[Note] A Perfect Marriage

Telling the Truth

..."At least, never live in a mudhole of lies."...

Two women of different generations, sitting in a street-side cafe. The cafe is retro with old-fashioned book ornaments, seems to bring visitors back to the past. Outside so many vehicles passed by, but from where the two women were sitting, only vaguely heard the roar of the engine. Two cups and a plate of French fries were already perched sweetly on the wooden table.

"You look more and more beautiful and full, son," said the middle-aged woman who looked at her sitting friend, Love.

"Do I look so fat, Auntie?" Love looked at his body. Pulling next to his shirt to make sure that his body shape is still ideal.

"It's not that, it's just that you look fresher than I last saw you."

"Yes." Love shakes its head. "That's because I breathe fresh air too often, Auntie. In the village there is no excess pollution. Moreover, I live near the plantation."

"You look so happy now. Your husband seems like a pretty good man. At least I don't feel too guilty for letting you go. You should introduce her to Auntie sometime."

Love smiling shaving. Now his eyes look sad. He lowered his head, stirring his coffee latte in silence.

Is he a good guy? He's very good, but. He made me lose my family, he made my kids lose his father. She also made me lose my husband. He's a bad guy, but I can't hate him. He's too good to hate. Even he managed to perfectly replace the father figure for the children. Love bit her lower lip when she was reminded of the figure that once filled her home life.

"He's dead, Auntie," said Love lyric with a face that was still down.

Barrels freeze. His net widened, staring at the figure who slowly raised his head and pulled both corners of his lips. A clearly visible smile is forced.

"You're serious, right? Love, you can't mess with someone's life." Baras could no longer control his expression at this moment. The face that already looks small wrinkled in some places, looks worried as well as tense.

"He died two years ago, Auntie. Liver cancer."

"Ha.ha.ha." Breath of the barrel. His heart skipped a beat when he heard the words Love. God, why don't you ever give a sweet ending to the story, that's the word that goes round and round in Laras' head.

"Son, ma—forgive me, Aunt." Now tears rolled down the old woman's cheeks.

Love grabbed Laras' hand, grasping it as if it were channeling strength. It seems like this is reversed, shouldn't the abandoned person be strengthened. But somehow Laras looks more broken than he is.

"It's okay, Auntie it's been a while, and I've been fine. I'm happy now. Auntie look, right?" he said while showing a smile as sweet as possible.

Baras stared straight at the brown netra before him. For a moment, their eyes were staring in silence. "Don't hide anything from Auntie. You know, Auntie loves you like a aunt's own son. Look for aunty if you're lonely, if you need a friend, or if you need help. Anything! Aunty will always be there for you. Don't pretend to be strong in front of Auntie, because it's useless."

The Heart of Love. Tears just spilled as those sincere words came out of Laras' lips. The feeling of Love warms up, but also feels claustrophobic at the same time. He could again feel the affection and attention of the mother figure he missed so much, but also felt guilty about the many lies he kept from the woman.

Laras reached out, wiping the tears of Love in vain. The clear liquid had already coiled the river on the smooth cheeks of the young lady.

"You miss him?" ask Laras slowly and carefully.

The barrel tilts its head slightly when it does not get a response from Love. His ex-daughter-in-law was still bowed with tears. Barrel repeated his question, this time a little louder. But love does not budge.

"You don't love him?"

The body of Love is stiffened. His head slowly lifted looking at Laras who was expecting an answer from him. Love thins the lips while shaking slowly.

"Then why did you marry her? Are you forced? Did that guy act bad to you?" cecar Laras demands a definitive answer from Love.

Love bit her lower lip. The hand that was previously on the table, he pulled down onto his lap and crushed his fingers until a hot sensation enveloped the skin of his hand. The thought of love is raging. She wanted to keep her life story close, but she realized it would be worth it in the end. Nothing that looks real can be hidden in a meeting forever. Love finally opens its mouth. The story flows from the beginning of his encounter with Rudi and the reason the woman decided to marry him.

Laras covered his mouth with his right hand when he heard the story of Love. His joints felt increasingly limp as word for word strung together. "My granddaughter .." murmured Laras with eyes that had returned to glass.

Love stops speaking. Her net was staring at the Baras nan who was no longer focused when she found out about her pregnancy after leaving the house. Barrel looked shocked. Either the feelings of disappointment or guilt were described, which must have been the middle-aged woman as if out of words.

"Kids are also one of the considerations of Love to marry, Auntie," said Cinta who managed to make Laras focus back on her.

"Love lives in the village, where every thing will be the center of attention of the neighbors. Love is afraid that the child of Love will be labeled an illegitimate child, the child has no father, even though Love explains the real situation. And ... Love is afraid that it will make them hurt, or they will feel inferior to their friends. In the end, Love thought giving them a father figure was the best choice back then."

"My son...." Baras looks so guilty. His gaze on Love was even so full of pain.

"If only then could I have held you back a little longer. If only I could have moved faster to dismantle the woman's rot. You—"

"No, Auntie." Love cuts off speech Laras. This indeed feels impolite, but he does not want to listen to regrets that are actually not wrong.

"If I had stayed, maybe I wouldn't have seen my son. I wouldn't have been able to see the Throne and the woman together, it hurts more, Auntie."

...----------------...

Meanwhile, on the same city road as Cinta, a man was driving a red Land Rover Range Rover Sport car at high speed. As if in a race against time, the Throne does not care about its own salvation. Hendra's words still echoed in his ship over and over again. He had to go to the woman immediately to confirm the truth. No. gabe. He won't demand anything from the woman, he'll just apologize first. So many bad impressions that he has made, just because of his selfishness. The mind of the Throne was completely muddled at this moment, all he had to do right now was meet Love. That was all he could make sure of.

The Throne's car was parked right in front of the door of a small building near the hospital. There's a board that says 'Blooming Flower' on it. The building is small and simple, no more than 10x10 meters in size. But the beautiful arrangement of flowers on the front makes the building look striking and special from other buildings.

"Good day, sir. Can we help you?" greet a woman standing guard at the front.

"I want to meet Mother Love" replied the Throne without further ado.

"Sorry, Sir. Love is not in place."

"Ah, i*l!" the curse was slow, but it could still be heard by the female employee.

Of course the woman in the lilac uniform looked in wonder and timidly at the foreign man before her. What the hell's going on? Was that kind and friendly boss in trouble with this handsome guy? It doesn't feel possible. The woman could only silently stare at the Throne that breezed away while struggling with her thoughts.

...Connect .......

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