Back into Your Arms: Chapter Eleven [ENG]

BiYA Chapter XI

Iona should have realized that living in someone else's body was not as easy or as beautiful as one could imagine. There was always a sharp shadow of pain stating as clearly as day that all the kind treatment or respect from people was actually intended for Stella Viviana, never for her. Hearing the words of "Mas Bro" wishing for their Miss to return made her feel sad—both for herself and for them. Because no matter how hard they hoped, their Miss was indeed never coming back. Only Iona remained now.

“Why are you here? You look pathetic.”

Iona looked up, seeing Fiki standing on the upper stairs. The girl let Fiki walk down to approach her without giving any answer at all.

BiYA Chapter XI

“Is it because of that guy again? Didn't he ask you out again?”

“How did you know, Brother?” the girl asked in surprise.

“Which of my questions is that question of yours directed to?”

Iona sighed, deciding to walk up the stairs. She left her brother behind, who kept calling out her name to come back. A typical Stella would probably punch him first before leaving, but Iona did not even have the strength to argue for a moment.

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

The dark blue car came to a stop, quite far from the large black gate that looked so captivating and terrifying at the same time. The man stared at the Buana residence with mixed feelings. He was surprised enough to realize that he had driven this far just to see her—or to look at the gate, to be more precise.

“What on earth drove me to come here? Have I gone mad?”

Perhaps he spent twenty minutes just daydreaming for no clear reason. Until there was something he finally noticed, which began to bother him. Several times, he saw a figure wearing a grey jersey and shorts passing by the Buana residence repeatedly. The problem was, it would have been normal if the person returned after jogging around the elite housing complex in a few minutes; the bizarre thing was that every five minutes, the figure would run from one end to the other. After getting quite far, the figure would stand still for a long time. Frozen and unmoving at one end, then run back and do the exact same thing at the other end.

BiYA Chapter XI

Clearly, this was quite strange to Joe, even though it might be common and perfectly fine for anyone to use that road for a run. However, Joe was curious enough upon discovering this odd fact. Just as he was about to get out, perhaps to approach the figure and ask something, a knock on the window broke his reverie.

Thump!

Joe startled, especially when he saw the figure in the grey jersey leaning his face close, almost pressing against the window. Joe’s window tint was indeed quite thick; perhaps the man could not see his face at all. However, Joe's heart pounded uneasily when he realized the man was glaring and starting to bang on the window glass with both of his fists.

Without a second thought, Joe started his engine and drove away from there at lightning speed. Now his mind was completely filled with the short-haired girl. He worried about her safety; for some reason, he felt that the figure in the grey jersey… wanted something.

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

“Father, let Stella go out for just a little while. I will look after her. She also needs to get some fresh air! Look at her, she just locks herself in her room all the time. Surely you don't have the heart to leave her like that, Father?”

“The last time I let her go with you, she ended up lying miserably in the hospital for several months. Have you forgotten?”

Fiki fell silent, reflecting on his Father's words.

“It's not that I refuse to trust you again, Fiki. I just don't want anything bad to happen to our family again. At least until I find out who the perpetrator of that attack is.”

Buana went back to typing something on his computer, leaving Fiki with no choice but to step out of his Father's study. That body language made it clear that Buana's decision was final and could not be contested. Iona, in Stella’s body, quickly tiptoed away from the door, pretending to just walk by as Fiki came out of the room.

“How is it, Brother? Can I go?”

Fiki shook his head, but a moment later, he smiled. “It’s okay, alright? I’ll buy you your favorite spicy wings later. Three jumbo portions, okay?”

Iona's smile faded. There were so many foreign things she had to adjust to or adapt to in this life. What was it this time? Spicy wings? Iona did not even like that kind of spicy seasoning; how could she possibly have an appetite to eat three large portions? Was her stomach even capable of finishing that much?

“I’m… not sure I can eat them.”

“HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY SAY THAT? You used to get so excited whenever I mentioned spicy wings, you could even finish a lot of them without drinking a single drop of water. Have you grown tired of eating them? Do you not like them anymore?”

Iona fell silent. “I have never liked them.”

“Iona… no… Stella, don't be like this! Don't make me sad! Don't keep talking as if you are someone else! You are Stella, the youngest child of the Buana family and my only younger sister! Comfort me and tell me that you are still in there, Stella!”

BiYA Chapter XI

Fiki pulled the body of his sister, which housed a different soul, into his embrace. He sobbed uncontrollably with trembling lips. Iona, whose soul was moving that body, could only weep; her sadness was transmitted to every nerve of Stella's body until tears dripped from her eyes, wetting her lips. Far away, inside that quiet room, Buana was also sobbing. Sadness hit him out of nowhere, especially at the fact that his wealth only made him feel threatened by danger instead of happy. When all he wanted was to live peacefully with his beloved family.

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

“Excuse me, Sir? Looking up someone's personal data?” Mr. Ben, the head of the IT Security division who usually handled network data encryption, was quite surprised by the sudden arrival of his CEO right at his desk. Especially when the CEO uttered strange things to him, about requesting someone's data through social media. “Is it from a client or who, Sir?”

“N-not a client. Just… a random person.” Joe cleared his throat. He made a stiff smile as people passing by noticed his presence. He began to curse himself for letting his feet carry him to this point. It was clearly a rare sight for the regular employees in his office. “If I give you a random name, can you track perhaps further about their family or important information about them?”

The middle-aged male employee smiled briefly, scratched his neck, and then nodded. “Yes, I can. It might take two or three days, Sir. Especially with my current tasks—”

“Specifically to work on this task, you may temporarily put your office duties on hold.” Mr. Ben smiled so widely, looking happy and relieved at the same time. “But I need that data on my desk by tomorrow morning at the latest.” The middle-aged man's expression immediately changed; obviously, this request was just as bad as the pile of tasks he would end up postponing overnight.

“Um—”

“I'll give you a bonus this month.”

“Understood. What is the name, Sir?”

 

BiYA Chapter XI

This work is the intellectual property of Alinea Aneyla. Please do not copy, distribute, or republish without written permission from the author.