Frustration weighed heavily on Silvia as she walked alone across the bridge, her bag hanging limply by her side. Waksi had been so cruel—he had really left her stranded like this. As a guy, she had hoped he might show some compassion, even though she had said something that upset him earlier. But this, this was too much. She felt like crying.
After walking about fifty meters, Silvia was completely drained. Her breath came in short gasps, and her feet ached from walking on the hot asphalt under the morning sun. She decided to rest beneath a tree on the side of the road.
Silvia sat alone under the tree, her body slumped and her head lowered. The rain from the previous night had stopped, leaving behind a bright sky and damp air. But despite the world around her seemingly recovering, Silvia felt as though her own world had shattered into pieces. She had never expected that the events of a few days ago would trap her in such a situation.
Two days earlier, she had attended her father's family meeting with his business colleagues. For a nineteen-year-old girl, it felt like she had entered a completely different world—one where people spoke a language she barely understood, and everything she said could easily backfire.
It all began with what should have been a routine meeting. Her father had invited her to sit at a large table with his colleagues, all of whom were much older and had decades of experience in the business world. Silvia simply sat quietly, occasionally listening and nodding along.
However, during the presentation, she couldn't hold back. Her eyes were drawn to the graphs neatly laid out on the screen. The numbers reminded her of the statistics lessons she had taken a few months ago. Seeing how poor the data on the graph looked, she raised her hand and offered what she thought was a brilliant idea.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, but I have to say this. You're too focused on marketing distribution instead of focusing on the quality of your products. Your marketing budget is way too inflated; you could cut it by thirty percent and redirect it toward product development in the market. Trust me, within a month, this messy graph will improve," she said, her soft voice breaking the silence in the room.
Everyone went silent, staring at her for a moment. Her father's colleagues exchanged glances. Her father seemed surprised, then frowned, but Silvia didn't notice.
"Silvia, that's too far to consider," one of her father's colleagues said, his voice sounding somewhat taken aback. "We've already set our strategy based on in-depth research. Changing direction could be very risky."
But Silvia continued, her enthusiasm undeterred. "But if we stick to the old strategy, we'll fall behind. Don't you see that since technology advanced so rapidly seven years ago, you've started to lag? Artificial intelligence is already taking over important human jobs, and I see you all can barely use your gadgets properly for promotions and marketing. You're focusing on irrelevant things. Maybe it's time to be bolder, right?"
Unbeknownst to Silvia, her words not only touched a sensitive spot but also offended her father's colleagues, who had spent years working on these projects. They felt as though their hard-earned ideas were being threatened by a young girl who didn't fully understand the bigger picture of their business. The tension in the room was palpable.
"How do you know all of that?" one of her father's colleagues asked.
Silvia answered confidently, "From the palms of your hands. I can see your hands are rough and calloused. Even the backs of your hands are sunburned. Isn't it strange for people your age to be so sunburned frequently? That means you spend a lot of time doing outdoor, manual labor. When you should be sitting inside, in an air-conditioned room, overseeing production activities with your advanced equipment without needing to go out onto the field. Or is all that technology too advanced for you to learn, which is why you've been falling behind for seven years ago?"
"Silvia, watch your words," her father's voice cut through sharply, trying to ease the tension. "I never asked you to voice your thoughts to all of us. We know what we're doing. A young person like you can not understand our perspective with all our experience. I think it's best if you go to your room now."
Feeling betrayed, Silvia was stunned. She had thought her father would support her opinion, but instead, it was her own father who silenced her most strongly. Still uncertain, she was forced to drag her body up to her room on the second floor.
When the meeting ended half an hour later, her father came to find her in her room. "What did you just do?" His voice was low but sharp, filled with anger. "You could have ruined everything with your words. No one wants to listen to the reckless ideas of a child like you. You're too impulsive!"
"I'm sorry, I just tried to help," Silvia muttered, her face frowning.
That night, Mr. Nolan realized something was wrong with his daughter. This wasn't the first time Silvia had expressed such ridiculous, thoughtless ideas that offended everyone, especially her father's colleagues. And this was what pushed Mister Nolan to the brink, as his company had been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy for seven years ago. Added to that was Silvia's disruptive behavior in the meeting. This can't be tolerated anymore.
That's when Mr. Nolan decided to have his daughter's psychology checked at the psychiatric clinic. And that was what led Silvia to end up sitting alone under the tree by the side of the road. Her eyes were still red from crying in the heat of the sun.
Not long after, a man riding a big motorbike stopped in front of her. He lifted the visor of his helmet and said, "Silvia? What are you doing here?"
Silvia blinked a few times, struggling to recognize the voice beneath the helmet. But when he took it off, she saw a handsome guy with blonde hair. His blue eyes sparkled like ocean waves.
"Dhean? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me. What are you doing sitting alone under this tree? Our class is about to start. And why are your eyes red? Have you been crying?"
Panicking, Silvia quickly wiped her face, trying to erase the tears she hadn't realized had fallen. "Well, I had a bad morning. Someone came to pick me up at home, planning to take me to campus together. But that jerk just dropped me off in the middle of the road. Now, I don't know what to do."
"What?! That's so mean! How could he leave you all alone like this? Who is he? Let me teach him a lesson the next time I see him!" Dhean said angrily. Silvia couldn't help but admire how much he understood her situation. Her heart raced as she watched him fume with anger over what Waksi had done to her. If only he were her boyfriend, she thought, she would be so happy.
"It's okay," she said, trying to calm him down. "Don't waste your time on someone like him. Can I ride with you, Dhean? Please?"
"Of course. Let's go before we're late."
Silvia climbed onto his bright red motorbike. The scent of Dhean's cologne filled the air, making her feel giddy. Actually, her heart felt just as light as if there were butterflies fluttering inside it.
"Hold on tight, Silvia. I'm going to speed up," Dhean said from behind his helmet.
Panicking, Silvia didn't know where to hold on, so she ended up wrapping her arms around his waist. Her heart raced in her chest, and she hoped he couldn't feel it. Her face must have been bright red by now.
It felt like karma for what Waksi had done to her. She got to spend time alone with a knight like Dhean, who showed up with his white horse exactly when she needed him. She couldn't help but wish the ride would last longer. She didn't want this sweet moment to end.