Taint

The Truth of the Past

Moments of time had brought me to midnight, but these eyes were still reluctant to be closed. My mind kept glaring, digesting the sentence I heard a few hours ago. Reza, the man who broke my trust. Now we meet again in a different situation. If he loves me, what should I do?

Is there still a way to fix things, without hurting any side?

I took a deep breath, then I exhaled slowly. After the way I do to calm the feelings, but in fact it still churns.

"Sleep, sleep, have to sleep" I told myself.

I covered my face with a blanket, then closed my eyes and I tried to fall asleep. However, just a few seconds of walking time, I was suddenly startled by the vibration of the phone.

"Who called me at night." I muttered while shuffling to the side.

A cell phone lying on the table. There was one message from Darren.

[I can't sleep]

I turned wide when I read the message. Why do we experience the same thing?

[Why?]

[Cock directly bales? You're not sleeping, are you?]

I got up from my sleep, then sat down and held a pillow.

[Again awake] I returned to him.

Long enough, there was no reply from him. I put my phone back down in annoyance.

"Newly also want to be cool, even left behind. Bummer." I grumbled while looking at the screen of the phone that was still on.

I was about to lay down my body, but was again startled by the sound of a cell phone. This time not only shook, but rang. It turned out that Darren was calling.

Without waiting for a long time, my lips immediately gave a smile. I don't know why my mood depends on it.

"Assalamu'alaikum" I said slowly.

I was staying at Mom's house. The room is not too spacious, so the sound is easily heard from other rooms.

"Vaalaikumsalam. How, not sleeping?" ask Brother Darren.

"So awake, Dara's awake." I lied on purpose, because there's no way I'm answering 'cause I think about Reza'.

"Oh."

"Self why not sleep?" I asked back.

"Can't."

"Why?"

"Lots of burden."

"Load?" Repeat speech.

"Yes." Yeah." Darren replied briefly.

"What burden?" my many.

Silent. There's no word from across there. I don't know what Darren thinks.

"Sister," call me.

"If only I didn't insist on holding you back, who would you choose, Ra? Me ... or Reza?" ask Brother Darren.

"Why are you still asking this, brother? Didn't I answer that firmly?" I asked back.

"Yes, but now you know what happened to Reza. At first I didn't know if the girl in question was you. I saw the way he looked at you differently, and it turned out that my guess was correct" Darren said.

Now, I'm silent. I am still confused as to what to answer.

"He's a different person now. He gets drunk a lot of times, and some time ago he almost took drugs. Luckily there was Om and Aunt who caught his action. He's frustrated" Darren continued.

"A ... what?" I'm flabbergasted. Didn't expect that the figure of Reza would change drastically.

"What's wrong with me holding you back, Kirana? Are you going to be overwhelmed by this kind of situation?" ask Brother Darren.

"No, but___"

"But what?"

"May I see him once? Not to reciprocate the feeling, but to straighten out everything that ever existed. I want us to marry quietly, with the support of many people. I don't want anyone to get hurt on our happy day" I replied to Darren.

_____________

The car that was driving me started to slow down. Stop right in the cafe. This morning, Reza and I had an appointment. Darren's brother who drove me to the meeting place.

"Come, brother," asked me.

"I'm ... just waiting here" replied Darren.

"Why?" I cringed in wonder.

"You need to talk to him face-to-face, so .. I'm not going there." Darren's brother gripped the car's steering wheel.

"In that case, I don't need to talk to him" I said.

"Honey, you___"

"Sister, you're my future husband. I appreciate you, so I wouldn't meet another man without you." I answered firmly.

Brother Darren was silent without a word. He just looked down while still gripping the wheel. I don't know what he's thinking.

"Sister, I just want to straighten things out, why would you mind accompanying me?" I asked when he was silent.

Brother Darren let out a long sigh, then he turned his head and looked at me.

"All right, come on." He smiled as he opened the car door.

I followed his movements too. Then we walked into the cafe. It just so happened that Reza had arrived first.

Me and Brother Darren headed for the table in the corner of the room. There, Reza was sitting while sipping white coffee. Reza's eyes squinted, when he saw our arrival, maybe he did not like the presence of Kak Darren.

"Sorry to keep you waiting" I told Reza.

"Do you want to talk to me, or do you want to show off your affection in front of me?" Reza quipped while throwing away a glance.

"You don't get me wrong, Za. I'm here to listen to your explanation, and straighten out all the issues related to it." I sat in front of Reza, next to Brother Darren.

Reza hasn't been open for a long time. He simply threw away his face and occasionally glanced at Kak Darren cynically.

"Darling, I'm gonna move tables. Please talk to him" said Darren.

"But, Kak___"

"I'm just moving there, not far away, honey." Brother Darren pointed at the table that was near the window. It's only a few steps away from Reza's desk.

"What made you choose him?" ask Reza, when Kak Darren has moved.

"Why are you asking me that?" I asked back.

"He's not a good guy. Don't be fooled by him" said Reza.

"Did Reza know her past, Brother Darren, but where did she come from? Didn't he just share it with me?" I said in my heart.

"I'm not a good woman either, and I'm sure you understand that" I said slowly.

"I___"

"Say you want to explain the problem first. I'm ready to hear it" I quickly concluded. I want to change the subject.

Reza let out a long sigh, "indeed, from the first moment I loved you. Since Daniel hasn't been to our college."

"really?"

I can't believe Reza's explanation. If she loves me ever since, there's no way she's working with Daniel's mother.

"Yes." Yeah." Reza nodded. "Given my attitude, it's only natural that you don't believe. However, I did it for your own good" he continued.

"For my sake, what do you mean?" my question, curious.

"Daniel loves you very much, but your faith made her mother dislike her. Daniel insists on keeping you, even though his mother has repeatedly forbidden him. It made her mother angry, and she was looking for someone to hurt you. Pretend to love, then separate you with Daniel, and then .. negate your child. According to him, the child is what makes Daniel unable to let you go. I can't possibly let the job fall into someone else's hands. I don't want anything to happen to you and your son. That's why, I took the job myself" Reza explained, which then made me gap wide.

Oh my God, what kind of reality is this?

"Why didn't you say anything to me?" I whispered slowly, but I was sure Reza could hear it.

"That's bad news, and you're pregnant. I'm afraid you're stressed and disrupting your baby's health. I'll be honest when you've given birth, but .. you're in a misunderstanding" replied Reza.

Seriate...