06. Different

When Airin returned home, she was surprised by a familiar looking car parked in front of her house.

Is that perhaps …? Airin thought with her body frozen for a moment. Imagining the man, who has three wives, is sitting on his simple living room sofa. Airin’s body was now covered in sweat and dust after working almost all day in the fields, so she hurriedly walked to the back of the house to wash her feet and hands in the water pouring from the jug.

From the back door, Yuniarti walked briskly toward her eldest daughter. “Rin! Rin!” call her.

Airin turned around. If her mother had acted like that, surely Airin’s assumption was correct.

“What’s the matter, Mother?” said Airin.

The girl’s calmness was in stark contrast to the anxiety that was clearly printed on her mother’s face.

“Come on, quickly! Mr. Sakha has been waiting for you for a long time. I told you not to go to the fields today! You’re very stubborn. Especially when you're just recovering? Duh! Come on, come on!”

This kind of sight is no longer something strange that Airin has seen since she said she agreed to marry Mr. Sakha. Her mother seemed always panicked and restless every day.

Airin didn’t like to see that. Why is Mother even like this? Shouldn’t she feel calm now? Because soon all their family debt problems will be paid off and their lives will also be guaranteed as before.

But, no matter how much Airin tried to calm her mother down, all her efforts and words never worked. Even Airin is willing to wake up early and sleep later than usual to use various types of skincare first, just to make her mother calm.

“Are Mawar and Melati at home?” asked Airin when Yuniarti pulled her into the kitchen and helped Airin take off all her farming equipment.

“Mawar is at Aunt’s house again, taking the herbs that I ordered. Melati hasn’t come home from school yet, she said there’s an extra lesson today,” Yuniarti replied.

Airin nodded in understanding. The two of them then went into Airin’s room. Luckily, Airin’s living room and the bedroom door are separated by a valance, so when Airin enters, guests sitting on the sofa won’t see her except for a flash of shadow from the thin valance.

Airin just gave up when her mother pushed her body into the bathroom.

After making sure her body was clean from sweat and dust, Airin went outside. He faintly heard the sound of a car driving away. Has Mr. Sakha gone? Airin thought. Good then.

Airin didn’t have to bother to see him. After all, why had she desperately avoided the man in the fields today just to meet him at home? It felt like Airin’s efforts in the fields had been in vain.

And don’t tell me Mr. Sakha came to this house with his three wives!

Airin's round eyes widened. She then immediately climbed into bed and looked out the window to confirm her guess. It’s a shame that the car is no longer where Airin saw it earlier.

***

Sakha was sitting in a room where the walls were dull with faded paint, the old sofa on which he sat was also uncomfortable. The table in front of him looked fragile with age, luckily it was still enough to support the three cups of tea that were still puffing a little smoke on it.

And also, at least … the room was clean and smell good too. Sakha smelled the scent of roses which was disguised by the sweet aroma of tea. That’s when Sakha then saw, there was a flower vase filled with fresh roses placed on the nightstand beside the sofa where he was sitting.

Jamal, who seemed to notice Sakha’s gaze, said, “Ah that … is the flower bothering you, Sir? I can-”

“No,” said Sakha quickly, knowing what Jamal was going to say next. He would have said he would get rid of the vase. Too much, thought Sakha. “I like the smell,” said Sakha again.

Jamal breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s Ririn,” he said.

Hearing the name, Sakha turned to the middle-aged man.

“It was Ririn who put that roses there. She likes roses, that’s why almost the whole house is filled with the smell of roses that she puts in a vase like that,” continued Jamal.

After hearing that, Galih—Sakha’s assistant who was sitting beside him—leaned slightly to his master and whispered, “Ririn is her daughter who fainted in the fields that day.”

No wonder at that time Sakha faintly smelled this familiar scent, although it was faint because it was covered by the smell of the sun and sweat as well as the smell of freshly picked corn. Sakha nodded in understanding. “Where is your daughter?” he asked, referring to his future wife, not specifically to Airin.

But Jamal seems to have misunderstood. “She’ll be here in a minute,” he replied, glancing nervously at the valence covering the door connecting the living room.

When Sakha also looked over there, he faintly saw a flash of a shadow passing from there and entering a room at a very fast pace.

Galih touched Sakha’s arm gently, then handed the cellphone to him. “There’s a call for you, Sir,” said Galih.

After picking up the phone and talking to the person on the other end, Sakha realized he didn’t have much time so he excused himself and told Galih to take care of the rest, as usual.

“Well, who will I go home with, Sir?” asked Galih, accompanying Sakha to the terrace, with Jamal also following behind.

“You can take a motorcycle taxi, I’m in a hurry!” said Sakha, then he just drove away driving his car.

Galih scratched the back of his neck that didn’t itch, he only able to stare at the heartless departure of his master.

“Why? Where’s Mr. Sakha?” asked Yuniarti who was looking at the door.

“He has an urgent business, Ma’am, so he has to go first. Sorry,” replied Galih politely.

Yuniarti looked disappointed, then invited her guest to come back inside.

“Ririn just finished getting ready,” said Yuniarti.

Galih frowned. “Rin?” he asked.

Yuniarti and Jamal looked at each other for a moment. “Yes, Galih. We have discussed and Ririn agreed to be married by Mr. Sakha,” said Jamal.

Galih’s expression looked surprised. “But-”

It was then that the valence was removed, a woman stepped outside and slowly walked up to them. When her wide round eyes met Galih’s, his gaze seemed to be surprised.

Galih frowned, looking at the woman with narrowed eyes. Her face looked familiar, but Galih didn’t think he had seen her before. “Who is it?” Galih asked then, turning to Jamal.

Jamal laughed. “Don’t you know when you meet every day in the fields? This is Ririn, Galih.”

Galih’s face became even more dazed. This beautiful woman in front of him is Ririn?

Her appearance was very much different from when she was in the fields.

Galih has only ever seen Airin in the fields. What stuck in his mind was a shabby woman in a long dress with wide hats and a long dirty black scarf to cover her mouth and nose from dust. Galih did not expect, the same woman was also in front of him at this time. Airin wore a simple rose-patterned dress with a long pink skirt. She looked like a flower that had just bloomed.

“This is the future wife of Mr. Sakha?” asked Galih again, just to be sure.

Jamal and Yuniarti both nodded.

Galih shook his head slowly and then looked away, was he just fascinated by his master’s own future wife?

“Where are Mawar and Melati?” asked Galih curiously.

When he asked, Galih did not see the crooked smile of the woman who was now sitting in front of him.

As expected, that perverted boss is after my younger siblings, Airin thought sourly.

***