The sun appeared to publish its light; Eve began to wake up. Eve stretched the muscles of her body that felt sore and stiff all over.

Eve tried to wake up her sister, Adeline. "Al, wake up! Al, we have to go now!"

They walked to the city centre, then to a park, where they found a toilet to freshen up and change clothes.

Before looking for work, Eve asked Adeline to wait in a park near a row of office centres and shops.

Eve bought her breakfast and a drink of water and gave her a few dollars to keep watch. Eve asked her to wait until she came after getting a job.

Only then would Eve figure out how to find a place to live. She should sell her favourite watch this time; it was the only precious thing she had left.

It was noon, but Eve hadn't found a job yet and was feeling lost. She was sweating from looking for a job all morning, and her legs started hurting from exhaustion.

Finally, on the corner, Eve saw a cafe. She walked there to buy a piece of bread and hot chocolate to feed her hungry stomach.

"Hey! You!" someone shouted. A man around 25-26 years old; Eve didn't know him. He was pointing at Eve.

Eve began to frown. "Me?" she asked, pointing at herself.

"Yes, you! Who else? Why are you coming so late? Look at the people waiting! Lunchtime is always crowded, but thank goodness you came! Put this on and go backwards!" said the handsome man.

Eve paused, "But I'm...not..." Holding the apron, he gave her a look of confusion.

"You need a job, don't you? Hurry back, I don't have time to explain it to you! If you can handle it, then you're hired, OK? Your working hours are 9 am to 5 pm and you'll get 50 dollars a day, no weekends off. You can take off on weekdays. How about it?"

"Yes, but..." Eve was still hesitant because she hadn't applied here, but perhaps the person had mistaken her for someone else.

"There's no buts! Don't you want to?" he shouted with quite a high intonation.

Eve finally shouted, "I want to! I want!"

And so she worked that day, but a little longer this time. She was asked to work overtime until 6 pm as more and more customers arrived.

Eve worked so energetically that day that she didn't even notice that her legs were in much pain. She even forgot about her sadness for a moment.

"This is your wage today. You were given an extra 80 dollars today because you worked overtime for 3 hours," said the owner and manager of the Cafe when he called her.

Eve burst into tears, sobbing in her chair. She had only earned 80 dollars, even after working almost all day. It turns out that making money is not easy, and she felt it this time.

"Why are you crying? Is it not enough?"

Eve shook her head. The first time, she received this little money, but it's worth it now with tears still in her eyes.

"What does that mean?" The Boss needed clarification.

"No! I meant to say thank you. I'll come again tomorrow!" Eve said, diverting their conversation.

"Okay. By the way, did you bring your ID? I didn't get a chance to ask for it earlier."

Eve reached into the small bag and handed over her ID.

"Evelyn Adams? Not Selin Pattinson? So who are you, Selin?" the Boss frowned.

Eve shook her head, "I don't know, Sir. Please don't fire me, I need this job." Eve pleaded.

"But..." Suddenly, the mobile phone rang. "Wait a minute, I'll be back."

Not long after, the Boss returned. "Whether it's a coincidence or luck, I just got news that...Miss Selin resigned from applying for this job. So, if you're willing, you can keep working here," with a warm smile.

"So congratulations on working at Cafe Mentari! I'm Damian, the owner of this little Cafe!" he extended his hand.

"I'm Eve, Evelyn. Thank you. I will definitely work very hard." Eve extended her hand back.

"Well, Eve, I believe you and I've seen your work too! Oh, yes, where do you live? Wait, your ID says it's in the Wellington area? Wow! Are you sure your house is there? I don't think you need this job if you live there, do you?" he said as if scrutinizing Eve's appearance.

"I just lost both my parents, Sir. And, we were kicked out of our house by our Uncle, that's why I need this job. I still have a younger sister to look after." Eve looked down sadly as her tears began to flow.

"Oh, sorry Eve. I didn't know. Sorry for the loss of your parents." Damian felt sorry for her.

"Thank you, Sir." Eve said, still choked up.

"OK, if there's anything I can help you with, just tell me. Where do you live now?"

Eve hesitated but said with her head down, "I don't know yet, Sir. We don't have enough money to rent an apartment."

"So, where did you sleep yesterday?" he said, slightly surprised.

Eve looked at her Boss and said quietly, "In the tunnel near Pittsburgh Street, sir!" while keeping her head down.

"What? In the tunnel? No! No! You're young girls; it's dangerous to sleep there. Tell you what, I have a pavilion next to this Cafe. It's a little small but was originally a warehouse for the Cafe's raw materials. How about you and your sister staying there? You can clean it up for a while, but it's better than being on the street, right?

Eve raised her head, her eyes filled with tears again. Eve sobbed, her cries growing louder.

“Why are you crying again? Did I say something wrong?"

Eve shook her head. "No, thank you, sir when you were kicked out by our only family, our uncle! It turns out that God is still kind to us by giving us you as our helper! You, who are an unfortunate person, reached out your hand to help us! Thank you, sir. Thank you so much!" Eve grabbed Damian.

"Never mind! I'm only helping a little as a fellow human! Don't overdo it, like this!" Damian smiled warmly.

"Thank you again, Sir, thank you. I'll clean the room later!" Eve exclaimed while wiping her tears.

"Alright, I'll hand the key to you. You want to pick up your sister? Oh, yes, where is your sister now?" the Boss asked again.

"She's just down the road sir, near the park." Eve said happily.

Mr Damian kindly offered to help her clean up the warehouse later so they could get to bed quickly tonight. And meet Adeline, Eve's sister.

But to her surprise, when she reached the park, there was a crowd of people where she had asked her sister to stay. Her heart started to feel bad now.

"Adeline!!!"

"Eve, we need to get your sister to the hospital! Immediately!" said the Boss, Damian.

"But..." Eve hesitated as she didn't have any funds at the moment.

"Don't think about anything else, I'll take care of the cost! What's important is that your sister gets treated right away! Hurry up, Eve! We don't have much time! Let me carry your sister! My car is over there!" Damian said again.

And here they were in a big hospital, accompanied by Damian. The Doctor was treating Adeline in the emergency department, and Eve was walking back and forth in front of Adeline's treatment.

After waiting for several hours, a doctor emerged from Adeline's treatment.

"Adeline's family?"

"I'm her sister, Doc! What's wrong with my sister?" Eve was nervous.

"Sorry, we have to tell you. We suspect liver cancer! But we'll do a series of tests to confirm it." said the Doctor.

"WHAT? Liver cancer?”

"Liver Cancer? No way! Tell me it's all a lie, Doc! You might be wrong, Doc! It's definitely not true! My sister is just tired!" Eve shouted as she grabbed the Doctor by the collar.

Exhausted, Eve finally broke down and collapsed on the cold hospital floor as she cried.

Just as she felt a little happy for accepting work today, she thought things would be better after getting a job.

Damian helped Eve finalize everything, including Adeline's payment.

Damian was still with Eve, who was waiting for her sister to wake up. He couldn't bear to leave her.

Eve didn't say much, preferring to stay quiet and lost in her thoughts.

Eve looked at Damian, who seemed tired; she didn't want to impose her will on the Boss to stand by her side.

"Sir, isn't it better for you to go home? I can wait for my sister here. I know you are tired. I thank you for your help. I don't know what would have happened to both of us if you hadn't helped us. I promise to return the money you spent to pay for my sister's treatment." Eve said to Damian.

"Never mind, I'm willing to do it. Well, I seem to be a little tired, maybe I'll come back for a while, to shower and rest. I'll be back, tomorrow morning, OK?" said Damian as he handed over some money to Eve.

"What is this, Sir? Didn't I receive my wages today?" Eve's face was confused as she received money from her new Boss.

"It's okay, it's just in case. Take it!" Damian said with a little force.

"Thank you, Sir. But, it's really not necessary." Eve politely refused her new Boss's gift. She didn't want to get further into debt with Damian.

"Okay. But call me if you need anything, okay? I'm leaving now," Damian said back.

After Damian left, Eve pulled out a chair, sat beside Adeline's bed, and tightly held her sister's fingers.

"Adeline's family?" greeted the Doctor as he entered the room.

"We just wanted to give you the results of this test." said the Doctor.

Eve opened the test results and froze; Eve read them slowly.

"It is with great regret that I have to tell you that your sister has Liver Cancer and it is confirmed to be stage two, at this time." The Doctor explained.

Eve's tears fell again without permission, "What should I do, Doc? Can my sister recover?"

"Hmm...I can only suggest that your sister get intensive care in this hospital. We must do it immediately." said the Doctor thoughtfully.

"What are some of the possibilities, Doc? And how much will it cost, Doc?" asked Eve in confusion, squeezing the test results in her hand.

"We don't know for sure yet, we still need to do a thorough observation. Only the probability is no more than 30% with the possibility of surviving two years only. And the cost is about 100,000 dollars."

"A hundred thousand, Doc?" said Eve in surprise.

"Yes, even that is only temporary and may increase. Please inform us when the funds are ready. We will do the treatment as soon as possible. The sooner, the better; perhaps the longer, we fear the patient cannot survive without treatment. Sorry, that's all we can say." The doctor left Eve.

Eve cried silently again.

Suddenly, she wiped her tears. "Uncle! Well, I'll ask for his help!"

***

Late at night, Evelyn Adam's footsteps to her parents' house, which her Uncle had taken away.

She deliberately left Adeline with the nurse at the hospital when she came here to ask for her Uncle's help.

She banged on the gate that had been her home since childhood.

Knock!

Knock!

"Uncle! Aunty! Claire! Open the door!" she shouted very loudly.

Eve waited for a moment when there was no answer; she was about to bang on the door again when the gate opened.

She hurriedly ran to the house with a large yard. She entered the house, which didn't seem locked, and wandered around, shouting.

"Uncle! Aunty! Claire...Help me!" Eve shouted inside her house.

Until two married couples came down the stairs.

"Ouch! What's wrong with you, huh? It's so noisy! You don't see what time it is, what time is it? Oh my! Why are you so rude to enter people's houses shouting like this, disturbing people's rest?" said his Uncle's wife.

Eve ran towards the stairs and prostrated herself at their feet. Sitting on a step.

"Uncle! Aunty! Please do me a favour, lend me five hundred thousand dollars. Adeline is sick! She's in the hospital! And she has liver cancer! Treatment must be done as soon as possible. Help me, Uncle! Aunty! This last time..only! I promise I'll do anything if you give it to me! And I am forever in debt to your family!" Eve said as she clasped her hands on her chest pleadingly while sobbing.

"One hundred thousand dollars? Hey! That's a lot of money! Are you sure you want to do anything?" said Uncle this time.

"Yes, Uncle I promise!" said Eve.

"Okay, I'll give it on one condition!" said her Uncle with a sly smile.

The wife looked at her husband disapprovingly, and the Uncle smiled and whispered in her ear.

"Alright, let's sit in the TV room while my wife gets something. Would you like a drink?!"

"No need, Uncle. Thank you," Eve said nervously.

"Okay..."

Not long after, the wife arrived with a document and gave it to her husband.

"Sign the letter! Then I'll give you as much as you want!" Uncle said, putting a file on the table.

"What is this, Uncle? The transfer of Daddy's company shares? To Uncle? But Uncle, that's more than one hundred thousand I asked for! And this company was started by Daddy from scratch! How can I hand it over to Uncle?" Eve momentarily began to think there was something wrong with this.

"Whatever! But remember your sister! Can she survive? If you can't get the money?" Uncle said as he crossed his legs on the sofa.

"But..." Eve was still hesitant, but she imagined her sister, who was currently in the hospital.

"Sign it or nothing!" Uncle was about to move, but Eve caught his hand.

"Alright Uncle! I'll sign it, for Adeline's sake!" Eve shakily signed the file.

Not long after, his wife handed over $1,000 into Eve's hand while laughing.

"Wait, Aunty! Uncle! What does this mean? It's only a thousand dollars. Not a hundred thousand dollars!" Eve stared in a daze.

"Oh, yeah? Did you ask for a hundred thousand dollars? Well, we forgot about that! Now get lost! That's a fair price for you! Guards drag this kid!"

Eve was shocked and screamed, "You lied to me! You are cruel! No! I'm not leaving! Until I receive the money! Uncle! Aunty! You promised! At least have mercy on Adeline Uncle! She's lying helpless right now!"

Suddenly, in the midst of the commotion, Claire appeared with her eyes rubbed; it seemed she had just woken up because she heard the commotion due to her parents' quarrel with Eve again.

"What's going on, fussing at night?" Claire turned her head and was surprised to see Eve back in her house, precisely the house that her father seized.

"You, again? Why do you keep coming in like a fly, anyway? And what is this? Daddy, why did you give her $1,000?" Claire looked at Eve, who was holding the money.

"It's reimbursement money because she gave her company to us, Claire! Never mind, let it go!" Daddy exclaimed.

"No way! I don't like it! It's my pocket money, Daddy! Why give it to her! I'd rather treat my friends at college tomorrow!" Claire sullenly looked at her Daddy.

"Never mind..what do you want?" Asked the Mummy this time while gently stroking the child's hair.

Claire suddenly walked up to Eve and grabbed the money. "Give me the money! It's my money! You don't want it either, did you say? So...you'll give it to me!" Claire slyly exclaimed and forcibly pulled out the money.

Eve tried to grab it, and there was a tug of war between the two of them until...

Kreeekk...!!!

The money broke into two pieces. Claire covered her mouth and let go of the tug.

"UPS!!! Sorry,! It looks torn!" she laughed sarcastically. "Go and get your torn money out of here!" Claire exclaimed as she walked away happily.

Eve squatted down to pick up the torn money, feeling even sadder. "You're too much, Claire! You're all cruel!"

"Let go! I'm not done talking to my Uncle yet! Uncle! Give me back my money!" Eve struggled when the big man lifted her.

Eve continued to struggle and scream, but she was outmatched by the two bodyguards holding both hands and again dragged her hard, this time to the street.

Eve fell to the ground; her lips kissed the street and began to bleed. Her hip was also injured and bleeding from being thrown hard onto the street.

Eve cried on the pavement in front of her house as she endured the pain.

"How could you! Oh my God! Adeline...."

Eve began to wriggle out of her short sleep. Since she had been thinking about it last night, she would try to ask her lover for help even though her messages and phone calls were not answered all night, and Eve thought that Robert was busy.

She intended to go to college today. Not going to study as usual, she decided to continue her studies when she had enough money. She was going to meet Robert at the college!

Saying goodbye to Adeline, Eve travelled by public transport to the campus.

She had done it for the first time and might have to get used to it from now on.

When she arrived at the gate of her campus, she felt something strange. Everyone who knew her began to avoid her; some stayed away, some pretended to be indifferent, but more looked at her with a look of pity in their eyes.

"What's going on? What's going on? What are all those eyes looking at me for? Am I smelly and dirty?" She smelled her body. No odour! And not dirty either, because she had showered and changed in the hospital earlier.

"Ah, never mind! It's probably just my feelings!"

While walking into the hallway of Robert's class, she knew Robert's schedule well today, and he had a lecture.

Eve quickened her pace. She tried to glance into the classroom, but there was no Robert.

"Hey! Wait! Excuse me, can I ask where Robert is?" she asked one of what she believed to be Robert's classmates.

"You're still studying here, after your family went bankrupt, heh?" said the girl she asked earlier.

Eve frowned, "What does that mean?"

"Never mind! Don't pretend not to understand! Poor thing, your parents died leaving you in debt and now your family is broke, right? Fortunately, your Uncle, Claire's family helped you out! Eh, you still don't want to accept it, again! Just tell me, you want to be free, right? So you can change men! You bitch!" she pushed Eve.

"Hey! What cheap gossip are you talking about? Huh? Who told you that?" Eve started to get angry. No wonder, since entering, all eyes looked at her as if disgusted; it turned out that someone was spreading slander!

"That's not gossip you know! Claire herself said it! Oh, yes, thank goodness Robert's eyes are open now! And he can choose Claire who is a diamond over a hunk of rock like you! Don't get your hopes up! Claire and Robert are probably celebrating their becoming a couple right now! They're probably at the end of the hallway by the toilets!" their laughter encouraged Eve again.

Eve fell because their push was quite strong.

Everyone looked at her pityingly, as she was now a spectacle for the college kids. Eve tried to get up, and she ran in the direction mentioned.

She didn't know who was spreading all this, but if it was confirmed that the girl was Claire, she was too much!

Eve slowed down when she heard a girl's sigh and the curses accompanying it.

And what was her surprise when she saw that in the corner before the toilet, there was a pair of people of different sexes making out? The man's hands began to grope and squeeze the two assets of the girl in front of him. And greedily kissed her lips, even now starting behind the girl's ear.

And let's remember the girl's clothes, which were almost entirely open. A few buttons are undone, and the top is lifted to reveal two tantalizingly solid assets that the man greedily crushes!

Eve gawked at it, but even with his back to her, she knew it was Robert.

The Robert she knew was a polite, good man. Even their relationship was only to the extent of holding hands and occasional brief kissing, nothing more. There was no overflowing passion like what she saw at this moment.

Instantly, she felt disgusted with Robert. How could they do it in a not-even remotely decent place?

She thought Robert was not like most men; she respected Eve's principle of not wanting to do more if it was before marriage.

Call Eve old-fashioned, but she just wanted to offer her innocence to her future husband in a sacred bond. And the Robert she knew understood this, but now…..

"Robert?" Eve trembled, calling him. She must be strong!

Still, in high passion, the two people stopped, and Claire, her cousin, looked at her mockingly.

"Wow, your ex-lover, seeing us, honey..how is this?" Claire said, pretending to be shocked when she was pleased. Eve knew that fake look.

"Robert? What is this? Why are you doing it even with my cousin Claire? Claire, don't you know, Robert is my lover? Why do you keep doing it? Seizing something that doesn't belong to you! You are just the same, not much different from your parents grabbing something that doesn't belong to them! The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? Like a parent like a daughter! You're sneaky!" Eve's chest heaved up and down.

Claire put on a sad face and even had tears in her eyes as she spoke, "You're so heartless, Eve. My parents have offered to help you! We love you but why did you leave the house,Eve? Why, do you not consider me your cousin, anymore?"

"What, another lie?" Eve glared at Claire.

Eve saw with her own eyes that Robert was busy soothing Claire, who Eve was sure was only pretending to cry.

"And you believed it Robert? Trusting this fox girl? Seriously?" Eve disappointedly looked at Robert.

"Shut up, Eve. Look, your cousin is hurt! Can't we settle this nicely? And yeah, I trust her! Because she deserves it! Not like you. You're nothing, Eve! I can't possibly walk with someone with your background!" Robert said as he stood facing Eve, holding Claire's fingers tightly behind him. Claire smiled happily at Eve. Then, she pretended to cry when Robert turned to her.

"What do you mean?" Eve's lips trembled, her throat felt dry, and she couldn't swallow her saliva. Right now. "You want to break up? For Claire's ?"

"Well, we better break up! We're not compatible! You know, not only because of Claire, but also because of you! How stupid of me to think I could stay by your side without being able to touch you! But with Claire, I feel passionate! I can do it whenever I like! And it's fun! Unlike you and your stupid principles! So, don't bother me by contacting me or sending stupid messages!" Robert said, turning towards Claire to help her tidy up her open shirt.

Eve looked up as her tears began to fall, though only a little. "Ok, Thanks Robert! Thank you for the beautiful memories you gave me! This is the last time I cry over my love for you! Not again! Even if you cry blood begging me to come back, I won't accept it! Make a note of that! You will be very sorry Robert!" Eve said while wiping her tears.

For a second, Eve saw Robert turn towards her and stare dazedly, but Claire, who spoke behind him, made her resolve to leave as soon as possible.

"What?! It's shameless that it's already been decided and you're still so proud! Robert won't do it! Wake up, you're dreaming in the daytime! Aren't you, Honey?" Claire said softly.

But the look of sadness and unwillingness to let go of their 4-year-long relationship since they were in junior high school was displayed, even if only a little, well, just a little.

"Shut up, Claire! It's my business with her! You don't need to interfere!" he scolded Claire softly. And Claire resentfully chose to remain silent beside Robert.

Eve smiled wryly, "Well, it is indeed my business with you and that is over, Robert! I congratulate you and wish you happiness!" she quipped.

Then, without looking back, Eve ran. Eve ran with all her might!

When suddenly...Eve, who was running, fell. Someone deliberately stretched her foot down while Eve was running, and Eve, who didn't see it, fell to the ground.

Instantly, several people laughed, surrounding her without helping.

"Hahah...Feel it! You belong downstairs, Eve! At our feet! Because now you've fallen into poverty, haven't you? You don't deserve to be friends with those of us above! Hahaha...you poor girl!" one of her friends on campus exclaimed.

Eve, whose lips were bleeding again from kissing the ground, stared at the faces of the people who surrounded her, mocking her.

"You guys are bad! I didn't expect you to be like this! In the past..." Eve was cut off when someone interrupted her.

"Why look at us like that? Do you need money? Take this money, no need to give us back the change!" They threw a few pennies at Eve.

Eve looked down in defiance, but then she tried to get up. "Sorry! I'm not a beggar!"

"What a snob! Get out of here arrogant girl!" someone exclaimed as they threw a bottle of their leftover drinks at Eve.

The bottle hit Eve in the forehead. Eve stared at them. And with an averted face, Eve ran back as they scoffed.

"Huu...poor girl!"

Eve ran back with more tears in her eyes.

Eve kept running until she left the campus when a car passed, and she closed her eyes.

"No!!!"