“Esta, it’s me, Jagad.”
I clenched the hem of my shirt. This clearly wasn’t the right time to see him. At least not until I’d truly moved on from my ex-husband. Unfortunately, good luck had never been on my side.
“Esta.”
I drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out to get rid of my nerves. Turns out seeing an ex was more nerve-racking than my first night as a bride. After closing my eyes for a moment, I turned to face him.
I forced an awkward smile, then greeted him. “Hi.”
As best I could, I flashed a natural-looking smile so I wouldn’t seem tense. I couldn’t let Jagad get a big head from realizing I still had feelings for him. After nearly three years of trying, I still felt the same flutter in my chest.
“How are you?” he asked, as if it were no big deal.
Apparently, I was the only one who still had those feelings. “Fine.”
I answered with complete confidence. We stared at each other, but I was probably the only one replaying memories of when we were together. The beginning of our marriage had been so beautiful, but after six months passed and we both got busy, everything changed.
He stopped appreciating me.
‘You’re too damn spoiled, Ta. You can’t even handle something this simple. I’m tired!’
I still remembered how he’d gotten angry because I couldn’t install the gas cylinder, so I ended up waiting for him to come home. I’d already tried, but the gas kept hissing.
The thought of the gas exploding while no one was home had obviously scared me. But his reaction was incredibly disappointing. Hurt, I’d gone straight to Sis Mentari’s house. The next day, Jagad came to pick me up, and God only knew what he’d said to make Sis Mentari angry at me.
“Ta, can we talk for a minute?”
And here we were in the end. A café not far from the office. Sitting across from each other after more than two years without seeing one another. Jagad was always calm, while I looked like the one who’d suffered the most.
Not just back then, but now too.
“What is it?” I asked, pretending not to care.
Wasn’t I an expert liar? Even when we’d separated, I’d looked like the villain, to the point that my in-laws had hated me. Jagad’s image as the good guy in his parents’ and everyone else’s eyes had clearly made me the prime suspect behind our divorce.
‘Try complaining less, Esta.’
And there had been plenty of other words that still hurt me to this day. For some reason, I was now willing to sit down with the man who’d made me the worst woman in everyone else’s eyes.
“You’ve changed a lot, Ta.”
The corner of my mouth twitched. What kind of small talk was that?
“Life moves on, and there’s no way I can be the old Esta again. Why are you here?” I asked, not wanting to stay with him any longer. Just sitting here and looking at him was enough to make my heart do somersaults.
“I work here.”
“Huh? Since when?” Of course I was shocked. Jagad hadn’t been there during the icebreaker that morning. I narrowed my eyes, but the sharp-nosed man only stared at me in silence. Suddenly, I remembered what Nadia had said when I returned to the office after lunch.
‘That’s what you get for wandering around all the time. You didn’t know there was a new GM, did you?’
My eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re the new GM?”
Jagad nodded slowly. It was so damn annoying. He even acted like he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“How is that possible?”
Again, Jagad merely shrugged. Damn it. That meant I worked in the same office as my ex. All this time, I’d hidden my divorcee status from my coworkers. As far as they knew, I was still a single woman who’d turned down plenty of men’s marriage proposals.
I figured getting married once and divorced once was more than enough. I was better off living alone because it was more peaceful. What was the point of having a partner if they only made me suffer emotionally? Now, I was more comfortable being a divorcee. Besides, no one knew.
My life was entirely my own.
“No one here knows my status. They think I’m still single. So you can work with me to keep what happened between us a secret, right?” I spoke up again when Jagad chose to remain silent.
The man in front of me picked up his coffee cup, took a slow sip, then set the white cup back on the table.
“Why should I?”
The sly smirk that appeared on his lips drove me completely crazy. Jagad, you were seriously infuriating.
I’d just stepped into the house my parents had left behind. The cold floor and silence were the first things to greet me when the front door opened. Not long after, I heard a little child running toward me from inside. Since when was this little kid here?
Her name was Raya.
“Auntie.”
I winced softly, then gently stroked the head of the petite girl, who was a little over a year old. I didn’t know exactly how much over a year because I wasn’t the one raising her. She was Sis Mentari and her husband’s child.
“You just got home, Ta?”
Typical Wakanda people. They already knew I’d just walked in, and they still had to ask!
I nodded, then set my bag on a chair. “I thought no one was here. When did you get here, Sis Tari?” I asked as I walked toward the refrigerator.
I grabbed some bottled water to cool down my head, which felt like it was about to split open.
“Raya missed you.”
I glanced at the little girl, whose eyes reminded me of someone. I quickly turned away without responding to Sis Mentari. I looked at the food on the table. Of course Sis Tari had brought it.
“Eat first, Ta.”
I shook my head. “I already ate, Sis.”
With Jagad. Unfortunately, I could only finish those words in my head. Sis Mentari couldn’t know I’d seen him. Back then, Sis Mentari had defended Jagad so fiercely whenever we fought, but now all that remained in her heart was hatred.
Just like mine.
“Ta, Sis Tari and Bro Elang are going out of town.”
I raised my head. My hand, which had been about to put a shallot cracker in my mouth, stopped in midair. “So?”
“I want to leave Raya here with you.”
“No way!” I shot back. I worked, and there was no way I could bring a little kid to the office, even if it was allowed.
Especially now that Jagad worked there too. I didn’t want that man getting the wrong idea about Raya being around.
“Ta, please. Just this once.”
“I have work, Sis.”
“Raya isn’t naughty. She’s quiet, Esta. You just need to give her some books and snacks.”
I let out a heavy sigh. Raya really was quiet and didn’t fuss like most other kids. But that wasn’t the problem. If only Jagad and I didn’t work in the same office, I definitely would’ve considered bringing Raya with me.
“I can’t, Sis.” I looked at Sis Mentari pleadingly.
I glanced at the little girl staring at me. Ah, damn it. That look always made me reluctant to look at Raya for too long.
“Esta, but she’s—”
“She’s Sis Tari’s kid!”
I could see the shock on Raya’s face when she heard my raised voice. I turned away, regretting that I’d scared her.
“Is it because of Jagad?”
My eyes flew wide at Sis Mentari’s question.
“You know, Sis Tari?”