CHAPTER 7 — Family Ties
“If we let this go until morning, Nayara’s leaving will be seen as a decision, Ven. I’ll contact her father in the morning,” Marlena said as she straightened the edge of her scarf. Her hands were always looking for something to put in order whenever things began to feel out of control.
Arven stood near the living room window. “Don’t involve the Wardhana family, Mom. This is between Nayara and me. Let her calm down wherever she is right now.”
Marlena stared at her son’s back. In her view, Arven was too quick to assume that marital problems could be resolved by two people who were fighting. The truth was never that simple. Nayara had left in the middle of the night. If the extended family found out, people would start asking questions. All this time, Nayara’s father had seen Arven as a son-in-law who worked, paid the household expenses, and always behaved well in front of the family. Marlena believed that could still help.
“This isn’t just about the two of you anymore,” she said. “If everyone stays silent, her father might assume your marriage is already over. I just want to have a proper conversation so Nayara doesn’t make a major decision while she’s still angry.”
Arven turned around. “Call it whatever you want, Mom. But don’t use her family to pressure Nayara. I’m not going along with it.”
Marlena fell silent. Arven wasn’t defending Nayara. He still hadn’t apologized for what he had done. But for the first time, he refused to follow Marlena’s way of solving problems.
That made Marlena uncomfortable.
Usually, Arven was easy to talk to when everything was made practical: who needed to come, who needed to call, what had to be dealt with first. That night, Arven refused to give her an answer she could use. He didn’t stop Marlena, but neither did he hand the problem over to her.
For the past three years, Marlena had hardly ever needed to wonder whether Nayara would stay. The woman had always attended family events, answered politely, and never caused a scene in front of anyone else. Her leaving tonight suddenly made all those habits impossible to rely on. Marlena disliked changes that arrived before she had a chance to arrange them.
“All right,” Marlena said as she picked up her handbag. “I don’t need you to come with me.”
At 12:52 a.m., she left the house. The drive to her own home in Jakarta Selatan took thirty-five minutes. Marlena drove without turning on the radio. She didn’t change her plan. All she needed to do was wait until it was an appropriate hour to call.
She arrived at 1:27 a.m., went to her room, and rested for a few hours.
At 8:45 a.m., Marlena was already sitting at the dining table. The cup of tea in front of her had begun to grow cold when the call connected.
“Good morning, sir. I’m sorry to bother you,” she said. “I’m calling because Nayara left the house last night. I hope you can help calm things down so they don’t make any rash decisions.”
Nayara’s father answered calmly. “I already spoke with Nayara last night, Mrs. Marlena. And this isn’t an ordinary argument.”
Marlena’s fingers stopped on the handle of her cup. She had hoped the man still saw this as a quarrel that could blow over after one night. Apparently, he didn’t.
“Of course I understand that Nayara is hurt,” she said. “But Arven has continued to fulfill his responsibilities all this time. I just don’t want this problem to be immediately treated as something that can’t be fixed.”
“Nayara said Arven’s treatment of her was connected to an old family matter.”
Marlena answered too quickly. Too quickly even by her own standards.
“We don’t need to bring up the past right now, sir. Whatever happened back then, what we’re dealing with now is Arven and Nayara’s marriage. It would be better to focus on that.”
Several seconds passed before Nayara’s father answered.
“I’ll speak with Nayara again about what she plans to do next. But I won’t force her to return to a home where she feels she’s been hurt.”
Marlena straightened her back. She had briefly hoped Nayara’s father would question the way his daughter had left or ask her to come home before making any decisions. None of that happened. Even the man’s tone didn’t change. He remained polite, but made it clear he would not give Marlena room to decide what Nayara should do.
“I’m not asking you to force her,” Marlena said. “I only hope you won’t close off the possibility of their working things out.”
“I understand.”
The call ended shortly afterward.
Marlena set her phone down beside the cup.
Arven had refused to go along with her approach. Nayara’s father had also refused to promise anything. For the first time since Nayara left, Marlena truly felt that the woman’s decision could no longer be controlled with a single family conversation.
Still, her effort had not been entirely wasted. Nayara’s father would speak with his daughter again. That meant Marlena’s request would become part of that conversation, even if she couldn’t determine the outcome.
What bothered her most was the remark about the old family matter. Marlena knew she had rushed to shut down the discussion. She didn’t want the old problem brought up when she still couldn’t control the situation in Arven’s marriage.
For now, the less that was said, the better.