Aldo was alone, as his subordinates had gone home two hours ago under his orders. They had a day off tomorrow, and Aldo didn’t want to steal their rest time by making them work overtime again.
Creak…
The door to his office swung open. Aldo turned his head, mildly surprised to see Giska standing there. Unlike usual, she wasn’t smiling when she saw him.
“Hey, beautiful!” Aldo greeted cheerfully.
But Giska didn’t respond. She walked toward him, stopping right in front of his desk, her expression dark with anger. Aldo frowned. He hadn’t done anything wrong lately. He had always treated her with care and affection.
“You need to explain something to me,” Giska said seriously, holding up her phone.
Aldo blinked a few times as his gaze fell on the image displayed on her screen. It was a picture of him—an incriminating one—with Priska. His mouth fell open in shock.
“Your flash drive fell near my bed, and I didn’t expect to find this file,” Giska’s voice trembled. “Who is she? I—I can accept it if she was your ex, or if it happened when we were on a break. I know we can’t have a normal relationship like most couples, but this recording is recent. Have you grown tired of me?”
Aldo immediately stood up, panic washing over him. He tried to approach Giska, but she threw her phone, the device striking him right on the temple. He let out a pained grunt, but he knew he had no right to protest. And from the look in her eyes, she wasn’t in the mood to hear any excuses.
“I can explain everything, just calm down,” Aldo said, blood trickling down his face.
His head was spinning, and he might have collapsed if she had decided to grab the computer monitor or even the keyboard next.
“She’s your side chick, isn’t she?” Giska’s voice shook with fury. “She looks young. Some campus escort from your university? That’s why I told you to study abroad!”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she reached for one of Aldo’s thick books, seemingly ready to hurl it at him.
“Giska, please. Just listen to me first. This was Indra’s doing—it was all his idea!” Aldo blurted, his mind scrambling for a way to defuse the situation.
“Am I not pretty enough? Is it because I’m older? If there’s something I lack, you could’ve just told me, Revaldo Aditya!”
Whenever Giska was truly angry, she would call him by his full name. Besides, their age difference wasn’t even that big—only two years.
“For God’s sake, who said you’re old? You’re so beautiful I want to lock you up in a dragon’s castle,” Aldo said without thinking, his brain in chaos from getting caught red-handed.
“You’re insane! Just go marry Naomi!” Giska started hurling his books at him, each one landing with a painful thud against his body.
***
The next morning, Indra and the others had gathered at Rey’s restaurant as requested by Aldo. The four of them were eating, while Rey had closed the place to the public for the day—it seemed this was an important discussion. Indra hadn’t said anything yet, and they were still waiting for Aldo to arrive.
“What’s going on? It’s still early, man. Don’t mess with my sleep schedule,” Tomi grumbled impatiently.
“Maybe Aldo’s getting engaged?” Ardo joked.
“Hush! It’s not that simple,” Rey countered.
Indra had heard everything from Aldo last night—or more accurately, in the early hours of the morning when Aldo called in a panic. Giska had accidentally discovered their little game, and Aldo had been forced to come clean about their “betting club” to salvage his relationship with her.
In the end, Indra had agreed to meet up and talk things over with Giska. For now, Priska was staying at Ardo’s house, as their next “round” had been postponed due to this unexpected mess.
Aldo arrived first, wearing sunglasses, a mask, and a cap to conceal his battered face. Last night, Giska had beaten him up in a fit of rage, and he hadn’t dared to fight back—because he was, indeed, guilty.
“How are you feeling, Do? Any better?” Indra asked, though it was more of a tease than genuine concern. He was the only one who knew about Aldo’s altercation with Giska.
“Better? Are you kidding me?” Aldo groaned, pulling off his mask and sunglasses.
Tomi and Ardo immediately burst into loud laughter, their eyes widening at the sight of Aldo’s handsome face covered in bruises and plaster.
“What the hell, Do? Domestic violence?” Tomi wheezed, struggling to contain his laughter.
“That’s what happens when you date a goddess who behaves like a demon,” Ardo quipped.
Tomi laughed so hard he clutched his stomach, while even Rey and Indra couldn’t hold back their chuckles. The so-called heartthrob of their group had been utterly wrecked at Giska’s hands.
Aldo was in no shape to argue, let alone throw insults back at them as he normally would. Just as the laughter died down, Giska walked into the restaurant. She was wearing a T-shirt and a long skirt—simple yet elegant. Her presence immediately silenced the five men.
“Stop this game or I won't ever acknowledge this person again!" Giska declared, pointing at Aldo as if he were a stranger.
She then shot him a glare so sharp that Aldo shrank back like a scolded dog caught stealing food. She was dead serious. Aldo wanted to protest, but when he reached for her, she swatted his hand away, refusing to be touched by him.
“Gis, this has nothing to do with our relationship—”
But before he could finish, he hesitated. If he said the wrong thing, she might throw another glass at him, like she had done last night. His office had ended up looking like a war zone, and he hadn’t even called the cleaning staff yet.
“Okay, fine. We’ll end it. Okay?” Aldo said meekly.                                         
“Shut up,” Giska snapped.
Aldo instantly shrank even further. Indra sighed and picked up their so-called ‘magic contract,’ the one that had bound Priska into their twisted game. For the sake of their friendship—and Aldo’s survival—he decided to tear the document into pieces. Rey handed him a small trash bin, then poured water into it to ensure the contract was completely destroyed.
“Send the girl home and give her every last cent you promised. Never interfere with her life again, or I will never speak to Aldo again,” Giska said.
Tomi and Ardo looked disheartened, while Rey nodded in agreement. Indra, too, gave a solemn nod, and Aldo, too scared to object, simply kept his mouth shut.
“I’ll send her back to the orphanage,” Indra sighed. “And maybe I’ll help out there a little.”
Giska turned to leave, but just as she reached the restaurant’s entrance, she suddenly pivoted back. Without warning, she hurled her thick-heeled shoe straight at Indra’s forehead, knocking him backward onto the floor with his chair. Clutching his throbbing forehead, Indra groaned in pain as Giska glared down at him, her anger still burning. Aldo stood nearby, shaking his head at Indra in silent sympathy. He had tried to warn him.
“Mas Indra, you started all this! Just thinking about it makes me furious,” she huffed.
In fact, she had already walked to the restaurant's courtyard, but came back because she still felt uneasy. Aldo tried to persuade her in vain; the man was now like Giska's assistant and had no right to act or say anything without permission