CHAPTER 29: SUNSCREEN

"There, Bianca. Your husband’s waiting for you. Don’t keep him waiting too long," Zak teased with a mischievous grin.

With no other choice, Bianca dragged her feet toward Adrian.

"Stand closer. Don’t look like a couple in the middle of a fight. Show us how sweet newlyweds can be," Zak added, clearly enjoying himself.

Bianca cursed Zakari in her head. If only he knew how many times she’d already cursed him in her head.

Then, out of nowhere, Adrian slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, making her gasp and stiffen.

"Happy now?" Adrian said to Zak.

"Now that’s the kind of energy I’m talking about."

Bianca tried to wriggle free, but it only made Adrian hold her tighter.

"Hold still," he whispered in her ear. "Unless you want them to figure out we’re not actually a real couple."

His breath against her skin made her ears tingle. Her cheeks flushed instantly. To everyone else watching, it looked like they were sharing a sweet, intimate moment.

Rafael, of course, noticed it too.

He averted his eyes and suddenly became very interested in whatever was on his phone. But the flicker of pain, longing, and quiet despair in his eyes gave him away. Even though he’d let her go, even though he had given Adrian and Bianca his blessing—seeing them like this still hurt.

Because moving on wasn’t the same as forgetting. And forgetting Bianca? That was impossible. No matter how far he went, memories of her followed him like a ghost.

After Plaza Wisnu, the group continued on to Plaza Garuda, then Lotus Pond, and Festival Park. But once the sun reached its peak and their stomachs began to growl, Zak suggested they wrap up the tour.

Thankfully, they didn’t need to go far. GWK had a cozy restaurant right on site.

"You didn’t wear sunblock?" Rafael asked, frowning when he noticed the redness on Bianca’s arms.

"I forgot," she said casually.

Rafael jumped in right away. "You know your skin’s super sensitive. Why were you out in the sun without sunscreen?"

Zak narrowed his eyes. "How do you know Bianca’s skin is sensitive, Raf?"

Crap.

"I told him," Bianca cut in smoothly. "Back when he came to Adrian’s office. I had a sun rash that day too. I mentioned it."

Zak seemed satisfied with the explanation and nodded.

Bianca threw a quick glance toward Adrian, unsure how he’d react. Thankfully, his expression stayed neutral.

"I’m going to the restroom," Adrian said suddenly, rising from his seat and walking off.

Except... he didn’t go to the restroom.

He exited the restaurant and walked into a nearby souvenir shop. After scanning the place, he approached one of the staff members.

"Do you sell sunblock here?" he asked, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"Sorry, sir," the woman replied politely. "We only sell souvenirs, not sunblock."

"Oh," Adrian muttered, clearly disappointed.

"But I have some sunblock, sir. If you want, I can give it to you," the shop attendant offered.

"You do?"

"Yes, just a second."

Moments later, the girl returned with a bottle of sunblock in her hand.

"Here you go, sir."

Adrian reached into his wallet, but the girl quickly shook her head. "It’s okay. No need to pay."

He smiled, a little caught off guard by the gesture. "Thank you."

What he didn’t know was that his fan club had just gained a new member.

Adrian didn’t head straight back to the restaurant. Instead, he wandered a bit farther down the commercial strip. When they passed it earlier, he’d noticed a store selling beach hats. One in particular, a white one with a ribbon and little floral details had caught his eye.

"I’ll take this one, please," Adrian said to the woman behind the stand.

"Eighty thousand rupiah, sir," she replied.

After paying, Adrian made his way back to the restaurant. Their meals had already been served by the time he returned.

"This is for you."

Bianca looked up, surprised to see Adrian standing next to her, holding out a beach hat.

"For me?" she asked, as if unsure she’d heard him right.

He nodded. "Yeah. For you."

"Thanks," Bianca replied quietly, accepting the hat. She immediately put it on.

It sat perfectly on her head, and somehow, she looked even more effortlessly stunning than before.

To Bianca, Adrian was starting to take his role as her "husband" way too seriously. In her mind, this level of thoughtfulness wasn’t necessary just to convince their friends they were a real couple.

But when Adrian saw her wear the hat without complaint, a strange warmth bloomed in his chest.

"Oh, and this..." He handed her the sunblock.

"Damn, Adrian. Didn’t know you were the caring type," Zak chimed in, shooting them a cheeky grin.

Caring? Me?

Adrian wasn’t even sure why he had gone that far for Bianca. His body had just moved on its own the moment he saw the redness on her skin from the sun. Without thinking, he’d made up an excuse about going to the restroom, when in fact, he’d been on a mission to get her sunblock.

He still couldn’t wrap his head around how she could be so careless. If Rafael hadn’t said anything, he would’ve never known that his "wife" had sensitive skin. His gaze shifted subconsciously toward his longtime friend of twelve years. A flicker of unease crossed Adrian’s face. Something about this whole situation was starting to bother him. And he had no idea why it made his chest feel... tight.

"By the way, Bianca," Zak suddenly spoke up, his grin mischievous as ever, "tell us, how did you fall for Adrian? And more importantly, how’d you get this guy, the one who claims he doesn’t believe in love, to actually fall for you?"

"Right?" Zak nudged Rafael. "Don’t you want to hear the love story?"

"Mm," Rafael said with a small nod and a faint smile.

But his eyes looked away quickly, and it was clear, he didn’t really want to hear it. He was just pretending. Deep down, he didn’t want to be part of that conversation.

***