เข้าสู่ระบบMariana kehilangan segalanya dalam sekejap. Suaminya berselingkuh dengan saudara kandungnya sendiri. Bayi yang sangat dinantikannya meninggal dunia. Dan Bella, sahabat baiknya, pergi untuk selamanya setelah melahirkan. Di tengah duka yang belum usai, suami Bella yang sekaligus atasannya datang dengan sebuah tawaran mengejutkan. “Kamu sahabatnya, dan kamu juga baru kehilangan anakmu. Aku tahu ini sulit, tapi bayi ini membutuhkanmu. Hanya kamu satu-satunya yang bisa kupercaya.” Mariana tidak tahu apakah itu jalan keluar atau justru awal dari kehancuran baru. Apa yang awalnya hanya tentang mengisi kekosongan perlahan berubah menjadi sesuatu yang lebih dalam. Kehangatan yang tidak seharusnya ada, tatapan yang bertahan terlalu lama, dan perasaan yang terus tumbuh di tempat yang salah. Tapi bisakah cinta bertahan jika sejak awal ia hadir dalam situasi yang begitu keliru?
ดูเพิ่มเติมI ain't only one comin' through
Don't act like it's not you
What I do on my downtime
What I do on my downtime
We connect, we wanna feel
That shit don't come at me no
But what you do in your downtime is
And what you do in your downtime is
That's everything I know
Girl that's everything I know
Yeah, yeah, that's everything I know
That's the only thing I know
Downtime
Usher
Darrelle's POV
"And you think I don't know that,"
"I'm just saying man, she should've gotten another night," Jason replied jogging beside me.
"Well you ain't got to worry about that you're married," I replied.
"Yes but our job is to live through you," he fired back I chuckled as we began to walk, grabbing my towel from the back pocket of my shorts wiping my face.
"I think you guys are forgetting that it's my dick, so I get the pleasure of deciding if I want to fuck Trina today and Stephanie tomorrow, "
"I know you're mother raised you better," Jason said as we walked to the truck.
"I agree with the man," Andre said siding with me.
"Of course you would you're both hoes," Jason pointed out I laughed stopping at the truck.
"The usual," I said handing the man the money, he nodded walking deeper into the truck.
"Don't your dick hurt," Jason joked making me laugh, I grabbed our drinks handing them out as we walked to our usual seats.
"I think you are incapable of having a serious relationship," he said once we sat down.
"And you're right,"
"You're something else man,"
"I just think that relationships are a waste of time,"
"How can you know if you've never been in one,"
"I have,"
"High school and University don't count,"
"Alright so maybe it's been a while," I laughed he chuckled.
"I bet you can't date a girl for more than a month,"
"I can but I don't see what I would gain out of being with the same girl for a month," I said chuckling.
"You can't,"
"Wanna bet on that?" I asked leaning back in the chair.
"Alright....if you and your dick can be in a relationship with one woman, no side hoes just fucking, talking, dating doing everything with one woman; I will set you up with the Preston deal,"
"You serious?" I asked knowing that deal was worth more than every deal I made for the last two years and would probably give me the big break I needed as an architect.
"Yeah I'm serious,"
"And what do you get out of this?" I asked curiously.
"I get to see my best friend happy an-"
"But your best friend is happy right now,"
"No he is okay he doesn't know what happiness is,"
"And being married is happiness,"
"Are we making the bet or not?" He asked.
"We are," I replied chuckling, I looked over to Andre who was shaking his head in disapproval.
"I raised you better,"
"You made him a hoe, " Jason said laughing.
.
.
.
.
I knocked on the door checking my watch knowing we where already late for the club opening tonight, the door opened to reveal my little sister Tiana. She has been married to my best friend Jason for six years now, I'm still adjusting to the idea of them being together.
"Hey," I greeted leaning forward kissing her cheek.
"Is he ready?" I asked reffering to Jason.
"Yeah, he's supposed to be coming down," she replied looking behind her.
"Where are the kids?"
"At a sleepover, do you want to come in?"
"No need I'm here," I heard Jason say, Tiana turned around as he walked to the entrance.
"I'll be home by eleven," he said kissing her lips quickly he pulled away his eyes on her, she shot him a look and he smiled.
"Fine ten," he chuckled kissing her forehead.
"Tiana he needs his balls tonight," I told her, he pushed me softly leaning forward kissing her knowning that I hated the sight. I groaned walking away.
After a couple minutes we arrived at the club, I handed my keys to the valet as we walked inside. We immediately saw Andre and walked over to him.
"You two are always fucking late," Andre pointed out sipping his champagne.
"I'm shocked that your fiance let you out alone," I replied lauging knowning he had been on a leash the last couple of days. I grabbed two glasses off a moving tray, handing one to Jason.
"She knew that Jason would be here,"
"What about me?"
"No she thinks you're slut," he said making Jason laugh.
"How do you guys live without your balls?"
"Fuck off man," Andre laughed along with Jason.
"So how is the bet going?," Andre asked smiling.
"Haven't started,"
"Well since you haven't started I want to add something to it," Andre said.
"What?" I asked curiously.
"Twenty days no sex," he replied.
"I'm not doing that shit,"
"I like it," Jason said laughing
"Just because you guys aren't getting none doesn't mean I should suffer,"
"He's not getting none because he is on probation but I'm gett-," Jason started but I cut him off not wanting the image in my head.
"Remember you're with my sister man," I said he chuckled finishing his drink.
"And I think what he is saying is a good idea,"
"Man that-"
"You shouldn't have been talking all that shit,"
"Alright," I said thinking about the Preston deal.
"So who you gonna date for the month?" He asked.
"I don't know, "
"So why don't you date one of the girls you've already been with?" Andre asked.
"No if I'm waiting twenty days for sex it can't be the same girl," I said sipping my drink scanning the room.
"What about her?" Andre asked.
"Who?" I asked he motioned to a group of women specifically the one sitting down, I couldnt really see her because of the dim lights and the group of friends she had around her.
"No,"
"Why not?" Jason asked I took another sip before saying.
"She is sitting with her friends,"
"And?" Andre asked.
"Her friends are drunk,"
"And?" Jason asked confused.
"She is the only one with a beer and look at how she continuously checks her phone every five second,"
"And?"
"The beer isn't strong which means she is the designated driver her friends are drunk which means she has to leave soon, and the phone just shows that she would rather be anywhere but here, like she has much more important things to do. Which let's me know she probably won't give me the time of day because I'm not the most important thing in her life right now,"
"She is the one, she is the one you got to date" Jason said chuckling I watched as she got up leaving the crowd, I thought about for a split second before saying.
"Alright, I see you're trying to make this as hard as you can for me"
"You're going over there," Jason said I finished my drink before walking away.
"Darrelle," I heard a voice say I turned around to be greeted by Alicia.
"Hey what's up?" I asked glancing at where I was suppose to be going before turning back to her as she placed her hand on my chest.
"I'm good," She replied biting her lip.
"I'm kinda busy right now but I'll call you when I can," I told her she leaned forward kissing me softly before walking away I chuckled turning around I scanned the room for a couple seconds before spotting her, she walked over to the bar and I quickly made my way there.
"Another round Paul and a water, room temperature," she said he smiled nodding before walking off. She was in a knee length black dress that complemented her dark skin beautifully almost as much as it did her curves.
"This isn't your scene is it?" I asked moving to stand beside her. She looked up scanning me before asking.
"Why do you say that?" She looked fimiliar but I couldn't quite put my finger on where I've seen her before.
You probably already slept with her
My conscience said and I pushed it off.
"You just ordered water from a bar,"
"How do even know it's for me?"
"Lucky guess" I replied and she laughed looking over to the bartender before turning back to me.
"So you were watching me?"
"Watching is such a bad way to word it, let's say supervising,"
"Young men's love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes," she said softly.
"Shakespeare," I said she looked back to her group of friends before turning to me looking slightly uninterested. It was quite odd hearing a woman at a bar quote Shakespeare in the middle of a conversation.
"She has been watching you," she said
"Who?" I asked confused looking over to her friends wondering if I slept with one of them as the bartender placed her order on the counter.
"The girl you stopped to talk to before you came over here," I looked behind me, my eyes immediately locking with Alicia's before turning back to her.
"You weren't the only one supervising," she said picking up the tray walking off I chuckled watching her, intrigued and slightly turned on. I smiled knowing this was going to be a challenge. I felt a hand on my back, I turned to see Jason with an amused look on his face.
"That's Nia Graham," he said and everything clicked into place.
"She is the one," he added as Andre began ordering for us.
"Of course you would say that," I said glancing over to her, knowing this was definitely not going to be easy.
.
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Thanks for reading❤️‼️
Hope you enjoyed the chapter
I'm thinking of posting every three days ❤️‼️
This is my last time removing this book, I've just been back and forth on whether it was good or not❤️‼️
I hope you guys like it❤️‼️
Pagi menyapa perlahan, seperti tak ingin mengganggu terlalu cepat. Kelopak mata Mariana bergerak pelan sebelum akhirnya terbuka. Ia menyipit, membiarkan cahaya masuk perlahan ke dalam pandangannya. Ranjang di sampingnya sudah kosong, tapi hangatnya masih tertinggal di seprai. Nate sudah bangun.Ia menarik selimut sedikit, duduk perlahan, dan menarik napas panjang. Masih setengah mengantuk, namun entah kenapa, hatinya terasa penuh.“Aroma manis apa ini?” gumam Mariana sambil mengucek kedua matanya.Sepersekian detik kemudian, Mariana menurunkan kedua kakinya dari ranjang.Saat ia hendak berdiri, terdengar suara langkah kecil mendekat dari arah lorong. Tertahan. Disusul bisikan pelan dan suara benda keramik yang seperti sedang berusaha seimbang di atas nampan.Tak lama kemudian, pintu kamar perlahan terbuka.Noel muncul lebih dulu, wajahnya berseri-seri. Di belakangnya, Elhan menyusul sambil hati-hati membawa nampan berisi dua cangkir dan sepiring roti panggang. Terakhir, Nate muncul.
Langit malam dipenuhi taburan bintang saat halaman rumah keluarga Adikara mulai dipenuhi aroma panggangan dan suara tawa. Meja makan panjang di beranda belakang telah tertata rapi dengan lampu-lampu gantung kecil yang menggantung dari pohon ke pohon.Mariana menaruh mangkuk salad terakhir di ujung meja, lalu mundur dua langkah untuk memastikan semuanya siap. Terdengar suara Noel dan Elhan yang saling sahut-menyahut dari arah belakang—mereka tengah membantu Bi Sri membawa gelas, tapi sambil berebut siapa yang lebih cepat. Mariana tersenyum mendengar kegaduhan kecil itu.Di sisi lain, Nate sedang bicara dengan seseorang di telepon—katanya darurat, tapi sesekali matanya tetap mengikuti Mariana dari kejauhan.“Masih kurang apa, Na?” tanya Arsita.“Cuma tinggal tamunya yang belum datang, Ma,” jawab Mariana sambil terkekeh. Ia meletakkan serbet di kursinya, lalu merapikan piring kecil yang sedikit miring.Ada rasa puas dalam hatinya, bukan karena makanannya sempurna, tapi karena malam ini s
Sudah hampir seminggu berlalu sejak pemakaman. Hujan sempat turun dua malam berturut-turut, menambah sendu di hati Noel yang masih memikirkan Thalia.Mariana duduk di ruang tengah, memperhatikan halaman kecil di luar jendela. Hujan telah reda, tapi suasana di rumah belum banyak berubah.Noel masih kerap terbangun di tengah malam, memanggil Thalia dalam mimpi yang tak bisa ia ingat sepenuhnya. Kadang ia menangis tanpa suara, kadang hanya memeluk guling sambil terisak pelan.Hari itu, Nate bekerja dari rumah. Ia duduk di ruang kerja dengan laptop menyala, tapi telinganya tetap awas menangkap setiap suara dari arah kamar anak-anaknya.Di kamar mereka, Noel duduk bersila di atas lantai, ia memandangi selembar kertas kosong di hadapannya. Di sebelahnya, Elhan sedang memegang krayon berwarna biru muda, siap mewarnai buku gambarnya.“Kak El… kamu bisa bantu aku nulis?” tanya Noel.Elhan segera menoleh. “Nulis apa?”“Noel belum bisa nulis. Tapi aku mau kirim surat buat Kak Thalia.”Elhan mele
Mariana berdiri di sisi kanan dua liang lahat yang digali berdampingan. Nate berada di sebelahnya, menggendong Noel yang tak henti sesenggukan dalam pelukan, sementara tangan Mariana menggenggam erat tangan Elhan.Di hadapan mereka, jenazah Bianca dan Thalia baru saja diturunkan bersamaan. Prosesi itu dilakukan dengan sangat hati-hati oleh beberapa pria dari masjid. Dua tubuh yang selama ini tak pernah benar-benar berdamai dalam hidup, kini terbaring berdampingan, diam, dan sunyi dalam kematian.Tak banyak yang hadir hari itu. Hanya keluarga inti dan beberapa orang dekat. Mereka berdiri dalam lingkaran yang longgar, mengenakan pakaian serba putih, dan menunduk dalam keheningan yang dalam.Doa-doa dilantunkan lirih oleh pemuka agama yang berdiri di sisi liang, suaranya terdengar pelan tapi jelas, menggema di antara desir angin dan suara tanah yang mulai disendokkan ke dalam liang satu per satu.Di seberang, Armand berdiri kaku, pria tua itu tampak terpukul. Ratna tampak lebih rapuh. Ia
Suasana pagi di rumah itu semestinya berjalan tenang. Namun entah kenapa, dada Mariana terasa berat. Ia tak tahu dari mana datangnya perasaan itu, tapi hatinya sudah gelisah sejak tadi.Di meja makan, ia sedang menyendokkan bubur hangat ke mangkuk kecil milik Noel. Bocah itu duduk manis sambil bermain dengan sendok plastik. Elhan duduk di seberang adiknya, memandangi ibunya dengan dahi sedikit berkerut.Kemudian ponsel Mariana yang diletakkan di atas meja bergetar pelan, disusul nada dering lembut. Nama yang tertera di layar membuat jantungnya langsung mencelos.Ibu.Ia menatap nama itu selama beberapa detik, bahkan sempat ragu untuk mengangkat. Tapi pada akhirnya Mariana menggeser ikon hijau dan menempelkan benda itu ke telinga.“Halo, Bu?”Suara Mariana terdengar biasa. Ia tidak ingin langsung menunjukkan keretakan yang semalam belum sempat ia pulihkan.Namun di seberang, suara ibunya langsung pecah. Isak tangis yang terdengar parau dan mengguncang. Bukan rengekan dramatis. Tapi tan
Setibanya di rumah, Mariana membantu Elhan turun dari mobil, sementara Nate menggendong Noel yang kembali tertidur di perjalanan.Tak ada satu kata pun terucap dari bibir Mariana. Ia hanya fokus memastikan langkah Elhan tetap stabil, meski dalam hati ia masih berusaha keras agar air matanya tidak jatuh di depan anak-anaknya—terutama Elhan yang sedari tadi terus mencuri pandang karena penasaran.“Elhan, ayo ikut Papa ke kamar,” ujar Nate pelan, menoleh ke putra sulungnya sambil mengatur posisi Noel di pelukannya.Elhan mengangguk pelan. Sebelum melanjutkan langkah, ia sempat menatap Mariana, memastikan ibunya baik-baik saja. “Ma… Elhan tidur dulu ya. Selamat malam,” ucapnya sambil tersenyum kecil.Senyum itu begitu lembut dan tulus, membuat hati Mariana terenyuh melihatnya.Mariana mengangguk, kemudian membalas senyum itu dengan lembut. Ia mengecup kening putranya singkat dan berbisik, “Selamat malam juga, Sayang. Mimpi yang indah, ya.”Setelah Nate dan Elhan berjalan ke arah kamar ana


















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