“Well, yes. Where else would they go? Sofia is your wife now. Of course you two have to live together,” Meira repeated, making her meaning clear.
“B-but ….”
“Come on, don’t be shy. You’ll get used to it,” Sarah added, not wanting to make things tense. She was worried Hermawan might grow suspicious if Naro continued to object.
As if he understood what was happening, Edwin took over. He put an arm around the young man and led him a short distance away from the crowd.
“I’ve reminded you countless times. Watch your attitude, Naro! What if Mr. Hermawan and the others find out that you were the one who hit her?!”
“But, Dad. You only asked me to marry her, not live with her!” Naro shot back in a restrained voice.
“Who gets married and then lives separately? You’re only making people think something strange about the two of you.”
“But, Dad ….”
“No more buts. Do as I say. Take Sofia to your place. We’ll meet at the office tomorrow. There’s something important I need to discuss with you,” he concluded, cutting Naro off.
Afterward, the families escorted the newlyweds outside to leave the building. Meira had prepared a car, and Sofia and Naro were driven to the apartment. The farewell grew emotional once again. Sofia’s father and three younger siblings embraced before they parted.
“Take care of yourself, sweetheart. Don’t worry about anything anymore. It’s time for you to be happy with the man you love,” Hermawan said in a trembling voice. Sarah, who had been the first to announce the marriage, had made up a story that Naro was Sofia’s boyfriend. She claimed they had been together for a long time without their families knowing.
Naro, standing a short distance away, turned his face aside and let out an irritated sigh. ‘How could she make up a story like that? Tch!’ he cursed inwardly. He knew exactly who had told that lie to his father-in-law.
“Come on, honey. Don’t cry again. It’s time for us to let Sofia start her own married life,” Sarah said, pretending to care. In reality, she wanted this small talk to end as quickly as possible.
“Yes, Mr. Hermawan. It’s time for us to let our children go. Let them begin their lives from here on out. Besides, they aren’t going far. We can still see each other from time to time. My wife and I will visit regularly to check on Sofia’s legs,” Edwin said.
“Yes, yes. I know that, Mr. Edwin. Thank you for welcoming my daughter into your great family. I never imagined I would become related by marriage to someone as impressive as you. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Hermawan. They’re destined for each other, after all. How could we, as their parents, oppose it?”
The two men exchanged smiles. Unbeknownst to them, Sofia had kept her head bowed the entire time to hide her tears, while Naro secretly clenched his teeth, holding back his rage.
‘Dad, forgive your daughter for lying. I only did this so Mama Sarah wouldn’t hurt you and my siblings,’ Sofia thought.
‘You two had better explain everything afterward, Mom and Dad. How could you treat me like this? There’s no way I’m going to live under the same roof as this woman!’ At the same time, Naro was busy protesting to Edwin with his eyes.
“Come on, Naro. Take your wife to the car. Poor thing, she must be exhausted by now,” Meira interjected, breaking the tension between the father and son.
Reluctantly, Naro pushed Sofia’s wheelchair to the car and lifted her inside. Anger, frustration, and awkwardness filled them both. Neither of them knew what kind of life lay ahead. But one thing was certain: Naro realized that Sofia’s presence had greatly increased his responsibilities.
The car began to move. It left the building’s gate and followed the black asphalt, which was always packed with other vehicles. The sun beat down fiercely, making several motorcyclists squint against the glare.
Not a single sound could be heard inside the car. Reno, the driver—and one of Edwin’s right-hand men—occasionally glanced at the newlyweds in the back seat.
“Um … sorry, Mr. Naro, but Ms. Sofia seems to have been in pain for a while. Should we go to the hospital first?”
The reason Reno kept glancing at them through the rearview mirror was the soft hiss of pain coming from Sofia. She felt uncomfortable somewhere in her body.
“No need. We’re going straight to the apartment. After that, Reno, you can go home and just leave the car in the parking lot,” Naro replied coldly. He didn’t even turn to look at Sofia or bother checking on her. All he could think about was Naiva. He imagined how sad and heartbroken she must be right now.
“Yes, sir,” Reno replied. He immediately pressed harder on the gas pedal so the car would go faster and arrive sooner. Sofia’s pained expression disturbed him. Though he was just as petty as his boss, Reno couldn’t ignore Sofia’s condition this time.
After nearly twenty minutes on the road, they finally arrived at Naro’s apartment. It was an elegant high-rise building in an upscale residential area. Reno drove the car up the spiral ramp to the top.
When they reached Naro’s apartment level, Reno got out at once and opened the door for Sofia, who was sitting directly behind him. Naro opened his own door and slammed it shut. The sudden noise made Sofia flinch. She turned and looked at Naro, a huge question in her eyes.
She knew perfectly well that Naro was angry and upset with her because of the marriage. But why take it out on her? Weren’t they in the same position?
“Reno, thanks for bringing us here. You can go back to Dad now,” Naro said firmly. He felt exhausted and didn’t want to be bothered by anyone. But at that very moment, his eyes caught sight of Sofia. Naro immediately closed his eyes and ground his teeth hard.
A little roughly, he moved to Sofia’s side and lifted her into the wheelchair Reno had taken from the trunk.
“Are you sure you don’t need my help, Mr. Naro?” Reno asked hesitantly, looking at his young master uncertainly.
“No, Reno. Thanks. I can do it,” Naro replied haltingly. He wasn’t tired from lifting Sofia. He was tired from having to hold back his anger without knowing whom to direct it at.
“All right, then. I’ll be going, sir.” Reno dipped his head slightly in respect.
Naro only glanced at him before continuing toward the automatic entrance, pushing Sofia’s wheelchair.
An uncomfortable atmosphere hung over them. Sofia had especially noticed Naro’s heavy sighs from behind her ever since they arrived.
“I’m sorry for troubling you. I … I’ll try to recover as quickly as possible so I won’t be such a burden,” Sofia said when Naro had just brought her to the bed.
“Yes, you’d better. Get well quickly so I can put everything back the way it was. You do realize this marriage is only a compromise, right?” Naro replied harshly. He even shot her a sarcastic look.
Sofia fell silent, feeling even more uncomfortable. This had all happened because of Sarah’s scheming. Worse, that woman was part of her family. Sofia understood why Naro was taking his anger out on her.
“That girl … is she your girlfriend?” Sofia ventured. She had felt extremely uncomfortable seeing Naiva glare at her during the wedding. “Please give her my apology.”
“No!” Naro had been about to leave, but he quickly turned around. He slowly approached Sofia, his eyes sharp. “You … have to pay for breaking her heart with the suffering I’m about to put you through. Because of you, I had to see her tears. Because of you, she feels betrayed. I’ll make sure you and your wretched stepmother pay for all of it.”
“What about the accident? Didn’t it all start because of your mistake too?” Sofia refused to let herself be cornered.
“Yes, and I wanted to take responsibility by paying for all your medical treatment until you recovered. But your damn stepmother demanded more!”
“But you could’ve refused, couldn’t you? Why dump all the blame on me?”
“Because my life got dragged into misery because of your family! Got it?!”
His shout rang out. Naro had lost his temper. His eyes widened, filled with hatred. He gripped Sofia’s jaw tightly, glaring at her ferociously before roughly letting go, making her face jerk to the side. The next second, Naro stormed out, followed by the sound of the door being yanked open and slammed shut.
Sofia closed her eyes as clear tears began to fall without restraint. She could clearly imagine what her life would be like from then on. Even so, she tried to stay strong and endure. At least until she could free her father and siblings from Sarah’s grip. To do that, she needed to recover quickly and get some money.
“Give me strength, God. I want to get well and escape this miserable life,” she prayed inwardly with determination.
The next day, they met at breakfast. A housekeeper Meira had sent had prepared everything and would stay with Sofia until evening. As soon as Sofia came out of her bedroom, Naro called out to her in a deep voice.
“Sit down. There’s something I want to discuss with you,” Naro said. He sounded calm, though his voice still carried a cold edge. His eyes only glanced at Sofia.
Sofia knew Naro was still angry. So she quickly pressed the automatic control on her wheelchair and moved closer. She positioned herself at the end of the table, across from the man who was now her husband.
“You agree, right, when I say our relationship is too complicated to explain?” Naro asked seriously. He looked straight into Sofia’s eyes.
“Yes, I agree,” she replied, though she still had no idea where this conversation was going.
“Okay. Good. Then I need to tell you this now.” Naro seemed to sigh as he tightened his jaw, as if he were about to reveal something major.
“Sofia, you know I already have someone I love, right?”
The woman he had questioned merely nodded, resigned to hearing what Naro would say next.
“So … get well quickly so I can be relieved of my responsibility for you and marry her as soon as possible.”
It was as though a drum had been struck right beside Sofia’s ears. She jolted and lifted her face. She knew this marriage had no future. Even so, hearing Naro make his intentions clear still made her heart tremble faintly.