The day started worse than yesterday.
Not visibly.
Riyana still showed up on time. Still worked. Still responded when needed.
But inside
Everything felt sharper.
More irritating.
More noticeable.
Especially him.
And especially when he wasn't alone.
"Riyana, can you bring the revised draft?"
Bosco's voice came from the cabin.
She closed her eyes for a second before standing up.
"Yeah."
She picked up the file and walked in—
And there it was again.
Aisha.
Sitting in the same chair.
Looking just as comfortable as she did yesterday.
Like she belonged there.
Riyana placed the file on the desk a little harder than necessary.
"Here."
Bosco glanced at her briefly. "Thanks."
Aisha smiled. "We keep meeting like this."
Riyana gave a polite, tight smile. "Looks like it."
Her tone was neutral.
But not warm.
Not even slightly.
"Sit," Bosco said, gesturing to the chair beside her.
"I'll just—"
"Sit," he repeated, calmer this time.
Riyana hesitated.
Then sat.
Stiff.
Aware.
Uncomfortable in a way she couldn't explain.
They started discussing the draft.
Work.
Numbers.
Corrections.
Everything normal.
Everything professional.
But Riyana wasn't fully listening.
Not to the words.
To the tone.
To the way Aisha spoke so easily.
To the way Bosco responded just as smoothly.
At one point—
Aisha leaned back slightly, looking at Bosco.
"You're very patient, by the way."
Riyana's fingers tightened around her pen.
Bosco raised an eyebrow. "That's new."
"I'm serious," Aisha said with a light laugh. "Most people in your position would've snapped by now with all these revisions."
"I just prefer getting things right," he replied.
Simple.
Straight.
And still—
Something about the exchange sat wrong with Riyana.
"Not with everyone."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Silence.
Immediate.
Heavy.
Both Bosco and Aisha looked at her.
Riyana froze.
Her own voice echoed in her head.
What did I just say?
Bosco's expression changed first.
Not anger.
Not irritation.
Surprise.
"Meaning?" he asked.
Calm.
Too calm.
Riyana's heart started racing.
"I just meant—" she started, but the sentence didn't form properly.
Because the truth was sitting right there.
Unfiltered.
Dangerous.
Aisha tilted her head slightly, curious. "Yeah, what did you mean?"
Riyana swallowed.
Her mind scrambled for something safe.
Something neutral.
But instead—
What came out was—
"You're not this patient with me."
There it was.
Clear.
Direct.
And completely unplanned.
The room went still.
Bosco stared at her.
Not blinking.
Not reacting immediately.
Just… processing.
Riyana felt it instantly.
The shift.
The weight of what she had just said.
Her grip on the pen loosened slightly.
Why did you say that?
It wasn't just a complaint.
It wasn't just observation.
It sounded—
Personal.
Too personal.
Aisha glanced between them, a faint, almost amused smile forming—like she had just picked up on something unspoken.
"Maybe that means you're important," she said lightly.
Riyana's head snapped toward her.
"That's not what I—"
She stopped.
Because she didn't even know what she meant anymore.
Bosco finally spoke.
"Riyana."
Her name sounded different this time.
Lower.
Careful.
She looked at him.
Big mistake.
Because his gaze was fixed on her in a way she wasn't prepared for.
Focused.
Searching.
"You think I'm not patient with you?" he asked.
There was no humor in it.
No teasing.
Just… a question.
But not really about patience.
About something else.
Something deeper.
"I didn't say that," she replied quickly.
"You did."
"I didn't mean it like that."
"Then how did you mean it?"
Each question landed heavier than the last.
Riyana felt cornered.
Not by him—
But by her own words.
"I just meant…" she tried again, her voice losing its steadiness, "you're different."
There.
Another truth.
Another mistake.
Bosco didn't look away.
"Different how?"
The question came immediately.
Like he wasn't going to let this go.
Not this time.
Riyana's chest felt tight.
Her thoughts were no longer organized.
They were spilling.
Uncontrolled.
"I don't know," she said, frustration creeping in. "You're just—"
She stopped.
Because the next word sitting on her tongue was:
warmer
And she couldn't say that.
Not in front of Aisha.
Not in front of him.
"Just what?" Bosco pressed.
And that was it.
That was the breaking point.
"Nothing," she said abruptly, standing up.
The chair scraped lightly against the floor.
"I said it wrong."
"Riyana—"
"I have work," she cut in quickly.
Too quickly.
Too defensive.
She didn't look at either of them as she walked out.
The silence she left behind was… telling.
Aisha leaned back slightly, watching the door for a second before looking at Bosco.
"Well," she said, a hint of curiosity in her tone, "that was interesting."
Bosco didn't respond.
His eyes were still on the door.
His mind replaying every word.
Every pause.
Every look.
You're not this patient with me.
You're different.
Different.
Not wrong.
Not bad.
Just… different.
And the way she said it—
That wasn't irritation.
That wasn't anger.
That was something else.
Something he hadn't expected.
At all.
Back at her desk, Riyana sat down heavily.
Her hands trembled slightly as she reached for her keyboard.
She didn't type.
Didn't move.
Her mind kept replaying it.
Over and over.
What was that?
That wasn't supposed to happen.
She wasn't supposed to say that.
Wasn't supposed to react like that.
Especially not in front of him.
And definitely not in front of her.
She pressed her fingers against her forehead.
Frustrated.
Embarrassed.
Confused.
Why did it sound like that?
Because it was that.
And she knew it.
A few minutes later—
She felt it.
His presence.
Before he even spoke.
"Riyana."
She didn't look up.
"Hmm."
"Look at me."
"I'm working."
"You're not."
A pause.
Then—
Slowly—
She looked up.
Bosco stood there, arms relaxed, expression unreadable.
But his eyes—
Still focused.
Still searching.
"What was that?" he asked.
No anger.
No accusation.
Just a quiet, direct question.
Riyana held his gaze for a second.
Then looked away again.
"Nothing."
"That wasn't nothing."
"It was."
"You don't say things like that for no reason."
Her jaw tightened.
"And you don't overthink everything for no reason," she shot back.
A small beat of silence followed.
Bosco exhaled quietly.
"Fine," he said. "Then don't explain it."
That wasn't what she expected.
She looked up again, slightly thrown off.
He held her gaze for a second longer.
Then added—
"But don't say things you don't mean."
And with that—
He walked away.
Riyana sat there, frozen.
Her thoughts louder than ever now.
I didn't mean it.
But that wasn't true.
That was the problem.
She did mean it.
She just didn't mean to say it.
Across the room, Bosco stepped into his cabin and closed the door.
For the first time in a long while—
He wasn't thinking about work.
He was thinking about her.
And one thing was clear now.
Something had changed.
Not just in her behavior.
But in what it meant.
And that—
That was something he hadn't seen coming.
At all.