In the silence, Dino forced himself not to believe what he was seeing. But as her son, he still had a conscience when it came to his mother.
Melaa's lie from that morning—that she had only been “holding Mom's hand back”—shattered into pieces in the face of such clear visual evidence.
Seeing the situation begin to worsen, Melaa turned away with a crooked sneer. “Oh, please! You're making such a big deal out of one little picture! Besides, your mother started it! My expensive bag was almost ruined because of her carelessness! What, do you think that bag costs the same as her cheap sayur lodeh?!”
Riana spun around to face Melaa. She moved so quickly that Melaa stumbled back two steps, her back slamming into the doorframe. Riana stared into Melaa's eyes with a look fierce enough to make anyone's courage shrivel.
“Listen to me, Melaa Wijaya,” Riana whispered, her low voice full of menace. “Your million-rupiah—or tens-of-millions-of-rupiah—leather bag is worthless compared to a single tear from my mother!
“You came here acting like some rich city princess, but your behavior is no better than that of an uneducated piece of trash!”
“Y-you dare call me trash?!” Melaa shrieked, her face blazing red with rage. “Dino! Throw Riana out right now! If you don't, I'll leave this house myself, and I'll make sure my family sues you until you're penniless!”
Panicking, Dino tried to grab Riana by the shoulder. “Sis... Sis, that's enough. Come inside first. We can talk this out calmly.”
“Don't touch me!” Riana snapped, knocking Dino's hand away so hard that his arm was thrown aside. “I won't be touched by an unfilial son who's more afraid of losing his manipulative wife than of losing his own mother's honor!”
“I don't care if your wife doesn't respect my mother, but the moment she starts using her hands—when she gets violent—I won't accept it as her son!” Riana shouted right in Dino's face.
Before Dino could offer any defense, the back bedroom door suddenly creaked open. Elzaya, who had heard the terrible commotion in the front room, came running out. The moment she saw Riana standing in the middle of the room, breathing hard, Elzaya burst into tears.
“Sis Riana!” Elzaya cried as she ran over and hugged her sister tightly around the waist. The teenage girl trembled violently.
“Sis... you finally came home...”
Riana pulled her youngest sister close, gently stroking Elzaya's hair while holding back her own tears so they would not fall in front of her enemy. “Yes, Za. I'm here now. No one is allowed to hurt you, Mom, or Dad anymore.”
Atun stepped out of the back hallway, walking with a slight limp. The older woman's face looked dull and exhausted. The bruise on her left cheek was still clearly visible, slightly swollen beneath the dim fluorescent light in the living room.
“Riana... Nduk...” Mom Atun called in a hoarse voice.
Seeing her mother's condition up close, Riana's defenses collapsed. She released Elzaya and approached her mother on trembling legs. Riana knelt before Atun, took both of her mother's rough, shaking hands, and kissed them again and again, pressing the old woman's palms against her own cheeks.
“Mom... forgive me...” Riana broke down, her tears dripping onto her mother's fingers. “Forgive me for only coming home now. Forgive me for letting you suffer alone in this house...”
Atun gently stroked her daughter's head. “It's all right, Nduk... don't cry. Mom's fine. You came all the way home from the city. You must be tired...”
“How can you say you're fine?!” Riana cried, lifting her head and staring at her mother's bruised cheek with a heart that felt sliced apart. “That woman slapped you! And the son you're so proud of just stood there, defending this criminal!”
“No brains, no heart!” Riana shouted without hesitation, finally releasing the emotions that had been boiling inside her ever since she learned how Melaa and her brother had treated their mother.
**To be continued...**