Elsewhere, Rudi was fuming. Nayara no longer treated him the way she usually did. On top of that, he couldn't drive the car he'd taken everywhere during their two years of marriage. He couldn't even ride the motorcycle that had always been his companion before he married Nayara.
Nayara met Rudi when her car got a flat tire in an area far from any repair shop. At the time, Nayara wasn't a bank director yet; she was still the head of the marketing department. Rudi, who knew a little about cars, tried to help her change the tire.
After that meeting, the two grew close. Nayara, who had never known any man intimately other than her husband and Ratih's children, was hypnotized by all the attention Rudi gave her. But the two of them had no commitment whatsoever. They simply met often and went out together. And when Rudi learned that Nayara had been promoted to main branch manager at the bank where she worked, he pursued her even more aggressively. Around the same time, Rudi was also promoted to supervisor at the company where he worked, and he considered Nayara his good luck charm.
After serving as director of the main branch for a year, Rudi finally worked up the courage to propose to Nayara. At the time, Nayara already felt she was old enough to get married, so she immediately accepted his proposal.
"What's wrong, Rud? Was yesterday's service not enough?" A woman older than Rudi approached him.
"Alexa!" Rudi was startled to find the production department employee already standing so close to him.
"Come on, Rud. I want you." The woman named Alexa draped herself over Rudi.
"We're at the office, Alexa!" Rudi brushed her hands away.
"So it's okay if we're not at the office?" Alexa fluttered her eyes at him.
"I'm stressed, Alexa. My wife is upset. I only brought the motorcycle today. We can't go anywhere," Rudi argued.
"I'll borrow my father's car later. We'll go to the hotel from yesterday," Alexa whined.
Yes, the woman who had approached Rudi was the same woman who had been with him the day before—the one Nayara had seen. Alexa wasn't special, nor was she the daughter of an influential company executive. Compared with Nayara, Alexa was a downgrade. Who knew what had blinded Rudi to make him so captivated by Alexa?
"I'm going home early today, Alexa. I have to coax my wife. I'm about to be promoted and take over for your father when he retires. How could I show up at the office in that old motorcycle of mine? I don't have enough savings to buy a car yet," Rudi explained.
Rudi could be called the type of man who had no shame, using his wife's wealth to cheat on her. There had never been any bad rumors about him before. Only in the past few months had he started fooling around with Alexa, whose standing was far below that of his wife.
Alexa sulked and left Rudi's office. Not long afterward, one of Rudi's coworkers entered to report on the day's performance.
"Stop fooling around, Rud. Remember, you have a child who's only one year old," said a coworker who knew about Rudi and Alexa's affair.
"What the hell, Arman!" Rudi resented being reminded by his coworker.
"Don't play dumb. Alexa has no influence in this company. If the managing director finds out about your affair with a fellow employee, your career could be ruined," Arman said.
"Isn't the managing director of this company a player too?" Rudi sneered.
"That's their right. They own the company. You don't have to follow their example," Arman replied.
"I feel needed when I'm with Alexa, Arman. It's different with Ara. Ara is too independent. I don't even have to say anything—she knows what I want. Even when we're having sex, I don't have to tell her what to do. She understands how to get things started," Rudi admitted frankly to his coworker.
"Isn't that the perfect package?" Arman pressed.
"But it makes me feel inferior to her," Rudi argued.
"If there's something missing from our relationship, we communicate about it, Rud. We don't cheat. And we especially don't act like the victim. You're playing the victim, Rud. Whatever. I don't want to get involved. Do whatever you want," Arman said, refusing to argue with Rudi any longer.
Someone who knowingly does wrong will never want to admit their mistake. They'll always look for justification and find a scapegoat for what they've done.