“I’m sorry, Sis.”
My heart shattered into a thousand pieces in that instant. Every dream I’d painstakingly arranged too late now collapsed without a trace.
Nala, my younger sister. She was my only sibling—the one I’d protected with all my heart. For her, I’d given up dressing like the other girls my age. For my sweet little sister, I’d pushed skincare and snacks out of my mind.
But what was this?
How had it come to this?
“So… how many weeks?” I asked, glancing at her stomach.
Only then did I realize her belly really was starting to show. I’d thought it was normal—Nala loved eating seblak and hardly ever exercised. Who would’ve guessed there was a “living being” in there, completely unaware of anything, yet destined to destroy my life?
“Five weeks.”
It wasn’t Nala who answered, but Dwi—my fiancé. Dad, Mom, and the man who was supposed to be my husband all looked equally uneasy. As if they’d known for a long time that I never truly belonged in this house.
Why?
What had I done wrong?
“So what do you want me to do?” I asked, fighting desperately to hold back my tears.
We were getting married in one week—just one week—and this had to happen. If they’d told me from the start, maybe I could’ve accepted it. I’d always been used to giving in to Nala, after all. But this was different. The invitations had already gone out.
“Sis, please let me marry Dwi, okay? Please, Sis. I don’t want my baby to grow up without his father’s love.”
You think it’s that easy?
“Then what am I supposed to do, Nala? And you, Dwi—why didn’t you tell me from the beginning that you wanted my sister?”
For the first time in my twenty-four years, I shouted at them. My patience had always seemed endless. But now—at this exact moment—it felt as if my life had truly been made a joke.
“Come on, sweetheart. You two aren’t married yet, right? Poor Nala’s already in this situation. Your dad’s been wanting to tell you for days that your sister should be the one to marry him. It’s because—”
I ran out of the house without hearing Dad’s explanation. My chest felt unbearably tight and hot as I listened to my parents defend Nala without end. What had I done wrong? What sin had I committed for God to test me this cruelly?
I ran without knowing where I was going, straight ahead until my feet stopped at a new bridge—the same bridge I’d crossed with my “fiancé” two days ago. The tears I’d held back finally broke loose. The pressure in my chest wouldn’t ease; it only grew worse.
I walked toward the bridge railing. Suicide had never crossed my mind. I only wanted to calm down. The water of the Bengawan Solo River looked clear, the exact opposite of the turmoil in my heart. Through my endless sobbing, I managed a faint smile—a smile that probably looked pathetic.
I don’t know what compelled me, but my gaze became fixed on the river current below. The water, calm a moment before, suddenly formed a powerful whirlpool. A blinding light appeared at its center. Before I could recover from the shock, someone shoved me into the whirlpool with all their strength.
Slowly but surely, I heard a familiar voice whisper words of death. Or maybe… a farewell?
“Just die already, Sis.”
The bone-chilling cold made the black-haired girl tighten her embrace around someone. For a moment, she casually nuzzled against him, her naked body looking stunning despite being covered by only a thin blanket.
The man holding her smiled with satisfaction as he gazed at the girl. His eyes were filled with love, as if the girl in his arms was the source of his life.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered gently.
“Mmgh…”
The woman he’d called sweetheart didn’t wake up. She only groaned. Winter in Altaris City was truly brutal this year. But it wasn’t nearly so bad when the two of them could share their warmth in bed.
“Sweetheart, your daughter’s waiting for you. When are you going to wake up?”
In a gentle voice, the man woke the woman who was none other than his wife. A few moments later, she woke up—with a piercing scream when she realized what she was doing.
“Who are you?!” Meyka snapped.
The man, who had suddenly been kicked off the bed, frowned in confusion before letting out an amused laugh. “What’s gotten into you? You’ve been kicking me a lot lately, babe!”
Meyka, the girl who still hadn’t realized that she wasn’t wearing a thing, seemed to be burning up despite the cold weather. Her face flushed red, and for all she knew, steam might even have been coming off the top of her head.
“Mom?”
The soft voice from behind made the man, who had been sitting on the floor, quickly get up and cover the still-dazed “Meyka.”
“Hey, girl. Go with Daddy for now, okay? Mommy hasn’t showered yet. She’s still stinky,” the man chuckled.
Strangely enough, the two people with double eyelids took off just like that. Meyka, that crazy woman, smiled faintly—or maybe… bitterly.
For a while, her brain was completely frozen. Then she let out an amused laugh. Was this for real? Had she actually crossed into another dimension like the novel she’d read two days ago?
“God’s plan? Oh, give me a break. Getting cheated on and betrayed wasn’t enough—I have to deal with crossing into another dimension too?”
She wanted to refuse to believe it, but she was here now, in a place that was the complete opposite of shabby. Her room, which had contained nothing but a worn-out mattress, now had a beautiful bed frame. There was even a row of skincare products that was a feast for the eyes.
For a moment, Meyka—whose soul had somehow been replaced by this foreign presence—rubbed the cheek as white as snow. It was the exact opposite of the original owner of the soul. Was she lucky? If all this was real, hadn’t she just hit the jackpot?
Yes, that was what she’d thought half an hour ago. Until Meyka was confronted with the fact that she was already a mom!
Meyka smiled awkwardly. After cleaning herself up, she decided to choose a taupe dress and hurried downstairs because the worm in her stomach kept writhing with hunger. The moment she left her room, she was shocked to see an elevator. And it didn’t end there—Meyka had to make her way through seemingly endless hallways.
Damn, her feet were exhausted from wandering around. Relying on instinct, Meyka decided to ask where the dining room was. Luckily, although they looked a little confused, the maids decided to escort her. And here she was now, wearing an utterly bewildered expression.
“Mommy doesn’t eat?” asked the little girl with two braids, who looked exactly like Meyka had as a child.
“Um, you go ahead,” Meyka replied.
“You?” The little girl looked confused.
Meyka swallowed. What the heck—was that wrong? She’d never had a child before, so how was she supposed to know how to handle this kid? Ahem. Even though she’d dreamed of marrying Dwi and having a child this adorable, that had all just been a plan.
Besides, who would’ve guessed that her sweet-looking little sister could betray her?
“Sweetheart, is something wrong? My love never wears lipstick,” added the man who claimed to be her husband.
Meyka blinked. Huh?
What kind of crazy woman wears light makeup without lipstick?