Dev quickly stepped his long legs over the section of the floor scattered with glass shards and instantly scooped Bella up in his arms. He carried her into the bedroom and sat her down on the sofa.
"You really need to be more careful," Dev scolded gently as he opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a first-aid kit.
Bella fell silent, watching how deeply worried Dev looked. It was just a small scratch, yet he had gone as far as carrying her.
"I'm fine, really. You're being so dramatic," Bella said, deeply touched.
"Don't you see the blood won't stop coming out?" Dev said, his face still tightly knit with concern.
Bella chose to stay quiet, keeping her eyes fixed on Dev's face as he busied himself treating the wound on her foot.
"Dev, why are you so different from how you used to be? Did you get plastic surgery?"
Dev shot Bella a sharp look.
"Hey, it's a valid question. Because you didn't look anything like this back then. I remember you wearing a Satya Middle School uniform that was completely oversized, with your shirt tucked rigidly into your pants. You were chubby and wore thick glasses. You used to walk with your head down. No wonder you got bullied back then."
Dev didn't answer, focusing instead on pressing a band-aid over the cut on Bella's foot.
"But look at you now. Handsome, tall, muscular. And you have that massive tattoo across your back. Who would ever guess that you were such a total nerd in middle school?"
Dev packed away the first-aid kit and slipped it back into the nightstand. He walked over to the kitchen, and the sounds of him sweeping up the shattered glass echoed into the room. A moment later, he returned holding the bowl of noodles Bella had tried to make for him. Dev sat down beside her.
"Oh no, those noodles are totally bloated by now. Is that even good to eat? Let me make you a new one," Bella said, feeling guilty.
"Don't worry about it. I'm used to eating food that's far worse than this. This is nothing compared to what I had to eat during training back at the Military Academy." Dev kept eating until the bowl was completely empty.
"Dev, I want to ask you something. Did you really enter the Military Academy because of what I said back then?" Bella asked.
Dev looked at Bella and nodded. "Yes," he said simply.
"I was just talking nonsense because a soldier happened to pass by at the time. I never expected you to actually turn it into your life's goal," Bella whispered.
"After meeting you that day, I joined a karate after-school club, and it turned out I had a natural knack for martial arts. I kept pursuing karate all through high school. Aside from that, I started getting into all kinds of martial arts, like pencak silat. I also fell in love with extreme sports—rock climbing, bungee jumping, mountain climbing. And I've loved planes and helicopters since I was a little kid. Your words stuck with me; I thought, why not actually become a soldier? So, I got dead serious about studying and physical training just to get into the Air Force Academy, and I finally got accepted," Dev said, his eyes lighting up. But his expression darkened with sadness by the end of his sentence.
"If you loved being a soldier that much, why did you leave?" Bella asked curiously.
Dev set the empty bowl down and took a long sip from a glass of water he had brought with him. "I didn't leave," he said. "I was dishonorably discharged. I had no choice but to stop."
Bella gasped in shock. "Dishonorably discharged? Why?"
Dev didn't answer right away. His sorrowful expression twisted into burning anger.
"I graduated a year ago and was stationed in Jakarta. Until six months ago, there was a case that dragged me into it. I didn't know a single thing about it, but they labeled me a traitor. To force a confession out of me, they tortured me until my back was torn to shreds. Because I couldn't take it anymore, I finally broke. I was forced to confess to something I didn't do, and they kicked me out of the Air Force."
Dev looked straight into Bella's eyes, his own welling up with tears. "I originally planned to find you after I became an officer, but it turned out you were away in America. I wanted to show you—the person who changed my entire life—that I had made it as a soldier. But before I could even get to you, I was thrown out. Instead of making you proud, I turned into a loser. I can't even get a proper job because my name has been blacklisted. I get rejected everywhere. Even though I can get a clean police record clearance, the stain of that betrayal will always be on my file."
Bella had never imagined that Dev had gone through a past so incredibly dark. Her heart ached terribly with every word that left his mouth. Moving closer, she wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"You are not a loser. You are the coolest person in the world to me. They lost someone amazing, and they're the ones who are going to regret it. Don't think about what happened anymore. Forget all of them and just focus on your life right now."
Dev couldn't hold it back any longer; he broke down, weeping silently into Bella's shoulder. This was the first time he had allowed all his buried sorrow and rage to release in tears since he was discharged six months ago. Not when they tortured him to confess to a crime he never committed, nor during his discharge ceremony, had he shed a single tear. Only pure fury had consumed him back then. Never once had anyone seen him cry. But now, in front of Bella, he felt so completely vulnerable that the tears kept spilling down his cheeks.
The heavy downpour finally stopped, leaving behind nothing but a light drizzle. The night grew late, and a biting chill crept into the air. The quietness of the late hour felt incredibly grounding. Stars began to peek through, clearing away the heavy rain clouds. Dev sat on a chair out on his balcony, a single cigarette held between his index and middle fingers. He took an occasional drag, staring out at the glittering city lights below.
Bella stood at the threshold of the bedroom door, watching the silhouette of the man sitting with his back to her. A quiet rage took hold of her, replaced quickly by a fierce resolve. Knowing that someone who held such a massive place in her heart had suffered such a massive injustice, Bella vowed right then and there to dig into that case.
The whole setup felt incredibly fishy to her, and she was certain Dev was innocent. However, she didn't want to pry and hurt him further by asking him directly. She would find out on her own exactly what had happened.
"Dev, can I see your tattoo?" Bella asked, walking out to join him.
Dev glanced back at Bella, then turned his gaze back to the city skyline. He stood up, pulled his shirt off over his head, and stood with his back facing her.
Bella stepped closer to his back. She examined the tattoo in closer detail, gently tracing a few sections of his skin covered by the ink. Beneath the design lay countless scars—slashes that looked like blade wounds, and uneven skin that had bubbled and warped from chemical burns or boiling water.
Bella placed a hand over her mouth, horrified as she imagined the sheer brutality of the torture Dev had endured to leave scars like these.
Dev turned around, looking down at Bella, who appeared completely shell-shocked. For a few moments, neither of them said a word.
"The rain has stopped. Let me take you home," Dev said quietly, pulling his shirt back on.
He walked into the room and came back out wearing a jacket and jeans. He handed a jacket over to Bella.
"But I wanted to sleep over," Bella complained with a pout, refusing to take the jacket he held out.
"It was pouring earlier, so I couldn't drive you. But now that it's stopped, you can't stay here. You need to go home." Dev gently wrapped his black leather jacket around Bella's shoulders.
Bella didn't argue further. She gave in and pulled the jacket tight.
They headed downstairs to where Dev's motorcycle was parked on the ground floor. Dev handed a helmet to Bella, pulled his own full-face helmet over his head, and started up the engine of his red Ducati. Bella climbed onto the passenger seat, and Dev sped off toward a luxury apartment building in the heart of downtown Jakarta.
Once they arrived in front of the building, Bella hopped off and handed the helmet back to Dev.
"Aren't you going to come inside for a bit?" Bella asked.
Dev took off his helmet and looked up at the towering 40-story luxury apartment building.
"No, I should head straight back. Sorry about earlier," Dev said. He felt immensely grateful to Bella; after breaking down, a massive weight had been lifted from his chest, even if he felt a bit embarrassed about crying in front of her.
Bella simply smiled at him.
"Tomorrow you have to come with me to meet my grandfather. Don't you dare skip it." Bella reminded him about the dinner arrangement.
"I'm not coming." Dev got ready to put his helmet back on, but Bella caught his hand.
Bella sighed in disappointment.
"You already said you like me. That means you agree to marry... no, to date me. That's why you have to meet Grandpa tomorrow," Bella pleaded again.
"Bel, I only said I admired you. Not that I like you. And how long are you going to keep proposing to me? I am not marrying you." For the umpteenth time, Dev rejected her.
"When you came out of the elevator earlier, you said you liked that girl. And now it's clear as day that the girl is me. That means you like me. Why is it so hard for you to just admit your feelings?!" Bella looked thoroughly exasperated.
Dev didn't answer and pulled his helmet on. But Bella caught his hand once more.
"What is it now, Bel?" Dev's voice echoed slightly from inside the helmet.
Bella huffed in annoyance, but she finally let go of his hand, deciding she would try to convince him another time. She looked up at his face, stepped in close, and pressed a quick kiss against his lips.
With a smirk, she said, "Goodnight, chubby."
Bella smiled and walked away, disappearing into the luxury apartment lobby. Dev stood frozen in place, staring after her as his heart beat wildly against his chest.