Chapter 3

"Why are you coming home so early?" asked Michael, turning to Dave who was entering the house after spending time with his girlfriend.

"Do you think I should spend the night with Bella?"

"That would be great. You can get to know each other, and then get married," Michael teased, which made Dave's face annoyed.

"I'm forced to go through all this because of Mama. You know that. Why should you support me marrying Bella?" Dave asked unhappily.

"But Bella is pretty!"

"Forget it! I'm not interested. That woman is a pain in the ass," complained Dave as he walked towards the stairs. "Angel, where are you?" he shouted.

"She's in her room," Michael replied with a mocking laugh.

At the moment, Angel was still asleep, her body feeling weak after dealing with Michael who had just spent time with her. Dave was getting more and more annoyed as the girl didn't answer his call. He rushed to Angel's room, and his anger peaked when he saw that Angel was fast asleep.

At that moment, Dave felt like he had been struck by lightning on a sunny day. His emotions instantly overflowed, raging with anger. Without hesitation, he approached Angel who looked so innocent in her sleep. "Angel! Who told you to sleep?" shouted Dave in a scathing tone, his face flushed with mounting emotions. Angel squirmed and slowly opened his eyes. "Get up and make some food for me!"

Angel's heart pounded as Dave showed more and more anger, and he tried hard to find an excuse to save himself from his stepbrother's wrath. "I was exhausted!"

"You haven't even cleaned the house. If you want to stay here, get up and do all the work. If you don't want to, get out of this house and go back to the streets!" Dave shouted, pointing at the door.

Angel feels torn between wanting to defend herself and explain her situation or give up everything and accept Dave's anger to avoid a bigger conflict. Teo, before the marriage, did sell his house. Angel had no idea where she would live if Dave kicked her out of this house.

"Get up!" Dave, in a fit of rage, dragged Angel out of the room as she remained silent. The tense atmosphere made Angel's heart beat fast.

"If you hate me because you think my father killed your father, you're wrong! My father would never kill anyone!"

"Oh, so you already know about your father's big mistake?" asked Dave, who was pulling Angel's hair even more violently. Dave didn't know if Michael had told Angel everything.

"Let go of me, it hurts. We can talk this through," Angel pleaded confidently.

"Poor people like you don't deserve to be talked to nicely!" snapped Dave as he walked quickly down the stairs of his house, then pushed Angel until her body hit the floor. Unable to hold back the tears, Angel felt the pain across her body from the impact.

"That girl is no longer a virgin!" said Michael with wide eyes, making Dave stare at him in disbelief. How shocking that fact was.

"Really? She seems like an innocent girl," Dave asked, trying to digest the news he had just heard.

"Yes, earlier when I fucked her, there was no sign of blood flowing. I felt something different about her body. She is no longer a virgin," Michael replied with a voice full of regret and disappointment because it was not what he expected.

"Here you are!" commanded Dave, who was so fierce that Angel didn't dare to argue.

"Make me some food!" Dave ordered, irritating Angel.

"There's still plenty of food on the table. Why are you telling me to make more food?" said Angel, trying to answer in a brave voice, although his body showed signs of false courage.

"How dare you argue?" said Dave, while showing a facial expression filled with anger.

"I've already made this much food! What else should I cook for you?" asked Angel, her body starting to shake with anger and fear.

"I don't like this food! Make me some soup now!" shouted Dave in a threatening tone. "Or do you want me to put you in the soup?" urged Dave, making Angel gulp, shuddering in fear of the anger and violence that might soon befall him.

Reluctantly, Angel obeyed Dave's orders, which annoyed her. She hurriedly made her way to the kitchen, trying to fight off the hunger pangs that wrapped around her stomach. Every now and then, in between cooking the soup, Angel would steal some food from the fridge – both fruit and chocolate – to satisfy her hungry stomach.

"Do you often sell yourself?" Suddenly, Dave asked a question that made Angel widen her eyes. Her emotions were ignited, anger and pain rolling through her mind. Angel turned her head, her gaze intense, implying how disappointed and hurt she was to hear such a demeaning question.

"Even though I'm starving, I didn't sell myself!" she snarled, trying to drive out the bitterness in her heart.

"Oh, yeah?" replied Dave without any remorse. "So, why are you no longer a virgin?" The words were like a knife slicing into Angel's heart, piercing her fragile feelings.

"Maybe she's already been fucked by her boyfriend!" replied Michael, turning his head sarcastically towards Angel.

"You're wild, aren't you?" Dave teased, accompanied by laughter.

Angel tried to put aside her uncomfortable feelings by swiftly finishing her cooking. Not long after, Dave's soup was finally cooked to perfection.

With sure steps, Angel served the soup to Dave. When she returned to the kitchen to enjoy the rest of the soup, an unexpected event happened.

Suddenly, Dave read out a message that had just come into Angel's cell phone. "Angel, I miss your body. When can we meet again?" Dave said in a curious tone that drew attention.

Michael and Dave looked at each other, both dumbfounded and not expecting to find a different side of Angel.

Feelings of curiosity and amazement mixed together in their hearts. "Who is it?" asked Angel, walking over with a tense face while trying to snatch her cell phone back from Dave's hand.

However, Dave roughly restrained Angel. "Don't resist!" he demanded. At that moment, Angel's heart was beating fast, swaying in anger and fear. The unexpected fate made Angel feel worse and more trapped in the endless cruel game.

"Who is Marco?" asked Dave curiously.

"He's just my friend!" replied Angel, reaching for her cell phone again. "Please give me my phone. I promise I won't call Mama," Angel pleaded.

"I don't believe a word you say. Who is this man? Is he your boyfriend?" asked Dave once again with emphasis.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Angel insisted.

"Or is he your customer?" guessed Dave, to which Angel shook her head.

"I'm not that cheap. He's just my friend!"

A ringing phone broke the tense atmosphere in the middle of their argument. Dave had to stop what he was saying and quickly grabbed the phone lying on the table. "Hello!" Dave exclaimed in a hurried tone, wondering who was calling at a time like this.

Across the way, a nurse's voice spoke in a worried tone, "Good afternoon, Mr. Dave. I'm Nurse Rani from Harapan Hospital. I would like to inform you that your parents have just been involved in an accident and are currently in intensive care at our hospital."

Hearing the news, Dave gasped instantly. His body felt weak, as if his heart had stopped beating. Dave's eyes widened, unable to process what he had just heard. "An accident? How is my mom now?" asked Dave in a shaky voice.

Nurse Rani replied in a heavy voice, "I'm sorry, Mr. Dave. We are unable to provide any further information about your parents' condition. However, we strongly advise you to come to the hospital immediately."

Dave hung up the phone feeling devastated. He felt weak and unable to stand up. In the midst of his unfinished revenge, he now had to deal with the harsh reality that his mother had been in an accident.

Dave and Michael arrived at the hospital in the same car, but did not invite Angel to ride with them. Instead, Angel was forced to call a taxi to reach the same destination. Throughout the journey, she kept sobbing, crying, and unable to compose herself. The fear of her parents' condition was overwhelming, making her heart even tighter. Angel hoped with all her might that her papa and mama were okay because she couldn't imagine losing them.

The doctor spoke seriously to Dave, Michael, and Angel, who were transfixed listening. "I'm sorry, we tried our best, but we couldn't save your mother's life," said the doctor in a regretful tone.

Angel's face instantly turned pale, his eyes widening as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Tears began to fill the corners of his eyes.

Meanwhile, Dave and Michael looked angry and upset. Their anger was not only directed at the doctor but also at Angel. "Your father killed our papa, and now he's killed our mama!" Dave exclaimed with emphasis on every word that came out of his mouth. Michael nodded firmly, agreeing with what his brother had said.

Angel shook his head fearfully, his eyes looking at Dave and Michael with a look that tried to find mercy. "This was an accident. Papa is also critical. He couldn't have killed your mother," Angel muttered hoarsely, fighting back tears.

Dave and Michael did not care about Angel's explanation; their anger continued to burn and could not be extinguished. They couldn't accept the fact that the person they loved had just disappeared due to Angel's father's negligence.

Angel felt cornered; he didn't know what to do. He also felt sad about this incident, but no one wanted to listen to his pain. He could only bow his head, holding back the tears that kept flowing, and lamenting the fate that was so cruel to his family.

"We should have just put that man in jail!" complained Michael angrily, his hands clenched into fists, a sense of injustice raging in his chest.

Dave then looked at Angel with a sharp, cynical gaze, emphasizing his words firmly, "You have to pay for everything, Angel!"

Dave's words pierced Angel's heart, making his eyes widen in shock. Tears began to well up at the corners of his eyes, unable to hide the confusion that increasingly filled his mind. "Pay for everything? What do you mean?" asked Angel with a trembling voice, as if he was standing on the brink of fear, afraid of the fate that was about to befall him.