Anna and Sri entered the house and headed to the living room, where they sat on the sofa. Anna's house looked neat, clean, and modest. Sri had already served Anna's favorite chocolate cake and sweet tea on the table.
"I was also offered a job at a design company," Anna added.
"Oh, really?" Sri was overjoyed and proud of Anna.
"Yes, Mom. Thank God," Anna said as she hugged her mother tightly.
The expressions on Anna and Sri's faces clearly showed that they seemed to have tried to forget their dark past and move forward into a happy future.
A magnificent house stood behind a middle-aged woman sitting in a chair and enjoying the tea served on the table. She gazed at the scene behind the house. There was a swimming pool, and the distant mountain view felt wonderfully cool and refreshing.
She was dressed casually in a beautiful house dress. Her face was elegant, yet firm. She picked up her phone and called someone.
"Assalamu'alaikum, Mom," a man answered from the other end of the phone.
"When?" the middle-aged woman asked without wasting time. She did not smile, and anger was clear on her face.
"God willing, next month, Mom," the man replied.
"Remember! Don't you dare lie to me again. If I catch you lying, don't ever consider me your mother again. Do you hear me?" the woman threatened.
She immediately hung up her iPhone, her expression annoyed.
Maria Malandre was the matriarch of the Malandre family and the wife of Mr. Irsyad Malandre. Mr. Malandre was an extremely wealthy businessman who owned many large companies, including a Clothing Design Company in their city.
As Maria was calling her son, who lived in London, Mr. Malandre came over to her. He was dressed casually because today was a holiday.
"What happened? He doesn't want to come home again?" Mr. Malandre asked as he sat beside Maria.
Maria and Mr. Malandre looked perfectly matched. They truly seemed like a husband and wife destined for each other.
"He says he'll come home next month." Maria placed her phone on the table.
"This time, I don't want to hear any excuses. He has to come home this year!" Mr. Malandre ordered firmly.
"Yes, Dad. I'll remind him again later," Maria replied without arguing with her husband.
Anna and Sri were shopping at a traditional market. They had already bought several things and were carrying two large plastic bags. Finally, they headed to a banana vendor. The bananas were fresh, and many of them had already turned yellow.
"How much are they, sir?" Sri asked as she picked out the freshest bananas.
"One bunch is 20,000 rupiah, ma'am. Take two bunches, and I'll give them to you for 30,000."
"Really, sir?" Anna asked to make sure she had heard him correctly.
"That's right, kid. You've been regular customers of mine," the man replied with a smile. He took two bunches of bananas and put them in a plastic bag.
Sri opened her wallet to take out the money, then made sure to close it again.
The banana vendor handed the bananas to Anna while Sri paid him. "Here you go, sir." She held the money out to him.
"Thank you, ma'am. I hope your cakes keep selling well," the banana vendor said.
"Yes, sir. Thank you so much," Anna and Sri said together. They smiled at each other and returned home.
The employee room housed around twenty staff members, all busy at their respective desks as they examined stacks of documents.
A male staff member named Alex could be identified by his name badge. He was opening documents for new employee recruitment. He had rejected several applicants because their experience did not meet the requirements.
When he opened the second-to-last file, the applicant's experience and education caught his attention.
'Bachelor's degree from Turki'
'Her paintings had once been purchased by the king of Turki'
'And a master's degree in her home country'
Alex looked at the applicant's profile and photo again.
"Anna Raehana." Alex tapped Anna's photo with his pen. Then he closed the document. "This is the right one."