Upon arriving in the front yard, Brian and Nadine were greeted by their entire family, waiting on the terrace of their Samudra residence with wide smiles gracing their faces. After Brian and Nadine got out of the car, Mr. Ebrahim immediately took their suitcases containing their clothes and brought them inside the house, placing them in their room.With teary eyes, Nadine opened her arms wide to embrace Ricky, who ran towards her. She showered Ricky's face with kisses while tears streamed down her cheeks. Throughout their time in Bali, Nadine had constantly thought about Ricky, even though she was sure he would be well taken care of by Brian's family. Yet, what mother wouldn't feel sad when separated from her child, even for a moment?"Why didn't you guys take your one-week honeymoon that Papa gave you?" Cakra asked, hugging both Brian and Nadine one by one."We missed Ricky, Dad," Brian replied, then lifted Ricky into his arms. Nadine let go of Amanda's hug and moved towards Athalia
Brian kept his promise, and they only showered together without doing anything else.Nadine was surprised when she suddenly saw Ricky sitting cross-legged on the bed, smiling at her and Brian. "Aren't you sleepy yet, sweetheart?" Brian asked as he approached Ricky after folding the prayer mat and sarong he had worn onto the chair. He then lay down beside Ricky and hugged the chubby little boy."Ricky wants to sleep with Papa and Mama, okay?" Ricky asked, receiving a nod from Brian."Of course, sweetheart," Brian replied, then lifted Ricky onto his stomach. With both of Brian's hands holding Ricky's, Nadine looked at the two most important men in her life with tears in her eyes. It still felt like a dream to see the bond between these two men from different generations, playfully interacting.After playing around for a while, Ricky seemed sleepy. Gently, Brian stroked Ricky's back until he fell asleep soundly on Brian's chest. Nadine slowly lifted Ricky's body and arranged him comforta
"What are you doing here, Nadine? Are you here to mock me?" Dave said sarcastically, with a sardonic smile at the corner of his lips. Dave's gaze was sharp as he looked into Nadine's eyes. He acknowledged that Nadine looked even more beautiful and appeared happy—of course, she had just married Brian, the man she loved, a few days ago. Meanwhile, his fate now was to rot behind bars."Why didn't Brian come with you? Don't tell me you came here without his consent?" Dave continued, giving Nadine a piercing look as she stared back at him with sadness. Nadine's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing Dave's cold words. Before answering, she observed Dave's disheveled appearance. The warm looks and attitude he used to have towards her had turned cold and frozen now."Brian is waiting for me outside," Nadine replied briefly. She scanned the entire visitation room, which appeared empty. In the square room, there were only the two of them. The visiting hours had passed two hours ago, but Nadine
During dinner, Brian expressed his desire to go on a trip to Jatim Part Street Zoo in Malang. Since the next day was a Saturday-Sunday, Brian planned to invite all the family members to join him."Well, tomorrow we'll depart from Surabaya in the afternoon after Papa and Papa Henry come home from work, and after Gaby finishes school," Brian started the conversation."That sounds great. Since you're not at the office yet, you can take Ricky out for a fun day," Amanda replied enthusiastically and ruffled Ricky's hair, who was sitting on her left."All of us, Mama. Mama, Papa, and Gaby too. Papa Henry and Mama Athalia can let Nadine make the call," Brian explained, which was met with excitement from Gaby."Hooray, a trip!" Gaby cheered and pinched Ricky's chubby cheek affectionately. Irritated, Ricky pulled Gaby's finger and bit it. Gaby yelped, pulling her finger away from Ricky's mouth in pain. Instead of receiving help, the entire family in the dining room burst into laughter."Sayang,
Saturday noon, Amanda, Nadine, and Gaby had already prepared the supplies they would take for their vacation: clothes, snacks, drinks, and all of Ricky's necessities, including his formula milk and bottle.Athalia arrived with Henry, bringing along three stacked tiffin carriers. Athalia had intentionally cooked rendang, capcay (stir-fried vegetables), lodeh (vegetable stew), crispy shrimp, sweet and sour carp, and not to forget, rempeyek (crispy peanut crackers)."Wow, Athalia, this is quite a feast. I'm sure these are our favorite dishes," Amanda commented while assisting Athalia in carrying her tiffin carriers. Amanda admitted that Athalia's cooking was the best. Since high school, Athalia had been skilled in the kitchen, and Amanda had learned a lot of non-Javanese dishes from her."Don't worry, Mom. We don't need to go through all this trouble. In fact, Brian has booked a villa in Malang, and the meals will be provided there," Nadine explained as she hugged Athalia and gave her a
An hour later, Brian and Nadine emerged from their room. Ricky was playing with Athalia and Henry in the living room."Has Ricky eaten?" Brian asked, positioning himself next to Ricky, reaching for some Lego pieces, and starting to build a car."He ate after his bath. I fed him," Athalia replied with a smile as she noticed Brian and Nadine's wet hair and radiant faces. Henry cleared his throat while observing Athalia paying attention to her daughter and son-in-law with a smile."Going on another honeymoon?" Henry whispered to Athalia. Athalia blushed, then playfully pinched Henry's arm, causing him to wince. Nadine and Brian turned their heads to Athalia and Henry with puzzled expressions."Nadine, your mom is suggesting we go on another honeymoon, while we're here. Your dad and I fell in love in this cold city!" Henry quipped, laughing loudly as Athalia pinched him again."Wow, Mom and Dad were once dating?" Brian asked excitedly. However, inside, Brian felt a bit envious because he
One month later...Nadine had been experiencing happy days since officially becoming Brian's wife. She decided to quit her career, even though Brian didn't object. Whatever choice Nadine made, Brian would always support her. However, when Nadine decided to become a full-time homemaker, Brian secretly cheered in his heart because, deep down, it was what he truly wanted. He just didn't want to impose his desire on her.Every morning, Nadine woke up early to prepare breakfast with Darmi, even though Amanda had repeatedly told her not to because Darmi was already taking care of the kitchen. Nadine insisted on doing it herself."Come on, Nadine, let Darmi handle the cooking," Amanda said when she found Nadine earnestly working with vegetables and kitchen spices."It's okay, Ma. Besides, Nadine is just helping Darmi, and Nadine wants to cook specifically for Ricky. That boy is picky with his veggies, so Nadine is deliberately making them more appealing for him," Nadine replied as she arrang
"Is that so? Mama forgot about Gaby just because Nadine is here," Gaby protested, wearing a pouty expression as she shoved food into her mouth."Hehe... Sorry, it's not that Mama forgot. You're the one who should decline when Mama invites you to go shopping. You prefer Brian," Amanda explained with a teasing smile."Alright, alright, you two are always arguing. It gives Papa a headache," Cakra intervened, trying to mediate the debate between Amanda and Gaby."Don't worry, Gaby. Besides, Kak Nadine isn't interested in driving her own car," Nadine said, instantly disappointing Amanda."Alright, it's up to Nadine then, but Papa's suggestion is that Nadine, you should get a car and hire a driver," Cakra replied, gaining approval from everyone in the dining room. Brian and Cakra left for work in their respective cars, even though their offices were different, and Brian preferred to drive himself. Plus, for the past two weeks, he had been coming home for lunch with Nadine.***In Brian's of
After the birth of the twins, the life of Aryan and Laura's small family became even more colorful. There was no happiness that could replace it, but behind all that, Aryan became the subject of jokes among relatives and family members due to the fainting incident while accompanying Laura during her recent surgery."Seriously, you're so funny for fainting next to your wife during her surgery. Luckily, Laura didn't go into shock; it could have been fatal," Andre said with laughter as they had just returned home from the hospital."Let it go, Dad, there's no need to talk about it again," Aryan replied with irritation as he guided Laura into the bedroom, while the twins remained calm in the arms of Liana and Della.Laura rested for a while, trying to ease the pain from the incision in her abdomen following the cesarean section surgery, which still greatly affected her movements. Aryan wiped the sweat from Laura's forehead with a tissue and gently kissed her.
Seven months later…Laura and Aryan were now in the final trimester of her pregnancy. It wouldn't be long before she would give birth to their twin babies, a boy and a girl, according to the ultrasound results. Laura's pregnancy had been progressing smoothly, even though she had experienced morning sickness for two months.She managed to meet all of Dr. Rahma's recommended nutritional requirements. Despite occasional morning sickness and vomiting in the morning, Laura's appetite had increased with her advancing pregnancy. It wasn't surprising that her weight had increased by 30 kg. Dr. Rahma estimated that each baby weighed around 3 kg, so Laura was advised to follow a diet while waiting for the delivery.For the past two months, Laura and Aryan had moved to a ground-floor room, using the living room as their bedroom because Laura wasn't allowed to go up and down the stairs. When Aryan was at the office, Liana, his mother, would be on standby, and Bi Ana an
Aryan's overprotective attitude made Laura both happy and annoyed. She was ecstatic because she felt deeply loved, but at the same time, she was frustrated by Aryan's constant restrictions. Like tonight, Aryan didn't allow her to do anything except go to the bathroom. He prepared a glass of water for her medication along with the prenatal milk they had bought at the mini-market. And, of course, he always accompanied her to the bathroom every time."Thank you, Honey, for all the happiness you've given me. I promise to be the best husband and father for you and our children," Aryan whispered while hugging Laura from behind. He nuzzled his face into the curve of Laura's neck, his right hand gently caressing her still-flat stomach."You're welcome, and thank you for all your love," Laura replied while stroking the back of Aryan's hand, which was wrapped around her belly. Laura couldn't believe that after all the pain she had endured, God had given her a perfect husband and
Slowly, Laura's eyelids opened for the second time, and now it was the peaceful face of Aryan that greeted her. Laura gazed at the handsome man's face in front of her for quite some time. He was the source of her love and greatest strength up to this point. Not satisfied with admiring her husband's handsome face, a sudden sense of curiosity began to disturb her. She glanced at the wall clock, which had stopped at exactly 4 in the early morning. Without much thought, she pulled open the drawer next to her bed, carefully retrieved a pregnancy test from inside it, and entered the bathroom without making a sound that could wake Aryan.Laura's heart pounded loudly as she looked at the pregnancy test that she had dipped into a small container containing her urine. She lifted the test stick slowly with trembling hands, and there it was... two red lines she had been waiting for appeared. It was crystal clear. For a moment, her body felt boneless, and she sat down on the bathroom floo
Laura's proposal seminar went smoothly with an A grade, which made her more enthusiastic as she entered the final semester of her college. She only needed to complete the data from her research that she had already conducted. Anton, as her thesis advisor, was now more flexible with all of his supervised students, even though he had a busy schedule as a professor and head of the university's research center. Everything was scheduled, from the day, time, and location of the advisory sessions. If he had any sudden commitments, he would reschedule them at another time, ensuring that all his students for the year progressed smoothly, including leading up to their thesis defense in two weeks."Look at that belly, just like a balloon, Ara," Laura pointed out as she walked with Arabella towards the faculty cafeteria after their last thesis advisory session before the upcoming defense in two weeks."Yeah, it's like a balloon. It can expand and deflate," Arabella replied, pantin
Laura completed her makeup exams without any issues. Everything went according to the schedule set by their respective course instructors. And semester 6 ended with a GPA (Grade Point Average) of 3.6, alongside Arabella, her close friend and now her sister-in-law.Laura spent her semester break learning to cook with her mother-in-law, Liana. They experimented with various recipes from both Indonesia and other countries. Aryan no longer worked late into the night at the office, and if there were urgent tasks, he entrusted them to his personal assistant, Jefri. On Sundays, he spent quality time with his family at home or went out with Laura. Trying out new recipes was something Aryan looked forward to every day because his wife's cooking experiments never disappointed.Finally, the plan to cook together with Laura's friends could be realized. Arabella, along with Andra and Baby Azka, arrived early, followed by Aurora and Laura's younger siblings, who joined in to make th
One week after the surgery, Laura had already started to resume her usual activities. During that week, Aryan had been constantly by Laura's side, handling all his office matters while Andra and Jefri took care of them. Even if there were documents requiring his signature, Jefri would bring them home, allowing Aryan to stay close to Laura and attend to her. Aryan could still manage to check on Jefri's work and reply to emails from his colleagues at home.He did all of this solely for Laura's recovery. Laura often urged him to go to the office, but Aryan refused to budge. He wanted to focus on taking care of Laura until she was completely healed. Arabella and Aurora, as their best friends, always provided their support. Additionally, Nancy and Ricard came to the house to deliver Laura's favorite dishes, prepared by her mother, Della. Many of their classmates also visited Laura at home."Look, Honey, two weeks at home, and my body is getting all soft. How can I resist yo
The long-awaited day finally arrived, the day when Laura was to undergo surgery to remove the cyst in her abdomen. All the preparations for the surgery were in place, and there were only 30 minutes left before Laura would be taken into the operating room. Feelings of relief and worry dominated everyone's thoughts, but they all had to hide those emotions behind smiles to show support for Laura."Aryan, where's Mom?" Laura asked anxiously, looking at the clock on the white-walled room. In five minutes, she would be moved to the operating table, but Aryan had not been seen since he left briefly to go to the bathroom.Liana was nervous, but before she could answer Laura's question, two male and female nurses entered to take Laura to the operating room. Everyone held back their tears as Laura smiled at them, trying to show that she was strong and brave. As the nurses pushed the wheelchair carrying Laura toward the door, Aryan suddenly appeared with a smile. Laura returned h
Aryan could only gently pat Laura's trembling shoulder. He was confused about how to calm his wife. Since returning from the hospital the previous night, Laura had been silent in her room. Aryan had been shocked by the results of Dr. Rahma's explanation that Laura had been diagnosed with an ovarian cyst. This was the reason for Laura's recent abdominal and hip pain, as well as her occasional fever and nighttime vomiting. What pained Aryan even more was that he had been unaware of Laura's illness. Regret. That was the feeling weighing heavily on Aryan's chest now. He felt like he wanted to pound his own chest in frustration. His heart shattered as he looked at Laura's sad state, a promise to never make her cry that he had now broken."I'll get you breakfast first," Aryan said softly as he kissed the top of Laura's head before leaving the room.Aryan walked to the dining room with a heavy heart. Instead of finding his parents there, he saw Ana, their maid, covering the d