Lintang had planned to avoid meeting her stepfather that morning by skipping breakfast, but the trick turned out to be useless. Indra Laksono came to her room just as she was hurrying out, right after the time on her phone showed 8:10 a.m.
Lintang had even asked permission to come in late. But it was all for nothing. When she opened the door, she found that pathetic-looking man staring at her with a probing gaze.
“What time are you going to the office? It’s already past eight, Lintang.”
Though slightly startled, Lintang tried to hide it behind a random excuse.
“I’m on my period, Dad. My stomach was cramping earlier, so I woke up late.”
“Oooo.”
“Dad, haven’t you—”
“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t forget that Argan is picking you up for lunch at the office this afternoon. Got it?”
Gulp. Lintang instinctively swallowed, startled by her stepfather’s question. Her mood soured instantly.
“Yes, Dad. I remember.”
“All right, I’m heading out.”
Before Lintang could answer, her stepfather hurried away without a care, leaving her to grumble inwardly.
Tch! He even came to my room to make sure. Did he seriously have nothing better to do this morning?
Annoyed by Indra Laksono’s unexpected appearance, Lintang grew even more irritated with her mother’s husband. She finally left for the office a few minutes after he was gone.
She couldn’t understand why her stepfather cared so much about her marriage. Maybe it was because the marriage had been his choice, and he didn’t want Lintang to ruin it.
What other plan has Indra Laksono prepared for me? Lintang wondered, still wearing an irritated expression with her heart in a knot.
All the way to the office, Lintang’s expression remained completely blank and unapproachable. Her face was as sour as a fish squeezed with lime. Not even a smile touched the corners of her lips when several senior coworkers greeted her.
When she reached her desk, Lintang cheerfully greeted Nara, who looked neat and beautiful that morning, as usual.
“Morning, Lin. Have a nice day at work,” Nara greeted her.
“Morning, too, Nara. Nice day at work, but not today, heh heh heh,” Lintang joked before sitting down.
“Not today? Why? Is something wrong?” Confusion appeared on Nara’s face. She had chosen to have two adorable children.
“Uh, it’s nothing, Nara. I was just saying that. I’m totally fine.” Lintang quickly clarified, not wanting her senior coworker to get suspicious.
Could Nara already know about the man who was picking her up this afternoon?
But how could she know? Wasn’t this a private family matter? Had Indra Laksono told everyone about the arranged marriage he had chosen for me?
Caught in doubt, Lintang went pale while Nara merely nodded after hearing her explanation.
Not wanting to make herself even more suspicious, Lintang sat down and prepared everything she needed to work on that morning. Time passed without her noticing until lunchtime arrived.
Just as Lintang was about to get up, a message chime sounded from the phone in her blazer pocket. She froze for a moment, already guessing it was a message from the man picking her up for lunch—in other words, her future husband.
Lintang held her breath, then slowly reached into her blazer pocket and pulled out a black phone.
The screen lit up with a message from an unknown number.
[Lintang? I’m already in the lobby of Pranajaya Group.]
Tch. It really was the man Indra Laksono had mentioned.
Lintang opened the message, intending to reply.
Brrt!
An incoming call came from the same number. Lintang panicked because she was still in her cubicle, which meant her coworkers could clearly hear
She hurriedly grabbed her bag and walked quickly out of the HR department.
“Lintang! Hey, where are you going? Aren’t you eating lunch here—”
Lintang quickly turned toward the voice. Nara was enthusiastically calling after her.
“I’m eating out with a friend, Nara. Sorry.”
“Oh, okay. Be careful.”
Nara waved, and Lintang nodded before returning the wave with her free hand, then jogged toward the elevator.
“Hellooo… I’m getting into the elevator. Wait three minutes, okay?”
“Oh, okay.”
Without hesitation, Lintang ended the call, breathing hard. The distance from the HR department to the elevator was no more than ten meters, yet she was already out of breath.
Not wanting to be anxious about their first meeting, Lintang steeled herself. Before long, the elevator arrived on the ground floor. Lintang hurried out and walked quickly toward the waiting area.
After looking around for a moment, Lintang couldn’t find the man who was waiting for her, so she had to call the number that had just called her back. But suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist.
Lintang was startled and roughly slapped the hand away.
“Damn, you’re rough for a woman!” the voice scolded.
“Hey, you’re the idiot who grabbed my hand out of nowhere!” Lintang snapped, getting riled up in return.
“Are you Lintang, Uncle Indra’s daughter? Tch, you’re pretty, but you’re really cold to me, your future hus—!”
Smack!
“Bastard!”