MasukSeraphina Serenity Miller has spent her entire life putting her parents’ happiness above her own. When they arranged for her to marry Hans Continental in the name of a business merger, she didn’t protest. She followed the rules—just as she always had. Everything was fine until River Sage Palmer entered her life. He’s stubborn, vile, and a rule breaker—Serenity’s complete opposite. Where she clings to order, he thrives in chaos. And where she draws lines, he’s determined to cross them—all for her. Bound by blood as they were cousins, Serenity knows they can’t be together. But River has never been the kind to take no for an answer. He’s always gotten everything he wanted. Serenity will not be an exemption.
Lihat lebih banyakJuned menatap kosong selembar surat PHK di atas meja kayu yang mulai kusam. Bayangan wajah istrinya dan suara Desi yang penuh nyinyir kembali melintas di benaknya.
Denting notifikasi ponsel mengalihkan perhatiannya pada sebuah pesan gambar dari temannya. Matanya membelalak melihat foto Desi yang sedang mendorong troli belanja bersama Andre di sebuah minimarket. Rahang Juned mengeras. Sudah enam bulan istrinya bekerja di Jakarta. Namun, ia tak menyangka kalau foto itu diterima. Foto yang dikirimkan supir di rumah majikan istrinya membuatnya naik pitam. Jari Juned bergetar saat meneruskan foto tersebut ke nomor W******p istrinya untuk meminta penjelasan. Ia menunggu dengan perasaan tidak keruan sampai status pesan tersebut berubah menjadi biru. "Ini maksudnya apa, Des?" tanya Juned melalui pesan singkat. Tak butuh waktu lama, balasan dari Desi muncul dengan nada yang sangat ketus dan seolah tanpa dosa. "Apa sih! Aku diajak belanja doang buat keperluan nyonya!" balas Desi di layar ponsel. Juned memejamkan mata sejenak, merasakan sesak yang luar biasa di dadanya karena dikhianati seperti ini. Ia segera membalas pesan itu untuk mengingatkan statusnya sebagai suami yang sah. "Tapi Des, aku ini kan suamimu," balas Juned lagi. “Andre mantan kamu, kan?” Desi tak menjawab. “Sejak kapan Andre di Jakarta?” Desi tidak berhenti menyerang, ia justru mengirimkan balasan yang jauh lebih menyakitkan hati Juned. “Bukan urusan kamu! Aku disini tuh kerja! Gausah pikir aneh-aneh!” "Kamu nggak becus nyari duit! Segala kena PHK! Bikin malu aku aja!" bentak Desi lewat pesan tersebut. “Masih mending aku kerja di Jakarta!” “Mau makan darimana kalau gak ada duitnya!” Juned melempar ponselnya ke kasur dan memilih untuk mengakhiri perdebatan yang hanya menguras emosinya itu. Ia melangkah menuju kamar mandi untuk membasuh wajahnya agar bisa berpikir lebih jernih. "Sabar, Juned. Pasti ada jalan lain," batinnya sambil menyalakan keran air. Baru saja selesai berpakaian, ponsel Juned kembali berdering nyaring menampilkan temannya di layar. Teman senasibnya. "Ned, gue ada lowongan jadi supir di Jakarta. Lu kan bisa nyetir, mau nggak?" tanya Wahyu dari seberang telepon. Mendengar tawaran itu, semangat Juned yang sempat padam kini perlahan-lahan mulai bangkit kembali. Juned tersenyum girang, pasalnya ia memang butuh uang. Meskipun belum memiliki anak dengan Desi, bukankah ia juga harus membahagiakan istrinya segera? Belum lagi hatinya kian tak tenang istrinya tak pulang-pulang. Bisa sekalian jemput istrinya pulang kan di Jakarta? Benar. Juned mengepalkan tangannya kuat-kuat, merasa seolah baru saja mendapatkan napas baru di tengah himpitan masalah. Ia merasa tawaran kerja ini adalah jawaban tuhan setelah istrinya sendiri mencampakkannya begitu saja. "Akhirnya ada jalan keluar juga," gumam Juned sambil mulai mengemas pakaiannya ke dalam tas. Juned memasukkan beberapa potong pakaian ke dalam tas ranselnya dengan gerakan cepat. Tanpa ragu, ia mengetik pesan singkat untuk istrinya sebelum benar-benar meninggalkan rumah kontrakan mereka. "Aku mau kerja ke Jakarta," tulis Juned singkat di layar ponselnya. “Tunggu aku bawa kamu pulang.” Ia langsung menyampirkan tas ke bahu dan berjalan menuju jalan raya tanpa mempedulikan apakah pesannya akan dibalas atau tidak. Tekadnya sudah bulat untuk membuktikan bahwa dirinya bisa sukses meski baru saja dihina oleh istrinya sendiri. “Akan aku buktikan, Desi." gumam Juned sambil menaiki bus jurusan kota. Setelah perjalanan memakan waktu seharian, bus akhirnya berhenti di terminal kota yang tampak sangat ramai dan bising. Juned segera mengeluarkan ponselnya untuk menghubungi nomor calon majikannya yang diberikan oleh temannya. "Selamat malam, Bu. saya Juned yang ingin bekerja menjadi supir. Apa saya bisa datang malam ini atau tunggu besok pagi saja?" tanya Juned dengan nada bicara yang sangat sopan. Di seberang telepon, suara seorang wanita terdengar memberikan jawaban yang membuat hati Juned merasa sedikit lega. Ternyata calon majikannya tidak keberatan jika ia langsung datang ke lokasi pada malam itu juga. "Datang saja malam ini, saya ada di rumah kok," jawab suara wanita tersebut dari balik telepon. Juned langsung mencari pengemudi ojek yang sedang mangkal di pinggir terminal untuk mengantarnya sesuai alamat. Ia merasa sangat bersemangat dan tidak sabar untuk memulai hidup barunya di kota besar ini. "Pak, ke alamat ini ya. Tolong agak cepat sedikit," ucap Juned sambil menyerahkan ponselnya yang menunjukkan peta lokasi. Juned berdiri mematung di depan gerbang tinggi yang menjulang, menatap bangunan megah di hadapannya dengan rasa tidak percaya. Ia menekan bel di samping pagar beberapa kali hingga seorang wanita muncul dari balik pintu utama. "Kamu Juned ya? Silahkan masuk," ucap wanita itu seraya membukakan pagar. Juned terpana melihat sosok di depannya yang mengenakan daster tipis mewah dengan lekuk tubuh yang sangat jelas terlihat. Ia segera menundukkan kepala untuk menyembunyikan rasa gugupnya namun tetap melangkah mengikuti wanita itu masuk ke dalam rumah. Juned memejamkan matanya, ingat dirimu Juned! Wanita itu berjalan dengan anggun membelakangi Juned, membiarkan aroma parfumnya memenuhi ruangan yang mereka lewati. Ia sesekali menoleh sedikit untuk memastikan supir barunya itu tidak tertinggal jauh di belakang. "Dari kampung jam berapa, Ned?" tanya Wanita itu tanpa menghentikan langkahnya. Juned berusaha mengatur suaranya agar tidak terdengar gemetar sambil matanya tetap tertuju pada pinggul Wanita itu yang bergoyang pelan. "Dari jam sembilan, Nyonya," jawab Juned dengan nada bicara yang sopan. "Hmmm.. Jauh juga ya." Jawab Wanita itu sambil menoleh ke arah Juned. Mereka tiba di ruang tamu luas yang diisi dengan perabotan mahal. Wanita itu mempersilahkan Juned untuk duduk di salah satu sofa empuk sementara ia sendiri mengambil posisi tepat di hadapan Juned. "Silakan duduk," ucap Ratna sambil menyilangkan kakinya dengan santai. Juned segera meletakkan tas ranselnya di lantai dan duduk dengan posisi yang sangat kaku di ujung sofa. "Baik, Nyonya. Terima kasih," sahut Juned pelan. "Nama saya Ratna, saya pemilik rumah ini," ucap wanita itu memperkenalkan diri dengan nada suara yang tenang. Juned mengangguk sambil berusaha menjaga pandangannya agar tetap sopan meski daster tipis itu terus mengalihkan fokusnya. "Tugasmu di sini antar jemput saya dan anak saya, Maudy," jelas Ratna sambil menatap Juned lekat-lekat. "Di rumah ini hanya ada saya dan Maudy, anak saya. Mbak bebersih rumah dan masak cuma di siang hari. Tugasmu disini antar jemput kami dan melayani semua kebutuhan kami," jelas Ratna sambil menatap Juned lekat-lekat. "Jadi, kamu harus memastikan kalau tubuhmu selalu dalam kondisi bugar dan ... kuat."I felt like the world had shattered as I heard his explanation.I held onto my chest, feeling how it tightened because of mixed shock and anger.“That… That’s not true,” I whispered, my voice trembling as I shook my head. “You’re just making things up. You don’t want to see me being happy with River, so you went here to tear us apart…”As I said those words, I couldn’t even hear my voice because of how low it was.I was convincing myself that it wasn’t true, but my intuition tells me that Hans was telling the truth.And that is what’s hurting me the most.“Come on, Serenity.” Hans chuckled. “Are you trying to tell that to me, or are you trying to convince yourself that River is the same person you thought he would be?”I didn’t answer. No… I couldn’t.It felt like my voice had left my throat already. I couldn’t even find the strength to stand properly as I felt like I could stumble down at any time.“I may be psychotic in your eyes now, flying to France just to personally tell you abo
River wasn’t the one who sent me the message, but the contents… It was all about him.“Underground… business?” I muttered, my brows furrowing as I scrolled through the articles. “River’s a part of this? Why would someone send this to me?”If only River were here, I could easily have asked him about these contents. But he’s not, and he wasn’t replying to my texts, either.Well, he has told me that he would be busy until night, and I understand. I’m also sure that whoever sent me this message was just trying to taint River’s reputation.I’m sure it’s Hans. He just wants me to doubt River.“No… This isn’t true…” I whispered, shaking my head as I tried not to imagine anything. “Because River doesn’t have any reason to be a part of this.”I wasn’t innocent of this kind of organization. Syndicates like this were created to do illegal things.And the idea that River, the man who had risked everything to save me, could be a part of this… It makes my chest ache.Before I could even notice it,
I froze upon reading the message.Even if the sender didn’t officially introduce himself, I already knew who it was.Hans Continental.But what does he mean by this?“Seraphina,” River suddenly called, halting my thoughts. “Are you okay? You look pale, as if you’ve seen a ghost.”“Ah, y-yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Sorry, I think I want to rest tonight. Can we call this a day?”“Sure,” he answered without hesitation, and yet, he was still staring at me, as if studying my expression. “But are you telling the truth? Isn’t there something bothering you? I think you’ve got a message.”He looked at my phone.River was stronger than me, which means that if he tries to steal my phone or something, he could easily do it. He could even take a peek.But he didn’t. River respected my boundaries even if I haven’t enforced them yet.“It’s nothing,” I answered in a low tone, subtly returning the phone to my pocket. “So… Let’s see each other again tomorrow?”River smiled, but it didn’t reach his ear
Those words hit me like a wave, leaving me speechless as I stared at him. I know that he loves me… But I didn’t know the duration.I didn’t have any idea that it was for a long time.Or maybe the reason I couldn’t notice him… Because I was so busy hiding my own. He’s not the only one feeling this way.I thought I only liked him when I saw him at the bar before, but it turns out that wasn’t the case.Because like him, I have loved River for a long time, too.“I… I feel the same way, too,” I whispered, looking at him with so much love and admiration. “It doesn’t matter if you kept a secret from me before. You did it all for me. I trust you. I always will.”Smiling, I added, “But you can’t do that again, okay? You can’t hide secrets from me, or else I will not forgive you.”River nodded, his smile widening, but I also saw another flicker of emotion in his eyes—something that I wasn’t able to decipher.He squeezed my hands gently, his fingers warm and steady, grounding me as the world swi
I screamed and thrashed myself on the ground, not knowing how to stop the pain on my own.It felt like all the memories were surging into my mind, and it was overbearing since it was more than I could take. “Serenity!” River exclaimed, his expression laced with worry, as he held both of my hands,
“I know…” Evelyn mumbled with a sigh, halting River’s thoughts. “And believe it or not, I understand. But River… This time, you have done the wrong thing.”River frowned, not understanding Evelyn’s words.“I’m protecting her,” he emphasized, his voice deeper than usual. “What’s wrong with protectin
Upon hearing those words, something inside me cracked. Not in a bad way, but it felt like I had lowered my guard. I’m not even aware I’m building it around him.“There’s no way I will leave you, Serenity. I didn’t come this far just to leave in the end,” he added in a reassuring tone. “I’ll always
“Y-Yes!” I tried to hide the happiness in my voice, but I think I failed.The door opened, revealing River. He looked exhausted, but when he saw my face, his expression lit up.But his happiness converted into worry upon seeing the IV drip on my arm.Quickly, he went toward me and sat at the edge o
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