Bella kept grumbling. She kept tapping the phone icon on her screen, but Dev wouldn't answer her calls.
"Where on earth is he? Why isn't he picking up my calls?!"
After her grandfather left her apartment, Bella kept trying to call Dev, but all her calls were completely ignored.
"So you're trying to run away?!" Bella grew increasingly impatient. She and Dev were supposed to go on a date today because Dev had promised to agree to the two conditions Bella had set yesterday so that she would finally leave his boarding house.
Bella decided to take a shower, change her clothes, and immediately head to Dev's boarding house in her sports car. Upon arriving, Dev was nowhere to be found. She then went to the Black Panther headquarters to look for him.
"Bel, what are you doing here?" Abbas asked, approaching Bella as she entered the headquarters, which also doubled as his workshop.
"Where's Dev?" Bella asked, getting straight to the point.
"He hasn't been here," Abbas replied.
Dissatisfied with Abbas's answer, Bella walked deeper into the headquarters. She saw several Black Panther members gathered around playing cards, smoking, and drinking alcohol. But Dev wasn't there.
"I told you, Dev isn't here," Abbas said.
"Then where is he?" Bella asked angrily.
"I think I know where he went, but sorry, I can't tell you," Abbas added.
Bella sighed in frustration. She noticed the motorcycle ownership document (BPKB) she had given him yesterday lying on the table and snatched it up.
"I'm calling the police if you don't tell me where Dev is," Bella threatened.
"What do you mean?" Abbas asked, confused.
Bella grabbed her phone and placed a call.
"Good afternoon, Officer. I'd like to report a stolen motorcycle yesterday..." Abbas quickly snatched Bella's phone and hung up on the emergency police line.
"Don't joke around like that, Bel," Mondi chimed in.
"I'm not joking. Now tell me where Dev is!"
Reluctantly, Abbas finally told her where Dev had gone. Bella immediately sped off in her car to the location Abbas pointed out: the White Cambodia Cemetery. Bella parked her car by the roadside near the cemetery. She kept searching for Dev, walking through the graveyard, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Damn it. Did Abbas lie to me or what?" Bella muttered in despair.
Bella scanned her surroundings once more. Her gaze caught the figure of a man at a meatball stall at the end of the road. From behind, he looked just like Dev. Bella walked closer and became certain it was him when she spotted the tattoo on the back of his neck.
Bella abruptly sat down next to Dev.
"Sh—!" Dev gasped, almost swearing as he was startled by Bella's sudden appearance right beside him.
"I've been calling you this whole time, why didn't you pick up? Are you trying to run away?!" Bella snapped crossly.
Dev didn't answer, turning back to finish the half-eaten bowl of meatballs. Annoyed, Bella snatched the bowl Dev was enjoying and started eating it herself. Dev could only stare blankly, completely bewildered, as his bowl was taken over.
"What is this? Why isn't it spicy?" Bella asked, adding chili paste to the meatballs.
"Just order your own if you want some. Why did you have to take mine?" Dev protested.
"Are you still hungry?" Bella asked.
She then cut a small piece of a meatball and tried to feed it to Dev.
"I can do it myself." Dev tried to take the spoon from Bella's hand, but she insisted on feeding him. Left with no choice, Dev opened his mouth.
"Bel, you're trying to kill me!" Dev gulped down a whole glass of warm, unsweetened tea next to his bowl.
"You're such a wimp. How are you burning from just this much?" Bella remarked, devouring the meatballs without feeling any heat at all.
"You added way too much chili! Look at how red the broth is," Dev complained, still burning. He then ordered another bowl of meatballs.
Before long, his order arrived.
"Unbelievable, you made me order another one." Dev then began eating his food.
Bella had finished her bowl. She was now busy staring at Dev, who was still devouring his second round of meatballs.
"Dev, how can you look so handsome even when you're eating?" Bella asked, mesmerized by the guy who had successfully secured a VVIP spot in her heart.
Dev didn't reply, but he seemed to be holding back a smile at her words.
"Why did you come here anyway?" Dev asked, changing the subject while continuing to eat.
"See? You forgot! You promised we would go on a date today," Bella whined, her temper rising again.
"I didn't forget. Who told you I was here? Abbas? Mondi?"
"It doesn't matter who told me. My eyes and ears are everywhere. You can't run away from me!"
"Who's running? Can you stop jumping to conclusions? Just ask nicely first, don't get so emotional over everything."
"I wanted to ask you, but you didn't pick up my calls."
"I left my phone at the boarding house. I was too lazy to go back and get it."
"Why would you do that? If you don't have your phone, how am I supposed to reach you? If I hadn't come looking for you, you definitely would have canceled our date today," Bella grumbled sadly.
"Just think of this as our date," Dev said, feeling a bit guilty.
"What? A date that's just eating meatballs?"
"So what? Do you feel like a roadside meatball stall date is beneath your level?" Dev guessed.
"It's not that. I just mean, it shouldn't end here. We are definitely continuing this date after this. Anyway, what were you doing at the cemetery?"
"Today is the anniversary of my mom's passing," Dev said, still eating his meatballs.
Bella froze. Then, feeling guilty, she said, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I only remembered it myself this morning."
"What kind of son are you, forgetting the anniversary of your own mother's death?" Bella scoffed at him.
"People forget things."
"I remember every single day when and how my parents died," Bella whispered sadly.
Dev looked at Bella, who was staring back at him.
"Your mom is gone too?"
"Yeah, both of them have been gone since I was in elementary school. They were in an accident."
"How is it that we're so similar? My dad only passed away a year ago, though. But at least you're lucky to still have your filthy rich grandfather."
"There's nothing lucky about it. I'd rather have died with my parents than live with that old geezer whose mind is only filled with business."
"It's thanks to your grandfather's business that you can splurge like this. You're so ungrateful," Dev commented as he stood up, walked to the vendor to pay for the two bowls he ordered, and left the stall. Bella trailed behind him.
"That's exactly why I waste his money and cause so much trouble. I love it when he gets a headache because of my antics," Bella said, walking side-by-side with Dev.
"What an ungrateful grandchild."
"Let him be. He was the one who mistreated me and my parents first."
"Whatever you say. Is that your car parked over there?" Dev pointed to a pink Lamborghini at the edge of the narrow street. Dev recognized it instantly because eccentric things like this were always associated with Bella.
"Yeah," Bella said without a hint of guilt.
"Don't you see how narrow this road is? Look, the traffic is backed up because of you."
"It's your fault for making me come all the way out here. Here, you drive. You don't have your motorcycle anyway, right? Your friend said it's being serviced." Bella handed her car keys to Dev.
"No way, I'm not driving a pink car."
"Just hurry up, the traffic is getting worse." Bella walked over to the passenger side. Left with no choice, Dev took the wheel. As the car moved, the traffic jam began to clear.
"Where to now?" Dev asked while driving.
"My apartment."
"Why do you always invite me to either a hotel or an apartment? Can you act a bit more high-class? It shouldn't just be your belongings that are expensive; your attitude needs to be high-maintenance too."
"You're the one with the dirty mind! Just head over there, chatterbox," Bella scoffed.
After a while, Bella's car was parked in the basement. They stepped into the elevator, which took them all the way to the rooftop. The elevator doors opened to reveal a white helicopter with the words Bella Xander emblazoned in gold on its side.
"Why are we up here?" Dev asked.
"Don't you see? This is my chopper. We're going for a ride in this."
"This helicopter belongs to you?!" Dev's eyes widened in shock.
"Yep. Look at the name. And no, it doesn't belong to my grandfather's company."
Dev looked around.
"Where's the pilot?" Dev asked, seeing no one else around.
"We don't need a pilot. You're going to fly it," Bella said.