Chapter: Chapter 20Hari yang Erin nantikan sekaligus takuti pun tiba. Sesuai saran Alya, Erin memutuskan untuk berdandan lebih rapi dan menarik, bahkan lebih baik daripada penampilannya saat ke apartemen Alex dulu. Supaya tetap terlihat formal dan serius, Erin mengenakan kemeja biru tua dengan kancing atas terbuka agar kalung emas imitasi yang melingkar di lehernya terlihat jelas. Ia memilih celana jins putih semata kaki sebagai bawahan. Erin berkaca sambil memasukan kemejanya ke dalam celananya. Ia sudah mencatok ikal rambutnya lalu menariknya ke belakang, menambahkan jepitan pita yang mempermanis penampilannya. Ia merias wajahnya secara natural sesuai ajaran Alya. Erin melirik sepatu hak tinggi di sebelahnya yang akhirnya akan ia kenakan hari ini. Sekarang bukan saatnya untuk main-main, kontrak ini bisa jadi penentu besar untuk masa depan painya. “Wow, lu beneran all out hari ini!” Alya langsung memuji Erin begitu ia keluar dari kamar. “Gue bangga banget sama lu, Er!”“Udah ah, jangan bikin gue tamb
Last Updated: 2022-11-17
Chapter: Chapter 19Beberapa hari jelang pertemuannya dengan Henry, Erin meminta Alya untuk mengajarinya cara negosiasi bisnis, strategi pertemuan yang bisa ia lakukan, serta respons seperti apa yang bisa Erin berikan jika Henry melontarkan pertanyaan atau penawaran tertentu. “Inget, apa pun penawaran dia, jangan sampai brand lu dipegang sama dia,” kata Alya dengan nada tegas, seolah ia ingin Erin mengutamakan poin yang ia berikan. “Brand?” Erin mengernyitkan dahi. “Gue yakin banget kerja sama yang mau ditawarin Henry pasti ada hubungannya sama restoran yang dia kelola. Jangan sampai pai lu diklaim jadi punya mereka!” Alya mengetukkan jarinya di meja makan. “Biasanya orang yang udah punya bisnis gede suka banget tuh narik karya pebisnis kecil buat diklaim jadi buatan mereka. Sebaik-baiknya Alex, adeknya belum tentu sebaik dia.” Erin menarik napas tegang. Ia memang belum kenal Henry sebaik Alex. Apa pun bisa terjadi saat pertemuannya nanti. “Duh, kenapa gue baru sadar sekarang, ya?” “Makanya lu punya
Last Updated: 2022-10-13
Chapter: Chapter 18Erin pulang dengan berat hati karena memikirkan pertemuannya dengan Henry siang ini. Ia belum pernah merasa seperti ini lagi sejak hari pernikahan ayahnya yang kedua. Ia memasuki apartemen dengan niat untuk mandi lalu bersantai sambil nonton dan makan camilan.“Hei!” sapa Alya dari meja makan. Ia sibuk dengan laptop di depannya. Tumpukan kertas dan beberapa folder tersebar di meja.“Masih kerja, Al?” tanya Erin.“Nggak. Gue lagi cari inspirasi buat wedding gue.”“Lu kerja sama rencanain nikahan lu kelihatan kayak nggak ada bedanya,” canda Erin. Ia duduk di samping Alya. Erin melihat tumpukan informasi tentang lokasi-lokasi pernikahan, vendor, wedding organizer dan inspirasi-inspirasi gaun pengantin serta dekorasi pernikahan. “Mau gue bantu?”“Maulah. ‘Kan lu bridesmaid gue,” jawab Alya. Kemudian ekspresinya berubah, teringat sesuatu. “Eh, tapi, kalau lu masih overwhelmed soal Henry tadi siang, nggak usah. Lu istirahat aja.”“Apaan, sih? Cuma Henry doang,” jawab Erin dengan enteng samb
Last Updated: 2022-09-23
Chapter: Chapter 17Seperti permintaan Henry, Erin ambil jam istirahatnya lebih awal untuk diskusi dengannya. Mereka duduk bersebrangan di meja kedai. Erin terus menatap Henry meneguk kopi hitamnya beberapa kali. Henry datang dengan penampilan sama seperti Erin bertemu dengannya pertama kali, hanya saja sekarang lebih rapi dengan kemeja putih berdasi biru bercorak putih. Mungkin ini hanya perasaan Erin, tetapi lingkaran hitam di bawah matanya makin terlihat jelas karena wajahnya pucat. Erin sampai punya hasrat untuk menjejalkan pria ini perawatan kulit yang ia miliki di rumah atau menyuruhnya pulang untuk tidur.“Gimana kamu bisa tahu aku kerja di sini?” Erin menyilangkan tangannya di meja.Henry menaruh gelas kopinya. “Tentu saja dari Alex. Dia selalu cerita soal pai kamu dan beberapa kali menyebut tempat ini.”“Masa sih?” Erin terkesiap sambil menahan senyum. Apa yang Alex katakan ke Henry? Ia ingin tahu semuanya. Tanpa menghiraukan reaksi Erin, Henry melirik ke rak pendingin kedai. “Ternyata kamu men
Last Updated: 2022-08-15
Chapter: Chapter 16Setelah Erin menceritakan apa yang terjadi padanya beberapa hari lalu di kedai, semua karyawan termasuk Alya ikut berkomentar. Mereka hampir tidak percaya dengan apa yang Henry lakukan padanya.“Dia nyuruh kakak berhenti bikin pai gitu aja?” tanya David dengan nada tidak percaya. “Seenaknya banget sih dia.”“Iya! Okelah, resepnya dari ibunya, tapi ‘kan masih bisa diomongin baik-baik dulu,” timpal Hana. “Erin sendiri juga nggak tahu.”“‘Kan udah aku bilang, Kak Erin, pasti bakal ada masalah,” kata David sambil mengelap dan menata konter.“Kenapa lu bisa mikir sampai ke situ?” Hana berkacak pinggang.“
Last Updated: 2022-03-07
Chapter: Chapter 15“Apa maksud kamu aku pakai resep pai ibu kalian?” Erin menatap kakak-adik di depannya. “Aku dapat resepnya dari buku ibu aku!”“Henry, I thought you said you’re going to take this easy.” Alex melotot pada adiknya. “Don’t lay it on thick to her like that!”“Aku tidak berlebihan, dia memang memakai resep ibu kita,” sanggah Henry.“Sebentar, kalian bisa kasih penjelasan dulu?” sela Erin.“Baiklah.” Henry memandang Erin dengan fokus. Pandangannya membuat Erin berusaha untuk tidak menunjukkan kegelisahannya. Ke
Last Updated: 2021-12-01
Held Light, Held Close
Held Light, Held Close follows Celeste Bradbury, a quiet, disciplined young woman who arrives in New York to work with the world-famous band Luminous Riot. Raised in the hush of convent halls and foster homes, Celeste has learned to survive by moving gently, listening closely, and building her life out of small, steadfast rituals. But the music world is loud, chaotic, and unkind—especially under the sharp eye of Paul Logan, the band’s volatile lead singer who meets her composure with relentless mockery.
As weeks turn into months, Celeste maintains her quiet routines, her faith, and her dignity despite the storm around her. She becomes a still point in the band’s restless orbit—an anchor none of them expected, and a mirror that reveals what each member is running from. Through rehearsals, touring, backstage politics, deadlines, and private battles the world never sees, Celeste’s presence begins to shape the group in ways that defy explanation.
The House She Built is a story of chosen family, slow-burn transformation, unspoken tenderness, and the quiet power of a woman who refuses to break—even when the world demands it. It is about the sanctuary we build within ourselves, and the imperfect people we let inside.
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Chapter: Fire CodeThe day began with too many bodies—heat pooling in corners, air thick with a collective exhale that belonged to everyone but her. Even before she heard the voices, Celeste felt the weight of them, the way the room pressed in, inhabited and restless, refusing to be hers alone.Celeste registered it before she registered sound. The air felt used, stale, already occupied—warmed by breath that wasn’t hers. The studio door opened, then closed, then opened again, each time admitting another presence: a coat shaken free of cold, a voice tossed into the mix, a new footprint somewhere she’d once counted as safe. The morning thickened, the room shifting from sanctuary to storage, losing its shape beneath the accumulation of other people’s needs.She arrived on time, not early—a rare concession, a mark of surrender to the chaos. Early u
Last Updated: 2026-09-03
Chapter: I Won’t Misuse ItWhen the day finally loosened its grip, it did so grudgingly—like a fist unclenching by degrees, every muscle slow to yield. The hours had felt knotted, tension stitched into every seam, but at last something in the air began to give, a slackening she could feel in her chest.The sun slid lower, its light filtering through the studio windows and turning the glass to amber, the glare softened, less accusatory, less eager to catch her mistakes. The studio air grew thick with the scent of cables warming beneath the lamps, the bittersweet trace of coffee cooling on the side table, and the faint ghost of pastries someone had started but left unfinished—a sweetness that lingered stubbornly, refusing to leave even as the day did.Celeste slid the interview packet into her bag, the edges of the folder worn smooth by her hands. She double-checked the follow-
Last Updated: 2026-09-02
Chapter: Need Was a Word With TeethLater, after the magazine team had finally packed up their cables and zipped their branded tote bags, and most of the band had scattered into their usual post-interview drift—Paul muttering, Nao wandering, Brett trailing crumbs—Celeste stayed rooted at her desk. She let the silence settle, the echo of voices and bright camera lights fading, and turned her attention to the small, relentless tasks that kept chaos at bay: filing notes, sending follow-ups, rebuilding order out of the day’s debris.Mark leaned over, one hand braced on the back of her chair, lines of fatigue and caffeine etched on his forehead. “You good to send the thank-you email?” he asked, his tone half-request, half-reminder, the kind of question that meant he'd already assumed the answer was yes.“Yes.” Celeste answered with barely a glance, fingers poi
Last Updated: 2026-09-01
Chapter: Bright, but ManageableThe magazine team arrived ten minutes early, their presence preceding them in a ripple of clipped footsteps, expensive scents, and the low hum of practiced efficiency. The quiet Celeste had fostered was swept back like a curtain at showtime.Two women and one man spilled in with cases, cables, and the kind of questions that had been polished into friendliness by a hundred other interviews. Their black clothes were curated to mean professionalism, the kind that hoped to be mistaken for intent rather than uniformity. The bold letters on a tote bag—DESIGN IS A VERB—bounced against one woman’s hip, a slogan and a challenge.Paul squinted at the tote bag, lips curling into a smirk that was half genuine, half for show. “That’s annoying,” he muttered, as if the words themselves might provoke fate.
Last Updated: 2026-08-31
Chapter: The Long GameThe others arrived in waves, each entrance sending a ripple through the fragile quiet Celeste had built for herself. The studio’s air, still and careful, thickened and loosened in turns with every new arrival—voices rising, boots scuffing, laughter climbing the walls and settling in the corners.Brett came first, loud and buoyant, jacket hanging half-zipped from one shoulder, hair escaping in wild tufts that paid no mind to gravity or dignity. He stopped just inside the door, sniffed the air with exaggeration, his nose twitching, eyes wide, like a Labrador let loose in a new room—curious, hopeful, hungry for signs of comfort.“Pastries,” he announced, delight bubbling up in his voice. “Peter, you angel.” His grin stretched impossibly wide, all fatigue forgotten at the scent of sugar and yeast.
Last Updated: 2026-08-30
Chapter: The Windows That LiedThe studio windows were clean enough to tell a story that wasn't quite the truth—a gleam that pretended at perfection, so transparent the city outside seemed to hover impossibly close. Celeste saw her own reflection doubled there, ghostlike, half in the room and half out, as if she could step through the glass and vanish into the morning.Morning light poured through in generous sheets, gilding the floating dust until it shimmered, almost pretty, almost holy. Celeste noticed the lie because she had wiped the glass herself the night before, cloth in hand, tracing every edge until her arm ached. No smudges remained to filter what tried to enter. The brightness arrived whole and unapologetic, drawing every flaw in the room into sharp relief.She arrived early again, not to impress anyone, not out of discipline or pride, but because early was the only time th
Last Updated: 2026-08-29
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