Home For My Soul

97|Like Everything

~Altheo~

There are no secrets that can really be kept in our family. The closest people we call family or friends can open events that should only be known by the inner circle to others. The most tempting, to journalists.

I'm too young to understand the big picture that ever happened in our family. Things that make the relationship between Grandma and Mama become distant. The reason that also caused the inheritance ring was given to me, not to Mama.

Papa never took Matt to the office with me also started from there. I heard piece by piece the story that I finally put together before adulthood. Papa never wanted to talk about it and Mama scolded me every time I asked.

So, I found out for myself and was very angry when I found out. I stopped persuading my sister to come with me to Papa's office. But unlike my father who let hurt ruin family relationships, I learned to forgive.

“Gue promise, once you're ready to hear the truth, cave yourself that will story. But not today. I'll go far when you need a friend to talk to.” I sat by his side. “Gue knows you, so I know you will be very shaken.”

“How about lo? Do you have a friend to talk to when you know that secret?” tanyakanya.

“Gue lo's brother, Matt. Protecting you is my job. Taking care of me is Papa's responsibility,” I said, hinting I wasn't alone when everything was revealed.

“OK. I wait for you to come home, then I bill the promise lo.”

I took a foreign language proficiency exam on the weekend and tried not to get nervous. My heart-tight leaflets can be deafening even though I need a high value also in the part of understanding the conversation.

Matt was waiting on his motorcycle when I got out of the exam parking lot. He just signals me to move first and he follows. Seeing that he needed a friend to talk to, I stopped by our favorite cafe.

That opportunity I used to double check the enrollment dates of several campuses that I was looking for. I only had one destination university, but Papa suggested that I not depend on one place. Because it could be, my soul mate is another college.

“What do you like about Kak Amarylis?” ask Matt suddenly.

“Everything,”my answer is short.

“Including her ugly face full of acne, her dull hair, her blemished skin, and her immaculate teeth?” tanyanya did not believe. I'm nodding. “Gue don't believe.”

“Why do you only see the flaws? Lo forgot to mention his big chest and buttocks, his seductive body, his intelligent brain, his polite demeanor, as well as his delicate speech,”.

“Lo think I did discuss my teacher's body shape?” his protest.

“What is the face, hair, and everything you mentioned earlier not included from the body part? Teacher lo is so smart, why is his student bego like this?”

“Keep, why did you decide him?” ask again.

I had to stop doing my thing and close the laptop. It seemed like he would not stop asking the questions he had already prepared. Since we haven't talked like this in a long time, I decided to serve him.

“Gue understands you love him, but I can't see him crying again,” I.

“What do you mean?”

He watched me closely, not saying anything for a while. At that moment, the waiter came to deliver our ordered drinks. I used his silence to drink, to refresh my thirst.

“This lo attitude has something to do with our parents' past, huh?” It turns out he's not as stupid as I thought. “What is Papa cheating on and Mama intending to break off their engagement?”

“Wait until I get home, Matt, not now.” I reminded him of our deal.

He sighed in annoyance, crossed both hands in front of his chest, then leaned back. “Lo is not at all fun. I'm not a kid anymore who can't hear bad news.”

It's better he's mad than I'm not here when he's shaken. Papa was barely strong enough to support me with a heavy heartbreak. So, I had to train myself as well to be really ready to help my sister later.

As soon as I finished taking the exam, Papa again took me out of town with him on the weekend. Chika was preparing for the thesis, so I calmed down. There was no longer any need to look around me, be alert to his presence.

The trip was not in vain when there were some people who agreed to be Papa's business partner to open his restaurant in their country. Papa introduced me as his representative who will take care of all the preparations until the branch there is officially opened.

I'm so relieved that we no longer need to go to and fro to serve Papa's potential business partner. We can focus on working from the headquarters. Even so, I was uncomfortable with the way the employees looked at me. Since the video went viral, my reputation has been ruined.

They can only judge me with their eyes. No one dared to speak directly in front of me or when I was around them. Everyone would be silent, not continuing the conversation if the topic was me.

“Pak Dirut and mom have never been so in public. How can Mr Altheo be different from them? If you just hold your hand or kiss your forehead, that's okay. He and his mistress even kissed so hot in a public place,” said a woman inside the meeting room.

My hand holding the doorknob froze. A long time ago this was still much talked about. We just kissed normally, but they always judged us on each other's lips like someone who would love in bed.

“They were just kissing, but you guys were talking as if they were undressing and struggling in bed. Have you never kissed someone you love?” the other seductive.

Hearing that, I decided to wait for them to finish talking. I've seen them talk about me a few times. They spoke in a cynical tone, but when they met, they smiled respectfully at me. Hypocritical.

“If they're married, it's okay. But they don't have any relationship,” said the woman. “The shareholders also do not like his actions. What I said was not wrong. Poor Miss Jessica. She must be ashamed.”

“Selera Pak Altheo is unique, yes. Though Miss Jessica is much prettier,” timpal others.

When I unmask that woman, they won't be able to speak well of her anymore. What do they know about Chika? If you only hear from the media, that's not the name to know. Ah, briefly. Is it possible that he often came to this office to poison the minds of our employees?

Ooo. So, that was the reason he visited so often. He told me back and forth about his unfortunate fate, because I ignored him and was close to Amarylis. Good, then. When the time comes, he will be ashamed of himself and regret having dared to mess with me.

“Mean it. I wonder if he is so different from his parents. Don't-don't gossip is true.”

“Gossip? What gossip?”

A moment of silence, I thought the first woman would not answer. But he said it too. “Pak Altheo is not the biological child of Mr. Dirut.”