Bagaskara's motorcycle finally came to a stop in front of the gate to a residential complex.
Aletta slowly got off, then removed the helmet she had been wearing all this time. She smoothed her slightly tousled hair before returning the helmet to Bagaskara.
A moment later, she opened the small notebook Bagaskara had given her.
Quickly, her fingers wrote a few words.
"Thank you... for tonight."
Bagaskara took the notebook, then smiled warmly after reading it.
"You're welcome."
He slipped both hands into his jacket pockets.
"But promise me, okay? Don't walk alone at night anymore. If anything happens... find someone who can stay with you."
Aletta looked at him for a few seconds.
As usual, she didn't answer.
But this time, before turning to leave, the corners of her lips slowly lifted.
A small smile.
A simple smile, but so sincere.
Then, without saying a word, Aletta turned around and walked into her residential complex.
Bagaskara watched the girl's back until it slowly disappeared behind the gate.
Without realizing it, he smiled too.
"So... you can smile after all."
He chuckled softly and shook his head.
"Actually... you're really beautiful when you smile, Aletta."
Even though he knew Aletta could no longer hear him, Bagaskara still spoke the words softly.
Then he put his helmet back on, started his motorcycle, and rode away from the complex with a smile that wouldn't fade.
That night, Aletta wasn't the only one who went home with a slightly lighter heart.
Bagaskara went home carrying a new hope that someday, that smile wouldn't be something that appeared only for a moment, but would become part of Aletta's everyday life.
When she arrived home, Aletta stood in front of the door for a while.
She took a deep breath.
As best she could, she calmed herself before going inside. Honestly, she wasn't ready to face a home that had never truly felt like home.
But she had nowhere else to go.
Slowly, she turned the doorknob and stepped inside.
The living room felt utterly silent.
Bianca sat on the sofa with a cold expression, while Thom stood not far from her. The looks in both their eyes instantly filled Aletta with dread.
"You're finally home," Bianca said flatly.
Aletta lowered her head.
"Mom..."
Before she could finish...
Smack!
A slap landed on her cheek.
Aletta's body staggered slightly. She instinctively held her cheek, which was beginning to burn, while her eyes widened in shock.
"Why did you leave Grandpa's house without saying anything?" Bianca asked sharply.
Aletta opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but not a single word came out.
"Do you know how many people were looking for you?" Bianca continued. "There was a family event, and you just disappeared."
Aletta lowered her head even further.
"I..."
"You always cause trouble," Bianca cut in coldly. "Is it so hard to sit still for a while and act like a normal girl?"
Her words felt like they had struck Aletta in the chest.
She had left because she could no longer stand being surrounded by people who constantly put her down.
But she knew that no explanation she gave that night would likely change anything.
She simply gripped the strap of the bag on her shoulder tightly, allowing silence to fill the room once more.
"Because of you, Aletta, that important meeting had to be canceled."
Thom's voice was cold, without the slightest attempt to understand his daughter.
The words slowly made Aletta raise her head. Her still-swollen eyes moved between her parents.
Her chest felt tight.
All this time, she had always chosen silence.
She had always swallowed every insult, every shout, and every accusation.
But that night...
Her defenses finally collapsed.
"Why...?" Her voice trembled.
Thom and Bianca fell silent for a moment.
"Why does everything that happens in this house always become Aletta's fault?" she continued, tears flowing again. "Why do you always blame Aletta, Mom and Dad, even for things Aletta didn't do?"
Bianca only stared at her without answering.
Aletta clenched both hands.
"Aletta has tried..." Her sob broke through. "Aletta studies... Aletta obeys... Aletta tries to be the daughter you want."
Her voice grew louder, not because she was angry, but because she had kept her pain inside for too long.
"But why... no matter what Aletta does, is it always wrong in your eyes, Mom and Dad?"
The tears kept streaming down her cheeks.
"Aletta's tired..."
The words came out so softly, yet filled the suddenly silent room.
"Aletta's tired of constantly feeling like she's never enough."
She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling as she held back her sobs.
"If Aletta's presence only disappoints you, Mom and Dad..."
She drew a breath that felt unbearably heavy.
"...why does Aletta have to keep living with this feeling?"
The room suddenly fell silent.
For the first time, Aletta revealed all the pain she had kept hidden in her heart.
Not to fight back.
But because she was too tired to carry it all by herself.
Aletta's sobs still echoed through the living room.
But what she hoped for never came.
There was no embrace.
No apology.
Not a single word capable of soothing her heart.
Instead, Thom exhaled softly, then let out a hollow laugh. Bianca offered a faint smile as well, as though Aletta's outpouring of emotion meant nothing.
The light in Aletta's eyes slowly faded.
She had just exposed every wound she had kept hidden all this time, but all she received were cold stares.
Thom stepped closer.
"Listen carefully, Aletta," he said flatly. "Many decisions in this family are made based on our interests. Your feelings have never been a primary consideration."
The words struck Aletta's heart harder than any shout could have.
She stared at her father without blinking, as though still hoping a glimmer of affection remained.
But all she found was a merciless face.
Slowly, Aletta lowered her head.
In that instant, she began to realize the most painful truth of all.
It wasn't only this house that made her feel alone.
It was the fact that the people she had most hoped would accept her had never truly seen her as their child.
Thom stepped closer. Before Aletta had a chance to react, he grabbed his daughter's hair and forced her to lift her face.
"Listen carefully."
Thom's voice was firm, as though the decision could not be challenged.
"A guest is coming tomorrow. You will accept the engagement."
Aletta's eyes widened.
"Dad..."
Before she could finish, Thom released his grip.
"Consider it a family decision."
Without looking back, Thom walked toward his study. A few seconds later, Bianca merely snorted softly before turning and going upstairs to her room.
No one waited for Aletta's answer.
As though her life did not belong to her at all.
The living room fell silent again.
Aletta was still standing in the same place.
Her legs felt weak, while her mind was blank.
Slowly, her body sank until she was sitting on the floor.
Her hands trembled.
The tears that had briefly stopped now began to flow silently once more.
"Engagement?"
The word kept echoing in her head.
She was only seventeen.
She still had so many dreams she hadn't even had the chance to achieve.
But now, her future was about to be decided by someone else.
By someone she had never truly known.
Aletta hugged her knees tightly.
The night felt colder and colder.
The grand house suddenly felt like a cage slowly closing off every possible escape.
For a moment, Bagaskara's smile from earlier flashed through her mind.
The boy's simple words echoed again.
"Don't give up on yourself."
Aletta squeezed her eyes shut.
Perhaps for the first time in a long while, in the midst of such overwhelming despair, she hoped there was still someone who could help her find a way out of a life she had never truly chosen.
Morning came sooner than Aletta wanted.
Sunlight slipped through the gaps in the curtains of her modest room, illuminating the girl's face as she sat silently on the edge of her bed.
Her gaze was blank, directed out the window.
The morning sky looked so bright.
Birds chirped as though welcoming a new day.
Yet none of the morning's beauty could ease the tightness in Aletta's chest.
She had barely closed her eyes all night.
Thom's words kept ringing in her head.
"They're coming tomorrow. You have to accept the engagement."
Aletta hugged her knees.
Today.
The day her parents had called an important meeting.
To her, there was nothing important about today.
It was simply the day someone would try to determine her future without ever asking what she wanted.
Slowly, Aletta let out a long breath.
Her gaze drifted back through the window, taking in the vast blue sky.
In her heart, she asked softly,
"Do I... still have the right to choose my own path in life?"
The question hung unanswered.
Outside her room, the footsteps of the servants began to bustle as they prepared everything to welcome the arriving guests.
And Aletta knew...
Sooner or later, she would have to leave that room and face the day she least wanted to live through.