Melaa, seeing her last chance slip away, suddenly lost all sense. Panic over the loan sharks collecting debts in her village and the image of her life falling apart drove her to a desperate act.
Melaa lunged toward Riana, trying to snatch the certificate from her hands.
"Give me that certificate! It belongs to Dino! It's my husband's right!" Melaa screamed like a woman possessed.
But before Melaa's fingers could even touch Riana's clothes, a strong hand clamped tightly around her wrist.
Dino stood up. His eyes were blazing red as he stared at Melaa with undisguised disgust. He flung her hand away, sending the woman tumbling down onto the wooden floor.
"Enough, Melaa! Enough!" Dino bellowed, his deep voice trembling. "Don't ever touch Riana or that document again!"
Melaa looked up from the floor, staring at her husband through a flood of panicked tears. "Dino... you're going to defend them?! You can really stand by and watch me fall apart?! I'm your wife, Dino!"
"Wife?" Dino let out a bitter laugh, tears of disappointment finally streaming down his own cheeks. "You never once treated me like your husband, Melaa. You only took advantage of my insecurities, used my job, and turned this family into a place to vent your fake arrogance!"
Feeling cornered, Melaa suddenly ran toward the dining room. Without hesitation, she grabbed a sharp knife and pressed it against the inside of her left wrist, right over the vein.
"All of you... if you're going to treat me like this, I might as well die!" Melaa shouted, gripping the knife in her hand and preparing to slash her wrist, hoping Dino would give in to her.
But instead...
Dino fixed Melaa with a sharp stare and said softly, "Go ahead, Melaa. Do it. I don't care about your drama anymore. Do whatever you want. I'm sick of your antics."
Dino stepped back toward his mother, who stood trembling near the wall. Then the man dropped to his knees at Mom Atun's feet. He wrapped both arms around his mother's legs, which were covered by a jarik cloth, rested his forehead against her knees, and sobbed hysterically like a lost child.
"Mom... forgive me, Mom... Please forgive me..." Dino sobbed, his voice breaking beneath his heart-wrenching cries. "I was blind... I became a disobedient son who let them hurt you... Please forgive me, Mom..."
Mom Atun gazed down at her only son, wailing at her feet. The pain from the slap on her cheek seemed to evaporate, replaced by the compassion of a mother watching her child realize his mistake. With trembling fingers, Mom Atun slowly bent down and stroked Dino's sweat-soaked head.
"Dino... my son..." Mom Atun whispered, tears flowing quietly down her face. "I've already forgiven you since this morning, dear... But you have to resolve your own problems honestly, from the heart..."
Seeing that Dino had fully returned to his family's embrace, Melaa realized that her game in this old house was over. There were no more assets left for her to control, no husband left to manipulate, and nowhere left for her to hide behind a mask of false luxury.
Overcome with unbearable shame and anger caught in her throat, Melaa slowly stood up. She straightened her slightly rumpled dress, roughly wiped the tears from her cheeks, then glared at Sutarjo's family one by one with pure hatred, pointing the knife at Mom, Dad, and Dino.
"You... every one of you is a bunch of narrow-minded villagers!" Melaa shrieked hoarsely. "You think I was willing to live in this stuffy old house that reeks of shrimp paste?! Keep your old house! I can find another man who's much richer than your useless little brother!"