Two
2135 Words
The morning sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains that hadn’t been fully closed, making Leonard blink a few times. He covered his eyes with his arm when he felt his sleep disturbed by the light.
For the first time in a long while, Leonard felt like he had slept really well. The shadow of his ex-wife’s betrayal kept haunting him like a nightmare, which was why Leonard rarely slept soundly.
Suddenly, flashes of what he did the night before popped into his head.
Leonard opened his eyes wide and lifted the blanket that covered his body up to his chest.
“I must be crazy!” Leonard shouted, not believing what he had done last night.
Leonard rubbed his head slowly and got out of bed. He tried to remember who the woman was with him that night, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall.
A few days passed since that night.
Angela was sitting in the living room, where her whole family had gathered.
Angela glanced at Anita, who kept avoiding her eyes. Angela knew Bryan had cheated on her with Anita, but she didn’t have the courage to say anything about their affair.
“There’s something I want to tell you all,” George, the father of Angela and Anita, started to speak.
“Especially you, Angela,” George continued, looking at his eldest daughter, who immediately lifted her face to look at him.
“Your wedding is canceled,” George said heavily as he delivered the news to his daughter.
Angela was, of course, shocked when she heard that. Her engagement with Bryan had lasted for five years, so even though Angela knew Bryan had cheated, she never dared to say anything.
“You will be replaced by Anita,” George continued.
Angela’s heart pounded like crazy when she heard that. She quickly looked at Anita, who lowered her head and didn’t dare to look at her.
“I know this isn’t fair to you, but right now Anita is pregnant with Bryan’s child. So I have no choice but to replace the bride,” George explained.
Angela let out a small laugh when she heard that. She looked at her father and gave a big smile. That, of course, made Anita and her mother stare at Angela in disbelief.
“So, in the end, it’s like this,” Angela finally muttered.
“Fine, if that’s how it is. Papa would have a hard time if I didn’t let Anita marry Bryan,” Angela said to her father.
Angela looked at Anita, who looked so pitiful. All this time, Anita had really wanted to get close to Leonard, but who knew what was in her head that she ended up falling for Bryan instead.
“I’ll let it happen, but in return, I’ll move out of this house,” Angela said, making her decision clear.
Even though she didn’t really want to, Angela had always felt suffocated living in the same house with the new woman her father brought home just a month after her mother died. As if that wasn’t enough, her father even brought a child who was about her age at that time. That proved to Angela that her father had never been loyal to her mother.
“Papa won’t allow it!” George shouted quickly.
Vanessa, Angela’s stepmother and Anita’s biological mother, quickly touched George’s arm.
“Angela must need time to calm down, so it would be better if you let her leave like she wants,” Vanessa said to George.
Hearing that, Angela immediately looked at her father. She gave a small smile. In the end, that woman finally showed her true colors.
“Since Mom has agreed, I’ll move out tomorrow.”
After saying that, Angela got up to leave. No matter what, after Vanessa and Anita came, Angela was no longer her father’s priority. No matter how many times her father said he loved her mother, to Angela, it was all just a lie that she had seen clearly for a long time.
The worst part was that after she left the house, she might really be forgotten by her father.
On the other side, George glared sharply at Vanessa after shaking off her hand from his arm.
“What did you mean by agreeing to let my daughter leave?” George asked in a cold voice.
“You know, Angela must be really sad because her wedding was canceled. Especially since Anita is going to marry Bryan, Angela surely wouldn’t want to stay in this house,” Vanessa answered, explaining.
“Even so! You have no right to decide that!” George snapped, raising his voice.
Hearing that, Vanessa swallowed hard. Even now, she was still afraid of her own husband.
Feeling fed up, George decided to get up and leave, leaving Vanessa and Anita alone.
“You! How could you get pregnant with Bryan’s child?!” Vanessa yelled angrily at her daughter.
Anita could only lower her head, feeling guilty for making everything a mess.
***
A month passed after that night. Leonard had tried to remember what happened that night, but it was all pointless. In the end, Leonard decided to give up because he couldn’t remember no matter how much he wanted to.
“The wedding you’ll attend tonight — the bride has changed,” Damian informed Leonard about his schedule for tonight.
“Suddenly?” Leonard asked while still walking and checking the iPad in his hand.
“They said the bride’s younger sister is pregnant with the groom’s child, so they had no choice but to change the bride,” Damian explained, making Leonard glance at Damian, who was busy checking the schedule.
“Seems like cheating with your future sister-in-law is trending these days,” Leonard commented sarcastically, making Damian stop walking.
Damian looked at his boss, who kept moving ahead.
“Sorry for not knowing the situation,” Damian quickly apologized when he realized his mistake.
“What’s there to apologize for!” Leonard laughed out loud.
After finishing checking the report on the iPad, Leonard handed it back to Damian.
“How about the report I asked for last time?” Leonard asked seriously.
“I already put it on your desk,” Damian answered quickly.
“Alright then, continue your work,” Leonard said before walking off first to go into his office.
Leonard sat in his big chair, feeling bored. For a whole month, Leonard had been waiting for the woman who might come asking for payment as compensation for him touching her all night long. But until today, Leonard hadn’t heard anything about her. Strangely, Leonard felt disappointed.
Leonard opened the file on his desk reluctantly. For a month, he had been trying to find the woman he might have slept with, but every time he looked at the photos Damian brought, he didn’t feel interested in any of them.
“Angela Eileen Abraham?” Leonard mumbled when he read the name on the first page.
Leonard pulled his chair closer to see clearly the photo of the woman who looked a little familiar to him.
“Is it her?” Leonard muttered, curious because of his incomplete memory.
“A model, and also someone’s fiancée?”
Leonard read Angela’s bio written there.
“Oh, is she the woman Damian mentioned earlier?”
“No wonder she felt familiar. I must’ve seen her photo on the wedding invitation,” Leonard whispered.
Leonard closed the file and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.
His body felt really tired because he hadn’t been able to rest properly since that last time. Honestly, Leonard wanted to sleep well again like that night.
The door suddenly swung open, making Leonard open his eyes quickly.
“Why did you barge in without knocking?” Leonard snapped, annoyed.
His mom was always so reckless, even though his mind was already a mess right now.
“Were you doing something? You looked so shocked,” that question made Leonard take a long breath and let it out slowly.
Leonard looked at his mom, who was sitting on the sofa inside his office.
“So, what do you want to talk about?” Leonard got up from his seat and walked toward the sofa to approach his mother.
“I came because Damian said you had free time today,” Milia told her son.
Leonard wasn’t surprised at all. His mom always loved to find out about his daily schedule.
“I’ve arranged a blind date for you with my friend’s daughter. So, go to X Restaurant and meet her,” Milia said bluntly.
Hearing that, Leonard felt a bit fed up. Every time he met his mom, all she talked about was blind dates.
“Does Mom think her son wouldn’t get a woman without going on blind dates?” Leonard asked while pointing at his own face.
“Oh, come on! There’s no way you’d worry after seeing a face like mine,” Leonard added, trying to come up with excuses so he wouldn’t have to go on the blind date.
“You think I’d arrange blind dates if your looks could be relied on?” Milia shot back, making Leonard close his eyes in frustration.
“Mom!!!” Leonard whined like a spoiled kid.
Hearing that, Milia could only shake her head in disbelief.
“Let me find someone myself, so please stop arranging these blind dates for me,” Leonard pleaded, his face full of desperate expression.
“I can’t do that because that woman will come back soon,” Milia answered quickly.
Hearing that, Leonard immediately fell silent.
“Even if you still love her, I will never approve of your second marriage with her,” Milia continued.
“You think I still like Celine?” Leonard asked, not believing what his mom just said.
“Isn’t that right?” Milia answered calmly.
“You’ve been rejecting every woman ever since you divorced Celine, so of course I think you still have feelings for her,” Milia went on.
Milia couldn’t let her eldest son fall in love with his ex-wife again. She would never approve of her son marrying that woman named Celine ever again. Milia hated her for ruining the relationship between her sons.
“I don’t like her anymore, Mom,” Leonard finally admitted.
“You can’t lie to me,” Milia replied stubbornly.
“Anyway, you have to meet my friend’s daughter tomorrow. She’s still studying to become a specialist doctor, she’s quite busy, but she still makes time to meet you,” Milia explained a bit about the woman Leonard was supposed to meet.
“Are you serious?” Leonard asked in disbelief.
“Anyway, that marriage wouldn’t last if we were both that busy,” Leonard argued.
A businessman and a doctor? That was really impossible. Their lives would be too different, Leonard could already imagine the relationship falling apart.
“At least she’s educated, so she wouldn’t do despicable things like your ex-wife,” Milia emphasized the word “educated.”
“Alright, if that’s what you want, Mom.”
In the end, Leonard couldn’t refuse his mother’s request.
“You know I worry about you more than anything,” Milia said, trying to make her son understand.
“I know, so Mom, please stop worrying about your son,” Leonard replied, making Milia smile wide.
Seeing his mother smile like that, Leonard also smiled.
“How are you, Mom?” Leonard finally asked.
After the divorce, Leonard decided to move out of the house so he wouldn’t keep arguing with his younger brother. His parents did scold Liandro for spending the night with his ex-wife back then, but seeing the expressions on their faces, Leonard knew they really loved each other.
“I can’t sleep well because I’m far from my eldest son,” Milia answered honestly.
Hearing that, Leonard immediately sat next to his mom and hugged her tightly.
“Hurry up and get married so I can finally feel at ease,” Milia added.
Leonard only gave a thin smile hearing his mother’s worried request.
“Just wait a little longer, I’ll bring someone home to you soon,” Leonard replied while thinking of the woman who had been with him that night.
“I don’t care who she is, as long as you like her, I’ll accept her,” Milia said again.
Leonard nodded and thanked his mother for giving him that freedom.
“What if she’s someone’s wife?” Leonard joked.
Of course, Milia immediately widened her eyes and got ready to smack him.
That made Leonard laugh and hug his mom tighter.
“I won’t disappoint you no matter what,” Leonard promised his mom.
- Writer
