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“Did I not ask you to check it multiple times before submitting?!”, Rosa’s supervisor roared at her. Furious, he slapped the stack of papers onto his desk, tremors vibrating across the room. Rosa couldn’t help but shiver and shrink, feeling smaller than ever.
“Look at how many mistakes there are,” the supervisor pointed a finger at the papers, huffing in frustration. Rosa could feel a lump on her throat, and tears threatening to roll down her cheeks, but she suppressed all of it. Enduring all the harsh scoldings seemed to be part of her regime after being employed in the office, much to her dismay.
As Rosa left the supervisor’s office, she heaved a heavy sigh and dragged her feet towards her desk. By the side of her desk stood Artem, a stack of documents placed neatly by Rosa's laptop. When he saw her, Artem's eyes lit up and he pointed towards the stack of documents.
“You know what to do,” he said, swooping past her shoulder and giving it a quick and encouraging pat. Instead of being encouraged, Rosa’s shoulders slumped further. She wanted the day to be over so badly.
Not long after, the sun descended into the horizon in a magnificent display of oranges, pinks, and blues. Rosa's colleagues shuffled out of the office, leaving work for the day but Rosa stayed at her desk, absentmindedly skimming through all the documents. Her smartphone rang from an incoming call, bringing Rosa out of her momentary trance. She picked up and the first thing she heard was again, yelling.
“Your rent is past due for a week!” her landlord’s voice boomed across the speaker. Rosa gasped in realization and frantically apologized, “I-I’m sorry, I’ll pay the balance by -”
“2 more days!” the voice thundered, cutting her off with finality. “You have been reminded too many times.”
Rosa wanted to give any excuse, but nothing could come out of her mouth. She had been so busy and overwhelmed the past week, and hadn’t been in a good state of mind. Before she could say anything, the call was hung up. For the first time in the week, she could feel the immense pressure building within her threatening to burst. Her smartphone rang yet again. Rosa didn’t want to face yet another scolding but she picked the call, without looking at the caller ID, and inhaled sharply.
"Hello?"
“Hey sweetheart, you had dinner yet?” a sweet, honey-like voice flowed into her ears. The moment she heard his voice, tears started welling in her eyes.
On the other line, Marius’ words were greeted with silence. He became worried.
“Hello?” he asked, “My love, are you there?”
Again, silence. Before he could hang up the phone, he heard the slightest of sniffles. He began to panic, but Rosa said quickly, “I’ll call you back,” before ending the call abruptly. Marius stared at his phone in shock. What happened to his bubbly girlfriend? He leaned back onto his chair in his office, eyebrows creased in worry.
“Maybe I should interrogate Artem-”
Ding! A text message notification pinged on his smartphone. Marius quickly unlocked his screen and sure enough, it was a text message from Rosa.
Rosa: Overtime tonight, don’t wait for me. Eat your dinner and get home safely, love you
If being able to detect emotions through the screen was a thing, a lack of emotion was radiating through the text message.
“Vincent, get my coat.”
--
After torturing her eyes for another few hours, Rosa could finally flip her laptop close. The office was dark, only a single light illuminating her workspace. The transparent window panes of the office displayed a magnificent view of the nightscape. The moon hung low in the clear night sky, roads shaped by the twinkling of streetlamps, wrapping themselves around looming skyscrapers. Other than the faded honking sounds of vehicles, it was quiet. The night was clear, but Rosa felt strangely cold. She opened her messenger app - her last message sent to Marius was left on seen. She felt a prickle in her heart.
“He must be busy…” Rosa muttered quietly. With a heavy heart, she grabbed her handbag and switched off the lights, leaving the office for the day.
As she stepped out of the office building, the frigid night breeze blew at her face and Rosa involuntarily shivered. Rosa pulled her coat tighter around herself, longing for a warm shower back home. Fortunately, her apartment was only a few blocks away.
By the time she reached her doorstep, Rosa felt like she was carrying a weight of several tonnes, and her feet were chained to heavy loads. Was it fatigue, or was it all the burden that she has been carrying the entire time? As she punched her code on the keypad to her apartment, her mind flew back to her last date with Marius.
Marius had laid out a whole picnic on a famous stargazing spot atop a hill and rented the whole place so both of them wouldn’t be disturbed. At first, Rosa was baffled although it was absolutely something Marius would do, but later on, she found his thoughtfulness extremely endearing. As they cuddled under a blanket, stars twinkling above them, Marius apologized.
“What are you sorry for?” Rosa questioned him.
“It might not have been the ideal date you had in mind…” Marius’ words trailed off apologetically.
Rosa smiled widely at her boyfriend. “But I ended up in one of my favorite places in the world.”
Marius' eyebrows knitted in confusion, “This hill is one of your favorite places in the world?”
Rosa let out a lighthearted chuckle and looked at him, whose face carried an immensely puzzled expression. One would think that she asked him to solve an algebra question. She decided not to tease him further.
“No,” she responded. “My most favorite place in the world is in your arms.” Rosa snuggled closer to Marius’ embrace, where she could hear his heart beating rhythmically. Marius chuckled softly and wrapped his arms tighter around her. They sat there for a long time, just appreciating each other's warmth and presence.
The click sound of her door opening brought Rosa back to the present. To her surprise, the light in her living room was switched on. Did she forget to switch it off? She berated herself mentally for not checking before leaving the house - the electricity bills don’t pay themselves.
The brief memory of their last date made Rosa miss Marius so much.
“I wished he was here…” Rosa mumbled as she slipped off her heels. Head downcast, she dragged her feet into her living room but walked into something firm and solid. Was she so out of it that she walked into a wall?
Not a millisecond later, she felt something wrap itself around her shoulders, warmth spreading throughout her entire body. A mischievous, yet familiar voice tickled her ears, “I hope you meant me or I would be really sad.”
Rosa's head snapped upwards, and a pair of glimmering violet eyes met her gaze. Rosa has been dating him for a while now, but his eyes were always enchanting and captivating to look at. Was it really possible to not fall in love with him? Upon noticing Rosa staring at him with wide eyes, Marius’ lips curved upwards in a cheeky smile that Rosa absolutely adores (though doesn’t like to admit).
"You're here," Rosa murmured, barely a whisper. She went on to rest her forehead on his chest, closing her eyes. Warmth was seeping into her from his embrace as Rosa breathed in his fragrant scent, that smelt of his usual cologne, indicating that he came from the office and not his studio. Rosa snaked her arms around her lover’s waist loosely, pulling them closer together. Rosa said nothing, so Marius stayed silent, patting her back gently and kissing her hair. Being together with him gave Rosa an immeasurable amount of comfort, and perhaps a silent assurance that everything will be okay.
-
Rosa didn’t know when she fell asleep, but when she blinked her eyes open, she was already on her bed. She rolled to the side and let out a yelp when she noticed there was someone beside her.
“Go back to sleep,” Marius said in a sleepy, raspy voice, pulling Rosa closer to him with his long arms, locking her in a hug. Rosa could feel her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. This man has absolutely no shame. However, she didn’t exactly feel like moving away either. Marius’ sleeping face looked so peaceful, almost angelic. Rosa traced her finger lightly over his sharp features, barely visible under the glow of the moonlight.
On her way home earlier, Rosa had debated on many places to visit during the weekends that could help her relax after the stressful week - the bookstore just around the corner, a dog cafe, or even the library. As she pondered upon it now, lying on her bed with Marius next to her, Rosa knew that wherever she went, in the end, she would undoubtedly go back into his arms - that was always wide open only for her.