Nadine approached Ricky and opened the two plastic bags she had brought. She handed Ricky his chocolate vanilla ice cream and then opened the other bag containing the food. Brian sat next to Nadine, still curious about her sudden visit."Let's eat together, okay?" Nadine said as she opened the container filled with rice, sweet and sour carp, and rendang."But usually I come home, and we have lunch together," Brian replied with a puzzled expression."I want you to feed me," Nadine replied playfully. Brian chuckled, ruffled Nadine's hair, and kissed her forehead."Here!" Brian reached for the boxed lunch. However, he placed it back on the table. He stood up, walked to the sink, and washed his hands. Brian's movements didn't escape Nadine's notice."Ah..." Brian instructed as he was about to feed Nadine. Blushing, Nadine opened her mouth. After a couple of spoonfuls, they switched roles with Nadine feeding Brian. They ate together, taking turns feeding each other until the food was finis
"Dr. Anisa Pradipta, Sp.OG." Brian and Nadine spelled out the name in unison, exchanging glances as they received queue number 03 from a nurse. Earlier, Brian had merely followed Amanda's instructions as they were preparing to leave for Erlangga Hospital. Amanda, his mother, had arranged everything, and even Cakra had casually advised Brian not to go to the office.A wave of nervousness washed over Nadine. Their hands intertwined without a word as they grappled with a mix of fear and joy. They were anxious about the possibility that Nadine might not be pregnant, as her menstruation had been irregular for the past three months, and previous pregnancy tests had yielded negative results. Yet, they were overjoyed at the prospect of finally having a child together, the fruit of their love.Nadine explained all her symptoms to Dr. Anisa, which she had been experiencing for the past few days. "Alright, Ma'am. Could you please accompany my assistant to the restroom for a moment?" Dr. Anisa sa
Nadine shifted her body to rest on Brian's chest. She breathed in the masculine scent of Brian, which she had come to realize over the past few weeks she couldn't sleep without. Brian chuckled and then positioned himself to lie on the edge of the bed, embracing Nadine."Are you still feeling nauseous?" Brian asked as he massaged Nadine's shoulder. Nadine looked up at him, nodded, and managed a weak smile. Now Brian understood why Nadine had been acting so strangely and sensitively lately."It'll pass soon," Nadine replied, then kissed Brian's lips briefly."Was Ricky's pregnancy like this too?" Brian asked, regret swelling in his heart for missing Nadine's first pregnancy. Nadine must have been sad back then, with no one to pamper her; she had to fight through it all alone. Brian took a deep breath and let it out slowly, while holding Nadine close."Hmm... The first two months were really tough, so Mama always slept with me to be ready when I felt like vomiting or wanted something," N
Morning sickness that Nadine experienced finally ended when she reached the fourth month of her pregnancy. Throughout the first trimester, Nadine never complained, even though it was incredibly tough due to constant dizziness, nausea, and, most challenging of all, mood swings that could change unpredictably. Brian was the primary target of Nadine's mood swings, facing her sudden sulks for no apparent reason, tears over not getting what she wanted, and her nightly ritual before going to sleep. With patience, Brian complied with all of her wishes, often feeling overwhelmed.Every night, just before bedtime, Nadine would ask Brian to take off his shirt and lay down, resting her head on his chest. Brian had to rub her back until she fell asleep, and only then could he leave the bed to have a drink or use the bathroom. Yet Brian never got angry or complained about his wife's behavior. Instead, he felt grateful that Nadine wanted to be close to him all the time.Tonight was no different. Br
Twenty minutes later, they were in front of the Samudra Company building. As usual, Nadine had prepared boxed meals for the employees she would encounter."Danisa, is Mr. Brian busy?" Nadine asked, causing Danisa to wonder why Nadine insisted on addressing her so formally. As far as she knew, her boss was not fond of rujak buah."Yes, Ma'am. He's currently with Mrs. Sandra and Mr. Daniel. Please go right in," Danisa replied politely. Nadine was slightly annoyed because she had repeatedly asked Danisa to address her by her name only. However, the woman still insisted on calling her "Ma'am.""Wulan, please distribute the meals," Nadine ordered before making her way to Brian's office.Danisa's eyes lit up when she saw the red boxes with the familiar "Orang Tua" logo in her hands. "This is unexpected luck," she thought to herself.Nadine knocked on the door and greeted them with a warm hello."Papa?" Ricky called out, which made Brian choke on the spicy rujak buah. Daniel quickly handed B
"Darling, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? Or do you want something?" Brian asked as he sensed Nadine's unease in his embrace. He gently stroked Nadine's stomach, where the baby had been moving actively unlike usual. Brian was sure Nadine hadn't fallen asleep yet, so he turned Nadine's body to face him. Nadine blinked when Brian looked at her closely. She remained silent, gazing into Brian's eyes, afraid to speak honestly because she worried Brian might get angry."What's wrong?" Brian asked again."Please don't be angry, okay?" Nadine replied nervously, biting her lower lip."I promise I won't get angry, just tell me," Brian replied, caressing Nadine's cheek."When I picked Ricky up from school earlier, I stopped by the prison to visit Dave," Nadine explained, looking at Brian who appeared surprised and then saddened a moment later."I'm sorry I didn't ask for your permission earlier. I don't know why, but suddenly I felt the urge to go there," Nadine confessed nervousl
As usual, the Samudra family had breakfast together before heading off to their respective activities. "Mom, Dad, I've decided to continue my studies in Malang," Gaby said, instantly turning the atmosphere tense. Since her first visit to Malang with her family, Gaby had fallen in love with the city. Plus, many of her high school friends were also planning to study there."Why not in Surabaya? We have many renowned and top-notch universities here. Papa doesn't want his daughter to be far away," Cakra responded, his gaze sharp and directed at Gaby."Yes, dear, Mama also doesn't want you to be far from us," Amanda added, reaching for her daughter's hand to encourage her to accept her father's suggestion to continue her studies in Surabaya."But Dad?" Gaby's face immediately turned gloomy upon realizing that her wish was being rejected by her parents. She put down her spoon and fork with frustration, her shoulders slumped as she fought back tears."Sweety, your Dad and I are right. We're
Today was the day for the three women that Brian cherished the most to go shopping. They didn't just buy one set of clothes but dozens, especially Gaby. In addition to clothes, she also bought shoes, bags, and multiple watches with different designs."Let's spend your dad's money," Amanda said, showing a rarely-used black card."Let's do it!" Gaby replied, raising her right hand as if she were flexing her muscles. Ricky was with Wulan, who watched over them while the three of them shopped to their hearts' content. Nadine paid with the card Brian had given her. She didn't want to burden her mother-in-law, even though Amanda had offered multiple times. Nadine declined, citing Brian's financial support as the reason, which left Amanda with no choice but to accept.Buzz, buzz. Nadine's phone rang, and she smiled when she saw Brian's name on the screen. "Good afternoon, what's up, Brian?" Nadine greeted as she answered the call."Good afternoon. You're out shopping with Gaby and Mama, righ
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