Chapter 7

Davian was not waiting on the bed. The man sat behind a teakwood desk, staring at his laptop screen with a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose—a rare sight, yet somehow making him look even more dominant.

“You’re ten minutes late, Dewangga,” Davian said without looking up. His voice was cold, different from usual.

Dewangga closed the door and locked it. “Vivian kept me. She… she asked a lot about work.”

Davian slowly closed his laptop and removed his glasses. He stood up and walked toward Dewangga with the grace of a predator. But instead of pulling Dewangga into his arms, Davian stopped a few steps in front of him.

“Do you know what I hate the most, Dewangga?” Davian asked quietly. “Disloyalty.”

Dewangga swallowed hard, feeling as if Davian could read his thoughts about the flash drive and Vivian’s black folder.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Davian smiled cynically. He walked toward the large sofa in the middle of the room and picked up his phone.

“Sit down. I want to show you something.”

Dewangga approached hesitantly. Davian turned on his phone screen, revealing a recording from a hidden surveillance camera. It showed Dewangga speaking seriously with a beautiful woman in the office lobby earlier that afternoon—a new secretary sent by one of their business associates.

“She’s very beautiful, isn’t she? Her name is Elena. I heard you were very friendly with her this afternoon,” Davian said as he gently stroked Dewangga’s cheek, though his gaze was sharp as a blade. “I don’t like seeing what belongs to me being too polite to other people.”

Dewangga exhaled in relief, though irritation flickered in his chest.

“She was only asking about the meeting schedule, Davian! You’re jealous over something that small?”

Davian laughed, but the sound was hollow.

“Jealous? No. I’m just reminding you where your place is. Since you seem to be starting to think you have ‘choices,’ I decided to give you a little punishment.”

Suddenly, Davian called someone through the intercom on the desk. Not long after, the bedroom door was knocked on. A stunning young woman—Elena, the same secretary they had been talking about—entered the room with her head lowered shyly, though she looked obedient.

Dewangga’s blood boiled.

“What are you doing, Davian?”

“Elena will help us tonight,” Davian said casually. He pulled Elena closer and began stroking her hair right in front of Dewangga. “I want you to sit there, Dewangga. Don’t move. Watch how I can give attention to someone else if you can’t maintain your loyalty.”

Dewangga froze.

This was psychological manipulation at its finest. Davian was not torturing him physically—he was destroying his mind with jealousy and humiliation. Dewangga was forced to watch Davian behave intimately with someone else, a tactic designed to make him feel worthless without Davian’s attention.

For the next hour, Dewangga was forced to watch the painful display. Every laugh from Davian and every touch he gave Elena felt like poison spreading through Dewangga’s veins. Dewangga realized how deeply he had fallen; he hated Davian for his cruelty, yet at the same time he desperately craved the man’s attention again.

When Elena was finally told to leave, Davian looked at Dewangga, who now sat weakly in the chair with reddened eyes.

“Now you know what it feels like to lose control, don’t you?” Davian whispered as he knelt in front of Dewangga.

“Vivian may hold your contract, but I hold every nerve in your body. Never try to play both sides with me, Dewangga. Because next time, the punishment won’t be this simple.”

Morning at the Surya family headquarters felt colder than usual. Dewangga sat in the large meeting room, staring at the stack of documents for the Grand Horizon project. Not long after, Mr. Surya entered with firm steps, followed by Davian, who looked exceptionally commanding in his dark suit. There was no trace of the wild man who had tormented Dewangga’s mind the night before; what stood there now was simply a brilliant and cold executive.

“Everyone, sit down,” Mr. Surya’s voice thundered. “Today is the deciding moment. The major tender for the coastal land development will open soon. Davian, you’ll take the lead. Dewangga, I want you to assist Vivian with the legal and permit matters. The two of you must stay synchronized.”

Vivian, who sat across from Dewangga, gave only a brief nod. Her eyes sent a sharp signal toward her husband—a warning that this was the perfect moment to obtain data from Davian.

After the meeting ended, Davian asked Dewangga to step into his office under the excuse of “technical synchronization.” The moment the door closed, the formal atmosphere vanished instantly. Davian tossed a folder containing the permit documents Vivian had prepared onto the desk.

“Vivian did this part very neatly,” Davian said while lighting a lighter. “Too neatly. If these permits go through, she’ll gain full control over the tender’s cash flow. And that means I’ll lose my influence.”

Davian walked closer to Dewangga, placing his hand on Dewangga’s shoulder and squeezing hard enough to hurt.

“I want you to change the numbers in the legal documents Vivian is holding. Just a small error in the land coordinates, and the entire permit becomes legally flawed. Vivian will be seen as incompetent by Father.”

Dewangga’s eyes widened. “You’re asking me to sabotage my own wife in front of her father?”

“Not just your wife—your position as well,” Davian whispered in a threatening tone. “Choose, Dewangga. Destroy Vivian today, or I’ll send the audio recordings of our ‘meetings’ on the third floor to Father’s phone this afternoon. Imagine that old man’s face when he finds out his beloved son-in-law is the greatest traitor in his family.”

Dewangga felt as if the blood in his veins had stopped flowing. This was the cruelest test of loyalty imaginable. If he helped Davian, he would destroy Vivian—the only person who, in her own harsh way, had tried to pull him out of this abyss. If he refused, Davian would destroy his life instantly.

“I… I need time,” Dewangga murmured weakly.

“You have until lunchtime,” Davian released his grip and smiled cynically. “Remember, Dewangga. Vivian only wants your power. But me… I want every part of you. Don’t choose the wrong side.”

Dewangga left the room with weak legs. In the corridor, he crossed paths with Vivian, who was carrying a tablet containing the tender data.

“Dewangga! Well? Did you find a loophole in Davian’s computer?” Vivian asked hopefully. “This is our last chance before the tender is submitted tomorrow.”