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“In a faraway land, there lived a beautiful, cheerful princess. She lived with the king who loved her very much because the empress had died while giving birth to the princess. Not only the king, everyone in the palace also loves the princess, it makes the princess never feel lonely. However, a fairy tale would not be complete without a love story. Just like fairy tales about other royal princesses, the princess also falls in love. But not with the prince, but with a manual laborer in charge of repairing the palace. Knowing his daughter is in love with an ordinary man, the king is furious! He did not approve of the relationship between the princess and the man. Of course the princess and her lover did not immediately give up. They fought with all their might to convince the King that their love was very strong. Until finally the king melted and agreed to their relationship after the princess chose to run away with the man she loved. They then married in front of all the people of the kingdom who praised and wished them happiness."

"Then? Are they happy forever?”

A beautiful woman with dark purple hair tilted her head. She was holding her chin with a serious face, as if she was deep in thought. While the little children who sat around her looked at her impatiently, waiting for the continuation of the fairy tale that the woman had just told.

"Hey! Of course they are happy forever! My mother used to tell me about the princesses. Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, I love them all!!”

Said one of the little girls with eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. All her friends nodded their heads and started praising how happy the princess's life was, not forgetting how cool the prince was who had saved the princess from every danger. They kept muttering that they wanted to live like the princesses and princes in fairy tales. Find true love and live happily ever after.

Seeing their innocence made the purple-haired woman sigh. She then clapped her hands to bring the children's focus back to her again,

"So do you all think they ended up living happily ever after?"

Again all the children nodded their heads in unison.

"Well then,"

The woman smiled as she moved her index finger left and right,

“Too bad kids, they didn't have a 'happily ever after' ending”

The cheerful faces of the children immediately turned into confusion. They all stared at the woman in disbelief

"Impossible! My mama said all princesses and princes have a happily ever after!”

“Hahaha, then your mama didn't read the story to the end!”

The woman smiled coldly before continuing her words

"They don't end happily ever after. They were only happy for a few moments before their happiness finally ended. Ah, no, or rather before the princess's happiness ended! The man who was bestowed the title of prince even though he was just a commoner turned into an ignorant man. He betrayed the princess's trust! Behind the princess, he met another woman who turned out to be a princess from another kingdom and a friend of the princess. The man who the princess thought would always make her happy actually made her the most miserable woman in the world! The princess even turned into a madman, moreover the king died not long after she learned of that terrible fact!”

"Well, so..."

Her eyes stared at the little children's faces which had now turned deathly pale. She then blinked one eye with a meaningful smile,

"Never believe the words of someone who said that they will love you forever. Because the word forever is the biggest bullshit in the world! And oh yeah, for you little girls.."

She then crouched down in front of one of the little girls who was now looking shocked

"Remember, that there are a lot of bastard men on this earth.. Urgghh!!"

The woman winced as she suddenly felt a stinging sensation in her stomach. She quickly stood up, staring at a short-haired woman who was smiling, but for some reason her smile felt very scary.

"Teacher!!"

As soon as they saw the short-haired woman, all the small children who originally surrounded the purple-haired woman immediately ran towards her, hugged her tightly while starting to cry and say that they hated the prince.

"Shit! You will die after this, Sen!”

The short-haired woman moved her lips silently while making a neck-slashing motion with her finger. After that, she began to comfort the children who hugged her. She then invited them to enter the playgroup building, leaving the purple-haired woman who just laughed out loud.

It didn't take long, the short-haired woman came out from the playgroup building again. Walked over to the purple-haired woman who was now sitting on the swing while humming happily.

"You want to spoil their innocence, don't you?"

She started to grumble, standing right in front of the purple-haired woman with her hands on her hips.

"Well, well, I'm actually making them realize that life is not as beautiful as fairy tales. Those annoying storytellers sometimes forget to write down the 'terms and conditions apply' notes when they write happily ever after"

Hearing the purple-haired woman's defense made the short-haired woman named Dira sigh heavily. She gave up on denying Sena, her best friend who was now smiling with an innocent eyes,

“Arguing with you is very troublesome”

She said while shaking her head.

"Yup, sorry for that"

Dira then stepped forward and hugged Sena's body tightly.

“Believe me! I really want to kill you right now. But, since I miss you, I will ignore my intentions this time!”

Hearing Dira's threat made Sena's smile widen. She hugged Dira back, feeling the warmth of her best friend that never changed, even after 12 years of not seeing each other. The last time they hugged like this was on high school graduation day. The day Sena decided to go to Paris with her mother and leave this country.

“Welcome back, Sena. I miss you half to death."

Dira mumbled slowly.

“Well, I miss you half to death too”

Sena replied while closing her eyes, remembering the memories from few years ago. Memories of when she was a lonely high school student.

***

Sena Salim

Almost all Pelita Harapan High School students know her name. A student who always ranks first in school. Not only smart, she is also very beautiful and comes from a rich family. In people's eyes, she was close to perfect. The only flaw she has is her very cold demeanor, even ice is less cold than her. She never socialized with students at school, not even her classmates. All she does is read a book or solve problems while listening to music. 'Ice Princess', that was the nickname everyone gave her.

The only person who managed to subdue the ice princess was Dira Allen, a student who was also very famous at school for her cheerfulness. Not only that, she is also famous for her ability in martial arts. She even entered the high school because of her achievements as a national karate athlete. Somehow they could be friends, and their relationship became a legend that is still often talked about by the school's alumni. A legend that arose because everyone wondered how the coldest and smartest girl ended up being close friends with the girl who is always in the last rank.

“They should know that conquering you is as difficult as conquering the peak of Everest!”

Dira grumbled while drinking beer in her hand. Actually she was also amazed by the fact that she could be close friends with Sena. The girl is cold but has the most tender and fragile heart. The more Dira got to know her, the more she understood that judging someone from their outward appearance was not wise.

Hearing Dira's nagging made Sena laugh softly. She also took a sip of the beer in her hand, looking at Dira with a mocking look,

“That's because you keep following me wherever I go. You're so stubborn! In fact, I often chased you away!”

“Haha, you're right. I admit I have always followed you."

They then laughed together, enjoying grilled chicken while talking about many things. Their conversation stopped when Sena's cell phone rang. She stared at her cellphone screen for a while before putting her cellphone back on the table.

"So you're going to meet them?"

Ask Dira carefully. She could see the name of someone who called Sena just now. And the caller is Sena's father.

“Hmm, of course. I have to hand over the gifts that my mother buy for him.”

Sena replied coolly.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? Do I need to accompany you?”

Seeing Dira's worried face made Sena laugh. She flicked Dira's forehead until the girl winced in pain.

"You really think I'm a kid? I can deal with them by myself. Take it easy!"

She said while forming an okay gesture with her finger.

Dira pursed her lips while stroking her forehead which was still sore. She started to nag in annoyance but her eyes instead looked gently at Sena's face who started to continue her delayed meal. Ah, thank goodness Sena is better now! Thank goodness she's not like she used to be! Dira's brows furrowed when she remembered about Sena's father. Someone who became the biggest reason Sena decided to move to Paris with her mother.

“Stop looking at me like that! you make me cringe!”

“Urrgh, I am not looking at you! You seem overconfident huh!”

They then laughed together, again enjoying the food in front of them. But, once again their calm was disturbed when someone suddenly appeared while pounding the table so hard.

"God! You two are truly traitors!”

They both suddenly looked up, staring at the man who came with an angry face in front of them. Although in the next second, they were back to eating as if nothing had happened.

"How can you ignore me! Have you forgotten the good memories we had in high school?!”

The man shouted in annoyance. He then hugged the two women tightly, ignoring their screams begging to be released.

“Let go of me, Leon! Before I kill you!”

Leon just laughed at the words of his two best friends. He was too happy that they were back together again. Ah, or rather, he was happy that he could meet Sena again..

***

“Alright, thanks for the ride!”

Sena waved her hand with a smile, looking at Leon and Dira who were now getting into the car. But her smile immediately turned to annoyance when she saw Leon's car was still and motionless.

"Get out before I blow up your car!"

Sena shouted annoyed.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

“Urggh, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine. So hurry up and leave while I'm still being kind!”

“Alright then, see you tomorrow!”

Sena nodded her head, waved her hand again while looking at Leon's car which was starting to move away. After confirming that they really left, then Sena turned her body, staring at a large and luxurious house in front of her. She furrowed her brow as a memory flashed through her head when she saw this house.

“You damn traitor! I'd rather die than see you happy with that woman!"

"Just kill me! Kill me!"

Her mother's vicious screams seemed to ring in her ears. Complete with a shadow of her mother's appearance at that time. Disheveled hair, pale face and red eyes. All those memories made her body suddenly tremble.

Oh shit! Turns out she's still not as strong as she thought!

All the memories in her head disappeared when her cell phone rang again. This time she picked up the phone, spoke to the caller who was her father.

"Ah, I'm in front of the house now"

She said coldly, ignoring her father's happy voice asking her to come in and have dinner together. After she finished speaking, she put her cell phone back into her bag. Then took a deep breath before finally stepping into the house. The house she both hated and longed for.

Along the way into the house, she was greeted by servants whose faces she did not recognize. Even the interior of this house was very different from what she had remembered. Ah, of course, it had been 12 years since she had last seen this house.

"Welcome Dear!"

Her father's cheerful voice filled her ears as soon as she stepped into the enormous dining room. There is a lot of delicious looking food served on the table. Sena just nodded her head in response to her father's greeting. She wasn't interested in being sweet or hugging the man who was still looking at her with a happy eyes.

“Ah, welcome back, honey!”

Sena glanced at a beautiful woman who had started to stand up and walked over to her. Sena quickly dodged as soon as she saw the woman was about to hug her.

"Sorry aunty, I don't like being hugged by strangers"

Sena said coldly. She then walked over to the dining table and sat down, preparing to join in for dinner even though she was already very full.

She ignored the cynical gaze of the woman she called aunty earlier. Haha, although to be honest, for Sena, calling that woman aunty is already a very good thing. If only there weren't the innocent eyes of the little girl who was now looking at her with a confused eyes, maybe she would have called her 'bitch'!