“Lastri, accept everything. It’s all happened already,” Anton replied.
“What do you mean, bringing them here?” Mom’s voice was filled with restrained emotion. “I just found out that you’ve been shamelessly cheating on me all this time—and that you even have a child older than Yasmin! When did you marry her? When?” Mom’s voice rose higher and higher.
Anton appeared to let out a sigh. “A long time ago, Lastri,” he replied, his voice firm yet tinged with concern. “I was forced into it. You never got pregnant, even after we’d been married for years. I didn’t want to die without having children. While I was away on duty, I met the daughter of my uncle’s friend. She was a recent high school graduate when I married her. My uncle’s friend owed me a great deal of money, and to repay his debt, he took the initiative to arrange a marriage between his daughter and me. I accepted because I felt sorry for her, too. Her mother had already passed away.”
“You felt sorry for her, Mas,” Lastri scoffed, “but you didn’t feel sorry for me and your children?”
“I thought you couldn’t have children, so I took the initiative to marry again. It’s already happened, Lastri. Accept it. We’ll live together.”
“No, Mas, I can’t.” Mom shook her head, her voice trembling as she held back her tears.
“Fine, then. If you can’t accept it, leave. I’ll make sure your children suffer without their father’s money and affection.”
Lastri fell silent. His words seemed to fly away and disappear into the air. She could no longer speak. Lastri wiped away her tears and quickly left the room. When Yasmin saw her mother come out, she ran toward her.
Lastri gave her a weak smile. “I’m fine, Yas. Go see your younger siblings and take them to eat. It’s already lunchtime.”
Yasmin lowered her head, holding back her simmering anger. It was so hard to accept this reality. Lastri had been forced to accept everything because she didn’t want her two children to live without a father’s love, and she couldn’t support them on her own either. She didn’t have a job.
The house suddenly felt unfamiliar with them there. Yasmin, who had usually been free to relax in her room, now had to prepare to move out. Rayya, who had just entered the house, suddenly wanted her room. Yasmin had overheard Mona asking her father to make Yasmin move out immediately so the room she was currently in could belong to Rayya.
Yasmin went to her room and found her mother crying on the bed. She immediately hugged Lastri tightly, as though giving her the strength to keep going.
“What’s wrong, Mom? Why are you crying?”
“Mom, why? Why would Dad do this? I thought Dad was the best father, the one I loved most. But I was wrong. Dad’s evil, Mom. He’s evil!”
Lastri simply stroked her daughter’s back, trying to calm Yasmin with a smile that remained weak yet full of strength.
“That’s enough, Yasmin. This was your father’s decision. Come on, let’s get ready. Take all your things to another room.”
Yasmin fell silent. Her heart felt terribly wounded by that decision. But seeing her mother’s resilience, she didn’t want to add to the woman’s burden.
Yasmin lowered her head, trying to hold back the tears welling in her eyes.
“All right, Mom,” she replied softly.
She began packing her things one by one. Her hands moved as she put her clothes into a bag, while her mind remained filled with disappointment.
Lastri simply stood beside her, occasionally helping put Yasmin’s things away. They were both silent, as though neither knew what else to say.
Now they officially lived in Yasmin’s family home, a fairly large house. Yasmin was coming down the stairs when she saw her mother and Rayya in the kitchen. Rayya was helping Lastri clear the dining table. The girl smiled faintly as she carried several plates to their place.
Lastri herself was eating. Yasmin knew her mother hadn’t eaten anything since morning because she’d been too busy preparing for her father’s arrival.
But the peaceful atmosphere suddenly changed when Mona appeared in the kitchen.
“Rayya, what are you doing here?” Mona snapped.
Without waiting for an answer, Mona roughly grabbed Rayya’s arm.
The plate Rayya was holding slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.
Crash!
The plate shattered. Several shards struck Rayya’s foot.
“Ow!” Rayya winced in pain, clutching her foot as it began to bleed.
Yasmin immediately moved to approach her when she saw what had happened.
“Rayya!”
But Mona suddenly screamed hysterically.
“Don’t you dare come any closer!”