Airin entered her room and walked straight to the bed, ignoring Sakha who had just come out of the bathroom. The man looked at her curiously.“What’s wrong, Airin?” he asked, stepping closer to Airin who immediately threw herself onto the bed.Hearing her husband's voice, for a moment Airin wondered whether she should thank Sakha or curse him.The second option was always a good one. But if not for this marriage, Airin wouldn’t have been able to regain her hopes like earlier, about the dreams and desires she had once forgotten. It surprised Airin because there shouldn’t be anything to be grateful for about being that man’s fourth wife.“Are you okay?” Sakha asked again, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently stroking Airin’s hair.Airin then turned her head to the side, looking at her husband’s fresh and handsome face.Maybe, she thought, I should be grateful for this marriage too; there’s no harm in it.But that didn’t mean she accepted it. Airin wasn’t a good woman full of patien
A few moments later, Airin and Sakha exited the pavilion together and headed toward the main house."I don't need to be forced to have breakfast like a little kid!" Airin grumbled behind Sakha.Sakha, with his broad shoulders, kept walking without acknowledging Airin's complaints, pretending not to hear her.As they approached the main house, Airin looked at her hand that was being held. She suddenly realized and immediately pulled her hand away.Sakha turned around, also irritated."What exactly do you want, Airin?!" he said. He wasn't shouting, but his low voice was full of emphasis. "If you don't want to be treated like a child, then start acting like an adult!"Airin stared back at him sharply, showing no sign of fear.Then suddenly, she flashed a sweet smile at Sakha. "It's not that I'm not mature, but it's just that you, Sir, are too old," she said in a soft, polite tone, but her words clearly contained deep insult.Sakha's jaw tightened, his gaze sharp as a knife. He then sighe
Ria suddenly stood up from her chair. "Looks like Mas is about to leave," she said, and then Tia and Nia also stood up. Ria turned to Airin. "When you're done, take the dirty dishes to the kitchen, Airin. Help Bibik (aunt/maid) once in a while."Airin nodded without arguing. "Yes, Kak," she said. The three of them then left the dining room, leaving Airin alone, who didn't feel the need to see Sakha off.Airin chuckled to herself. The word "see off" made it sound as if Sakha was going to war. "Hahaha!" she laughed again, her voice echoing in the spacious and empty dining room.After amusing herself with the silly thoughts in her head, Airin stood up, her cheerful expression quickly wiped off her face, leaving a cold gaze directed at the dirty dishes on the table.She immediately started to carry the plates one by one to the kitchen. When she was about to take the vegetable soup that Tia had made, she took a spoonful to taste it.Airin grimaced at the bland taste and the unpleasant smel
“How long are you planning to stay there?” asked Sakha.They were sitting side by side in the car that Sakha was driving towards Airin's parents' house.“Hmmm.” Airin thought for a while as she fixed her gaze out the window, watching the houses of familiar villagers pass by. “I don’t know yet. We’ll see,” she replied.Sakha glanced at her briefly but didn’t ask further.When they arrived, Airin didn’t get out immediately because a few meters ahead, some neighborhood mothers were gathered buying vegetables, occasionally glancing at Sakha's black car and quickly chatting with the others. Airin sighed. This was what she disliked the most: attention.Sakha's voice suddenly sounded beside her. “Ignore them,” he said, as if understanding the unease his wife was feeling.“I know,” responded Airin, because she had no choice but to get out and smile at them.After Airin was outside, Sakha remained seated in the car for a moment, lost in thought. He wasn’t used to seeing Airin feeling hesitant
Airin went to the kitchen and helped her mother cook breakfast, which was often combined with lunch, unlike at Sakha's house where everything was more organized and orderly—because there were people to manage it.Airin's father, Fahrul Jamal, had just come out of the room and went straight to the kitchen, asking about Sakha's whereabouts."He already left, Dad. He just stopped by briefly to drop Ririn off and say goodbye. He sends his regards to you," Yuniarti answered her husband's question."Why didn't he stay?" Jamal asked again.Airin responded, "He's busy, Dad, with his work at the warehouse. Yesterday's harvest needs to be taken to the factory quickly.""Oh yes, that's true. It's a shame I was in the bathroom, so I couldn't greet him.""It's okay, Dad, Sakha will come here again to pick up Ririn. Right, Rin?" Yuniarti said.Airin didn't actually know if Sakha would come to pick her up or not because she didn't say when she would go home and Sakha didn't say anything about pickin
Sakha said that tonight was their last night together. Airin was completely unaware of this and thought that Sakha would be with her for quite some time. That’s why for a moment, she wanted to run away to her parents' house to clear her mind. But knowing this, Airin no longer needed to worry.She was happy.While the corners of Airin's lips curved upward, Sakha's did the opposite. The man hadn't said anything since they both left Airin's parents' house.And Airin liked the silence. She looked out the window, seeing the lights from the residents' houses. Because it was already past ten o'clock at night, the streets were very quiet, and there wasn't a single person loitering on the sides of the road. The only place that still seemed crowded was perhaps the security post they had passed earlier.When the car started to enter the road flanked by rice fields, Airin opened the window and rested her chin there, feeling the cold night breeze hit her face and blow her hair back. Unconsciously,
Morning arrived with the sounds of birds singing in the trees and roosters crowing in the distance, while the noise of insects in the undergrowth began to fade. But it wasn't these sounds that woke Airin from her sleep—sleep that she knew she had only gotten a little of. Instead, it was the man who had been incessantly stroking her back. To him, it might have been a comforting gesture to help Airin fall deeper into sleep, but for Airin, it had the opposite effect, and Sakha was unaware of this.Airin opened her eyes and was immediately greeted by the sight of her husband's broad chest. Was he asleep? she wondered. She then looked up to find that his eyes were wide open and staring down at her."Why did you wake up so quickly?" he whispered. "Go back to sleep!" He gently patted Airin's shoulder with one hand while stroking her head with the other.Airin pushed against Sakha's chest to move away and then gave him an annoyed look. "How can I sleep if you keep bothering me? Ugh!"Sakha re
The sun shone brightly in the sky, and the sound of cicadas clinging to the trees was very loud. A middle-aged man ran hurriedly towards the stilt house where a man dressed well was sitting on the porch with an open laptop in front of him. Hearing the hurried footsteps, the man's attention was diverted. “What is it?” the man asked, his voice sounding heavy and firm. “Sir ...!” the middle-aged man stopped at the bottom of the porch stairs, breathing heavily. “Mr. Sakha, someone has fainted in the field!” he exclaimed with difficulty. Contrary to the man's panic, Sakha's expression did not change. He carefully folded his laptop and then stood up and approached the workers. “Where is she?” he asked. The man quickly showed the way to the field he was referring to. Sakha followed behind him. When they arrived at the field, the heat from the sun felt even more intense. In the middle of the cornfield, several people, also farm workers working in his field, were gathered around something