Hearing the scream, Mentari instinctively shoved Gala off her so her father wouldn't see what had happened by accident.
But it was pointless. Fania was more cunning than that. With a sly grin, Fania took a picture of Gala accidentally kissing Mentari.
Marwan and his wife immediately ran toward Fania's scream, which came from the direction of Mentari's bedroom.
"What happened, sweetheart?" Rosa stared anxiously at her beloved daughter, who had just screamed.
Without hesitation, Fania pointed at Gala and Mentari, who could only lower their heads, too afraid to look at Marwan and Rosa as they arrived.
"I saw them doing something indecent, Dad," Fania reported, freely hurling the accusation.
Fania's tongue seemed to have no bones as she spewed those vile words about Mentari.
"Don't slander me, Nia! It was just a misunderstanding. I only wanted to lend Bro Gala a towel." Mentari tried to defend herself, while Gala remained silent because it wasn't time for him to speak yet.
"I'm not slandering you. I have proof," Fania shot back.
She raised one hand, holding her phone high.
"If you were only lending him a towel, then why did your BOYFRIEND come into your bedroom too?" Rosa added, making Marwan more likely to believe Fania.
Now influenced by them, Marwan glared angrily at Mentari, who lowered her head again.
"Give me your phone, Nia! I want to see it." With his jaw clenched, Marwan borrowed Fania's phone to see for himself what proof she had.
"Here, Dad. But don't smash Nia's phone, okay? It's expensive," Fania warned before handing it to Marwan.
Marwan ignored her and took Fania's phone without a word.
His jaw tightened further when he clearly saw the indecent photo, featuring his own biological daughter.
Marwan's blood boiled at once. His face and eyes reddened, revealing his overwhelming fury.
"YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!"
Thud.
Mentari squeezed her eyes shut as her own father shouted at her. He was the only biological family she had left after her mother died several years ago.
But this was nothing new to Mentari. She had grown accustomed to her father's harsh treatment ever since her mother passed away—especially after her father took a new wife.
"You two, come with me now!"
After saying that, Marwan strode away, followed by Fania and her mother, who still found the time to cast a crooked smile at Mentari.
Actually, the mother and daughter had already seen Gala accidentally fall through the window onto Mentari. But they put on a whole act as if Mentari had done it deliberately.
Skipping ahead, they were all in the living room.
"Well done, Mentari." Marwan glared at his daughter, who was still looking down. "Instead of repaying me for all the hardship I went through to raise you, you do something indecent in my house."
"Tari can explain, Dad. This is just a misunderstanding." Mentari tried to defend herself.
Mentari was standing beside Gala, who had not said a word the entire time.
Even though this was only a misunderstanding, Gala knew where he had gone wrong. He should never have entered a girl's bedroom while the house was empty.
"I'm disappointed in you, Mentari. I regret having a daughter like you. Why can't you be more like your sister? She always knows how to make her parents happy."
Mentari's tears flowed even harder as she was compared to her stepsister yet again.
"What else do I have to do, Dad? What more can Tari do to make you happy? Sob... T-Tari got into a top university on a scholarship. Tari's won trophies and all kinds of certificates from different competitions. What else am I supposed to do? Sob?"
Sometimes Mentari wondered what Fania had that she didn't. Why was Fania always treated as perfect, while Mentari, who was constantly trying to improve, was never appreciated?
As far as Mentari knew, Fania had no accomplishments except shopping and wasting money.
Was that what she was supposed to imitate?
"If you really want to make your father happy, then why did you bring a man into your bedroom while the house was empty, Mentari?"
Rosa put on a disappointed expression as she looked at Mentari, pretending to be upset about what Mentari had done.
In truth, she was laughing with satisfaction inside as she watched Mentari land in serious trouble.
"But, Mom—"
"SHUT UP, MENTARI! I'M SICK OF LOOKING AT YOUR FACE!" Marwan shouted, raising his hand high.
Seeing that, Gala clenched his fists tightly. The only person he loved in this world was being shouted at and humiliated right before his eyes.
Especially while her stepsister and stepmother were putting on yet another performance.
"As my older sister, Sis Mentari, you should set a good example for me. Now Dad and Mom are going to be embarrassed in front of the neighbors. Where will they hide their faces if someone everyone knows as a good girl ends up pregnant out of wedlock?"
"What your sister said is right, Mentari. I don't want to bear the shame if any of the neighbors find out that you brought a man into your bedroom."
"But I didn't do any—"
"QUIET!!"
Marwan shouted as he stood and stepped closer to his daughter.
"You—why have you been silent this whole time? What exactly have you done to my daughter?"
Marwan now pointed at Gala, who was still standing beside Mentari with a calm expression.
This was one of the special things about Gala. No matter the situation, the man remained calm so he wouldn't make a rash decision.
"If I answer honestly, will you believe me, sir?"
Gala gathered his courage and looked up fearlessly into Marwan's eyes.
"Answer honestly! I don't want to hear any more lies," Marwan pressed.
"I didn't do anything to Mentari. I only..."
"Only what, huh? ONLY TAKE THIS FOOLISH GIRL'S HONOR?!" Marwan roared furiously.
Thwack.
A fist struck Gala's jaw, splitting the corner of his lip and drawing thick red fluid.
But Gala didn't react at all. He remained standing where he was and didn't even wince.
"ENOUGH, DAD, STOP!" Mentari, still crying, shrieked as her father continued beating Gala.
Marwan gave a sinister chuckle when Mentari dared to shout at him just to defend that poor man.
"After doing something indecent in my house, you dare shout at me too?" Marwan hissed.
"That's not what Tari meant, Dad."
Mentari tried to grab her father's hand to apologize, but he roughly slapped her hand away. She would have fallen if Gala hadn't caught her.
"You ungrateful brat! Get out of my house!"
The middle-aged man cruelly drove his own daughter out of the house over a simple misunderstanding, refusing to let her explain.
"I'm sorry, Dad! Tari didn't mean to yell at you." With tears streaming nonstop, Mentari kept begging for forgiveness so she wouldn't be thrown out.
"Just throw her out, honey! Do you want to bear the shame of having a daughter who gets pregnant out of wedlock?"
Hearing that, Mentari could only cry. Meanwhile, Gala, standing beside Nafisa, couldn't bear to watch the girl he loved get thrown out of the house just like that.
"I will marry Mentari and take her home with me if you no longer want her," he said loudly, his voice filled with absolute certainty.