Thirty minutes had already passed since our agreed-upon time. The chair across from me was still empty. Every time the café door opened, my eyes turned toward it, only to fall with disappointment when the face that appeared wasn't his. My fingers tightened around the edge of the table. Even now, Andrian Antoni couldn't keep a simple promise.
The door swung open slowly. A tall figure stood there, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room. He walked with confidence, as though the world had to make way for every step he took. He stopped at the table in front of me and sat down without so much as an apology.
"You're late," I said, staring straight ahead.
He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Important matters can't be postponed for a trivial appointment."
"You made me wait almost an hour. You've never changed. You're just as arrogant as you were before."
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly—not a warm smile, but one filled with certainty. "If you called me here just to complain about the time, you can get straight to what you really want."
My blood boiled. But I swallowed my anger. I needed him. For my grandmother.
I lowered my head for a moment and steadied my breathing. When I looked up, my voice was much quieter, with a hint of nervousness I couldn't hide.
"I... agree to your proposal. I'll become your fiancée."
Andrian's eyes narrowed slightly, as though he hadn't expected me to give in so quickly. But he remained silent, allowing me to continue.
"But I have a condition. This contract will only be valid for two years. Two years from today, I'll be free to leave. I'll resign from your company. There will be no ties between us anymore. My salary will remain the same, and my duties as your secretary won't change at all."
He studied me for a long time, examining every inch of my face as though searching for traces of a lie. Then he nodded slowly.
"Agreed."
Just like that. Without many questions. Without any additional conditions. It felt strange. I should have been relieved, but my heart felt even more constricted.
"One more thing," I added quickly before he could speak. "At the office, you have to act professionally. No touching, no sweet talk, no lingering looks. No one can know about our relationship. This is our secret."
"Fine," he replied curtly. He stood and placed a bill on the table. "The official engagement will be held at my house tomorrow evening. Immediate family only. Don't be late."
He left just like that, leaving me behind with a jumble of emotions I couldn't process.
The next day, the engagement went according to plan. It was simple, attended only by close relatives. I wore a dress borrowed from a friend, and there was no lavish ring whose price I even bothered to find out. Everything happened quickly, as though we were racing against time. I thought that was all. Sign the engagement papers, and it would be over.
Until Andrian handed me another document.
"This is for you," he said flatly.
I read the words on the paper. It felt as though the blood in my body had stopped flowing. It wasn't merely an engagement agreement. It was a marriage certificate, complete with signatures and an official state seal.
"Andrian... what does this mean?" My voice trembled. "We only agreed to get engaged. Not married!"
He looked at me calmly, as though there were nothing unusual about what he'd done. "An engagement is just a waste of time. I don't like delaying things that are certain."
"You didn't ask me! You never said anything about this!" My voice rose as I fought back the tears suddenly pressing to break free.
"I'm the one running this game, Annisa. You only need to play along."
He turned and headed toward the bathroom, leaving me frozen as I stared at the paper. It felt as though the world had collapsed. I thought I knew what I was agreeing to. But I didn't know this man at all.
When the bathroom door closed, I could no longer hold back my anger. I stepped closer and spoke to myself in a voice full of bitterness, hoping he could hear me through the door.
"Jerk. You've never changed. All you know how to do is give orders, and you never care about anyone else's feelings. Do you think you can buy and control everything however you please? You're selfish, Andrian. The most selfish person I've ever met."
The bathroom door opened. I didn't have time to step back. He stood there, his hair still slightly wet, staring intently at me. He had clearly heard every insult I'd thrown at him. But he wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled—a sweet, gentle smile that, for some reason, made my knees feel weak.
"Thank you for being honest," he said softly, then walked past me without looking back.
I stood there long after his footsteps faded, the marriage certificate trembling in my hand. The air near the bathroom door was still warm and damp, carrying the clean scent of his soap. A single drop of water had slid from his hair down the side of his neck when he passed me, tracing a slow line beneath his collar, and my eyes had followed it before I could stop them.
I had wanted to slap him. I had wanted to scream. And somewhere beneath all that anger, a part of me I had buried five years ago had wanted to reach up and brush that drop of water away with my thumb.
"Jerk," I whispered again, but this time the word came out unsteady, and my cheeks burned.
I folded the certificate in half, then in half again, as if making it smaller could make the feeling smaller too. It didn't. My heart was still racing when I finally walked out of that house, and it had nothing to do with the paper in my hand.