That night, Wulan’s luxurious apartment in Paris was still shrouded in silence. It was ten p.m. local time when her phone rang sharply, breaking the quiet of her office filled with company documents.
“Adrian?” Wulan answered immediately, her voice trembling between longing and worry when she saw her son’s name on the screen. “What is it, son? It’s unusual for you to call this late.”
“Mom, I... I need to tell you something important.” Adrian’s voice on the other end was full of excitement, unlike his usual hurried calls about company reports.
“Just tell me. I’m listening.”
“I’m getting married, Mom.”
Wulan fell silent for a moment. The pen she had been holding slipped onto the desk. “Married? To whom? Why have I never heard that you were seeing someone?”
“Her name is Bella, Mom. We’ve been seeing each other for a year, but I deliberately kept it from you because I wanted to make sure I was serious about my feelings first.” There was a note of pride in Adrian’s voice. “She’s a good person, Mom. Caring. I’m sure you’ll like her.”
“Adrian...” Wulan let out a long breath, trying to hold back the turmoil in her chest. “You know that ever since Dad died, I’ve only had you. I didn’t go abroad because I don’t love you. I had to manage the company branch there. And now you’re telling me you’re getting married, yet I haven’t even met your fiancée?”
“That’s why I’m calling, Mom. I want you to come home. I want to introduce Bella to you in person.” Adrian’s voice softened. “I promise, you’ll agree as soon as you meet her.”
Wulan closed her eyes, trying to calm the bad feeling that had suddenly filled her heart. “All right. I’ll come home.”
“Seriously, Mom? When?”
“As soon as possible. I might already be in Jakarta within the next few days.”
“Thank you, Mom! I promise, Bella’s a good person. You’ll love her.”
After the conversation ended, Wulan sat lost in thought in her office chair for a long time. Her eyes stared blankly out the window at the city lights of Paris glittering in the distance. Something in Adrian’s tone made her uneasy—not his happiness, but the unusual urgency in his voice.
She reached for her phone again, this time calling her personal secretary, Marsha.
“Marsha, please arrange a plane ticket to Jakarta for tomorrow morning.”
“All right, Ms. Wulan. Is there anything I need to take care of before your departure?”
“Yes. I want you to look into someone named Bella. This woman is going to be Adrian’s fiancée.”
“All right, Ms. Wulan. I’ll find out as quickly as possible.”
“One more thing, Marsha.” Wulan stared straight at the mirror in her room, looking at her own reflection—the woman who had firmly led Sentosa Corporation for years, yet now felt so fragile as a mother. “Don’t tell anyone at the Jakarta office that I’m coming home. I want this to be a surprise.”
“A surprise, ma’am?”
“Maybe not a pleasant one,” Wulan murmured softly, more to herself than to Marsha. “But a necessary one.”
Marsha was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone, sensing something different in her boss’s voice. “Understood, ma’am. I’ll prepare everything quietly.”
After ending the call, Wulan walked over to her wardrobe. She slowly opened the doors, her eyes sweeping over the rows of expensive designer clothes she usually wore to important company meetings. But that night, her thoughts drifted toward another plan.
“If I go home as the CEO, everyone will act sweet to my face,” she whispered. “But I’ll never find out who Bella really is.”
She closed the wardrobe again and sat on the edge of the bed. Her thoughts drifted to her late husband, who had always said that a person’s true character only showed when they believed they weren’t being watched.
“You were right, dear,” she murmured, as though speaking to her husband’s photograph displayed on the vanity. “I have to see Bella without her knowing who I really am.”
The next morning, Marsha called again. “Ms. Wulan, I’ve already looked into Bella. But... the information is extremely limited. It’s as if she deliberately concealed her digital footprint.”
“Concealed her tracks?” Wulan raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Innocent people usually don’t need to hide anything.”
“What should I do, ma’am?”
“You don’t need to do anything else, Marsha. I’ll find out for myself once I get to Jakarta.” Wulan firmly closed her large suitcase. “Please prepare one more thing for me.”
“What is it, ma’am?”
“A cleaner’s uniform. A standard size—nothing flashy.”
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. “A... cleaner’s uniform, ma’am? What for?”
Wulan smiled faintly, her eyes shining with unshakable determination. “Because starting tomorrow, the CEO of Sentosa Corporation will disappear for a while. And the person who will show up at that office... will be nothing more than an ordinary cleaner.”
She ended the call, then gazed at her reflection in the airport mirror just before boarding. The dignified woman who usually led board meetings with complete confidence now carried a grand plan in her heart—a plan that might shake her entire life, Adrian’s life, and of course Bella’s life, though Bella had no idea what awaited her.
“Get ready, Bella,” Wulan whispered softly as she walked toward the plane door. “Because you’re about to meet your future mother-in-law... without realizing it at all.”