FIVE

Zillion stepped into his luxurious home in the Lincoln Park area. Carrying his suit and bag, Zillion walked with heavy steps into his lonely house.

Every day he always felt the same way when he entered his big house. He felt emptiness and loneliness. In that very spacious house there was not the slightest warm impression that was emitted, it actually looked like a big sturdy building that made him feel imprisoned every time he entered it.

"Good night, sir," said the servant warmly. Charlotte welcomes Zillion with her motherly smile that is warm and also soothes a mother.

"Good night. Cassie is home? "

"Mrs. Cassie isn't home yet, sir."

Zillion exhaled heavily then smiled bitterly at Charlotte. Every day he always found the same thing at home. Almost every day Cassie came home late at night. It's rare to find Cassie coming home before he comes home. If that happened, it would be because the woman ran out of money and wanted to ask him again.

"Then please prepare dinner for four, today Spencer and his family are having dinner here."

Charlotte nodded in understanding and immediately walked away from Zillion to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Zillion is still standing faithfully in his place, staring at all corners of his clean and tidy house. Every now and then he wants his house to be messy. Cluttered with toys or mud and small footprints littering the floors of his house. He missed the presence of a child. Unfortunately Cassie didn't want to grant his wish. Once he thought doing surrogacy program to fulfill his wish, but he always threw those thoughts away from his head because he didn't want to hurt Cassie. So far he still respects Cassie as his wife and he will continue to be patient until one day Cassie is willing to give birth to his children.

Zillion walked slowly towards the large frame containing the photo of his and Cassie's wedding four years ago. There he looked so happy as he held Cassie's hand tightly beside him. But now, it seemed like he hadn't held Cassie's hand in such a long time. The last one was probably one year ago when they celebrated their third wedding anniversary. At that time he surprised Cassie by taking her around the Mediterranean sea on a cruise for seven days. He really missed that time, when Cassie was still warm to him and didn't ignore him with his damn job.

Ting tong!

Zillion turned around, smiling brightly towards the main door that one of the servants in his house had just opened.

"I've been waiting for you."

Spencer entered Zillion's luxury mansion while carrying little Mark who looked comfortable in his father's arms. Beside him, Alice was smiling sweetly at Zillion while carrying a paper bag that might contain souvenirs.

“I'm actually quite surprised by your sudden invitation, but thank you for inviting me to come over for dinner. It just so happens that Alice doesn't cook at home today," Spencer said with a chuckle which immediately got an elbow from Alice.

The woman walked over to Zillion, then handed him the paper bag she brought to Zillion.

"What is this?"

“The results of my experiment today. Sorry, I didn't have time to make anything to bring as a souvenir.”

"Ah, no problem. This is more than enough. Spencer always told me that his wife's cakes were the best. I can't wait to taste it. Let's go to the dining table, we continue our chat there while eating your cake and Charlotte's dinner menu."

Zillion led his guests to the dining table while occasionally chirping with Spencer. This afternoon he had deliberately invited the Spencers over to his house, because he was sure that if Cassie wasn't home he would feel lonely. At least if Spencer came with his family, he could forget a little of his troubles and the nagging emptiness of his heart.

“Oh where is Cassie? I haven't seen her since earlier?" asked Spencer, his eyes busy circling the lonely corners of the Zillion's house.

"She is still busy with her work. She won't be home at ten." His face turned sad when he talked about his wife's late night time home.

"Looks like Mark is tired of you carrying, you can put him down. Let him run freely."

"No! He can mess up your house. Nah, Mark!" Alice suddenly screamed as the little boy threw the chocolate snack that was full of saliva on the floor.

Now Zillion's white marble floor looks dirty with brown spots that the stain might be difficult to remove.

“Leave it, Charlotte will clean it up later. Play as you please, Mark. "

Zillion stroked the top of Mark's head gently and made Alice glare in disgust at her son who was laughing derisively at her for just getting Zillion's support.

"Tsk, the more troublesome he gets every day. Last week his grandmother gave him markers and crayons, after which he became more and more used to decorating the walls of our house with his abstract drawings that were— arghh! I can not explain it. In fact, he even drew a marker from our room with the marker his grandmother had given him." Alice's story with a frown.

Being a housewife is very tiring. The active Mark made Alice feel dizzy and always wanted to get angry with her son.

"That means Mark inherited his father's naughty." Zillion glanced at Spencer with a sneer. Alice immediately nodded in agreement and confirmed what Zillion had said. Mark's obnoxious demeanor is a legacy of Spencer who was both naughty and annoying in the past.

“I just hope that Mark doesn't inherit his father's player. But yesterday he was just teasing a shop assistant at the mini market when I took him to buy fruit. Tsk, I don't know what else Mark will show after this. I'm already dizzy seeing how much he looks like Spencer."

“Hey, even Mark is always with you at home. I never taught him bad things."

"Admit it if you're like that Spenc. Even every week you always come to my house begging me to lend you a car and money. He used to be a very player, his girlfriends were many out there."

The man smiled triumphantly at Spencer, whom he had managed to corner tonight. He had just opened one of Spencer's black sins which was very sensitive to talk about in front of Alice.

“So this is your real goal of inviting me to dinner at your house? You just want to make fun of me in front of my wife and child?"

"Well— think of it like that."

Zillion laughed in satisfaction as he pulled out the plate of food Charlotte had just put on the table. They could see that some very tantalizing dishes had been served in front of them, ready to be transferred to their greedy stomachs.

"By the way, have you considered my suggestion to see a psychologist?"

Zillion started coughing when Spencer brought up the psychologist's problem. He could not possibly have told Spencer that he had just had a counseling session with a psychologist whose attitude was very much the opposite of what was stated on the flyer the man gave her.

"Do you think I'm really going to go to that psychologist?"

"Maybe. But actually I'm not sure because you rejected it right away when I recommended it to you," replied Spencer indifferently, shrugging his shoulders indifferently.

Suddenly from the direction of the living room, Cassie appeared with the sound of her heels echoing in every corner of Zillion's mansion. The woman smiled awkwardly as she passed the dining room and only gave a modest greeting before continuing her steps towards her room on the second floor.

"Hi all."

"Cassie, come with us here."

“Sorry, I couldn't join you. Ouch!"

Suddenly Cassie moaned and everyone immediately looked at Cassie who was grumbling indistinctly at her ten centimeter shoe which had just stepped on Mark's brown mark. The woman in a huff stomped her heels violently and made quite the noise in the middle of the dining room which had gone silent upon her arrival.

Alice who felt quite guilty for Cassie, then stood up while holding out a tissue to clean Cassie's expensive shoes from Mark's leftover chocolates, but this good intention was immediately rejected by Cassie who chose to go straight to her room on the second floor.

"Sorry, I got Cassie's shoes dirty because of Mark's leftovers chocolate."

“Just relax, it can be cleaned. Cassie is overreacting."

"Kyaaa !!"

Suddenly the three adults immediately turned their heads towards the stairs where Cassie was just screaming while looking in shock at the walls and floor of her house.

"Who would dare to dirty my house with a marker!" shouted Cassie, howling hysterically.

Alice and Spencer spontaneously looked at each other, and they both quickly searched for Mark's whereabouts, who tonight was the cause of chaos at Zillion's house.

"Zillion, I'm sorry about Mark," said Alice feeling guilty.

The young mother immediately took Mark to the dining table and imprisoned him with his whole body. Spencer who was next to Alice also did the same thing by holding Mark's hand who was busy struggling in his mother's arms.

"No problem, just continue with your dinner."

Zillion then left briefly to see how Cassie was on the second floor. He actually felt that he couldn't stop thinking about Cassie's childish today. The woman should be able to tolerate the attitude of children like Mark who are very active in playing so that they cause a little mess like that.

Meanwhile, Alice and Spencer looked guilty as they ate their food stiffly. They knew how Cassie had been, which was quite arrogant and annoying. But they didn't think that tonight their son would be a source of anger from Cassie.

"No wonder Zillion feels frustrated with his life, his wife's attitude is so annoying like that."

"Ssshhh lower your voice. They can hear it," Alice whispered angrily as she nudged Spencer in the waist. They then continued their dinner in silence and in a hurry because the atmosphere around them turned uncomfortable after the small incident that Mark had done.

-00-

In the room, Zillion walked over to Cassie, folding her arms across her chest. Today he had been let down a lot by Cassie's really annoying behavior. Even just because of a child like Mark, she made dinner with his best friend uncomfortable.

"Why are you here? Are they home?" Cassie asked indifferently. The woman actually looks busy cleaning her face from all the make-up stuck to her skin since this afternoon. There was not the slightest guilt printed on his face after what she did a few minutes ago.

“You shouldn't act like that in front of them. After all, Mark is just a kid, we can paint it again later."

Cassie who was still busy with her activity put on some liquid to nourish her smooth skin only glanced at Zillion and back to her activities without the slightest appreciation of Zillion's presence there.

“I don't like my house littered with that boy. They're filthy and disgusting."

“Don't you think you're disgusting? You were also a child before you turned into a woman. I hope you can change your arrogant, Cassie." Zillion looks angry at Cassie and gives her a stern warning. But again Cassie just ignored Zillion and glanced at the man in the mirror.

“I will never change anything because I'm not wrong. Whatever you want to do, obviously I don't like seeing them in my house. Moreover, that disgusting child," closed Cassie before she sauntered off to the bathroom.

Zillion turned his face to the side while enduring his every emotion that was about to explode. He couldn't show his emotions now because Spencer would hear his arguing from dinning room. Besides, the threats that Cassie made this afternoon were clearly still valid. He didn't want to risk she divorcing him or leaving him, because he still loved Cassie. Cassie was the only woman who filled his heart. He didn't love other women, and only Cassie he wanted to stay by his side until God took his life.

-00-

"Honey, what are you doing?"

Aleyna turned quickly to the source of the sound and immediately smiled happily when Caroline arrived with a glass of her favorite chocolate milk. The four and a half year old girl immediately stood up from her prone position and left her drawing for a moment to approach her mother at the end of the door.

“Mommy, Alyena is drawing. Daddy Aaron who gave Aleyna a drawing book and colored pencils." Aleyna's excited tell her mom.

Caroline gently stroked the top of Alyena's head and smiled a little at her beautiful daughter. After this she had to call Aaron to thank him for giving Aleyna the gift she loved so much.

"So where have you been today with daddy Aaron?"

“Aleyna went to the bookstore and ate ice cream. Mommy, can Aleyna go out with Aaron's dad next time? "

"Of course honey, you can go with daddy Aaron. Now drink your milk, mommy will call daddy Aaron and say thank you for buying you a drawing book and the tools for drawing."

Aleyna nodded in understanding and immediately finished her chocolate milk. Meanwhile, Caroline was seen walking towards Aleyna's large bed and immediately positioned herself comfortably to contact Aaron.

"Hello, Aaron?"

Caroline greeted Aaron quietly when the man finally answered her call on the fifth ring. Caroline vaguely heard the sound of a man bursting into laughter on the other end of the line. With a frown, Caroline tried to focus her hearing on Aaron's voice which was almost swallowed up by the noise on the other side.

“Caroline? Wait a minute, it's too noisy in here."

Caroline waited for about a minute before she finally heard Aaron's voice more clearly.

"I was celebrating the birthday of one of my colleagues at the bar, what did you call me?"

"Oh, am I bothering you? I just wanted to thank you for taking Aleyna out today. He was very happy with the drawing book and also the colored pencils that you gave him." said Caroline smiling brightly. The young woman then stood up, walked over to Aleyna who was busy drawing and then sat next to the little girl on the carpet.

“No problem, I'm happy to take Aleyna out. I haven't asked her out in a while since I had a new project in New York two weeks ago. How are you now? Looks like you're getting busier."

"I'm fine, but I am— I'm getting busy with my clients' complex problems." Caroline replied with a laugh. Aaron chuckled on the other side as well as Caroline said.

“Become a trash can again for your client's problems? Sometimes I don't understand the way of thinking of a psychologist like you, when people feel dizzy with the problems they are facing, you actually add to the problems with other people's problems. Aren't you tired, or bored maybe?" asked Aaron still in his absurdity.

Caroline pursed her cute lips next to Aleyna while playing with the hem of her crumpled T-shirt. The man was clearly making fun of her with his annoying words.

“I'm fine with my problem. Am I great? When I have problems, I can still accommodate other people's problems. You have to admit it, if I really am."

"Yayaya... I know you're great. So are any of your clients attractive enough to be your lovers?”

Caroline frowned in surprise. She was confused why Aaron suddenly brought up the topic of lovers to her like this.

“Why suddenly ask like that? You're weird. Besides, a psychologist shouldn't have more feelings for her clients, that's against the rules."

"I'm worried about you, Carol. I want you to be happy. Immediately find a man who can take care of you at all times."

"I am fine." sighed Caroline softly. She did not know why Aaron suddenly changed the topic of their conversation to a life partner. She knows Aaron is a good man who will always worry about her because indirectly that man causes her to become a single parent like this.

“I feel like your life is too risky that you have someone to look after you. After all, Aleyna also needs a father figure. Don't waste your youth, find a lover as soon as possible and forget all the bad memories from the past."

“So now you're acting as my psychologist? Okay, I'll be looking for a lover soon But I'm not sure if I will get it, you know I have failed twice."

"Forgive me."

"No, no. That's not what I mean. I don't blame you, it's just that it will be harder to find now. Besides, I'm enjoying my free days more. I don't have to bother thinking about my husband worrying about me at home and asking permission if I want to stay at Karen's house."

"But if you need my help, don't hesitate to contact me. I will always come for you."

"Thanks, I know you're a good man." said Caroline sincerely, imagining Aaron's face, who always calmed her down whenever she remembered his sweet smile.

“Then bye, I'll have to go back inside with my friends soon. May you always be happy Carol, I love you."

"Hmm, I love you too Aaron."

Caroline hung up the phone with a bright smile on her face. If she could choose, she didn't want to let Aaron go. Aaron is just too perfect a man to pass up. He is kind, caring, and really cares about her life. Unfortunately, that man could not give her what she wanted all this time. Child. The man couldn't give her the child that would make her life more perfect. Even though she had Aleyna, it would still feel different if she could conceive herself and give birth to her own child, and of course from the man she loved. She hopes that one day she can find a replacement for Aaron who can really accept her and doesn't think too much about her household status in the past. And she hopes God will really answer her prayer.