1. He won't come

"I just want daddy," her son muttered.

              Lily only smiled bitterly after hearing that sentence. A simple request that turned out to be very difficult for her to realize. The long-haired woman was silent for a long time while looking at her son who was busy eating lunch.

"Want more, hmm? Fried tempeh or fish?" she asked with a face that looked cheerful again.

"No, I don't. I'm already full," Farel refused quietly. "Did you hear what I said earlier? I want you to come to my birthday party."

"I-yeah. I'll try, sweetheart," Lily replied, not sure.

"Or should I call daddy instead? I miss him already." Lily's frown made the almost four-year-old pout instantly. "What's wrong? Daddy doesn't love me anymore?"

"No! Who said that? Daddy is busy working. You have to be patient. I will call your daddy later. Now quickly finish eating, then take a nap. Okay?"

              Farel's nod made Lily breathe a sigh of relief. In her heart, she cursed her ex-husband who had not given any news for a long time. There was a raging feeling at that moment, remembering the promises that the man had made. Unfortunately, they were just words. For almost a year, the fruit of their love did not receive news or proper livelihood as agreed upon.

              After making sure that her son had entered the room, Lily dared to grab her cell phone. Then look at the history of messages that about two months ago did not get a reply until this moment. The wound that she had covered up for a long time was now open again.

              The replying voice from the telephone network service made her chuckle softly. As expected, her ex-husband's number would be difficult to reach. There was no choice but to try the last resort. So Lily made a desperate move.

"Hello!" she greeted someone when she heard the call connect.

["Hi. Is this, Mrs. Lily?"]

Lily smiled slightly even though her heart was filled with a bit of anxiety. "Yes, ma'am. Yes, I'm Lily. Hmm... Is Adrian here?"

              Unfortunately, her hopes were immediately dashed when she heard a loud voice from the other side. Who else if not the ex-mother-in-law who forcefully snatched the phone from the housemaid?

["Hey, you!! Still dare to call here, huh?"]

"Mom?" Lily's breath caught in her throat after hearing the scolding voice just now. For the sake of Farel's request, she dropped her pride again.

["Why? Are you hoping that Adrian will receive this call? Don't ever dream! What do you want? Are you short of money? Yes? Can't take care of your child? So don't be so capable! He confidently said that he could raise Farel. How much money do you need? I'll transfer it now!"]

              Lily's tears fell at that moment. She sobbed because she again had to receive harsh words from the woman who was the cause of the breakup of her household just now. "Mom, I didn't call to ask for money."

[Laughs] "So what? You only work to trouble my child. It's different from my future daughter-in-law Bella now. She's beautiful, kind, independent, and certainly comes from the same lineage as us."]

"That's enough, Mom. I called your home number because Adrian's cell phone hasn't been active for a long time," Lily said as she roughly wiped away the traces of her tears. "Farel wants to meet his father. It's his birthday in two days. He just wants Adrian's presence."

              Instead of listening to Lily's complaints, her mother-in-law just chuckled.

["You just take him to the front of our house. Then you go. Go somewhere else. To a hotel or something. What is clear is that I don't want to see your face again. Oh yes. I'll send you a ticket for Medan-Jakarta. Easy, right? Hmm, but it looks like Adrian won't be at your son's birthday party. He's busy preparing for his wedding. What do we do?"]

"Adrian will get married?" asked Lily stammeringly.

              Her heart felt the pain of hearing those words. No wonder since she returned to her hometown in Medan he had become increasingly difficult to contact. It turned out to be true the rumor she had heard that her ex-husband was getting remarried.

["Yes. He finally realized that Bella was better than you. Many times over even."]

"Okay. Then I know that there's no need to hope for the wrong person."

["It's good that you're self-aware. Send me your account number. I'm still being generous."]

"No need, Mom. I can still support my children. Just send my regards to Adrian. Please tell him if his son wants to meet. That's all."

              After that, Lily cut off the conversation over the air with a trembling hand. Honestly, she still loved her ex-husband. However, those feelings clearly wouldn't be able to fix their relationship that had run aground since last year.

              It was already early in the morning. Lily wiped away the sweat that had soaked the area of her face that was exhausted from work. She smacked her lips as she looked at her body which looked thinner day by day. Everything was done to support herself and Farel. She has no problem with working shifts that often deplete sleep. The important thing was that her baby did not feel deprived.

"Mom!"

"Honey? What's wrong, hmm?" murmured Lily when she saw her son's awake face.

"What did Daddy say earlier? When is he coming?" asked Farel with a bright face. He couldn't wait to show his daddy off to his friends later.

"Oh, yes." Lily sighed softly and placed her hands on each of Farel's shoulders. "That daddy of yours, he's... not coming. From now on we'll just live together."

"What do you mean?" asked Farel with a confused look on his face. "I already told you that I want Daddy. Only Daddy!"

Lily chuckled softly. "Look at me, baby! I've been the one fighting for you all this time. Why do you still want your daddy? He's irresponsible. He's-"

"You're bad!" Farel snapped in a raised voice. "You're the one who took me away from home."

"That's not it. You just don't understand. Me and your daddy's relationship is...," Lily trailed off. She felt guilty for getting carried away. Due to fatigue and pressure from work, her mind was in turmoil. Sadly, Farel had already digested what she had just said. The boy turned around and left her with a puffy face. "...., I'm sorry. I was wrong." Lily's tears broke out instantly.       She needed some time to herself before engaging her son in conversation again.

              After cleaning herself up, she intended to see how her son was doing. Hoping that tonight she could hug the tiny body of her lifeline. Just as she opened the door to her room, she was shocked by the sight that hit her chest.

"Farel, what's wrong with you?"