3. Sam's Decision

"Are you crazy, Sam?" shrieked Miss Veronica—Sam's Mother.

Sam was silent with his arms folded across his chest.

"How could you want to marry someone you don't know? What if she's far from your type? What if she's a bad girl?!" said Mrs. Veronica.

For the umpteenth time today, Sam took a deep breath. His chest felt so tight with guilt. He is not a naïve man, he knows full well that Luna lost her parents because of his carelessness, indirectly, Sam killed Luna's parents.

"No, Sam, I don't agree with you! We can compensate her handsomely, no need to marry her!" said Mrs. Veronica.

"What did you just say, Veronica?!" shouted Mr. William—Sam's father.

"I won't let Sam make the wrong decision! The death of that girl's parents wasn't completely Sam's fault! The roads were slippery because of the heavy rain! Everyone can have an accident in those circumstances. Why did that old man have to force our precious son to marry his daughter? And what kind of girl is she?!" Mrs. Veronica growled.

"Wait, you missed an important point! Our son made a mistake! He cut the road and caused an accident! Unfortunately, a family must be victimized! If it's not Sam's fault, then whose fault? No accidents will happen if Sam is careful!" Mr. William spoke with a firm tone and full of emphasis.

This time Mrs. Veronica was speechless. She knew this was Sam's fault, but the thought of his son having to marry an unknown stranger girl made her very worried.

"Well, can we go see the girl first? We can talk this over nicely. What if she doesn't want to marry Sam? How old is the girl? What if she already has a boyfriend or something?" Mrs. Veronica is still trying to find a way to discourage Sam from marrying the girl.

Sam, who had been silent all along, now began to speak.

"I'm not doing this for the girl, I'm doing this for my good. If I don't fulfill my promise to the girl's father, I will forever be haunted by guilt. I will forever feel humiliated because I killed the girl's parents and made her miserable. From what I know, that girl is an only child, she doesn't have anyone to share her grief with. Can you understand this situation? It's for my sanity." Sam said every word while looking into his mother's beady eyes.

"You hear that, Veronica? It's for the good of your own Son!" After saying that, Mr. William left the living room and entered the room.

Knowing that she couldn't argue with Sam, Mrs. Veronica walked quickly after her husband.

"William, please stop your son!" Veronica whined.

William sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Do you have the heart to let Sam marry a stranger girl? Right now Sam is at the top, his career is shining, he is the CEO of a big company!"

"Marriage is not something that will hinder Sam's career! I know my son!" said William lazily.

Veronica scowled in annoyance. She looked straight at her husband.

"What if that girl is a bad influence on Sam?"

William shook his head weakly. He didn't know what to say to make his wife understand.

"Hey, which is worse? Marry that girl, or go to jail?" he asked.

Veronica's eyes widened at her husband's words. Is there a hearing problem? Did her husband just say 'prison'?

"Prison you say?! William, it was just an accident!" shrieked Veronica.

"Want to bet? There are CCTVs everywhere! Getting evidence is very easy in this city, Veronica! This is Jakarta, where every corner has CCTV! If that girl reports Sam to the police, we won't be able to move anything!"

Veronica shook her head weakly.

"You can bribe them to free Sam!" said Veronica.

"It's not that easy because there are victims who died! Not one, but two!"

"We can compensate that girl! Just give her a lot of money!"

William was speechless. How could his wife be so stupid? How should he convince his wife? Blame him for letting his wife always spoil their children so that even if they make a mistake, she will do whatever it takes to clean up the mistake.

"Let's leave all the decisions to Sam! He's an adult and knows what's best for him!" after saying that, William took the car keys, and went straight out of the room. Being at home with Veronica who keeps acting up, makes his head hurt even more.

***

Luna held her forehead seeing the state of her kitchen which looked more like a broken ship than a kitchen in a luxury home. She shouldn't have forgotten to put the sign 'Eros is prohibited from entering' on the kitchen door.

Eros is like a crushing machine that can destroy anything he holds.

"It's only been a day since I haven't left my room, and you've destroyed my kitchen," Luna said in a weak voice.

"Oh... sorry! I wanted to make porridge, but it's not as easy as I thought!" said Eros casually.

If Jane was still there, she would have been nagging all day because of Eros.

Both Luna and Eros turned their heads outside the kitchen when the sound of the bell rang. Luna ran quickly, hoping that Jane would be at her doorstep. She has prepared extra energy to complain about Eros' inhuman behavior against her beautiful home.

However, the girl froze when she saw who was at the door. Her hands trembled and she tightened her grip on the doorknob.

"Hi," said Sam.

Luna bit her lip, trying to be as casual as possible. She knew that one day she would have to face her arranged marriage with Sam.

"May I come in?" asked Sam doubtfully.

Awakened from her reverie, Luna released her hand from the doorknob and opened the door wide so Sam could enter. After Sam entered, the girl invited Sam to sit in the living room.

"Am I bothering you?" asked Sam awkwardly.

The two of them didn't know what to start with. Sam has no experience whatsoever with women. He's too busy with his work. In contrast to Luna who had several exes. Even so, their situation was too awkward to have a warm conversation with.

"Are you Sam?" asked Eros who had just entered the living room.

"Yes." Sam's short answer.

Sam looked Eros up and down. Could it be that Luna already has a lover? Then what now? Should he step back? No! Sam shook his head slightly. For his sake, no matter what, he must marry Luna.

"Can you lower your gaze? I don't like that strange look of yours!" Eros exclaimed while sitting right beside Luna.

Sam took a deep breath, he then turned his gaze back to Luna.

"I'm not good at small talk, so I'll just say my purpose here! I want to fulfill my promise to your father." Sam said very firmly.