Les Laches

47.

Hera had just set foot on the slate floor of Afgar's porch when the main door of the magnificent building was wide open. A well-built young man appeared from inside the house and greeted Hera with his big smile. Hera returned the young man's smile as she put her hands together for a handshake.

“Come in first, Ra,” the young man said as he slightly stepped away from the doorway to make room for the girl to enter.

“Afgarnya there, Bang Hagan?” hera asked the eldest son of the Linus family when he was sitting on a cream one seater in the living room.

Hagan slightly frowned at Hera's question, but still answered without losing his professional smile. “Afgar still hasn't come home from Bristol.”

Hera's wrinkled brow. “Afgar to Bristol since when, Bang?”

“From a week ago. The day after she returned to Indonesia.”

“If you may know, Afgar to Bristol in what order huh, Bang? Same Safira, right?” ask Hera again.

Over the past few weeks, Afgar and Sapphira have both been out of touch. Then, when Hera finally had free time after returning from her vacation with Alvin in Ubud and intend to find out what happened between the two, the two figures were not in Indonesia. Yes, before going to Afgar's house, Hera had first searched for Sapphira. Sapphira's mother, who welcomed Hera's arrival, said that Sapphira had gone abroad about a week ago. Therefore, after hearing from Hagan that Afgar was also going to Bristol, Hera immediately concluded that the two friends were going together.

However, Hera's feelings remain uneasy, if Afgar and Safira do go together why are the two so difficult to contact? Hera was about to ask about it, when she found Hagan's face that looked to be thinking seriously.

“You haven't heard about Afgar and Safira, huh?” ask the young man slowly.

Hera's heart was squeezed when she heard that. There was something going on between Afgar and Sapphira, and Hagan's facial expressions on naming the two men showed that whatever was happening was definitely not good news.

“What's the problem, Bang?” insist Hera hurry.

Hagan let out a long sigh before answering Hera's question. “Afgar and Safira engagement cancelled.”

This time Hera actually felt a chill all over her body, as if her heart was ripped from its original place. The girl pulled the haircut that fell on her face with her fingers shaking violently.

The worried Hagan saw Hera's response to the shocking news walk towards the kitchen and pour a glass of water for the girl.

“Drink first, Ra,” said Hagan while guiding the girl's hand so as not to drop the glass she held onto the floor.

Hera tried to finish the glass in one gulp, but the haste made her choke. Hagan pulled out a few sheets of tissue from the table and handed them over to Hera.

“I, papa, and everyone in this family no one knows the exact reason. Afgar just said that Sapphira wanted their engagement annulled. Papa was furious over this matter. That's one of the reasons Afgar went to Bristol. He wants to try to win the sympathy of papa again by establishing cooperation with one of the clients who did not have time to meet because they have to return to Indonesia immediately,” explained Hagan at length.

Hera looked at Hagan with an expression as if the young man was saying something more shocking than the end of Afgar and Sapphira's engagement.

“So, according to Afgar and everyone in the Linus family, the cancellation of Safira and Afgar's engagement was only a matter of a failed business plan, so easily Afgar looking for other alternatives that can generate new business profits for this family?” ask Hera beaver.

Hagan chuckled softly. “Losing connection with the Wilis family cannot be compared to the new connection that this child is working on, Ra.”

“F*ck it, Hagan. I don't care about the connection this family has deified. I just want to know where your Safira feels? But judging from your answers so far, it seems like anyone's feelings no longer matter here. Well, I am so glad that everything ends here!” shouted Hera furiously. Sirna was already the manners he was trying to maintain in front of the young man.

He was wrong to think that Hagan might have changed a lot since the last time they met. In fact, he is only a clone of Zack—sang father who is also the head of the Linus— family whose brain content is only filled with business problems, money, and power.

Hera walked out of the lavish living room and into her car parked in the corner of Afgar's yard.

“To home Tian, Sir,” pinta Hera to Rohan, his personal driver.

***

“Hai!” tian exclaimed as he looked at the figure of Hera standing in the doorway of his room.

Hera tried to return Tian's smile, but failed when she recalled the incident at Afgar's house a moment ago. He opened his arms wide towards Tian without being able to hold back his tears. Seeing that, Tian immediately rushed into the arms of his best friend while patting his back gently.

Hera cried sobbing. There were many things that he poured out through the clear liquid flowing profusely from both ends of his eyes. Shocked by the unexpected failure of his two best friends' relationship; compassion for Sapphira whom he saw as a victim in this relationship; and; also concern over the future of his own relationship with Alvin that suddenly feels fragile. Sapphira, who loved Afgar so much, decided to give up. It is not impossible if Alvin also took the same choice someday.

“Tian, have you heard about Safira and Afgar?” shoot Hera as soon as her crying subsides.

Tian was not surprised to learn that Hera had heard the news of Afgar and Sapphira's engagement. He had already guessed that there were currently only two problems that could make Hera look that sad. Reportedly the failure of the relationship Afgar and Sapphira or the tapering of his relationship problems with Alvin. Dan Tian had already eliminated the latter possibility because he knew that Hera and Alvin had just spent some vacation time together in Ubud.

“Why didn't you say the same to me, Tian?!” hera asked slightly hysterically when she saw the flat expression from Tian which indicated that she had already known the news first.

“Because I don't know what to tell you with a sentence like.” Tears welled up in Tian's eyes as he said that.