Jia Yu let out an incredulous gasp and was unable to believe her ears.
"How is that possible? Each flat must ALWAYS have three members; two girls and one boy. No exception!"
Sara could not understand their exaggeration reaction when she said there were only Bryce and her in the flat. Sara regretted sharing the information of reaching her one-month mark staying and working in KEI. Somehow the topic about her flatmates was brought up again and lead to this situation.
"Does it matter?" Sara asked. She had a vague recollection of her orientation back during school days. It was briefly mentioned that it was allocated as so to protect each other. It meant nothing to Sara then, and she still stood by with her view.
If she did not cause any trouble, why would trouble come for her? She had been living in shadows, trying her best to remain as invisible as she could and lay low. As a result of that, she was not paying her utmost attention to the orientation speech back then.
Her continuous interrogation was starting to tick her off. Since Sara was not bothered by it, she could not comprehend why an outsider who did not share the same flat with her would want to know. She had stopped hearing the moment Jia Yu spouted some conspiracy theory.
Sara quietly nodded and tuned Jia Yu's voice out, pretending to look interested. She was not sure whether Adam noticed her body language but she was glad when he came and stopped Jia Yu from talking further.
She took the opportunity to excuse herself away before Jia Yu continued talking nonsense into her. She looked at the time on her phone and decided to go out for a walk until lunch break is over.
'Hopefully, by then they would resume with their work and Jia Yu will be too busy to talk to me,' she prayed earnestly as she walked aimlessly within the campus ground nearby the administration building.
"Sara, is that you?" a manly voice can be heard.
Sara turned to find the familiar voice belonging to Harith, and she smiled happily to see someone she had not seen for years. They exchanged pleasantries and the typical 'how have you been'.
She waited for an opening and asked whether he had bumped into Adrianna as well. In some way, their encounter felt incomplete without her.
Harith looked at the nametag with its lanyard hanging around her neck and pulled it to have a quick read, interrupting her question.
"You're official a KEI staff now? Since when?" Harith asked in a surprised tone.
Sara pointed at her nametag and proudly mentioned, "One month."
Harith congratulated her sincerely and suggested to meet up again in the evening as he had an urgent matter to attend to. They quickly exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet at the same spot later on at five in the afternoon.
After working hours, Harith was already waiting for Sara at the arranged place, and Sara invited him over to her flat for old times sakes. They took a detour to buy additional groceries for dinner before heading to Bonington Hall.
"I guess you have not heard about Adrianna?" Harith asked cautiously as he helped set the table for dinner. Sara shook her head and explained further that she had not been keeping in touch with anyone at all, let alone Adrianna.
"Why? Is she married?" Sara grinned, thinking about how Adrianna had always been keen to settle down early and without a doubt, she would be the first among the three to be married.
There was a moment of silence before Harith finally spoke.
"Unfortunately, eight months ago she… passed away. It was ruled a suicide, but I don't know, I don't quite buy it."
Sara could not believe her ears. "Adrianna is full of life. Why would she commit suicide? Maybe you heard the news wrongly?"
"It was all over KEI papers. There was even a funeral service held for her in KEI. You know how wealthy her family is and how important they are to KEI; the whole family members came. It was such a big deal."
"Y-Y-You know… Adrianna?" Bryce sudden appearance surprised the other two persons in the flat.
"Oh hi Bryce, you're not working today? I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I have a guest over tonight." Sara said apologetically.
"No... I.. It's okay…Please continue. I'm just going to head to my room." Bryce shifted uncomfortably and staggered his way to his room.
Harith sensed that Bryce seemed to know Adrianna. He remembered that Adrianna has mentioned before that she was engaged arranged by her family. However, at that time Adrianna did not look excited when she shared the news. He was curious who Adrianna is in this man's life.
"Wait… Do you know Adrianna as we do too…?"
"Ah…no. I.. I only know she comes from a reputable family. If you don't mind, I'll just.." Without finishing his sentence he walked away quickly.
"Don't you think his actions are slightly suspicious?" whispered Harith.
"Hariiiiith... Look what you have done," Sara whined, wondering why her friend is trying to make her life difficult. She barely knew Bryce, and she disliked the thought of being even more uncomfortable and awkward around him.
"Sorry. I was just curious. What if he knows something?" He apologised.
Sara rolled her eyes, took a deep breath and forced herself to talk to Bryce. She assumed it is best to settle things than leave it be.
Harith realising what Sara was about to do, said sternly "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"And who caused all this?" She mouthed the word YOU while mockingly pointing towards Harith direction.
"Childish as ever, you are!"
Sara knocked on Bryce's door softly. "Bryce, I am sorry for my friend's attitude. I know it's not much but to make up for it, please join us for dinner," she pleaded, but there was no response. As a result, she decided to apologise face-to-face the next day.
"Just leave him alone for now. Let's eat and catch up. I'm hungry already," grumbled Harith.
The pair enjoyed their dinner together as they reminisced school times. Time flew past and Harith went his separate ways. Talking to Harith made her realised that she had kept herself in the dark. She knew nothing of everything that has been happening to everyone she knew. She does not know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. She has been a loner after all.
* * * * *
Thud! Crash!
The sound of fragile items broke the silence of the night.
Alarmed, Sara searched under the pillow for her phone, and the time indicated it was two in the morning. She struggled to get out of the bed before walking cautiously to the living area. The bright light caused her eyes to squint automatically.
Bits and pieces of the plates and mugs were thrown all over the floor. The culprit who caused all this was sitting on the sofa, hands-on face and his body trembling. Sara approached him and rested her hands on his shoulder.
"Are you okay? Do you want to be left alone?" Sara asked as she patted his back.
She was not sure whether being left alone would be much better as she would prefer being alone during tough times. Her anxiety began to kick in as her inner self was having conflicts trying to figure out what was the best thing to do to help Bryce.
If it was her, she preferred to be left alone, but since she was not Bryce and had not the time to know him in and out, she wondered if he required attention. She practised caution as she slowly walked away and observed him from the kitchen in case he might do something silly.
All of a sudden, Bryce's voice filled the quiet room.
"It was me! I killed her! The love of my life is dead because of me. Adrianna is never coming back again." He bawled uncontrollably.