The Real Culprit

Maya stared into Mike's confusing eyes. On the one hand, he seemed to be the victim of her twin sister's scheme, but on the other, he looked so doubtful despite his convincing alibi.

"Are we still going to Surabaya?" Maya finally asked, not knowing what else to do in the living room of Mike's luxurious house.

"Yes, let's go to Surabaya. I want to show you something," Mike said.

Mike's invitation made Maya's eyes sparkle. She hadn't expected her ex-boyfriend to have so many stories to share. Maya quickly sent a text message to Ray, hoping her driver could follow the car that would take her to the place Mike wanted to show her.

"Where are we going?" Maya asked as the car slowly drove along the Malang-Surabaya highway without entering the toll gate.

"We're going to the city. Just fasten your seatbelt and wait for my signal."

"Signal!" Maya's mind started racing, preparing to wait for the signal Mike had promised.

Her hand occasionally grasped the car door handle, trying to calm her racing heart. She was ready to escape if needed.

"Hey, is that Ray's car?" Maya whispered when she spotted her black Audi, driven slowly by her young driver.

"Who did you see?" Mike asked, failing to see the Winata family's car.

"No one! It looked like my friend, but it wasn't," Maya murmured, hoping Mike wouldn't see Ray, who slowed down even more and then pulled over.

'Good thing he's smart,' she thought.

"Who did you see?" Mike repeated, sounding annoyed as Maya's eyes continued to dart around.

"No one, darling. Why are you so suspicious?"

"Ever since that driver claimed to be your boyfriend, I've suspected you might cheat on me."

"That was just a joke. Believe me, I wouldn't turn away from you that quickly, Mike!"

"Of course, I'm a crazy rich guy. There's no way that poor guy can compete with me, right?"

"Hehehehe!" Maya giggled, trying to hide her irritation at his arrogance, which was getting on her nerves. "He's nothing compared to you."

"Exactly," Mike said confidently.

The car sped up, and they arrived in Surabaya right at 7 PM, at the hotel Mike had mentioned. This meant Maya had to stay in the city for the night.

"It's already late," Maya whispered, busy sending a message to her mother. "But we just arrived."

Mike nodded, holding Maya's hand tightly as they entered the luxurious hotel in downtown Surabaya owned by his family.

Though he appeared not to notice his beloved's actions, his eagle eyes quickly spotted Maya's fingers typing messages on her dimmed phone screen.

"Who are you messaging now?" Mike asked irritably, still suspicious of his ex-girlfriend.

"It's my mother. Look. Gosh, why are you so jealous?"

"Hehehehe! It means I don't want you to run away from me, Maya!"

"Mmm, you don't want me to run away, but it feels like I'm your prisoner. You annoy me, and you've always been like this. Even though you're..." Maya's eyes widened as she suddenly saw Miya standing in front of them with her hands on her hips.

"Ahh! Miya! Darling!" Mike became awkward and tongue-tied, unable to say anything in front of Miya, who had come alone.

"Oh, so you're back with my sister?"

"Miya, listen. This is all a misunderstanding. We did come to the hotel together, but we didn't intend to—"

"Intended or not, the fact is you brought her here, didn't you?"

"Why are you so stiff in front of my sister? Weren't you the one who wanted me to stay at this hotel with you because you were bored of her?"

"Maya! Don't talk nonsense. You and I are nothing. We broke up, so don't expect me to come back to you!"

"Oh! You don't want me back? Then why did you show me all those messages from my sister?" Maya pressed, smirking.

"What?! You showed her our conversations? You idiot!" Miya shouted harshly, shocking Maya, who had shared everything with her twin since they were in the womb.

"You! Why are you so rude? You're not like the sweet sister I know, Miya. How dare you talk to Mike like that?"

"Shut up!" Miya snapped, tired of her pretense. "I'm sick of our family."

"What do you mean?"

"Since we were kids, I always had to give in to you. All your toys were mine too, but none of my toys were yours. I had to give in to everything, including Mike. Now I want you and everyone to know I'm done!"

"Uh!" Maya felt a dagger pierce her chest. All her sister's words were true, but she hadn't expected her twin's patience to run out.

"Don't look at me like that, Mike. Tell her who you choose. Me and the child I'm carrying or her, the cruel and cold-hearted one!" Miya shouted, making Maya even more shocked by her sister's words.

"I..."

"Yes, choose me or her! Quickly!"

"Miya, does it have to be so fast?" Mike lowered his head as if he had lost all the courage that had been towering high when Miya had yet to arrive.

"Yes, say it now. So I can leave and never come back. I'm tired of looking weak in front of my arrogant sister."

"Hey! How can you say that? Since when have I been arrogant?"

"Shut up!" Miya pushed Maya hard, making her stumble back several steps.

Luckily, there was a large, soft hotel sofa behind Maya, so she landed safely on it.

"You! What happened to you? You don't seem like my sister!"

"Shut up!" Miya shouted again, this time grabbing the edge of Maya's shirt, who still hadn't been able to get up from the hotel sofa.

"Mike! Why are you just standing there? Stop her!" Ray shouted as he approached Maya and separated the two to prevent the fight from continuing.

"You! Who are you to touch Maya?!" Mike asked, approaching Ray, who had managed to block Miya's hand from grabbing Maya's collar.

"Do I need to be someone important to protect her? What's wrong with you?" Ray's charm made Maya blush.

"Ugh, don't make that face. Look, Maya is blushing!" Mike pointed out, making Maya lower her head so her expressive face wouldn't make Mike jealous.

"Yes, you need to be like that to impress all the women. Do you need me to teach you?" Ray taunted, making Mike furious.

"Huh, you want me to learn from a driver like you? No way!" Mike shouted, ready to throw a punch.

"Mike!" Maya shouted, knowing the angry man would hurt Ray, but it was too late.

Crash!