The Untouched Heart

Chapter 4 - Betrayal

With Hendra out of my life, I can calmly prepare for my marriage with Aldo. If the words of their daughter would not change the mind of Papa and Mama, then one sentence from Hendra would stop their efforts that continue to persuade me to marry the rich man.

As soon as the disappointed look on the man's face played in my head, I quickly shook my head. That man does not deserve to be pitied. He deserves to suffer after the hardships he caused in the lives of others.

In love? Mean well? The man needs to learn more about what love means and how to value the love of others. He can't just claim his feelings and do anything to achieve his goals.

Love must go both ways. If the man thinks he can marry me and be happy just because he's in love with me, he's wrong. He can only be happy when the woman he loves loves loves him too. Perhaps because she was a wealthy and well-respected person, she thought any girl would accept her proposal without much consideration.

My heart was pounding at the bus I was riding on almost nearing the destination. This afternoon, my girlfriend and I will spend Sunday night together. On Saturday, we had dinner while enjoying the fair in the middle of the city. This time I want to watch one of the movies that are playing in the cinema. He must have liked that movie too. Suspense action movie.

I smiled remembering the first time she knew that I was not a romantic movie fanatic but always demanded her to be romantic. How else would you like? Even though I love suspense movies, I am still a woman.

Yep. It's decided! Tonight we will watch a movie and then continue to be together with dinner at my favorite restaurant. What happened today should be celebrated. Hendra will not interfere with our relationship anymore.

I need to immediately think of a strategy to persuade Papa and Mama to want to bless my relationship with Aldo. We had to prepare for our wedding. It could have been that arrogant man who changed his mind and came again to propose to me.

It was common to come to the house where Aldo rented a room, I had no trouble getting in. The people who met me smiled at me. If I usually took the time to talk to them, this time I rushed to his room upstairs.

With a carefree heart, I jumped up and down the stairs. From the end of the stairs, I could see the door to her room. But the sight before me made me freeze. Aldo stood on my back. In front of him was a woman whose face was so close to him.

My beloved's hands encircled the woman's waist. The woman's eyes that were originally closed, slowly opened. His gaze was unfocused as if he was somewhere. Maybe he noticed my presence because his eyes were moving towards me. We meet view.

I was sure that I saw a satisfied look from him. He closed his eyes again and his hands wrapped around Aldo's neck. His fingers gently combed the man's hair. Deliberately, the woman moved their heads so I could clearly see they were kissing. Lips meet lips.

I took one step back. My eyes were closed, not wanting to see the sight again. I took another step back, then another one until I was downstairs. I rushed to run outside the house. My breath was intermittent, my chest tight, and my eyes were heating up. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down. Not successfully.

My feet stepped and stepped quickly away from the house. My face was soaked with tears that did not stop flowing. My chest tight almost exploded and I didn't know how to make him breathe a sigh of relief again. My heart beats so fast that my chest hurts more. It hurts to see my lover, my love, betray me with another woman.

But what did I just see? He kissed another woman. I wanted to give her my first kiss, I kept that commitment up until this moment. But what did Aldo do? He kissed another woman. Another woman! He even seemed to enjoy it so much that he was unaware of my arrival.

Wh why? Is it because she is more attractive than me? Is it because that woman has more sensual appeal than I have? Could it be that he hadn't done it all along because he wasn't physically interested in me? Could it be that all this time his love speech was fake and insincere?

We've been together seven years. Seven years full of good times. Was I the one who misread her attitude all this time? Was it only I who truly loved him but the young man felt otherwise? Is that why he almost gave up on convincing both of my parents to give us his blessing?

Oh, dearGod. I even married her with or without my parents' blessing. How naive I am. I think love is everything. I thought that Aldo really loved me. I thought that she really wanted to marry me.

What am I supposed to do now? When I had to end my relationship with Aldo, I felt my chest hurt. Staying after what he did, I couldn't. The shadow will continue to follow and haunt our relationship later. I can forgive him, but I'm not sure that I can forget his betrayal.

Looking around, I blinked my eyes. I was far away from home. My legs hurt from being forced to run and walk for too long. There was a bus stop not far from where I was standing. I went to the stop and waited until the bus to the house arrived. I was lucky because I had an empty seat on the bus.

It was dark when I got home. Papa, Mama, and Zach must be getting ready for dinner. They didn't know I was coming home so soon. On a Saturday night, I usually spend time with Aldo, and they know that.

But tonight, I just want to lie in bed. Crying all night, if necessary, to reduce the tightness in my chest. Sleep is the only medicine that always manages to heal the pain in my heart.

“Ara, what happened to you?” ask Mama with a worried tone. “Honey, did we talk too loud?”

“Ara, listen,” Papa said as soon as I saw me close the door.

“No need, Pa. I'm willing. Please prepare your dream wedding.”

Mom and Dad rounded their eyes. They exchanged looks without a word. I'm not waiting for a response from them. I rushed into the room and locked it from the inside. My life is over. My love is done. I don't care what happens to my life anymore. I don't care who I get married to and spend the rest of my life with. What matters is that I can quickly live in peace again.