“No matter what, Naura doesn’t want to, Dad.” That firm voice had echoed through the Adiatma family home over and over again. Nadia let out a heavy sigh as she watched her dad and older sister argue. Their disagreement had been going on for three days now. Nadia knew getting the two people she loved most to give in to each other would be incredibly difficult. They were both equally stubborn.
“Dad, wouldn’t it be better to postpone the proposal for now? I think deciding to hold an engagement this soon is incredibly rushed. Maybe Naura still needs some time,” Nadia interjected as she followed her dad.
Abimanyu stopped and looked at Nadia for a moment. “No. I’ve made up my mind. Rafa is the only man I’m certain can guide Naura into becoming a better woman. I can’t let Naura keep living like this. Drowning in worldly pleasures without caring about anything else. Don’t you remember the latest news we heard about your sister? That was more than enough for me to put an end to all her ambitions.” Abimanyu continued toward Naura’s room, with Nadia following behind him.
There was a reason Abimanyu had decided to hold the proposal so soon. It was because of the rumors claiming that Naura had become a businessman’s mistress. He was tired of all the malicious accusations people made about his daughter. At the very least, Abimanyu hoped that once Naura got married, his eldest daughter would no longer be linked to married men.
Nadia sighed again. She knew the decision was final. With or without Naura’s approval, Dad would still marry off his older daughter. Armed with a promise from the past, Abimanyu would force Naura to give up all her ambitions.
“Naura, I don’t want to hear it! Tomorrow, you have to cancel your out-of-town show! Dad’s best friend and his son are coming here to propose to you!” Abimanyu shouted as he pounded on Naura’s bedroom door once again.
“Like I care, Dad! You just make decisions this important without Naura’s approval! Do you think marriage is a game?”
Naura violently tossed her bag aside. She was furious. How could Dad arrange her marriage to a man she didn’t even know? All because he thought she was getting old. Give her a break! People still often mistook her for someone in her early twenties. Ignoring her dad, who was still shouting outside, she chose to collapse onto her bed, taking off her high heels before lying down.
“Ahh, this is so comfortable.” Naura buried her head in the pillow. When she was this tired, there was nothing more comforting than a bed.
Naura Adiatma had always felt that her daily routine was incredibly boring. Even so, Naura was grateful for everything she had achieved over the past few years. Her hard work had paid off handsomely. Lately, several production houses had even offered her roles in film projects. When she thought back to a few years ago, becoming a model hadn’t been her dream. Circumstances had forced her to pursue the career she had now.
But as time passed, Naura began to enjoy it. She loved being the center of attention wherever she went. Men even frequently treated her like a queen. Maybe that was also what made Naura always feel superior to everyone else.
She knew her arrogant personality often annoyed people and provoked conflicts. But the entertainment world was cruel. If Naura showed weakness, she would be trampled like garbage. She had already been through more than enough in the entertainment industry. Even someone who claimed to be your friend could still stab you in the back.
The thirty-year-old woman then picked up her smartphone and scrolled through all her social media accounts. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. There were several comment notifications on Instagram.
@Aldian34 So sexy! As always, @Naura_Adiatma
“Yep, I am sexy,” Naura murmured proudly.
@Erlangga_atmaja Hi, beautiful, @Naura_Adiatma
@Misright You homewrecker
Naura snorted and randomly scrolled through the comments on Instagram, most of which were compliments from men. Not to mention her army of self-righteous haters. She moved on to her feed, which showed several photos of her friends. Then she returned to her notifications. Naura narrowed her eyes when she noticed the name of one of her new followers.
@AmandaWijaya
The name seemed familiar, so Naura started snooping. At first she hesitated, but in the end, her curiosity overcame her pride. When she opened the account, she discovered it wasn’t private.
Naura scrolled through the photos on the account one by one. Then she snorted when she found a photo of a beautiful woman with mixed-race features wearing a hijab. The man beside her looked handsome in a formal batik shirt. Looking closely, the couple in the photo looked incredibly well-matched. Unfortunately, as far as Naura was concerned, the woman in the photo still wasn’t prettier than she was.
“Hmph, she wears a hijab now,” Naura sneered. The woman in the photo was Amanda—her sworn enemy since childhood. Naura hated that woman so much. But why had Amanda followed her?
“Well, of course it’s because I’m famous now,” Naura murmured, as if answering her own thoughts.
Naura narrowed her eyes again and examined another photo. Then her mind began to recognize the man standing beside Amanda. She returned to the photo and studied it while trying to remember where she had seen that face before. The man looked familiar to her.
“Hmm... Who is he? Why does his face remind me of someone? But where have I seen him before?” Naura murmured.
Not wanting to give herself a headache, Naura decided to close the account.
“Sis.” Nadia greeted her, poking her head through the doorway. The shoulder-length-haired woman walked over to Naura, who was still lying on the bed.
“Are you still mad, Sis?” Nadia asked gently before dropping down beside Naura. From Naura’s expression, Nadia could tell her sister was in an increasingly foul mood.
“You figure it out yourself, Nad. Dad just makes decisions this important without telling me whether I agree or not. You know how important my career is to me compared to worrying about marriage.”
Nadia inhaled at her sister’s irritated reply. “I’m sure Dad means well. He only wants what’s best for you. Besides, Sis, aren’t you tired of living like this? You need a man who genuinely loves you, someone who can protect you. My wedding with Alex is only a few months away. At least I want to see you get married first. People say it’s taboo for a younger sibling to marry before her older sister. You might really end up an old maid,” Nadia teased, hoping Naura would soften a little.
“Yeah... I don’t mind if you get married first either. I’ve been happy all this time. And as for a man who genuinely loves me, that’s bullshit! Men like that don’t exist anymore.”
“They do. You’re just too stupid when it comes to love. You’re so stupid that you haven’t even realized there’s one man who loves you more than anything.”
Hearing her sister ramble on, Naura snorted. “Hmph, bullshit. Is love really enough to put food in your stomach?” Naura scoffed.
Nadia fell silent. She studied Naura’s beautiful face, then sighed. There was no point talking about love in front of someone as logical as her sister. Ever since their mother’s death, Naura had seemed to close her heart to everything related to love. She believed love would only make her weak.
All this time, Naura had focused solely on making lots of money through her ambitions. Even when she was in a relationship, she never involved love in it at all. To her, relationships were also a part of business and profit. If a relationship couldn’t benefit her, what was the point of pursuing it?
Nadia understood that all of this had happened because of the harsh life Naura had been forced to endure ever since she felt responsible for Nadia and Dad.
“At least think about Dad. You know what condition he’s in, right? He just wants to see you happy before he leaves.”
“Stop! Dad’s going to live another hundred years. So don’t talk nonsense!”
“But, Sis—”
“Enough. Just get out. I want to rest,” Naura cut her off, growing even more irritated as she pulled her sister off the bed so she would leave.
Naura let out a breath after Nadia left. She stared at the bedroom ceiling, then leaned her back against the door, her shoulders slumped.
“Am I really that pathetic?” Naura whispered, pitying herself.