Forced Mate

A Mother

Ayu slips on the couch after driving Marissa out. He squinted at Alex who had just come up with a jar of almond chocolate biscuits.

"It's a night snack for Aeleya." Alex sat down beside Ayu's feet while stroking his wife's distended stomach slowly. "Well, you must be hungry, honey." He kept talking to the baby in Ayu's stomach.

"You're why, Lex!" ayu snapped as Alex's kiss that had been stuck in his stomach began to move on his cheek.

Alex who knows nothing just glances. His frowns staring at the throbbing Ayu.

"You shouldn't behave like that with Mami!" Ayu hatch.

The man grinned. "Then what should it be like? Our relationship is like this." His hand continued to stroke Ayu's stomach. She got some peace there, as her fingers played with her baby-to-be.

"She's your mother, dear." Ayu's voice softened. He rubbed Alex's cheek, wanting to give the man a little encouragement. For some reason, she always caught a different face when Alex talked about her parents.

"But we never act like mother and son, honey. Sometimes I feel like I have no family at all. They gave birth to me only to be thrown away and ignored." To Alex was already leaning on Ayu's shoulder. Then he plopped into the basin of the woman's neck, sipping on the fragrant aroma he liked.

Ayu's hand kept stroking Alex's cheek. "It's not. After all, Mami is the mother who gave birth to you" he explained. "Containing it's not easy, Lex. Look, I'm so tormented. If I don't remember the life I'm going to take to see how beautiful the world is, I might give up right from the start." He continued with a cloudy look.

Alex fell silent. He closed his eyes and hugged Ayu. Of course she knew that conceiving was hard, but the disappointment and pain were ingrained. Deep down in his heart was an immeasurable love for his parents.

"Sometimes I thought how it feels if I was born from a happy family like yours" Alex said in a weak voice.

"You know, Dad always told me that the key to a happy life is not vengeful. Hate and resentment will only bring displeasure," Ayu explained. He kissed Alex.

The man was silent again. Ayu could feel Alex's heavy breath on her neck.

"I'm just like you, sometimes thinking of having another family. My mother and I fought the most" Ayu added. She smiled slightly considering how she and Arini often clashed over just small things. His mother is a type of mother and he was born spoiled and lazy. "We've heard that the neighboring grass is always greener."

Alex raised his head. He looked at Ayu who was glancing towards him.

"Have you ever thought about how to be a kid in an orphanage. Or people who have lost their parents?"

Alex looked down at Ayu's words.

"You're still lucky, at least they're alive. And, they love you," continued Ayu again.

"I don't feel loved by them, Ay," whispered Alex.

Ayu. She begins to tell how Marissa expresses her love for Alex. And with all the complaints of the woman who gave birth to Alex this afternoon.

"Daddy cheated?" He spontaneously pulled his face away from Ayu's neck basin. Eyes enlarge. All this time she knew her parents were divorced because they were not in line - no longer have time together because they were busy with their respective affairs.

"Said Mami, it's because they're busy. They have their own world. I'm not telling you this so you hate your Daddy more," Ayu continued. "They're trying for you, but they don't want to live without love and end up hurting you even more."

Angan Alex soared. When he was a child, he admired his father. The man, though rarely at home, always spent time with him. A little different from his mother who when returning home only often spent time alone in the room or resting in the yard.

"Mommy's tired, honey. Play the same chips first." That's what Marissa used to tell him.

While living with his grandmother in New Zealand, his father who worked in Melbourne often visited. They even went on vacation together. At least that's what sometimes comforts Alex. However, his father also begins to get busy with his business-business and women-as Alex begins to grow up.

"I don't understand, Yu. If they marry because they love each other, why can they stop and give up?" concluded Alex.

Ayu frowned. "Love comes and goes."

A little grin appeared on Alex's lips. "No-" Alex shook his head, "that I know once you fall in love, then that love won't go away."

Ayu's gaze that was fixed on Alex immediately lowered her head. The man's words confirmed that in his heart there would only be one love, Tamara. He shook his head slowly, trying to erase the thought of Tamara. Alex is now her husband. Moreover, Tamara could not possibly have the same feelings.

"It's been a long time, Lex. Like a book, once a sheet of one is finished, then it's time to open a new sheet. We just need to take a lesson from the previous sheet," explained Ayu again. The wise words were not just for Alex, nor for him who kept fixated on love and then Alex.

"It's not that easy, Ay," Alex said. "Every time I see Mami, I always remember my childhood. How he doesn't think I exist."

Ayu chose silence. He lowered his head, leaning on Alex's head. She knew it was not easy for her husband to start a close relationship with Marissa. The man had kept the wound deep for a long time. The wound had grown and was deeply rooted in his heart. Of course it will not heal overnight.

"Can you imagine how sick Mami is of us with such treatment? It's not just you who's tormented, Lex! Try to imagine if you are in the position of Mami, for example our child is also away?"

"That's why I won't repeat my parents' mistakes, Yu. I'll always hang by your side, look after you, and love you for our son."

"You're gonna last till the end too, aren't you, sweetie?" ask Alex.

Ayu did not answer directly. "I don't promise, Lex."

Alex's smile glared at Ayu. "I didn't ask for an appointment, honey. I want commitment. Promises can be broken, commitments will always be held."

Only a small nod answered Alex. For Ayu, promise and commitment make no difference. If a promise can be broken, the commitment can be released.

"Then may I ask for one thing, Lex?" asked Ayu Yanh directly admonished Alex, "have I never granted your request, My dear?"

"Try to get closer to Mommy. He loves you very much, no different than unfortunately for Reina and Reihan," Ayu said, who was not answered by Alex. "Can't we and our children make medicine for your past?"

Alex was silent again. He doesn't know what to say. To be honest, he wants to be next to his mother. He still had his heart in doubt and was afraid of the rejection that held back.

***

Marissa sat on the outdoor bench of a restaurant located in one of the hotels, where she stayed. He has been in Singapore for two days. Actually he came just to attend one of his socialite arrays. In the afternoon, he will return to Jakarta. From now on, Reina Sudha called, her mom to go home. If it wasn't for getting a call from Alex if he wanted to meet, then he might have been getting ready to go to the airport.

He immediately stood up to see what awaited had come. His smile expands to welcome Alex. With open arms he began to hug Alex and kiss her cheek. He didn't care if people thought that the man in his arms was now probably in droves.

"What do you want to eat?" ask Marissa enthusiastically. He was already intending to step up to take some breakfast at the table available on a buffet basis.

Alex refused. "I've had breakfast at home."

Marissa sat back down. "Ah, sure. Your cooking is not inferior to the cheft here."

Alex did not reply and just smiled. Meanwhile, Marissa began to cut bread, then chew slowly. He could not take a look at his eldest son who was now sitting in front of him. This is like a dream for Marissa. After a long wait, he was able to sit together with his son, despite having to befriend awkwardness.

"We and Ayu will stay here?" marissa asked to break the silence between them.

"Yes." Yeah." Alex confirmed that Semabri nodded slowly.

"Wash means not going to work and be a housewife?"

Alex nodded and confirmed again.

"That must be a little difficult. Women who are used to working and busy, then just stay at home taking care of children will usually be a little stressed. You should be able to spend a lot of time, as well as let Ayu spare Me time." Marissa gave her advice based on her experience.

In the past, he was very busy, then just sitting around to take care of two children made him stressed. She even experienced the baby blues after giving birth to Reihan, after which her second child was born prematurely. She was always worried about Reihan for no reason, feeling that the baby was always in danger. When Alex drops the baby, Marissa is immediately enraged and sends Alex to her ex-husband for care.

If she can turn the clock around, Marissa will try to understand what Alex's jealousy means. He would try to divide the time on his son, giving the same attention. However, back then he was also struggling against his thoughts. He even had to visit a psychologist to treat the depression he had suffered.

"I know, Mi," said Alex Finally.

Marissa's hand lifted and began to hold one of Alex's hands on the table. "Mami's sorry!"

Alex surprised. Her breath choked at the touch of her mother was also an apology she might have been waiting for her entire life. An apology he wished to say sooner.

"You want to say sorry, Mommy?"

Alex's lips were stiff so he chose to be silent. He himself was also confused as to whether he could accept the apology. He did not know how to treat his wounds. Is it possible to be sorry enough to cover up the pain?

Marissa looked down with a heavy breath. "Mami know, sorry it wasn't enough for everything Mami's done, honey. But, Mami had no intention of hurting you or making you stay away."

Alex's lips were stuck together. He did not understand a single bit of Marissa's words. If it was not meant to make him stay away, then why would the woman who gave birth to him just send him to his father. Not delivering well, she was taken by her nanny. It was kept at his father's home in Melbourne, then left to his grandmother in New Zealand. In little Alex's heart back then, he felt like a box that kept being carried here and there, tucked into who was about to receive.

Meeting Marissa, not washing her heart. Now the wound is getting wider.

"Alex" said Marissa. "Sorry, Mommy!"

Smile on Alex's face. He nodded slowly. "Why should I apologize, it's not Mami's fault. Maybe I don't understand."

Alex is lying. He had already told Ayu to start learning to forgive her parents. Ayu also tells her to start forgetting the past, burying those dark memories and starting the present with an unpressured smile.

***