On the way home to his expensive apartment, Fernando was silent without a sound, his hand gripping the list of employees at Global Bross Hospital, that still displayed a photo of Viona as the main surgeon at Global Bross Hospital.

"Lucas, stop," Fernando said, suddenly.

​​

"Yes, Master," Lucas replied, quickly, pulling off by the edge of the road. Two cars escorting Fernando behind immediately stopped too.

"Get out, Lucas, I want to go somewhere myself," Fernando said back.

Without speaking, Lucas immediately got out of the car together with Fernando, who also got out of the back seat. He then got back into the car, sitting where Lucas was and drove at high speed, leaving Lucas with the bodyguards. Fernando drove his car to a place that was historic for him and Viona. After driving for almost an hour, Fernando finally arrived at a bakery that used to be a laundry place. The place where he first saw the teenager Viona, eight years ago. Fernando stared at the bakery for a long time. He recalled his meeting with Viona.

"Honey... Forgive my selfishness, I have wronged you, Dear," Fernando said quietly. He remembered the photo of Viona that was on the list of employees on the dashboard of his car.

"I have restricted your freedom, I restrained you. I did that because I was really afraid to lose you, Dear, but the more I restrained you, the more you were away from me. Give me a chance to fix everything, Honey, I'm sorry, Dear... Come back, Vio, I would really go crazy any longer without you," sobbed Fernando, silently, he truly cursed his past stupidity.

Fernando returned to crying over Viona for the umpteenth time. He cried in solitude because he didn't want anyone to know how broken he was right now. Fernando didn't want to appear weak in front of anyone, especially his business rivals. Because if they found out that right now he was not well then they could attack him simultaneously. Fernando didn't want that to happen. Because of that, he kept his pain to himself without intending to share it with anyone, nor did he even provide any information about the rumors that were circulating, where he was said to have separated from Viona since his departure to France nine months ago, because since then, Viona had never appeared before the public again. So people said they had separated secretly. Fernando did not confirm or deny the news, he just closed his mouth tightly when reporters asked about the matter.

After stopping for a long time in front of the bakery, Fernando finally drove back to his penthouse apartment because it was getting late. The sun was going to set. He didn't want to still be on the road when night fell, because for him the night was the time to hug all of Viona's photos on the bed.

* * *

Viona, who had just finished working, seemed to be cleaning the dough marks that stuck to her hands and face. As the chef's assistant, she looked quite busy. Moreover, today, there were quite a lot of visitors, because in every school holiday, Elora Village would be crowded with visitors. Elora Village was well known for its various beautiful places, whether it be stunning natural scenery or historical buildings from ancient times.

"Mrs. Christy, I'll go home first," said Viona quietly, as she put her apron in a special place.

"Yes, Anji, please be careful, Dear," replied Mrs. Christy, the owner of the cake shop, where Viona worked, in a friendly manner.

"Thank you, Madam, see you tomorrow," Viona said, softly, smiling.

Mrs. Christy nodded her head slowly while throwing the same smile, as Viona waved her hand. She really liked Viona's friendly personality and was quick to learn. Since Viona worked in her shop, the customers had increased. They said that the variety of cakes in the shop was increasing and they were delicious. The collaboration between the chefs of her bakery, Pricil and Viona, had succeeded in making her even richer. She felt that Viona's arrival at her shop was a blessing from God for her.

Viona returned to the orphanage on foot, enjoying the cool afternoon air. Her smile grew when she saw many local tourists began to fill Elora's village. They usually came in groups or just together with their partners.

"I've never been on vacation like them, Fernando was always busy..."

Viona's steps stopped when she realized that she had just talked about Fernando without realizing it. Her heart was beating very fast. She didn't know what happened lately, she always remembered Fernando, even though during the last nine months she didn't remember it that much.

"The more I try to forget, the stronger you play around in memory, Fernando, why?" said Viona, softly, touching her chest.

Viona stopped long enough near a roadside motel. As she stepped again, Viona suddenly caught a gossip program that was discussing Fernando. Her heart almost popped out of her chest when she saw Fernando's figure on television. She was immediately stunned to look at the television. Viona's eyes suddenly felt hot and could not contain her tears. Warmth began to flow from her eyes to her cheeks. Seeing Fernando return for the first time after ten months really made her unable to hold back. Her two long legs finally couldn't support her body weight, Viona sat in front of the motel crying.

"Why are you so skinny, Fernando?" Viona said softly, without realizing it.

"Have you never eaten, Fernando? Why are you..."

Viona's tears finally broke. She didn't know the exact cause why she was crying that time. During that time, she thought that she would be fine when one day she would pass the man that was her ex-husband, but in fact she felt hurt without knowing why. Seeing the look in Fernando's eyes made her feel sad.

"You should live happily with your bitches! Why do you have to be like that? You should be happy, Fernando. I hate you, Fernando, I really hate you..." Viona screamed in a loud voice. Luckily, when she was screaming, the rain fell heavily, soaking the earth all of a sudden, so that no one realized that she was screaming Fernando's name.

After a long time sitting in front of the motel, soaking wet, Viona finally got up. She walked slowly towards the orphanage which was not far away. Her tears that didn't stop flowing were camouflaged by raindrops. She didn't know what made her feel very sad that time. Her defense fortress was destroyed when she saw Fernando on television. He did look fine in the eyes of people. But Viona knew that Fernando was not well. As a wife, she knew very well the expression on Fernando's face. She almost memorized all of Fernando's body gestures inside her head.

Viona wiped her face, slowly. She didn't want anyone to know that she just cried. After taking a deep breath, Viona then stepped into the courtyard of the orphanage. Adam, who was standing on the terrace, looked very shocked when he saw that Viona was soaked. He quickly grabbed the umbrella beside him, then ran towards Viona who was still walking slowly towards the house.

"Why are you all wet, Anji? You could've borrowed Christy's umbrella..."

"Let me hug you for a moment, Adam," Viona said, softly, as she hugged Adam so suddenly that Adam couldn't finish his words.

"What's wrong, Anji?" Adam asked, quietly.

"I'm okay, Adam, I just want to lean back for a while... I'm just tired, really tired, Adam..."

To be Continued