"Noll...?" Gene knocked on his brother's room. When he opened it, the room filled with broken glass, and there he saw him slumped on the floor, looking miserable. "Noll... the others are here. Please come out! You've been here for three days! You're not even eating properly!"

"Leave me alone." He growled softly.

Gene sighed and closed the door. He shook his head to his friends on the living room.

"It's our fault." Masako sobbed. Gene went to her side to calm her. "We hurt an innocent woman just for our enjoyment."

"Sshhh." He kissed her head. Yasuhara and Bou-san come out from the kitchen, with glasses of water.

Ayako bit her lip, controlling herself not to cry, so as Madoka. They all took a seat on the sofa, the feeling of guilt was heavy on their hearts as they recall what happened three nights ago.

"Mai –"

The girl cut off his words when she grabbed the tie on his shirt and crashed her lips on his, leaving everybody stunned. She narrowed her eyes on the three people, and it seems that they are sharp enough to understand what she meant. They all handed the cheques to her.

She pushed the stunned Naru away. Mai can no longer hold the angry tears when she saw the amount written on each of them, she immediately ripped it to pieces.

"Are you happy now?" She asked everyone, who lowers their heads in guilt and shame. "And you Oliver, are you happy now?"

"Mai, please –" He tried to grabbed him but she just slapped his hands away.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled. "You and your friends disgust me! Don't you dare touch me with that filthy hand of yours!" She's totally crying now. "Until I show my face to you, don't you dare show your face to me." She spat bitterly, turning her heads to the others, she said "I thought you're my friends. I thought everything was real." She shook her and sobbed. "But everything is a lie, huh? To you, I'm just an entertainment to your boring lives."

"J-Jou-chan, that's not it!" Bou-san tried to defend.

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses." She clenched her fist, controlling her anger. "Hara-san, I'm sure you're not that insensitive to still asked me to be one of your bride's maids after all what happen."

"Mai..." Masako whispered.

"This goodbye. I hope you have fun playing with my life." She turned her heels on them, ignoring the whispers from the other people around and the calling of her name.

"N-Naru…" Bou-san cautiously called. He was beyond shocked from what just happened. He shook his friend's shoulders.

How did Mai knew about the bet? Every one of them thought at the moment. Gene was attending Masako who was sobbing on his chest.

"Don't call me that!" He yelled. "Only Mai can call me that!" Naru was breathing heavily, and he didn't even noticed that's he's already crying. "Mai…"

"Can someone tell us what's happening?!" Martin exclaimed. "Well?" He irritated asked when no one answered. Madoka decided to tell them about their bets on Naru and Mai.

Luella gasped. "Oh my god! You did such thing to the poor girl?" She glanced on his son. "And you agreed with it?"

"At first, it was supposedly just for fun!" Naru defended. "But..."

"'At first'?" Martin quoted. "Then what about now?"

"I…" Naru whispered, and finally admitted with his guilty tears "I've fallen in love with her…" He slammed his hands on the table. "I love her! Dammit!"

His friends' looked at each other guiltily.

John kept glancing on the clock, restless while waiting for Mai. He looked at the window when he hear a taxi dropped someone.

"Mai-san –" He stopped when he noticed the girl looked so miserable.

"John..." She ran to the priest for comfort. John let her cry on his shoulders. "Why? What did I do wrong? I was silently hoping that it was not true, but… but…" John patted her back. "They're just making fun of me all this time…"

"You will get over this as the time comes. Just leave everything to the Lord, and He will heal your wounds."

Mai boohooed, forgetting about the kids who were supposedly sleeping.

The next day, Naru was disappointed learning that Mai left her old apartment for a new one. He's been trying to call her, but it seems he was blocked. Even the others who tried to contact her, but failed.

When he went to her school, the dean said that since her internship finished, she's no longer required to attend the classes and just waiting for the graduation.

Naru's last resort was to go to the orphanage-church, he called Lin for the address, and as expected from his assistant, he got it in no time.

"Father John, please let me see her…" He pleaded. "I know what we did was wrong, but please… let me explain to her everything."

"Get out!" A child's voice yelled from behind, throwing stones at him. "You're the bad guy who made mama cry! I hate you! Get out!" She throw another stone at him.

"Amy! That's bad!" John scolded. "Hurting other people is bad."

"He is the bad one!" The child yelled. John called the other caretakers to send Amy inside.

"I should apologize for that."

Naru shook his head. "I deserved that."

John saw that remorse on the guy's face. He sighed and ushered him to the garden to talk. "I think, you should leave her alone for a while."

"But, I don't want to leave this issue unsettled."

"Mai-san… was scarred massively." John whispered. "She's the kind of girl that will give more than one-hundred percent of her trust. That's why when it was broken, it leaves a huge wound on her heart." John sighed and looked up the sky. "I hope you understand Oliver. What you did is not something that can be forgiven with just 'sorry and explanation'."

Naru dropped his head on his hand. "I understand… and I know she won't believe me if I will tell her now that I love her."

John looked at him. "Is that your real feelings? Or is it due to the bet?"

"At first, I just wanted to teach her a lesson for ignoring me… but eventually, I saw how optimistic and how good-hearted she is.

She's radiating a different kind of spark, and I can't help but fall in love with her." He clenched his fist in regret. "There were several times where I can end the bet admit that I lost, but my pride won't let me."

"Indeed." John softly chuckled. "For Dr. Oliver Davis to admit defeat is so unlike you."

Naru took a deep breath, and wipe his tears. "Thank you for hearing me out, at least, Father."

"It's alright. It's my job."

They were walking back to the gate where Naru parked his car. "I guess, I should give her more time, until she, herself will decide to show up."

John smiled at him. "Yeah."

Naru bowed before climbing in the driver's seat.

The young scientist decided to go to the office, his feet felt so heavy, and the office, for the first time, felt so gloomy without Mai… The others were already there, waiting for him.

"Noll, I already have the report that you asked me to do." He raised his eyebrow at Lin. "About Mai-san's past." He became attentive and took a seat next to his brother.

"It seems that Mai-san, was in the orphanage when she's three. Her parents, died when their apartment burn down." Lin paused, everyone was so silent, the eerie silence was so uncomfortable. "She grew up in there, and the government gave her a scholarship, a privilege, to go to school. When she's sixteen, that's when Father John Brown was transferred from Osaka."

"Oh… That's why he's talking with a weird Kansai-ben." Gene mumbled.

"During high school, she had a boyfriend named Hinata Takashi, but it's only lasted for a few months."

"What happen?" Ayako asked curiously.

"During their school festival, the boy dumped her, telling her the he don't really love her... he only courted her because she looks like a challenge… and…"

"His fiends made a bet, or something." Naru finished.

"Yeah…"

The others gasped, realizing what they did was no different from what her ex's friends did.

"Oh no… we hurt her more than we thought…" Masako mumbled.

"We opened an old, deep, wound." Madoka whispered.

Everyone hanged their heads in regret, and guilt.

Mai… I'm so sorry… We're so sorry… Please… Come back to us… We will make things right...