According to the Straits Times article, Adhha could not stop thinking about the young lady. More so than courage, she had demonstrated a sense of righteousness. He had reflected upon it and came to understand that he should not have allowed that expatriate to talk to him in that way. To endure in silence would merely encourage such insolent behaviour. That paradigm shift in mindset had a profound impact on his behaviour. Adhha vowed to demand respect when it was due. He would no longer humble himself and suffer the incivility of customers who behaved badly. Neither would he allow the management to discount his work performance merely because he needed to schedule time off for his athletic training. He learnt to stand up for himself and that had made all the difference.

Adhha claimed that he was exhilarated when he chanced upon the “J Bruise” website. There she was, the young lady whose courage and righteousness had inspired him so tremendously! He felt it was his duty to bring attention to such an exemplary young Singaporean who had not only survived rape but rose up to become a heroine. That was the reason he had approached The Straits Times. Everyone needed to know that Jessica was the mystery saviour who had stood up for him.

“This is good!” Andreae was delighted. “You must wear a J Bruise T-shirt for the interview.”

“I am not sure I want to do it.”

“Why not?”

“What if they want to talk about the rape?”

“Oh my God, you are so traumatised by the rape that did not happen,” Andreae groused. “Look around you, Jess. You have inspired so many people. This is all good!”

“I don’t know… I don’t even understand why Adhha changed his mind and went to the media. He was so afraid of people finding out about us back then.”

“Just ask him.”

It struck Jessica that Andreae was right. What was stopping her from asking Adhha for an explanation? She might have deleted his number, but there was always Facebook messaging.

It appeared that Adhha had been waiting for her message. The two of them spent a few minutes catching up on the past one year before Jessica popped the question. Why did you go to The Straits Times?

I felt guilty, Adhha wrote. I should not have stolen your moment in the limelight. I was being selfish back then.

“I smell bullshit.” Andreae wrinkled her nose. “Grill him for the truth.”

I don’t believe you, Jessica wrote.

I don’t blame you. I have been an asshole. But I still keep your messages in my pager. Whenever I feel lonely, I will look at the “TW” message and feel warm and loved all over again. Can we meet? I missed you so much.

“What does he mean by ‘TW’ message?” Andreae probed.

Jessica blushed and told her.