The Untouched Heart

Chapter 5 - He is the One

~Hendra~

My life was very boring with the routines I had to work on to prepare myself to replace Papa. I always study harder than others because I know that my brain is not as thin as others. On weekends, I had to accompany Papa and Mama to attend events so I could get to know their business partners.

Not that I don't hang out with people my age. I also often attend birthday events or other celebrations whenever peers invite me. A college friend or the son of one of Papa's co-workers never forgets to invite me to every event their family holds.

I only attended it for a short while, as a formality that I appreciated the invitation from them. I have never stayed longer because I am tired of every compliment they give me, all I know is that they only say to make a good impression.

They hoped that when I got home, I would say all of those things to my parents so that Papa would help them if their parents came to apply for business cooperation. I would never do that. Papa's job and his company are none of my business. Papa wouldn't like it if I interfered unless he asked me my opinion.

My relationship with both my parents is very good. As their only child, I've always gotten whatever I wanted since I was a kid. But as a teenager, they stopped spoiling me. They only grant my request if that thing or something is a reasonable thing.

Therefore I often do not understand why there are false rumors about me. There are many people who think that I always get what I want. Some even added that I would do anything to get what I wanted, even if it belonged to someone else.

Lately I found out the beginning of it embedded in the minds of many people. One of Papa's business partner's daughters who had been betrothed to a young man from another wealthy family refused to marry at the appointed time. He confessed that he loved me and just wanted to marry me.

Obviously I deny all that, but no one believes me. My parents only laughed at the cheap gossip and never bullied it. They know very well that I have never been interested in the opposite sex.

That girl wasn't the only girl who confessed to harboring feelings for me. There are a lot of other business girls trying to get my attention. Even classmates and now classmates on campus also tried to get closer to me several times.

What they want is not me. They just want the luxurious and comfortable life they will get by being my wife. I am an only child, for sure all my family's possessions will fall into my hands. Which woman would refuse to be my wife?

I just have to appoint one of them and I can get the woman that many other young men dream of. Beautiful face, attractive appearance, strong-willed, intelligent, sociable, come from a distinguished family, all the choices are there. I just have to choose the best of them all.

But I wanted a marriage like the one my parents had. I want a wife who makes me fall in love with her every day. I want a wife that keeps me from getting away from her. I want the happiness that Papa feels when Mama is around him. And no girl has made me feel that way.

Looks like it's going to be a hard thing to find. I don't use my free time to get to know a girl, have fun with my peers, or date a girl. To me, it's all a waste of time.

Then one day the girl came. I saw her for the first time in the library as I walked closer to the table where I was studying. The smile on her face made me unable to take my eyes off her. When our eyes met, her smile grew even more, making my lips join the smile.

That's not the last time I've met him. I saw him several times in the library or in the discussion room. All we did was say hello and smile at each other. I knew that he was my junior, all the details about him were known. But I waited for the right moment to talk to him.

He is different from his friends. If they laugh while talking to each other and waving at me draws my attention, he doesn't. He just smiled and ignored me. Just glancing at me for a moment didn't.

After nearly a year of observing her, I finally decided that it was time to approach her. I greeted him and he was just like I thought. She is a cheerful, intelligent, and fun girl to discuss anything with.

My boring life turned to color because of his presence. Being able to meet and chat with him even though a moment on campus became an activity that I was waiting for. I realized that he was only willing to talk about common things and completely avoided personal things. He didn't want to get too close to me because he already had a lover.

The fact that they had been in a relationship for almost four years and the young man had never once come to his house or introduced himself to the other person confused me. This girl was so beautiful, what made her hesitate to immediately formalize their relationship? He can propose to this girl and marry her later after they graduate.

I will definitely tie this girl up so that everyone knows that she is only mine. The views of the young men around us clearly show that they also consider her an attractive girl. Didn't his lover Aldo worry that someone would take his lover away from him? Or was he so sure that this girl would never turn away from him?

Papa and Mama were surprised when for the first time, I asked for my birthday to be celebrated by inviting my friends to eat together at the hotel. I ignored all the invited guests except him. I don't know why his girlfriend didn't accompany him, but I enjoyed talking to him about our dreams in the future.

When I finished the thesis hearing, Papa conveyed his intention to work for the company as a marketing officer. I accepted the offer. I knew that Papa wanted to test my abilities before handing me a higher position.

My mom asked me to start looking for a wife. People will judge me to be a capable leader if I'm married. Neither the board of directors nor the shareholders would be disinclined to me if I was still single when I replaced Papa later. I just laughed at his advice. We all know that Papa is not going to retire anytime soon.

But the words of Mama encouraged me to come forward to express my feelings to the girl who was always present in my dreams. He came to attend my graduation, the occasion I used to express my love for him. Of course he was surprised and did not expect it. I never showed him that I had more feelings than friends.

He rejected me without giving me time to think about my feelings. He used the excuse that he already had a lover to reject me. And she was so angry that I ignored that fact and kept saying love.

I watched his face as he spoke. He's not really mad at me. I could see there was a bit of reluctance when he said no. And I used that excuse to keep getting close to him.