Novels by Kaeb

“Saya seorang yatim-piatu. Saya iri lihat kebersamaan orang lain dengan keluarga mereka. Sejak kecil saya punya citacita pengin punya keluarga sendiri ...,” jeda sebentar, “dan nggak disangka saya akhirnya beneran punya. Meskipun keadaan saya nggak begitu baik, saya seneng banget waktu tahu tentang kehadiran Bian. Saya janji sama diri sendiri bakal rawat dia dengan baik dan bakal besarin dia sepenuh hati.” Katanya sembari memainkan jemarinya yang saling bertaut di pangkuan.“Sayangnya ... kenyataan nggak seperti yang diharapkan. Sebagai ibu kandungnya Bian, saya nggak mau dia menderita. Bian berhak dapat kehidupan yang lebih baik daripada hidup sengsara sama saya. Saya nggak punya pilihan selain antar Bian ke rumah keluarga Bimantara. Apalagi kalian salah satu keluarga terpandang. Saya pikir, saya nggak perlu khawatir kalau Bian dirawat sama keluarga Bimantara.”Bia ingat sewaktu dirinya melihat berita tentang tanah bekas hotel terbakar–hotel di mana dia sempat bekerja part time dan m

Perjalanan dari kediaman Adam Bimantara yang berada hampir di ujung kota menuju rumah sakit memakan waktu dua jam. Bia yang duduk di sebelah kursi kemudi tidak bisa tenang. Dia terus bergerak-gerak gelisah seraya mobil terus melaju. Sedangkan si lelaki tampan yang sebenarnya terusik berusaha menahan dirinya. Memaklumi si gadis yang khawatir dan ingin segera bertemu dengan si gembul. Pun ia pasti merasakan hal yang sama jika di posisi Bia. Tanpa mengajak perempuan di sebelahnya bicara–mereka tidak dalam situasi yang menyenangkan untuk mengobrol dalam perjalanan–Adrian memusatkan penglihatannya ke jalan.Setelah tiba di rumah sakit dan memarkirkan mobil, Adrian dan Bia berjalan di koridor. Mereka melangkah dengan cepat agar segera sampai di ruang rawat inap Bian. Ah, sebelumnya si pemuda Bimantara menyempatkan diri menghubungi ayahnya; mengabari kalau ia berhasil mengajak Bia.Begitu sampai, Adrian menghentikan langkah. Dia menatap si gadis sebentar lalu meraih knop pintu dan membukanya

Mereka tiba di ruang keluarga. Kinan melirik ke belakang untuk memastikan kondisi si gadis sebelum menggeser pintu. Sewaktu pintu terbuka, pria yang sudah berada di dalam ruangan segera berdiri. Sorot hitam bertemu dengan retina coklat yang menatap takut. Sang kepala pelayan menundukkan kepala sebagai salam hormat pada sang tuan muda. Bia yang berada di belakang ikut menundukkan kepala.“Bia ....”Si gadis berjengit mendengar namanya disebut oleh si pemuda tampan.Mendapati si gadis yang berdiri di belakang sang kepala pelayan yang berusaha menyembunyikan dirinya membuat Adrian mengingat kejadian saat dia mengusir gadis itu dari rumahnya. Gadis tersebut juga ketakutan dan berusaha agar tidak terlihat olehnya. Apa dia sangat menakutkan?“Kamu di sini untuk bujuk dia, Adrian. Bukan untuk nakutin dia!” si pemuda Bimantara bermonolog di dalam hati.Bimantara muda ini menarik napas dan menghembuskannya pelan. Dia tak mau bertindak gegabah lagi. Dia akan berhati-hati agar Bia mau mendengark

Adrian duduk termenung di sebelah ranjang yang ditempati seorang bayi yang tengah tertidur lelap. Gurat-gurat lelah terlihat jelas di wajah dengan pakaian yang tak lagi rapi–jas dan dasi miliknya tergeletak di atas sofa di sudut ruangan dan dua kancing kemeja bagian atas terbuka. Dia ingin melakukan sesuatu untuk putranya, tapi Adrian tidak tahu tindakan apa yang mesti dia lakukan. Setengah jam lalu Bian bangun dan kembali menangis, namun sebagai ayah si bayi, dia tak mampu membuat putranya berhenti menangis.Beberapa perawat yang memang ditugaskan untuk mengecek keadaan Bian secara berkala ikut membantu menenangkan si bayi. Hasilnya nihil. Mereka juga tak mampu meredakan rontaan kencang si gembul hingga bayi itu kelelahan dan tertidur.Ia benar-benar ditampar kenyataan.Baru beberapa hari, tetapi Adrian sama sekali tak bisa menjaga Bian dengan baik. Malah berakhir di rumah sakit. Perkiraannya kalau si gembul nantinya akan terbiasa tanpa si pengasuh salah besar. Justru dirinya yang ta

Sudah beberapa hari Bia berada di kediaman Adam Bimantara. Selama hari-hari itu dia tak tahu mesti melakukan apa. Biasanya dia punya kegiatan sedaru pagi, di mulai dari membangunkan si gembul, memandikan, memberi makan dan mengantarkan si bayi pada keluarga Bimantara. Setelah itu melakukan pekerjaan rumah. Tetapi, sejak berara di sini, Bia tidak punya aktivitas apa-apa. Sang tuan paling besar memperlakukannya dengan baik, sangat baik malah. Hanya saja ... dia tidak diperkenankan melakukan pekerjaan rumah.Pernah si gadis ingin membantu Jelita dan Rita yang sedang mempersiapkan makan malam, tetapi Adam memintanya untuk lebih banyak beristirahat. Dua perempuan yang merupakan asisten rumah tangga di kediaman Tetua Bimantara diberi perintah agar tak membiarkan si gadis melakukan pekerjaan rumah. Oleh sebab itu, Bia lebih banyak diam di ruangan yang diberikan Adam padanya.Sebuah kamar yang luas–untuk ditempati seorang diri.Ya, bukan kamar yang mestinya ditempati oleh asisten rumah tangga

Adnan mengamati gelas kaca berisi air mineral di atas meja yang tak disentuh sejak disediakan oleh seorang gadis bersurai panjang yang digulung tinggi. Pikirannya melayang jauh. Banyak hal yang terjadi yang belum mampu dia cerna. Ditambah mendnegar pernyataan kalau keponakannya mengalami stres membuat sulung Bimantara ini makin merasa tak karuan.Bayi kecil begitu mesti mengalami stres yang tidak seharusnya. Adnan tak dapat membayangkan bagaimana perasaan tak nyaman menggerogoti si bayi hingga membuatnya tak berhenti menangis. Bayi yang belum mengerti apa-apa, tetapi tahu kalau ia telah kehilangan sesuatu yang penting. Bayi yang belum bisa mengatakan protesnya terhadap keadaan. Namun, orang-orang dewasa di sekitarnya malah tidak membantu dan malah memperburuk keadaan. Termasuk dirinya yang sempat mengabaikan si gembul.Hah ... ia adalah seorang paman yang egois, kan?Rasanya semakin buruk setelah ia mencoba lebih memikirkan keadaan si bayi. Bian harus menjadi korban dari kejadian ini.

Bia went quiet, digesting the young master's words. She tried to think back to the time she had taken Bian for his vaccinations and then... ah, she remembered. Back then, the young master had told her: remember your position, nanny. Bia had certainly felt hurt at the time, but that pain had long vanished. She didn't hold onto grudges for long, choosing instead to push it out of her mind. She quickly shook her head. "You don't need to apologize, sir. I... I was in the wrong too. I only told the Master, not Master Adrian."The faint smile on his face widened into a broad one, turning into a soft chuckle and then full-blown laughter. The somber mood created by the girl's tears transformed completely as smooth laughter escaped the young Bimantara's thin lips. It was a light, easy laugh that thawed the cool night air, stopped her tears from flowing, made a certain organ in her chest beat wildly, and warmed the atmosphere around them.Bia was stunned, taking in the sound of his laughter—onl

The two questions asked in such a casual tone just now threw the bewildered, simply dressed girl into a flurry of confusion. She hurriedly—yet hesitantly—sat down in the empty spot beside the young master, keeping a bit of space between them so she wouldn't touch or brush against him. Bia was nervous, of course. First, sitting right next to him—even with the gap—was still undeniably close. Second, she had no idea what the young master wanted to talk about. Was it about today? The commotion that happened? About Bian? Or perhaps about the girl who was supposed to be his prospective wife?The sound of crickets echoed softly in the background. Ahem.The girl sat clasping her fingers together, confused and nervous, wondering in her heart what the young master wanted to discuss. Meanwhile, the young Bimantara took a deep breath and exhaled, taking a moment to calm himself. Oh, it wasn't because he was about to speak to the nanny, but rather from the mental exhaustion caused by today's emoti

"Rabia would never do something like that," Adnan spoke up courageously.Agam sighed amidst the tense atmosphere. "Yes. I know as well, Bia wouldn't do something like that."Adam smirked slightly upon hearing this. Meanwhile, Naomi couldn't believe that none of the other Bimantaras came to her defense. She glanced at her prospective father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law, who weren't looking at her at all. Even the man she liked just stood there silently without trying to rescue her. Why were they all taking that country girl's side instead?"Yeah... I know," the patriarch added. He looked back at the beautiful straight-haired girl. "Do you know why?"Naomi swallowed hard. She was helpless."Bia has a mother's instinct, whereas you do not."The senior Bimantara's sentence hit a certain young man right where he was kneeling. A mother's instinct? The nanny had mentioned it before too. The person who cared for Bian needed to have a mother's instinct."I feel Bia actually treats

"Who was with Bian this morning?" the senior Bimantara asked as he adjusted the chubby boy's clothes, letting the little chunk play on the rug by himself—rolling left and right, lying on his stomach, laughing to himself, doing it over and over again.Bia was reluctant to say anything because she couldn't be entirely sure. What if she accused the wrong person? She would be the one taking the blame. Besides, judging someone without proof was wrong. But no one else had been with Bian at that time. The girl let out a sigh. Since it had already happened and her baby got hurt, she didn't want a similar incident repeating itself."I don't want to accuse anyone. But the last person with Bian was Miss Naomi," she said, looking seriously into Bimantara's dark eyes."Naomi?" Adam repeated. "Naomi Wibowo?""Miss Naomi came here to learn how to care for Bian as Master Adrian's prospective wife," Bia informed him. This wasn't a secret, right? Everyone in the household knew.The senior Bimantara kne

"Yes. I just moved in." A smile curved on Kemal's lips. "Oh, I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to say hello yet." He bowed his head once more."No, no. I was just curious about who moved in next door. I didn't expect you to be so young." The old woman offered a smile. "What brought you here?"Darn it, Kemal hadn't come up with an excuse yet. It was true he had just moved in—only two days ago. He had gone straight to visit the area at the core of the issue and then returned. He hadn't had time to think of a good answer for why he moved here, nor had he prepared housewarming treats—the way most people usually did when settling into a new place. An unwritten tradition.What should he say?Come on, Kemal, you have a genius brain!Kemal scratched his head, offering a bashful smile while spinning a lie smoothly. "Es-escaping from the city, ma'am. Heh-heh. I couldn't handle living in a super busy city with a job that swallowed up all my time." 'Couldn't handle it, my foot!' How could that pos

"Aha!" Bian squealed with joy. His soft-haired head lifted, looking up at the giant man in front of him before he burst into laughter and started babbling, "Mam! Mam! Mmm! Ababa!" As if to say: Yes, yes! I remember! Bian remembers!Unable to contain his affection any longer, Adam immediately pulled his great-grandson's tiny body into an embrace and showered the baby's chubby cheeks with kisses. Uh, he had missed Bian so much. Ever since his first visit three days ago, Adam had been missing him terribly. He wanted to come here! He wanted to see his great-grandson! But work couldn't be left behind. There was a minor issue he had to resolve first. Well, no need to explain what that issue was, right? Basically, the Bimantara patriarch's dark-underworld business.After kissing the chubby boy to his heart's content, Adam held the chubby baby on his lap, stroking his head and gently pinching his cheek. Finally, he got to see the mini Bimantara he missed so much! If he could, he would love to