We're Done

Arthur was sitting casually in his room while looking at the photos of Kimberly, which were neatly arranged in the album. There was Marco there accompanying the old man.

Early in the morning, he had been asked to come, even though today was a holiday. Don't know what Arthur wanted to talk to him about.

Arthur flashed a smile. "Kimberly is indeed a cheerful girl. You can see, in almost all the neatly arranged photos, her expression is always laughing or smiling." Arthur showed Marco the photo he was referring to.

Marco looked at one by one the images that Arthur showed. There, Kimberly was seen in various poses. Marco nodded after that. "In all my life, I've only seen Kimberly cry twice. First, when she found out that her mother was dead. Second, when she decided to leave Nicholas Alistair's apartment."

Arthur leaned back against the chair. Hearing Marco's last words made his blood boil instantly. "That rancid brat dares to make my grandson cry. Who is he, daring to do such a thing?"

"They just misunderstood, grandpa. I saw that Nicholas loved Kimberly so much." Marco tried to calm down.

Arthur laughed wryly. "After all, he has no right to hurt Kimberly's heart. How could that young Alistair doubt my grandson."

"I told you, it's just a misunderstanding, grandpa." Arthur looked at Marco in surprise. "Why keep defending her? Even though you know yourself, that I prefer you to be Kimberly's companion. No one really understands and can even take care of my grandson other than you."

Marco smiled faintly at Arthur. The old man liked him from the beginning. Since childhood, getting used to being together made Marco understand Kimberly's nature, will, and habits. Especially since Kimberly's parents died, Marco has always been there to accompany her.

"Not defending her, Grandpa. I'm just telling the truth. Don't you feel sorry for separating Kimberly from the man she loves?"

Arthur Sanjaya laughed again. "Nonsense with love. Instead I tried to give the best for Kimberly. That's why I set her up with you."

Marco took a deep breath. He confirmed Kimberly's statement that it was not easy to change the position of Arthur Sanjaya.

"Give her a chance to choose her own path in life. Kimberly is not a child anymore, grandpa."

Arthur rose from his seat. Walk to the window. Then looked out. He was watching Kimberly, who was watering flowers in their yard.

"I know what's best for Kimberly. You'd better take Kimberly out now. I purposely sent you here to take her for a walk. I think she hasn't been out in a long time."

Marco nodded and got up from his seat as well. "Okay, I'll excuse myself then. I'll take Kimberly out."

After leaving Arthur Sanjaya's office, Marco took out his cellphone from his trouser pocket. Calling someone new afterwards approached Kimberly, who was in the yard.

***

Kimberly couldn't stop smiling this morning. Her heart fluttered when she recalled what had happened yesterday between her and Nicholas.

"If you love me, don't ever leave me, Nicholas," Kimberly begged.

Nicholas smiled and pinched Kimberly's cheek. "Did you forget? The one who left me yesterday was you, Kimberly. Not me. You were even the one who always avoided me when I was struggling to meet you."

Kimberly blushed. It was true what the man said. She was the one who chose to leave Nicholas's life. She is also the one who always avoids when they accidentally meet or pass each other.

"Forgive my attitude. You should understand, I'm just afraid of feeling disappointed and heartbroken."

Nicholas kissed Kimberly's lips gently. "Whatever you did to me, it was all I deserved. I should be the one apologizing for hurting your feelings. I will never tire of apologizing from you."

Seeing the sincerity in Nicholas's eyes, Kimberly reached out and cupped Nicholas's face with both hands.

"I love you, I will always love you."

Nicholas also held Kimberly's hands which were still on her cheeks. "You want to promise me something?"

"What promise?" Kimberly asked, confused.

"Promise me, whatever happens after this. Trust me, I love you so much."

Kimberly nodded and leaned forward.

Nicholas kissed briefly on the lips and then hugged the woman's body tightly.

"Are you busy?" said Marco making Kimberly wake up from her daydream. Kimberly turned her head, then answered.

"No, just watering the flowers. Why? Is there something you want to talk about?"

Marco just smiled in his position. "Hurry and get changed. I want to ask you out for a bit."

Kimberly stopped what she was doing and then looked at Marco in surprise. Of course, she was confused. Marco didn't usually take her out on holidays, especially not for work.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't ask too many questions, just follow my orders."

Kimberly chuckled lazily. She chose to pursue her lips tightly and then leave to follow Marco's orders. With a quick motion, she changed into a casual suit and then applied light make-up on her face. When she finished, she returned to Marco, waiting for him in the living room.

"I'm ready," Kimberly said.

"Let's go. But you better say goodbye to grandpa first so she doesn't look for you."

Kimberly nodded, then took her feet towards Arthur's room.

After saying goodbye, she immediately followed Marco, who had already entered the car.

"Where are you taking me anyway?" asked Kimberly when they were already on their way.

From behind the wheel, Marco answered. "Perhaps, Pacific Place."

Once again, Kimberly was surprised by the man beside her. The clock just showed ten in the morning. Why do they want to go to the Mall so early?

"Are you sure you want to go to Pacific Place?" asked Kimberly to be sure.

While driving, Marco nodded. His gaze didn't take his eyes off the road in front of him.

"Of course I'm sure. You haven't had breakfast, have you? We can have breakfast there first. What will we do after that, can think about it later."

"Oh okay."

Kimberly was then silent. She prefer to pay attention to the street out there. It wasn't long before they entered the Central Business District area. Then stop at the Pacific Place shopping centre area.

Kimberly followed Marco's footsteps until they finally stopped at a Japanese restaurant. Previously she was a bit surprised when the man brought her here. As Kimberly recalled, Marco didn't like Japanese food. The man prefers the usual Chinese food. After they entered, a waitress approached and guided them to sit in an empty chair immediately.

"I ordered yakiniku and tempura," Kimberly said while looking at the rows of menus listed in the book.

"Then, order me the same menu too," Marco replied.

After choosing the food menu, they decided to talk to each other again. We talked about work and Arthur's health which is getting better and better. Then in the middle of their conversation, Marco glanced at his cellphone, which suddenly rang. An incoming message from whoever sent it made the man not long to get up from his seat.

"You wait here, I have to go to the toilet for a bit."

Kimberly nodded, then allowed Marco to leave. At the same time, she chose to wait for the food to be served. Not to mention the food served, the arrival of a man surprised Kimberly. Confidently the man pulled out a chair and sat directly across from her.

"Nicholas..." Kimberly's eyes widened when Nicholas sat perfectly in front of her. "Why are you here?" Kimberly asked, confused.

"Because I wanted to accompany you to breakfast, honey," Nicholas replied casually.

"Breakfast?" Kimberly's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "But I'm here with Marco. If he sees the two of us ---"

"Relax," said Nicholas. "Even Marco told me to come after you here."

Kimberly gasped in surprise at Nicholas's confession. So Marco had set this all up for her and Nicholas to meet? But for what purpose?

"Don't tell me when you picked me up yesterday, you and Marco worked together too?"

Nicholas nodded. "It's true, Marco arranged everything."

"But for what? Then where is Marco now?" Kimberly investigated.

Nicholas shrugged his shoulders. "The reason for what, it doesn't matter Kimberly. Marco is out there on his own. Most importantly, just enjoy today, pretend we're on a date now."

Kimberly smiled and then started eating the food that the waitresses had just finished serving.

"I did feel strange suddenly Marco asked me to go to breakfast. And he chose a Japanese restaurant. As far as I remember Marco didn't like this kind of food," Kimberly said, starting the conversation.

While chewing his food, Nicholas smiled faintly. "Then who do you think likes Japanese food?"

Kimberly looked into Nicholas's face. "Of course Mr. Nicholas Alistair likes this kind of food." Nicholas laughed at Kimberly's answer.

"Well, it was I who asked Marco to take you to this restaurant. We haven't had breakfast together like this in a long time."

The two of them were busy talking again while enjoying the dishes ordered. Kimberly herself couldn't stop smiling. Kimberly can't believe that today she can meet Nicholas again because of Marco's help. She even promised to thank the man for helping her meet the man she loves.

"After this, where are we going?" asked Kimberly after they finished their breakfast. Nicholas looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Let's just go watch. I want to spend the day alone with you."

According to what the man said. After eating, Nicholas took Kimberly immediately to one of Pacific Place's cinemas. It took about two hours, they finally finished and chose to go to the game centre. There they played for hours until Kimberly realized that it was getting late.

"Looks like I have to go home soon. I'm afraid grandpa will look for me if I come home late."

Nicholas stopped the game. "I'll take you home."

Kimberly nodded slowly. "No, I'm afraid grandpa will see you if you take me home."

"Don't worry, your grandpa won't see me. Marco had told you earlier that Grandpa Arthur had an event out there this afternoon. So, it's okay if I take you home."

Feeling calm and confident, Kimberly finally agreed to Nicholas's invitation to take her home. Luckily, this afternoon the roads weren't as congested as usual. So Kimberly was able to get home precisely at six in the afternoon. Before actually getting out of the car, Kimberly hugged Nicholas tightly again.

"Thank you so much for today. I will never forget it."

Nicholas gently stroked the top of Kimberly's head. "You're welcome. I'm glad you're happy."

"Nicholas..." Kimberly called.

"Yes, do you have something to say?"

"Can we meet again tomorrow afternoon? Go have lunch together, for example?"

Nicholas exhaled slowly, then smiled. "I hope I can accompany you tomorrow."

Kimberly smiled back at Nicholas and then prepared to go downstairs. However, before he opened the car door, Nicholas pulled Kimberly's body into his arms.

" I love you, Kimberly Aurora. Really..Really love you. I beg you no matter what happens after today, just remember that I love you so much."

Nicholas grabbed Kimberly's chin then kissed the woman's lips for a long time.

"Of course, I love you too," Kimberly replied after Nicholas released their lips. "See you tomorrow, Nicholas."

Kimberly then got out of the car and gave a farewell wave. He was convinced that Kimberly had entered the house. Nicholas again drove his car at a moderate speed to a place. There was already someone waiting for him there. It took about fifteen minutes, and he finally arrived at a Chinese Food Restaurant located in the city centre. He quickly stepped inside, then looked for the whereabouts of someone who was already sitting waiting for his arrival.

"Sorry Mr Arthur, I'm late," Nicholas said politely.

Arthur snickered. "Young people nowadays have a hard time appreciating time. How is it possible to be Nicholas if you can't make the best use of your time." Arthur grumbled. "Now sit down quickly! I don't have much time," he ordered.

Nicholas obeyed Arthur's orders to sit down. He was feeling nervous. Because in the next few minutes, he will give an essential answer to the old man's request in front of him.

"So how about you, have you made your decision?"

Nicholas took a deep breath. Strengthen the determination of the choices he has made. Then he firmly nodded.

"I've thought it through very carefully."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Then what is your choice, young man?"

"I chose the AlpaBeta," Nicholas answered firmly and confidently.