2. PLANNING TO RUN AWAY

"What, Uncle? Who are you calling Uncle?" Mahardika frowned.

"Yes, Uncle. Who else am I talking to now? There's no one here but us." The girl spoke curtly, folding her arms across her chest and looking away in different directions.

Mahardika felt annoyed and his bloodstream boiled. He wasn't that old yet, to be called an Uncle with a mustache and a pot belly.

"Where are you going? Perhaps you want to run away?" Mahardika shouted, which made the girl look away even more.

"Come on, admit it! When the others are inside, why are you here?" Mahardika added even more suspiciously.

The beautiful girl who was familiarly called Eka, lowered her hand. "What about Uncle? Why are you outside, not inside?" Eka asked, reversing Mahardika's words.

The man scratched his non-itchy cheek slightly. "About that..." Mahardika's eyeballs rolled quickly. Searching for an excuse to formulate words.

"Why, Uncle? Don't you think Uncle Dika wants to run away too?" Now it was Eka who asked probingly while pointing his index finger right in front of Mahardika. Accusing others, in order to cover up his own mistakes.

"What are you talking about? I'm not running away, but I have to take that phone call," Mahardika quickly rebutted.

"Ah, excuses. I can read your mind, you actually want to run away because you don't want to marry me? Just admit it, Uncle," Eka continued to corner Mahardika.

"Wait a minute! You are wrong. I am not like what you accuse me of. Ah, I know. Perhaps, the one who really wants to run away is you. Confess you!"

Now it was Eka who felt cornered. Yes, what Mahardika said was true. However, she couldn't admit it now either.

"Then, come, come with me!" Mahardika grasped Eka's wrist very tightly.

"Let go, Uncle!" Eka patted Mahardika's hand quite hard, so that the man who wanted to marry her would release his grip.

"You can't run away anymore. I will tell your father everything if you try to run away."

Mahardika did not care, Eka continued to beat his hands and screamed for release. Even bitten, Mahardika did not feel pain, although there were bite marks there.

"Actually, what are your hands made of, why doesn't it hurt when you bite them? Uncle, you're not Iron Man's descendant, are your hands really hard?" Eka grumbled, surprised and resigned because she could not get out of Mahardika's grip.

Meanwhile, Mahardika chuckled. Hehehe did not respond to Eka's words, but he was amused by the girl's innocent behavior. He still pulled Eka's hand to enter the house.

When they arrived at the living room. Everyone spontaneously stood up with the arrival of two human children who had contradictory traits.

Mahardika let go of Eka's hand.

"Father... He treats me so rudely," whined Eka, who was immediately enveloped in a daughter's first loving embrace.

"What's going on?" asked Teguh Saputra, Eka's father. He dropped a questioning gaze on Mahardika.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Teguh, but Eka tried to run away from this house earlier." Now it was Mahardika's turn to complain.

Eka, who had wanted to change the facts, held her sentence because Mahardika had already said.

"Is what Dika said true?" Teguh asked his beloved daughter. "Really, do you want to run away from this house?"

Eka was silent for a million languages, her head bowed in shame. She could not look directly into her father's eyes. She wanted to curse and scold Mahardika for thwarting her plan.

Annata, the woman who gave birth to Mahardika, approached her son. "Actually, what happened, dear? Why did you come with Eka?"

"Earlier, after making a phone call, Dika saw Eka who was walking sneakily like a thief, towards the gate. Dika caught him and knew that Eka was about to run away," Mahardika explained calmly.

Hearing Mahardika's explanation, made Teguh feel embarrassed. He had raised his right hand, about to hit. However, Mahardika immediately prevented him.

"Wait, Uncle! Eka is not entirely wrong. Maybe she feels pressured by this marriage," Mahardika said with understanding.

Eka raised her head. Mahardika's words drew him to stare at the man in the black suit intently. Long enough because of Mahardika's calm and calming authority, like the sentence that had just been said.

Eka felt amazed because according to her, Mahardika seemed to be able to read her heart.

"We should listen to what Eka wants first. We can't make decisions that make Eka feel uncomfortable," Mahardika continued to mediate.

Teguh, as Eka's father and mother, now loosened her embrace. Touching both cheeks of her beloved daughter.

"Now, I want to ask you. Do you have any objection to this marriage? If you do, then you can say it now."

Teguh followed Mahardika's words. Annata grasped her only son's hand and smiled proudly. Mahardika blinked his eyes once.

Eka did not rush to answer. She was still downcast. No one knows what's on her mind right now. The girl really feels a dilemma now.

Seeing Eka who never made a sound, made Mahardika take action again. "If you are not ready, then I am willing to cancel this marriage." Mahardika raised her voice a little to be heard by Eka.

"Mahardika!" Bambang Wijaya reacted first.

"Grandfather, calm down. I haven't finished talking," Mahardika said without emotion. He dropped a calm gaze on Bambang Wijaya, before finally looking back at Eka there.

"I will wait for you to be ready for this marriage. I will not force you to get married on the set date. You are the one living this life. So, you are the one who has to make the decision..."

"I'd rather wait, than make someone feel uncomfortable with my presence. Marriage doesn't just bring two people together, it brings two different characters together."

Mahardika smiled a little. Her sentences flowed from beginning to end and made her listeners feel calm. Especially Bambang Wijaya. He was the one who had wanted Mahardika to marry Eka from the beginning.

"How is it, dear?" Teguh asked again.

Eka nodded shyly. "Yes, Father. I am willing to continue this marriage according to the set date." Then she said very softly, after a long silence.

Next, Eka looked straight at Mahardika who was smiling there.

Eka did not know what magic Mahardika used to make her heart melt. Even though a few moments ago, she planned to run away from home, to cancel the wedding.

How big is Mahardika's charm?