Chapter Twenty One : Jealousy

Indah slowly opened her eyes. She didn't know where she was now. The first sight she saw was the ceiling of her room changing to be high. And again, she saw luxurious carvings up there, which made the ceiling of her room change to be more elegant.

Ah, yes. She was in Seoul now. She forgot about it.

Slowly Indah felt her waist being wrapped by something warm. Even warmer than a blanket, very tight. She tried to move, but the more there was movement, the tighter the warmth spread to her body. Indah opened her black eyes and saw what was warming her body.

Adrian!

The man was hugging her from behind while sleeping soundly. Adrian was hugging her from behind while sleeping soundly. He wrapped Indah's body with his arm, the arm that Kris had just embraced.

Instantly Indah's mind turned annoyed. How could the man use the woman's former hand for her? Who did he think he was? He casually used someone else's former hand on her.

Indah tried to shake her husband's body. But there was no significant response. Then Indah slowly released Adrian's arm from her waist. After succeeding, the woman tried to wake up and saw that it was already 11 pm. She had not showered and cleaned herself. Indah took a set of pajamas from her bag, then went to the bathroom leaving Adrian who was still sleeping on his bed.

After showering, Indah still saw Adrian curled up on his bed. It's just that his position was now lying on his back and already covered. Indah slowly approached Adrian and saw his sleeping face. Like a baby, a naughty baby.

"Seeing your face when you sleep, my anger immediately disappeared. Don't you know, slowly you could hurt me. I'm just worried that I will leave you if I'm really tired." She said to herself.

Indah took a spare blanket and pillow, then left her room where Adrian was sleeping. She saw that there was still a long sofa in the living room. Maybe tonight Indah would prefer to sleep in the living room rather than having to sleep with Adrian. That would only make her emotions peak one day. Since childhood, Indah had been educated not to be easily carried away by emotions, but this time she could not control herself at all. From head to toe, Indah felt pain everywhere, especially in her heart. Then she lay her body on the long white sofa in the television room. She tried to close her eyes, although the image of Adrian with Kris still haunted her.

She only hoped that tomorrow would be better. Yes, here, on the sofa, alone she would continue her night. A long night.

...

"Mom! Mom! Mom!"

A little girl kept running in the silent desert. There was no one there except her. She ran as fast as she could in the cold sand. She cried while calling her mother. But the result was, she didn't find any voice that answered her call.

Finally the little girl felt tired and fell on the sand. She was tired, very tired. Her mother left her alone in the barren and silent desert. Indah, the little girl began to cry uncontrollably. Indah continued to cry without stopping.

...

"Indah, Ndah..." she faintly heard a man's deep voice calling her name. The call grew louder accompanied by something that seemed to shake her body.

"Ndah...Indah..." Adrian kept calling his wife who had been delirious calling 'Mom'. Indah's body was shaken while she was sleeping while crying. Not long after the woman woke up from her sleep in a half-conscious state. Adrian was a little worried when he couldn't find his wife anywhere, but when he looked outside he saw his wife was delirious and crying like that.

"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Indah still looked confused. Her whole body was covered in cold sweat, she tried to come back to reality. "Yes, I'm fine. I just dreamed about my mother."

"It must have been a nightmare." Adrian guessed. He sat beside his wife and took her into his arms. "Don't cry anymore. It was just your dream."

Adrian hugged Indah to calm her down. However, the woman cried her heart out. She cried in her husband's arms. "Mom... She left me again. I'm all alone....hiks...hiks"

"Calm down. I'll be by your side." Adrian said while patting Indah's back gently.

After calming down a bit, Indah began to free herself from Adrian's embrace. She was very grateful that Adrian was willing to be her shoulder to lean on. Although she wanted more than just the warmth that came from a hug.

"If I may ask, you and your mother have a bad relationship, right?" Adrian asked. He spoke as carefully as possible considering that Indah was still in a state of shock because of the dream.

"I was dumped."

Adrian's eyes widened, he was very surprised to hear Indah's words. The woman looked fragile and sad. Unlike usual, Indah who always laughed and was cheerful, was also angry.

"My mother threw me away to an orphanage. She said, If abortion wasn't illegal, maybe I wouldn't have been born into the world." Indah took a deep breath, holding back all the pain she was holding in. Then she looked at her husband's hazel eyes, who still looked shocked. "Since I was little, I never met him again. I don't know where he is now, alive or dead. I really don't know."

Adrian suddenly felt that he was still very lucky, his biological mother still loved him for the rest of her life. He was also still able to meet his mother before death came to him. Now he really felt lucky. His mother never threw him away, she always loved him.

"I'm sorry. I asked something unreasonable." Adrian said regretfully. His hazel eyes stared sadly at his wife. He was sure it must not have been easy to get through all that until now.

"It's okay." Indah chuckled softly. "I deserve to be abandoned. Even Rama proved that I deserve to be abandoned. It is my destiny to live my life alone."

Adrian stiffened in his place. He did not know what happened to his wife's past. From what he saw, Indah had so many bad memories of the past. Without further ado, Adrian immediately pulled Indah back into his arms. He hugged his wife tightly as if he would never be able to let her go again. "You still have me. I am your husband. I will never leave you, or throw you out. I promise."

Indah was a little surprised to hear Adrian's words. Should she believe the man in front of her. Even though Indah had just seen Adrian making out with Kris earlier. Should Indah believe Adrian's words? However, she felt at peace in the man's embrace. Now the feeling of sadness had changed into a feeling of excitement. The butterflies in her stomach began to spread their wings. When she began to close her eyes, Adrian began to loosen his embrace.

"Why are you sleeping here?" Adrian asked as he let go of Indah's embrace.

"Oh, yeah, I fell asleep here last night. It's not that I'm mad at him. But, why am I hugging him now..." Indah thought in the midst of her nervousness.

"Eh...that...I didn't want to disturb your sleep. So, I just slept on the sofa." Indah answered hesitantly. She was a little embarrassed by what she did. Not long after she was angry, suddenly the anger just disappeared.

Adrian narrowed his eyes as if he was not satisfied with the answer that came out of his wife's lips. "Then, why did you disappear at the market earlier? Do you know, I panicked looking for you here and there."

"What? Adrian was looking for me? Is that true?" Indah tried to catch her breath. She felt a little big-headed Adrian looking for her. But it was true. While she saw it earlier, the man in front of her was busy making out with another woman.

"I'm tired. Besides, I have to give you time to reminisce with your old friend, Kris." Indah tried to hold back her voice so that it didn't sound shaky.

"Aren't you jealous?"

THUMP

This is it! Indah was really tested to be truly patient. Yes, Adrian really tried to test her. Her heart was already beating like a drum. Indah could only remain silent before she finally tidied up the blanket and pillows and went to her room. She left her husband without giving any answer. Indah should have been silent, because she had no right at all to forbid Adrian from going out with anyone, including Kris.

Indah threw the pillow and blanket on her bed weakly as if her energy was completely exhausted just to see her husband's face today. She looked at the clock on her night stand.

"5 am." She muttered. Indah threw her body onto her bed. She changed her body position now to face down. She could still faintly smell Adrian's masculine scent on her bed. The man had slept in her room, on her bed all night. Meanwhile, Indah slept in the living room, on a cold and uncomfortable sofa.

Indah tried to remember when she had felt a tightness in her chest. Right in her heart, she felt pain when she remembered Adrian holding hands affectionately with Kris.

"What am I? Friend? Lover? Of course the answer is no. I'm just a woman who was left by her lover at the time of marriage. And Adrian is a kind person who is willing to give up his bachelorhood to cover up the family's shame." She whispered sadly in her heart. While playing with the thread on the bed, Indah began to think that it would be better if she started to keep her distance from the man. No need for small talk, just talk as needed without anything else. That's how it should be.

Indah lay back down. She needed a little more peace. Until the umpteenth second, Indah's big eyes closed again. Drowning in her solitude. In this room.

...

Morning in Seoul, the dream city of all Kpop fans, of course managed to make people lazy to leave their hiding place. Just one step could make them not want to move again. Moreover, with a very comfortable mattress, anyone would bet that no one would be able to leave this comfort.

That's what Indah felt right now. She was very lazy to get up from her soft mattress. In her very comfortable room and most importantly right now she didn't sleep in the same bed with Adrian for a few hours.

A comfortable morning in the country of the Namsan tower, one of the most romantic places in Seoul. The woman tried to move her body position, but all she did was turn over and fall asleep again.

"Brother-in-law... Brother-in-law...?" a knock came from outside the brown wooden door of her room. The knock slowly turned into a loud bang when she decided to keep quiet.

"Hey! Indah, don't joke around.. open this damn door!!" he shouted even louder. From the origin of his voice, Indah dared to bet that the voice belonged to Adrian. Not at home, not here, that man always ruins her day.

With unsteady steps, Indah got up from her comfortable bed towards the wooden door. She opened it without seeing Adrian who was lying on the door with a sour face. Finally the man swayed and fell under her feet.

"So rude." She grumbled.

"Why are you here? Find another playmate outside. Right now I don't want to be disturbed. I want to sleep." Indah babbled. More precisely, she was lazy to see Adrian's face. It reminded her of the memory when the man joked, being affectionate with Kris.

Adrian woke up and went straight into Indah's room without asking permission. The man immediately jumped onto the bed.

"Hey... What do you want, kid?" Indah asked in a half-shouting tone

"You said you wanted to sleep. Then come here, I'll accompany you." Adrian replied. The man now got into the blanket that Indah had used last night. "You smell, so fragrant. Are you still using baby powder?" Adrian inhaled the smell of Indah's blanket and began to position his body face down and close his eyes.

Adrian acted like a child who wouldn't let go of the candy from his hand. His behavior made Indah's head feel like it was filled with boiling blood rising to the crown. Then Indah pulled one of Adrian's hands that was lying face down.

"Hey! Get out of my way! I want to continue sleeping." She snapped.

The hazel-eyed man remained motionless up there. "Then come here, I'll lend you my arm as a pillow." She offered with a teasing smile.

"Do you think I'll fall for your perverted nonsense? Hurry!" she ordered.

Indah continued to pull the man's hand tightly. However, Adrian's weight was greater than hers, so there was no shifting of the man's body. Indah continued to pull and pull until she finally exhausted herself.

BUGH!

Adrian pulled his wife's hand who was already off guard. He placed her tiny body on top of him. Their eyes met and looked at each other. Their distance grew closer and closer because Adrian's hands were around her waist. That made it increasingly difficult for Indah to distance herself from the man. Her only support was her hand that was beside Adrian's head. The man then looked at Indah's face carefully.

"Today I want to spend time with you. I want to know what the woman I married is like." Adrian said with a serious look.

"She wants to get to know me. Where has she been all this time? Dead?". Indah thought.

The woman tried to support her body with her arms so as not to fall on Adrian's body. She tried hard not to stick to Adrian, because she didn't want to. Now she could see Adrian's face more closely. His face was like a Calvin Klein model with a firm jaw, Hazel eyes, and a sharp nose almost eliminating the impression that he was Indonesian.

"Just let go of your objection. Besides, is there a rule that husband and wife are not allowed to touch?" Adrian continued to look at his wife with his mischievous gaze which made him look even more handsome to the woman.

"N-No!"

"Your face is red." Finally the words came out of Adrian's mouth. Indah who could no longer hold her arms, threw a pillow at Adrian's face and got up from her position.

"You're playing me." Indah grumbled as she got up from the bed.

"No. I'm serious." Adrian replied in his fluent English. The man came out of Indah's room. "I'll wait for you downstairs for 15 minutes. If you're late, I'll take you with or without clothes." He ordered her to leave his wife's tiny body and go downstairs.

"Tch! Who does he think he is to dare to order me around." Indah grumbled. Day by day she felt that her husband was getting more and more annoying.

"Ah yes.." The man went back into Indah's room, this time with a box that he didn't know where he got it from. Seeing that, Indah was stunned. Why did her strange husband bring a package for her?

For her? Really?

"Use this. I know you don't have anything in your bag." Adrian said half mockingly. Then the man quickly got out of his wife's room before his tiny wife went berserk. And sure enough, after Indah woke up from her daydream, the woman screamed loudly from her room.

"You bastard Adrian!"