THE SOULMATE FROM HELL

23. TWENTY TWO

Umbara initially intended to pick up his phone left behind in Betari's room. He wanted to contact Baron Adiningrat and tell his friend that tomorrow he would not play badminton, because he could not leave his wife alone at home, and Bik Atun already he forbade coming every day.

The Home Assistant will only come on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. While tomorrow is Sunday, so Bik Atun will not come and actually he could have told him to come tomorrow, but he will not. He can take care of his wife.

After he gets his phone, he will return to his own room because all this time they have been sleeping in separate rooms. He did not want to make his wife uncomfortable by forcing something that Betari did not want or want. Umbara can wait. He believed that slowly their relationship would become a conjugal relationship as it should be. Like his parents—who love each other and complement each other.

Umbara frowned when she did not find her phone in nakas— as she thought—but there was even a Betari phone that was charging. As he remembered, he always put his phone on the nightstand next to the bed.

Oh...

Now he remembers. His mother called him because she could not contact Betari and asked him to give her cell phone. After that he went to the kitchen to wash the dirty tableware. So the last person to hold her phone was Betari—so about where Betari put her phone?

Finally Umbara found his phone under a pillow beside Betari asleep.

At that moment, Umbara who was about to take his phone— saw Betari fall asleep with restless—his silence was wrinkled and his wife's breath was a little breathless. His face began to sweat. Seeing that made his heart uncomfortable.

Umbara half-down beside Betari's body, Umbara's hand squeezed softly into Betari's hand and as he did so, Umbara heard a frightened speech that his wife had spoken for some time.

“Do not disturb...go..”.

Umbara could not leave his wife alone and ignored the remark, as he was indeed worried about his own wife. He pulled Betari's body into his arms, rubbing the sweat on his wife's forehead, and hoping that this way he could make Betari sleep comfortably.

And it really happened. Umbara could see the wrinkles on Betari's forehead fading and felt Betari's breath sound regular. Umbara was also pleased. As Betari thrust her body closer towards him, Umbara could feel her own smiling lips.

Betari could not remember how she was in that dark, stuffy room. As soon as he woke up his hands were tied back, not long later the sound of a baby crying, roaring then followed by the sound of giggling laughter that sounded very terrible. A yellow light that hung on the dull ceiling above him and was originally dead, started flickering. A white shadow flashed before him like a white curtain cloth flying here and there— quickly, until a terrifying figure full of blood and pus appeared before his face. He screamed in fear and backed away. However, the figure followed him. Makes him completely helpless.

Why did the nightmare come again?

It felt like he had never dreamed of that scene again. It was that nightmare that ensnared him in fear. Torturing him and disturbing his every deep sleep. He had once almost gone mad because of that fear. But those days are long gone, aren't they?

It's just a dream.

He kept telling himself to wake up, and it was all going to end.

However, he was only able to curl up in a corner of the dark room in fear. Like earlier.

Until finally someone grabbed his body and stroked his head gently.

A gentle puff of breath over his head, made Betari open her eyes slowly. And at once he could see the sharp nose and sturdy jaw that was overgrown with the same fine hairs of— that yesterday, which was calling out his thin fingers to touch there. For a moment he could not explain what was going on. Besides..blame the man who did not shave.

And the reason why he couldn't think clearly was because of the man's arm that was hugging his waist and one of the man's muscular long legs circling around his smooth thigh. If he should have pushed the man's body because of their gray relationship (Remember they were married not because they loved and wanted each other, for Betari this relationship is gray), then, but strangely this time Betari did not want to do it. And strangely again, he did not feel any sense of contention with their closeness.

Don't tell... The reason for that was because they were husband and wife so this was very natural. Or because circumstances like this are no longer the first thing for Betari, (though she never got to do things out of bounds with her ex-boyfriend just yet. Betari has never had a husband-and-wife relationship with anyone. But sleep together often. Just sleep no more.)

So the point is Betari does not like those two possible reasons. Because he could not accept both of those reasons. And after all he and Umbara are still two strangers who are only bound by marriage and live at home. Betari never wanted a relationship more than that. And he has his own rules to let someone make physical contact which is ‘more than kiss right cheek and left’—with him. He has never had physical contact in quotation marks based solely on spontaneity. He can always control himself. Betari doesn't like to be forced, but she likes to be forced.

Although for now Betari felt his brain could think clearly, but his heart raced twice than normal. And as if it had not been enough to make his heart almost explode, now Umbara opened his eyes right as he looked at her husband.

Umbara looked at Betari with the same sleepy face as his sleepy face yesterday morning—which he found very interesting. Very charming. So good-looking.

Oh...

Is he back as insane as he was yesterday morning?

Did his head hit so hard last night?

“You're up.” Again, that rhetorical question.

In the afternoon Betari was sitting on the balcony listening to music playing from her phone, when her eyes caught a sports car that she was very familiar with, even she still remembers the license plate of the car well— parked in the carport house in front of her house, errata her husband's house.

Instantly his feelings became unhappy. It is true that the orthopedic doctor, Hannah Rusli, told him; the calamity that befell her was overwhelming.

The orange fruit he bit became sour and he limped walking inside. Because his legs are still very swollen.

And as soon as she met her husband she said those absurd words that sounded so silly, “I don't want to stay here anymore. This place, no, but in this housing there are many scary ghosts.”

Umbara did not respond and thought that his wife was not well. His behavior is also very strange. I don't know why he likes it.

“Iiiihhhh you don't understand me, anyway?” betari grumbled while gripping her husband's arm.

“Iya, dengerin.”

“If you are horrified me why silence aja.” annoyed Betari. “I want to move, if you still want to stay here, it's up.” he continued and went into his room. Not long after, he came out with his favorite Gucci Ophidia Small Shoulder bag.

“So where are we going,” Umbara said to Betari who was staring out the window, at a row of trees lined up neatly on the side of the road and some pedestrians on the sidewalk.

Now their car has been far away from home, passing the Regional Hospital whose IGD room was last night they visited and now the car stops in front of a red light that lights—persis at a crossroads. The road is not too crowded on holidays.

Betari turned towards Umbara with a frown and instead turned to ask her husband, “According to you?”

She actually really wants to go to her grandmother's house—honestly she really misses Widuri Salim, but with the current state of his feet will definitely make his grandmother became very worried and probably will be very chatty, aka more. He doesn't want both of those things.

While Umbara really does not understand what Betari wants. He only knew that today his wife was very strange and somehow he liked her.

“I have a studio not far from here if you want we can go there.”

A few minutes later the car had entered the area of the road that felt familiar to Betari. Right, this road that they were now walking on was the road to his old school.

It feels like Betari has never been through this area since she graduated school eight years ago. From school to Juan Salim's house, it's only forty minutes by car, without traffic jams.

Not far from across from his old school building, the car stopped in front of a towering iron turnstile, in pairs between the high walls surrounding the building inside. So that people outside could not see what the situation inside there was like perfectly, other than a large courtyard overgrown with several shade trees and shrubs. It was like there was no building in there.

Betari looked confused at Umbara next to him. In the past, he and some of his friends once thought that the place might be the cemetery of the conglomerate family.

We have arrived.” he said. “I open the turnstile first.” Then Umbara got out of the car.

Betari then looked at a Javanese asem tree that grew on one of the outer sides of the wall, now the tree was very large. He remembers often taking shelter under him while waiting for the invitation of the mang Tarjo who often ngaret and catfish it. Until one day he was rained for waiting for his driver, lucky there was a kind om-om who gave him an umbrella ride.

The car walked back, leaving the gate that had returned Umbara closed.

Betari was silent, looking around. It turns out that the presumption that had mentioned that the place protected by this high wall was the grave of the rich, was wrong.

But this place is indeed more like a large garden that is less managed. Or maybe a mini botanical garden? Seen from the type of trees planted.

The car stops in front of a simple rectangular building with several glass windows and a shiny wooden door that looks very sturdy, located at one end. The building is in one corner of the place and shaded by trees.

Umbara shut off the car engine, then got off and helped Betari down.

They entered the building which was Umbara's studio, climbing a few low steps.

As soon as the lights were lit there seemed to be quite a spacious room, there was a half-finished statue on the workbench, cabinets that seemed to be filled with chisel equipment and various types of sharp objects, the shelves contained other statues, and a refrigerator near two wooden chairs in one corner. Besides, the room looked empty.

“We can stay here for a while if you want.” he said. “There's a bedroom over there.” he continued. Then he took her to another door in the building.

The room was not spacious, only had a small bed that seemed to be able to be used for both of them to sleep in, an equally small closet, and a low nightstand by the side of the bed. In addition, there is no furniture or other furniture, especially those that can be used to sleep.

“This is like my boarding room first.” muttered Betari suddenly, she smiled staring at the whole room that was very simple.

Umbara blinked slowly, he was unsure of his own hearing. Betari is not from a mediocre family. The Salim family is not a conglomerate family that holds the management of a business group that oversees several subsidiaries such as Atmojo or Tohjaya, but it is clear they are a wealthy family. So it's a little strange if the woman claims to have lived in a small boarding room.

“You've stayed in dikos?” tanya Umbara later.

“Iya. It was college time.”

One more novelty that was quite surprising to Umbara.

Seeing Umbara who was silent, immediately Betari's ego felt rather unhappy. Honestly, he is still often upset if he remembers Umbara's impression of him. Although Umbara is not the only person who judges it just by looking at the outer skin only. Indeed Betari must admit if his outward appearance and attitude that he showed so far is far from the impression of Betari's life a few years ago, who is a coke-pocketed student at a state university in a student city.

“You definitely don't believe.” he said then sat at the end of the bed.

Umbara just kept quiet, she was afraid to say the wrong thing.

“Can't I give you the classic advice” Betari looks up, looks at Umbara's face in front of him.

“Bby.” the answer is raspy.

“Don’t judge book by it’s cover.” he said. “Classic is his advice.” he continued. “But I will not sin yes because I have dared to nasihatin older people.”

“Nggak.” sahut Umbara.

Betari then chuckled. He looked at Umbara's flat face. “You can't laugh or my jokes aren't funny.”

Umbara didn't feel that Betari had just been funny. “Your jokes are not funny.”

“Then you have to hear my other jokes.”

“Bby.”

Betari muttering. “What you will laugh.”

“Depends.”

“Hmmm.” Betari thought. Before he finally said that he wouldn't make Umbara laugh today. Because he was hungry and asked Umbara to order fast food immediately.

That night they had to sleep in one small bed with each other together.

Betari's eyes were closed but she did not fall asleep. His fear of those monstrous figures was still lingering in his mind. But with his current state: he is not alone and this restroom is not dark—his fear should be reduced a little. Or actually the cause is not that, but what he saw this afternoon.

Betari finally opened her eyes and turned her head, staring at another figure lying on her side on the same bed.

“You can't sleep?”

“Hem.”

“You I hug.”

“Hah!?”