“That has to be the school shuttle,” Naira said hoarsely. She drew a long breath, then forced a smile. “Come on, finish your breakfast. The driver’s here.”
Kirana stood up first. She slung her bag over her shoulder, then fixed her eyes on her mother.
“Mom, you didn’t sleep all night, did you?” she asked softly. “Dad left before dawn too.”
“Your father had an urgent matter at the factory,” Naira replied curtly. She picked up Swara’s lunchbox and headed for the front door. She didn’t want the conversation about Bagas to continue that morning.
The moment she opened the door, Naira stopped dead.
A blue taxi had just pulled into the driveway. It wasn’t the school shuttle. The minivan that usually took the children to school was still parked in the garage.
Ratih, who had followed her outside, frowned.
“Mom… who is that?”
Naira didn’t answer. Her chest suddenly felt tight. The bad feeling she had managed to push aside came rushing back.
The taxi door opened.
Bagas got out first. He was still wearing the same clothes as the night before. His shirt was wrinkled, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. The moment he saw Naira, he walked straight toward her.
Bagas didn’t enter the house right away.
He walked to the taxi’s rear door, opened it, and extended his hand inside.
Naira’s breath caught.
Her fingers clamped around the porch pillar so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
A moment later, a young woman stepped out, taking Bagas’s offered hand. She had fair skin, neatly tied-back hair, and a peach-colored silk dress that fell loosely over her stomach.
Larasati Wening.
Naira swallowed. Her throat suddenly felt dry.
Bagas… the man who had been by her side for more than a decade and fathered their three daughters… was now standing in their driveway, holding hands with his new wife.
“Dad?” Ratih called faintly. Her face was filled with confusion. “Who… who is that?”
Swara instinctively hid behind Naira. Her fingers gripped her mother’s sweater so tightly that her violin case nearly slipped from her hand.
Bagas led Larasati up onto the porch. He didn’t answer Ratih’s question at all. His gaze swept over Naira and their three daughters without the slightest hint of guilt.
“Aren’t you girls going to school?” he asked flatly.
Kirana stepped forward, positioning herself in front of Ratih and Swara. Her eyes studied the woman beside her father before stopping on the white-gold necklace with a diamond pendant around Larasati’s neck.
That necklace…
She recognized it.
The same necklace had been listed on the credit-card bill lying on her mother’s desk the night before.
“We’re not leaving for school until you explain who this woman is,” Kirana said firmly. Her eyes never left Bagas. “And why you’re holding her hand in front of our house.”
Bagas’s face instantly flushed red.
“Watch your mouth, Kirana!” he shouted. “Get in the car right now! This is an adult matter. Stay out of it!”
“I have the right to protect Mom!” Kirana shot back without fear. Both her hands curled into fists. “You brought a strange woman into this house after making Mom cry all night. I’m not leaving.”
Seeing the situation begin to heat up, Larasati pressed herself closer to Bagas’s arm. She lowered her head and gripped his shirt tightly, as if she were frightened.
“Darling, your children are scaring me,” Larasati whispered. Her voice was deliberately loud enough for Naira to hear. “Maybe we came at the wrong time. I can wait outside.”
“No.” Bagas immediately took Larasati’s hand. “You’re my wife. This is your home too.”
His words froze the entire scene.
Ratih covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes widened, and tears began to stream down her face. Behind Naira, Swara sobbed softly, burying her face against her mother.
Naira closed her eyes for a moment. The tightness she had been holding in since the night before turned into fury.
She could still deal with Bagas’s betrayal involving the money. She had even managed to swallow the discovery of that wedding invitation in his office. But bringing that woman into their home and shattering their children’s hearts right before they left for school… that was beyond the limit.
Naira released the pillar and walked past Kirana until she stood at the top of the stairs. She blocked the way in front of her children, staring fearlessly at Bagas and Larasati.
“Driver!” she called loudly.
Her voice shattered the silence in the driveway.
A middle-aged man hurried out of the garage. He bowed respectfully, but the panic on his face was impossible to hide.
“Take the children to the car. Drive them to school now,” Naira ordered. Her eyes remained fixed on Bagas.
“But, Mom,” Kirana protested. “I don’t want to leave you alone with them!”
Naira turned to her. Her gaze softened.
“Go, sweetheart,” she said gently. “Look after your sisters. Make sure they get to class safely. I’ll deal with this trash. I promise.”
Kirana had just started toward the minivan when a black sedan stopped across the gate.
Everyone turned.
The sedan’s rear door opened. Mrs. Hartini stepped out calmly, as though she already knew what was happening. Behind her, her private driver promptly opened the trunk, while the taxi driver got out as well and removed two large suitcases.
“Put these suitcases in the front bedroom, Aunt Inah,” Mrs. Hartini said without turning around.
Aunt Inah, who had been standing anxiously in the doorway, froze. Her fingers twisted her apron, then she unconsciously turned toward Naira, waiting for the order she truly needed.
Naira stared straight at her mother-in-law.
“Aunt Inah will not move a single thing into this house,” she said calmly.
Her voice wasn’t loud. But it was enough to make the taxi driver, who was about to carry the suitcases onto the porch, stop in his tracks.