Chapter Six : That Night

Tonight, it rained heavily. The sound of thunder echoing became the background sound for pedestrians outside who were struggling to break through the torrent of water falling from the sky of Jakarta. There were also those who chose to lie down for a moment, enjoying the heavy rain in June.

A woman who also chose to enjoy the torrent of rain by struggling from behind her blanket. Her eyes stared into the distance, looking at the giant window in front of her which displayed raindrops wetting the transparent glass.

"You have to be sure that you are already a couple. I'm sure Adrian must have thought about it carefully. Besides, you haven't tried it yourself, why should you hesitate?"

Selly's words kept ringing in her ears. Who would have thought that her dream of building a harmonious and happy household with the person she loved would be destroyed in an instant. Moreover, she had just accepted the fact that she had never married Rama at all. She felt that the man had indeed prepared her departure by using Adrian as a shield for his actions.

Indah wanted to scream loudly. It was just that she couldn't. The deep pain and disappointment seemed to have swallowed her loud voice. She even felt short of breath remembering that she was in a strange place that she did not know. The love that used to grow in her heart slowly faded away, replaced by disappointment itself. Yes, Rama had destroyed her.

Slowly, she got out of bed. She walked to the place of someone she really wanted to go to.

Slowly she walked towards the reading room which was on the same floor as her room. She opened the wooden door slowly. Trying to walk like a cat, she walked inaudibly down the carpeted stairs.

There, Adrian's large body was sleeping from behind his thick blanket on the sofa. The man's hand was on his face covering his eyes as if he was uncomfortable with his current position. Indah knew it was very uncomfortable to sleep in a place that was not your room. Like herself, last night who had only fallen asleep until four in the morning.

When she was in front of Adrian's large body, Indah stopped her steps. She froze while watching Adrian's tired face. For some reason, seeing the man made her heart sad and disappointed. She had hoped that Adrian was a different person from Rama, her brother. But in fact she was wrong. They were equally cruel.

However, Indah understood that. As the injured party, Adrian certainly felt a heavier burden than her. The man had to sacrifice his future for Indah and also her family's good name. If only she had not met Rama at that time, maybe now she would still have her old life and live with Selly, her best friend in a small flat. While Adrian, .. The man might still be single freely.

Indah finally sat on the edge of the armless sofa. Her hand rose to stroke her husband's dark brown hair.

"I'm sorry, Adrian .. You shouldn't have sacrificed anything for a woman like me. I'm completely useless to you." She said softly.

The longer it was, the softer and more intense the caress on Adrian's hair. Her heart warmed as her skin touched Adrian's hair which was soft like a baby's hair. She hoped that one day she could give warmth to the man she saw as cold-hearted. She wondered in her heart what Adrian would be like with a smiling face. Let alone smiling, with his flat face Adrian already looked handsome to her, even more handsome than Rama.

"Go to sleep, may you have sweet dreams." Her voice ended the stroking of the man's hair. Once again with stealthy steps, Indah returned to her room. Before closing the door to the reading room, Indah turned her body again. She smiled when she saw Adrian's sleeping position which had changed to his side.

The sound of the door closing ended Adrian's acting. The man had not slept since earlier. His two sharp eyes stared at the closed wooden door. Suddenly there was a feeling of emptiness when he saw the narrow back walking away from him. He wanted to hold Indah for longer with him. He felt and even heard everything his wife said. His hand rose to hold the hair that had just been stroked by Indah. The woman's hand was very soft, it felt like his mother's hand.

There was a feeling of guilt when he heard Indah's words. The woman still thought she was the one who was harmed, even though she was not. In fact, Adrian was the one who had used this marriage for his personal gain. Who knows what Rama was planning. The man should have been able to win over all of this by marrying Indah. But reality said otherwise.

**

In the dining room, the sound of spoons and forks could be heard. Several servants were seen going around pouring drinks to their masters who were eating their breakfast. But something felt different here. Unlike yesterday when the newlyweds seemed to be talking to each other, now everything felt quiet. Both Adrian and Indah were silent, especially Adrian. Although his body was there, his mind was somewhere else.

"Rian .."

Adrian still remained motionless and continued to eat his food.

"Rian .."

Now on the second call, Adrian looked up. He saw his father looking at him in surprise. "What's wrong with you?"

Instead of answering, Adrian just kept quiet, returning his father's gaze. He was confused about what to say, because right now his mind was all over the place.

Reading the situation, Hani immediately changed the subject. "Maybe Adrian is tired, honey."

The eldest Aditama snorted. Adrian was unusually unfocused. "Come to the fundraising event for that charity tonight. I'm lazy." He ordered Adrian.

Indah, who had been eating her food solemnly, now looked at the senior Aditama.

"Why am I going there?" Adrian asked again. For the first time, he would represent the Aditama family in attending an official event like that. And he didn't think it was a good idea. So far, wasn't it Rama who never missed attending such events? So why was he the target now?

"You know, you're the only one here who can represent me. And you, Indah, accompany Adrian."

Indah's round eyes widened. Luckily, she had finished chewing the food in her mouth. If not, it might have come out. She was quite self-aware, originally she was just someone in the lower class. For her, coming to the party was like turning her into a fake Cinderella. If she could refuse it, she would.

"Father, how could we go there after what Rama did. We don't want to be the party clown there. And I'm sure Indah is not used to coming to events like that." She explained.

Indah, who was listening, nodded in agreement when Adrian mentioned her. That was all he could do to defend himself. Being around the rich people alone made him short of breath. Adrian was right, they would only be party clowns.

"No refusal. You take the day off today. Use it to dress up my daughter-in-law. And don't argue!" he threatened.

Adrian and Indah looked at each other in resignation, especially Indah. Her gaze implied for Adrian to argue with his father's order, but what he did next was the opposite. The light brown-eyed man nodded weakly.

"Oh. My. God!"