Chapter Fifteen : Got Hurt

In the car, Adrian was lost in thought. His meeting with Ana this time made his head throb painfully. Seeing the woman's gaze that seemed to say that she wanted to rekindle their relationship made him hesitate. Was this what he had always hoped for when he met Ana again?

Of course, everything would not be as easy as imagined. The story was not like the love stories in general that were often shown on television. His story with Ana would never end happily. Even after three years had passed.

..

Adrian ran across the airport like a madman. He ran through the crowd of people passing in front of him. He even almost crashed his big body into anyone he saw blocking him. Still complete with his white tuxedo, people looked at him with questioning gazes. But Adrian didn't care. Right now, only Ana was on his mind. He would not let her go away from him. Leaving with only a short message that didn't even mean anything at all.

Ana.

That was the only name that continued to sink into his mind. In his heart, he continued to pray that the woman would never leave his side. Adrian continued to run without caring about the screams of several people who cursed at his actions of running haphazardly.

However.. his steps stopped as soon as his hazel eyes caught the writing on the banner screen. He knew where his woman was going and now he was too late. The plane that Ana was on had departed 10 minutes ago. Without permission, Adrian dropped his body on the marble floor. As if completely drained. Wanting to cry felt useless. He was not a woman who shed tears easily. But it felt very suffocating. On his wedding day, his lover, his future wife, had left him.

..

Adrian's jaw tightened as the memory returned. He felt like an idiot who still hoped for a woman like Ana at that time. he almost drank insect poison if only Amrcus had not stopped him at that time. He almost went crazy, even depressed. But he realized that his slump would only be a burden to everyone. No one would pity him except himself. For that reason after Ana left, he decided to return to America and live with his mother's older sister.

His life was the same, only he spent it working and working.

"If your mother knew, she would definitely pull your hair, Rian."

Adrian chuckled softly remembering how nagging his aunt was when she advised him. He had indeed considered Aunt Rose like his own mother. She was the one who had supported him to stay upright. Until he heard that Rama was getting married, that was where his life seemed to begin.

Fransisca Indah.

With that woman, Adrian would start his life from the beginning. That woman... he had promised to be faithful to his marriage. For him, marriage only happened once in a lifetime. Once he was married, Adrian chose never to marry again.

"Drrrrt...Drrrt.."

The sound of his cellphone that he had deliberately vibrated rang. He just realized that he had not been carrying his cellphone in his pants pocket. When Adrian swiped his lockscreen, he was surprised to find dozens of missed calls from there.

"I'll wait for you in front of the minimarket near the house. Don't be late.."

Adrian cursed in his heart. How could he forget his promise to Indah. He and his wife should be enjoying dinner tonight. For the second time the vibration was heard again. For a moment Adrian was stunned to see the number that called him. He was not a man who was lazy to save contacts on his cellphone and everyone he knew must have a contact name on his cellphone. Carefully Adrian slid the answer panel screen.

"Hello.."

"You disobedient child! Come here quickly. Your wife had an accident!"

**

Adrian ran along the hospital corridor. Several medical personnel who recognized him seemed to be watching him with questioning faces. But Adrian still didn't care. He didn't care how much sweat he had tonight, what was clear was that his mind was not calm when he got the news that Indah had an accident. He didn't know what his father had said that made him scream so loudly and Adrian knew that it wasn't a good sign.

Besides that... Adrian was also worried. He was afraid that something would happen to the woman. The woman who had not even been his wife for a month. He remembered the last time he ran as fast as a crazy person like now.

Yes, right when Ana left him.

And now Adrian had to do the same thing again when he found out that Indah had an accident. He didn't know if in the future he would also have to run like this, maybe... when his child was born.

When he arrived at the inpatient room that his father had told him about, he seemed to stop. Hesitant to be more precise. His hand that was about to reach for the doorknob stopped in midair. He was afraid, not of his father's anger but of what he would see later. He wouldn't be able to see Indah's face grimacing in pain. Just imagining it made his heart feel like it was being pinched.

"Adrian.."

From behind, Marcus appeared to be smiling sadly at him. His friend only patted his shoulder softly without saying anything else. With his long arms, Marcus led Adrian into the room where Indah was now lying.

There, on the patient's bed, the woman he recognized as Indah was sleeping. The woman looked very soundly up there. Adrian's hazel eyes could see several bruises on his wife's face.

"A drunk car driver accidentally hit your wife's body, Adrian."

The man listened carefully to Marcus' explanation with his fists clenched tightly. What was unintentional? It was clear that the drunk was trying to kill his wife.

"Unintentional? Where is the driver now? I'll finish him off!" said Adrian furiously. His body almost got up from the waiting chair if only a weak groan hadn't been heard.

"A..dr..ian.."

Adrian's hazel eyes met Indah's eyes. The woman looked very weak with her voice that was almost inaudible. Adrian who heard it immediately sat back down. He reached for his wife's bandaged hand. He never thought that tonight he would see his wife lying with many wounds on her tiny face. Adrian wanted to beat himself up for forgetting his promise to Indah.

"I'm here.." Adrian held Indah's hand very carefully. As if the woman's hand was an easily broken object.

Indah smiled weakly. The woman seemed to forget about her anger that some time ago she wanted to vent on Adrian. Seeing the man's face so tense made her sure that Adrian was very worried about her. Especially hearing Adrian's anger. He was not a psychologist, but at least he knew that Adrian was not just acting in front of him.

Adrian stroked the top of Indah's head. A few strands of her hair looked soft, tickling the nerves of his skin. "Go to sleep, honey. I'll always be here."

"R..really..?" Indah asked in a voice that was almost inaudible.

Adrian nodded weakly before he finally landed a kiss on Indah's forehead. Long and full of feeling, that's what Adrian was doing now. Indah, who also enjoyed it so much, seemed to close her eyes comfortably, enjoying the elasticity of the man's lips on her lips.

"Ahem!"

Adrian moved his lips away from Indah's forehead. He stared sharply at Marcus who had his arms crossed behind him. He forgot that his best friend was also beside him. "You guys are too busy that you forgot about me, apparently." He quipped.

"I can't possibly kiss you, Marcus. I'm still normal." He replied lightly.

Marcus couldn't help but glare at Adrian. That wasn't what he meant. But why did Adrian think he was jealous of Indah? Hey, she was still normal.

"You're really crazy, Adrian. I'm still normal too." He replied in disbelief.

"Shhh.." Adrian placed his index finger in front of his lips, signaling Marcus to close his mouth. He saw Indah who was already curled up comfortably under the hospital blanket.

Adrian stared at Indah for a long time who was in her dreamland. Her face looked peaceful, unlike a sick patient in general. Looking back at the wounds made Adrian feel guilty. His wife shouldn't have experienced something like this if only he hadn't gone to meet Ana. If only he hadn't opened Ana's message, maybe his wife would be sleeping comfortably beside him right now, on their bed, not this uncomfortable patient bed.

"Your father was very angry when he brought her here. He shouted in your room. Luckily you came when your father had already come home. Otherwise, you might have been badly beaten by his hands."

Adrian didn't really listen to Marcus' words. His hand that was originally beside his body had now moved to Indah's head, and was stroking her hair. Marcus himself was amazed by Adrian's changes. The man seemed to have forgotten that Indah used to be his future sister-in-law. At first glance, maybe people who didn't know them would think that the two of them were a couple who loved each other. But in fact, Marcus knew that Adrian had something hidden, which he would not share with anyone else, including him.

"Do you love her that much, Adrian?" honestly this wasn't what he wanted to ask. Blame his damn mouth for acting out of control.

"I don't know. It's just that... right now I want to always be close to her. I feel like I've found the place where I should go home."

Marcus was silent, absorbing every word he heard from Adrian's lips. He didn't want to comment too much. As a man, he understood very well how Adrian, who didn't like his personal life being disturbed.

"We have the same wounds, and we also don't have dreams. That's why I feel comfortable with her." Adrian ran his finger touching Indah's lips which looked a little pale. "This woman always takes me into strange stories that I can't explain. But I'm very happy, I'm happy when I listen to her curses."

Adrian moved his body away from Indah. He stood in front of Marcus who was still looking at him questioningly. "You must be curious, right, about what happened on our first night."

This is crazy, Marcus thought. He was like a woman who was listening to another friend's story. He was sick of having to act out a drama where he had to act like a woman.

"Do you think I'm a woman who likes to gossip? I'm curious, but you don't need to tell me, Adrian."

Adrian chuckled in his small laugh. The Indo-looking man was amused to see his best friend who was now glaring at him like he was seeing a ghost. "You're funny. So get married so you won't be curious."

Marcus gaped in disbelief. What had Adrian just told him? Get married? Hell!

Usually he would be the one to say something like that. God, now Adrian was the one replying.

"You know.." Adrian hung his sentence in the air. He looked again at Indah who was now changing her position from lying on her back to facing her sideways with her back to him. "She rejected me on our first night. From her curses I know that she's starting to get used to me as her husband now."