Two days after Widya arrived, Naila's life returned to normal. She still got up earlier than Ardi, prepared breakfast, cleaned the house, and left for work before the sun was fully up. From the outside, nothing had changed.
But inside her, something had slowly shifted, perhaps because of that conversation at the dinner table.
Maybe because, for the first time, she realized that every problem in her husband's family always ended in the same place: her bank account.
That morning, as she was getting ready to put on her work shoes, her phone vibrated. A message came in from Lala, Ardi's younger sister, who had often asked her for help over the years.
Naila even gave a faint smile when she saw Lala's name appear on the screen. She tried to think positively and hoped that this time, Lala only wanted to make small talk.
That hope lasted less than a minute.
"Sis Naila, are you busy?"
Naila sent a short reply.
"Not yet. What's up?"
The next reply came so quickly, it was as if it had been prepared from the start.
"I want to ask you a favor."
For some reason, those words immediately made Naila uneasy. Over the past few years, she had heard that same sentence far too often, and almost every time, it ended with a request for money.
Her suspicion proved correct.
"Sis, I want to buy a new laptop. Can you help me out?"
Naila stopped what she was doing. She still remembered the last laptop Lala had brought to their house. It was in excellent condition—much better, in fact, than the laptop Naila used every night to work on Nexora.
"Is your current laptop broken?" she asked.
"No."
"Is it slow?"
"It's still working fine."
Naila gently rubbed her forehead.
"Then why do you need to replace it?"
This time, Lala's reply left her completely speechless.
"All my classmates are already using new laptops. I'm embarrassed to give presentations with this one."
Naila read the message twice to make sure she hadn't misunderstood. So it wasn't because Lala needed it for college. It wasn't because her device had a problem. It wasn't because she couldn't complete her assignments on it.
It was only about appearances.
Before she could formulate a reply, Ardi's name appeared on her phone screen.
As soon as she answered, her husband's voice came through.
"Did you read Lala's message?"
"Yes."
"What do you think?"
Naila drew a slow breath before answering. She didn't want this conversation to turn into an argument first thing in the morning.
"Her laptop is still in good condition, Ardi."
"It is still in good condition."
"If it's still fine, why does she need a new one?"
Ardi gave a small laugh, as if the matter were insignificant.
"She's a college student. Everything's digital now. She gives presentations all the time, too."
"But she said herself that she's only embarrassed."
"That's a reason, too."
The answer came so easily from someone who had never had to think about where the money came from.
Just a few days ago, Naila had sent money to help out Lala's family.
Before that, there had been the bills dumped on her. Before that, various other expenses that were always treated as a shared responsibility.
In reality, almost all of them had been paid from her paycheck.
"Ardi, I just helped cover Lala's family's medical expenses a few days ago."
"Yeah, I know."
"And it wasn't a small amount."
"So?"
"So now she's asking for a new laptop just because she's embarrassed in front of her classmates."
Ardi's tone began to change.
"Nay, if we can afford it, why not help her out?"
The words made Naila let out a small laugh, though she didn't find anything funny about them.
Afford it?
Ardi said that so easily.
Meanwhile, her account balance grew smaller every month. The savings she painstakingly built up almost never lasted long because there was always some unexpected need from her husband's family.
"Ardi, I haven't even done the monthly grocery shopping yet."
"We'll have more money coming in later."
"And what if there's another expense next month?"
"We'll figure that out when the time comes."
Naila began to feel an exhaustion she couldn't explain. It wasn't because of the laptop itself, but because of the pattern that kept repeating. Whenever she tried to discuss their financial situation, Ardi always answered with hope. Never with a plan.
"Besides, Lala is my only sister," Ardi continued. "I already promised her."
That was what finally made Naila fall silent.
"You promised her?"
"Yeah."
"With whose money?"
For the first time, Ardi didn't answer immediately.
Naila stared at her own reflection in the phone screen, which was beginning to darken.
"If it's really our money, then answer me one thing. Whose money has been paying the mortgage payment all this time? Who paid off last month's electric bill? Who transferred the money for Lala's family's medical expenses yesterday?"
Ardi let out a long breath.
"You did."
"Exactly. That's what I don't understand. Every time there's an expense, it comes out of my paycheck. But whenever your family needs something, that money suddenly becomes our money."
For a few moments, there was no sound from the other end.
That silence felt more honest than every answer Ardi had ever given her.
Finally, her husband said quietly, "You've changed, Nay."
"I haven't changed. I'm just starting to get tired."
After that, the conversation ended without any resolution.
Strangely, though, Naila's chest felt a little lighter. For the first time, she had said aloud what she had kept bottled up all this time.
Near noon, while she was finishing a report at the office, her phone vibrated again. This time, Mr. Rudi's name appeared on the screen.
Naila's heart immediately began to beat faster.
"Hello, Mr. Rudi?"
Mr. Rudi's voice sounded full of excitement.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Naila. I'm calling to tell you the tender results."
Naila automatically stopped working.
All her attention and thoughts immediately focused on the conversation.
"What was the result, Mr. Rudi?"
"We won."
For several seconds, she wasn't even sure she'd heard him correctly.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Nexora's proposal was selected as the top winner. The contract is worth five billion rupiah."
Every sleepless night, every proposal she had revised again and again, every moment she had stolen after finishing the housework—all of it suddenly felt completely worth it.
"Congratulations, Ms. Naila. If not for the strategy you developed, this company might have lost its last opportunity."
Naila stared blankly at the computer screen in front of her. For the first time in a long while, someone appreciated her for her abilities, not for the money she could provide.
When the call ended, a smile slowly spread across her face.
That evening, she would still have to return to the same house. She would still have to face the family that kept demanding more and more from her.
But now, one thing was different.
For the first time, Naila saw a glimmer of a future that truly belonged to her.