A few seconds later, the sound of the cars faded as they drove away from the front of the house.
Evan was still standing behind her.
“Are they gone?”
“For now.”
“Is Thomas coming?”
“Maybe.”
Evan lowered his head.
Maya crouched in front of him.
“Evan, you have to tell me the truth. Why don’t you want to go home?”
The boy stared at the ice cream melting in his hand.
“Everything in that house is big.”
“The house?”
“The bedrooms are big. The dining table is big. There are lots of people, too.” He swallowed. “But nobody waits for me to come home.”
Maya fell silent.
“Not even your dad?”
“He’s always working. When he comes home, he only asks whether I’ve studied or not.”
Evan wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“I know he’s my dad. But I don’t feel like his son.”
Maya sat on the floor in front of him.
“Then how do you feel when you’re with me?”
Evan answered without thinking.
“Like I have a home.”
Maya froze.
That simple sentence struck the part of her heart she had spent so long trying to seal shut.
“Evan…”
“I want to live with you.”
Maya forced a smile.
“It’s not that simple. You still have to go home to your dad.”
“I don’t want to.”
“He must be worried about you.”
“He’s only worried because everyone will blame him if I disappear.”
“Don’t say that.”
“But it’s true.”
Maya wanted to argue, but she knew nothing about Thomas Mahardika. She didn’t know how the man treated Evan. All she knew was that no child should speak about his father in such a cold voice.
Elsewhere, a black car stopped in front of a large house.
Thomas Mahardika was standing in his study when Raka entered.
“Have you found him?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.”
Thomas turned around at once.
“Where’s Evan?”
“At the home of a woman named Maya.”
“Who is Maya?”
“We don’t know yet. She says she has no relationship with the young master.”
Thomas frowned.
“If she has no relationship with him, why is Evan staying there?”
“Evan refused to come with us.”
Thomas’s expression hardened.
“He refused?”
“He even said he didn’t want to go home.”
The room suddenly fell silent.
Thomas walked to the desk and picked up an old photograph. It showed Evan at four years old, back when the boy was still willing to smile in front of him.
“How is Evan?”
“He seems fine.”
“Seems?”
“He’s wearing the same clothes as that woman. They went to a party together. Based on our observations, the woman appears to be close to the young master.”
Thomas’s gaze darkened.
“Close?”
“Evan calls her Maya. He was also holding her hand and refused to leave her.”
Thomas crushed the photograph in his hand.
“Find out who she is.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And don’t let that woman get near Evan again.”
Raka nodded.
Thomas was silent for a moment. All the reports about people approaching the Mahardika family for money and personal gain resurfaced in his mind.
He didn’t know Maya.
He didn’t know what had happened while Evan was with her.
But one thing was clear.
A strange woman had made his son refuse to go home.
Thomas picked up his jacket.
“I’ll pick up Evan myself.”
The night grew later.
Maya had already made up a bed for Evan in the living room. She lent him one of her old T-shirts because the boy’s clothes weren’t suitable for sleeping in.
Evan stood in front of a small mirror, looking sour.
“This shirt is too big.”
“That’s because you’re too small.”
“I’m not small.”
“Then grow taller by tomorrow.”
Evan snorted and climbed into bed.
Maya was about to turn off the light when Evan called out to her.
“Maya.”
“Yes?”
“If Dad comes, don’t let him take me.”
Maya stopped in the doorway.
“I can’t promise that.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s your dad.”
“I want you to be my mom.”
Maya held her breath.
Evan immediately looked away, as if regretting his own words.
“Not for real,” he said quickly. “I mean… I just want to stay here.”
Maya sat on the edge of the bed.
“Evan, I’m not your mom.”
“I know.”
“I’m not your family, either.”
“I know.”
“Then why do you still want to stay?”
Evan looked at her, his eyes beginning to glisten with tears.
“Because you never ask what I can give you.”
Maya couldn’t answer.
“At home, everyone always says I’m a Mahardika child. They take care of my body, my clothes, my school, and my name.” Evan lowered his head. “But you only ask if I’m hungry, sleepy, or scared.”
Maya gently stroked his hair.
“Go to sleep. We’ll talk about it again tomorrow.”
“Don’t go.”
“I’m just going to the next room.”
“Promise?”
Maya smiled.
“Promise.”
Evan finally closed his eyes.
However, not long after Maya stood up, the sound of a car came from outside again.
This time, there was only one.
Maya walked toward the window.
A luxury car stopped in front of the house. The back door opened. A man stepped out with calm, measured strides.
Thomas Mahardika.
Maya had never met him, but she immediately knew he wasn’t an ordinary man.
Thomas looked up, and their eyes met through the window.
A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door.
Maya glanced at Evan, who was still asleep.
A second knock sounded.
Thomas spoke from outside.
“I’m Thomas Mahardika. I’m here to pick up my son.”
Maya stood between the door and Evan’s bed.
“He doesn’t want to go with you,” she replied.
“He isn’t old enough to decide where he lives.”
“But he’s old enough to know when he’s scared.”
“Scared of whom?”
“I don’t know. Maybe his father.”
Thomas’s face hardened.
“Open the door.”
“No.”
“I didn’t come here to ask for permission.”
“Then you should have come sooner. Before your son felt safer with a stranger.”
Those words made Thomas’s gaze turn razor-sharp.
He stepped closer to the door.
“You don’t know me, Miss Maya.”
“That’s right.”
“You don’t know anything about our family, either.”
“That’s right.”
“Then don’t pretend you can save Evan.”
Maya gripped the broom she had set beside the door earlier.
“I’m not pretending to save him.”
“Then what do you want?”
Maya glanced at Evan, who was sleeping with both arms wrapped around a small pillow.
“Nothing.”
Thomas let out a short, humorless laugh.
“Nothing?”
“I don’t know who you are, I don’t know how much money you have, and I’m not interested in your family. I’m only letting a child stay somewhere he feels safe.”
“No one ever does something without expecting something in return.”
“Then consider me the exception.”
Thomas stared at the door for a long moment.
From behind it, he heard a small voice.
“Maya…”
Evan had woken up.
Thomas immediately tensed.
“Maya, don’t open the door.” Evan’s voice sounded panicked.
Thomas looked at Raka, who was standing behind him.
“Is he afraid of me?”
Raka didn’t answer.
Maya reached for Evan’s hand as the boy ran toward her.
“Don’t be scared. I’m here.”
“Dad’s going to take me.”
“Not before the two of you talk.”
Thomas heard her from outside.
“Talk about what?”
Maya opened the door a crack. She continued standing in front of Evan.
“Come in if you want to talk. But don’t touch him.”
Thomas looked the woman up and down.
Simple clothes. A small house. No signs of a luxurious lifestyle.
Yet that was precisely what made him even more suspicious.
This woman might have deliberately made Evan feel comfortable.
Maybe she was building his trust.
Maybe after that, she would ask for money.
Thomas stepped inside.
His eyes immediately fell on Evan, who was hiding behind Maya.
“Evan.”
The boy gripped Maya’s hand even tighter.
“I don’t want to go home.”
Thomas stared at their joined hands.