Masuk“Are you crying?" She shook her head and wiped at her face as more tears were falling. “I’m so stupid.” she groaned. "Now I am truly and utterly alone. If I had just said yes to marrying him, none of this would’ve happened. I wouldn’t have dragged you into this mess.” Without warning, I turned sharp to the side, putting the car to a sudden stop close to the curb. “Don’t ever say that again. You think marrying a man you don’t love, a man who doesn’t care if he hurts you, just to please your family is the right thing to do?” I turned to her slowly. “That would’ve ruined you.” “But I would’ve had a home to go to, I would’ve been taken care of. Now I have nothing,” she looked away. I reached over and gently took her bruised hand in mine. “You did the hardest thing anyone in your position could have done. You saved yourself. That takes more guts than standing there and pretending to be happy.” I tucked a hair behind her ear. “You think you are alone? You’re not… you have me.” ___ Alina Etienne has always lived a life dictated by her parents. She is groomed to be an obedient daughter, a perfect public image, and now, a bride to a man she doesn’t know or love. On her wedding day, crushed by the weight of expectations, Alina does the unthinkable... she says “I don’t” and flees the altar. On the run and scared with nowhere to go, she crosses paths with Mikhail Antonov. A cold, guarded man with a past he doesn’t talk about. What began as a reluctant act of kindness turned into something neither of them expected.
Lihat lebih banyak“Jadi ini tujuan kamu menceraikan aku, Damian?” pekik Glara berdiri di ambang pintu rumahnya ia tertegun melihat pemandangan yang tersaji di hadapannya.
Awalnya Glara datang untuk mengambil barang-barangnya yang masih tertinggal di rumah itu namun, ia justru mendapatkan kenyataan pahit yang membuat hatinya semakin tersayat-sayat. “Berhari-hari aku mengurung diri dan menyalahkan diriku karena tak becus menjadi istri hingga kamu memilih berpisah ternyata ini yang sebenarnya kamu mau?” ujar Glara mengatakan isi hatinya.
“Kalau iya kenapa?” balas Damian santai dan melemparkan tatapan mengejek.
“Sudah berapa lama kalian memadu kasih tanpa sepengetahuanku?”
Damian berdecak malas. “Itu bukan urusanmu!” Pria itu mengabaikan kedatangan Glara, ia justru sibuk dengan pegawai vendor yang mengatur kursi dan juga pelaminan.
“Damian ada siapa?” tanya ibu dari Damian dari dalam rumahnya. “Oh wanita miskin ini, mau ngapain lagi dia ke sini?” ujarnya setelah menatap Glara dari ujung rambut hingga ke ujung kakinya. “Oh, mau ambil barang busuk kamu itu ya? tunggu ya‼” Wanita paruh baya itu mengangguk dan bergegas masuk ke dalam rumah tepatnya ke dalam kamar yang dulu Glara dan Damian tinggali.
Glara terdiam, ia tak masih tak percaya dengan apa yang terjadi di dalam hidupnya. Seminggu yang lalu, Glara memutuskan untuk pulang ke kota kelahirannya setelah 18 bulan bekerja di Jepang. Namun, Glara mendapatkan kejutan yang datang bertubi-tubi. Mulai dari perceraian yang diajukan oleh Damian, sikap mertua dan suaminya yang mendadak berubah juga kejutan akan rencana pernikahan Damian.
Glara masih bergeming, ia menatap Damian yang sibuk menata ruangan dengan dekorasi khas pernikahan. Glara hendak melangkah masuk namun baru beberapa langkah ia berjalan, langkahnya terhenti kala melihat kedatangan mantan mertuanya yang berjalan mendekatinya dengan beberapa koper dan tubuh bocah laki-laki.
“Bawa anak gak guna ini! Bisanya cuman ngerepotin saja!” imbuh wanita itu mendorong tubuh Gama ke arah Glara.
Dengan sigap, Glara menangkap tubuh kurus buah hatinya, Gama. Hati wanita itu teriris pilu melihat keadaan putra semata wayangnya. “Ibu ...” ujar Gama sembari memeluk erat Glara.
Glara mengepalkan tangannya, giginya bergemeletuk dengan sikap mantan suami juga mertuanya itu. Glara tak mempermasalahkan jika memang Damian memilih untuk berpisah namun, ia tak terima jika putra semata wayangnya diperlakukan tidak baik seperti itu. Dengan menahan amarahnya Glara menatap Damian dan juga mantan mertuanya seraya berkata, “Kamu lihat saja! Aku akan membalas semua perbuatan kalian!”
Bukannya takut, Damian justru terkikik geli. “Membalas? Mau pakai cara apa? Kamu itu gak akan punya uang kalau gak berangkat ke luar!” hina Damian. “Keluargamu saja sudah membuangmu, ‘kan? Coba kalau keluargamu masih menopang atau memberiku jabatan di perusahaannya, tentu aku tak akan menceraikanmu Glara Latusha Seraphine,” imbuh Damian mengejek Glara yang masih memelek putranya.
“Jadi selama ini kamu hanya memanfaatkanku?”
“Memangnya apa yang bisa dibanggakan dari wanita sepertimu? Cantik enggak seksi juga enggak. Aku terpaksa menikahimu. Sialnya keluargamu justru membuangmu tanpa sepeserpun bagian dari perusahaan.”
Glara menggelengkan kepalanya, menatap Damian tak percaya. Ia benar-benar tak mengenali Damian yang sekarang berdiri di depannya. “Tunggu saja, Kamu dan Ibumu akan menyesal!” ujar Glara seraya menggendong putranya dan berlalu meninggalkan Damian yang menatapnya dengan senyum sinis.
Langkah kaki Glara menapaki jalanan beraspal rumah yang ia beli beberapa tahun silam, walau kesulitan Glara tetap berusaha sebaik mungkin membawa putra dan juga barang-barangnya. Hingga langkah kakinya berhenti di sebuah halte bis.
“Gama, apa yang mereka lakukan selama ini padamu, nak?” lirih Glara. Ia mengelus kepala putra tunggalnya itu. Detik selanjutnya, Glara menyadari jika anaknya kesulitan untuk mengambil napas. Ia segera memeriksa tubuh sang putra. Dada Gama terlihat naik turun secara lambat.
“Bu ...”
“Gama, kamu kenapa, Nak?” tanya Glara panik, namun anaknya tak menjawab. Gama pingsan dipelukan ibunya. Glara semakin panik, ia tak tahu harus bagaimana sekarang. Lebih sialnya lagi, bis yang Glara tunggu tak kunjung datang, Glara pun terpaksa menggunakan taksi yang melintas untuk mengantarkannya ke rumah sakit terdekat.
Tak lama kemudian, mereka sampai di tempat tujuan, tanpa memikirkan barang-barangnya, Glara langsung berlari menuju unit gawat darurat, suster yang melihatnya kemudian mengambil alih tubuh Gama dan meletakkan ke dalam bangsal.
Setelah mematikan tubuh Gama terbaring dengan baik, perawat pun keluar dan memanggil dokter jaga. Tak lama, dokter jaga datang dan memeriksa keadaan Jason. “Silakan tunggu di luar, bu.”
“Tapi saya mau menemani anak saya di sini, suster,” tolak Lyra.
“Saya mengerti, biarkan kami memeriksa kondisi putra ibu terlebih dahulu ya,” imbuh suster tersebut. Mau tak mau Glara menuruti perkataan suster tersebut, dengan berat hati ia meninggalkan Gama.
Glara memainkan buku jarinya, ia cemas dan gelisah dengan keadaan putra semata wayangnya. Ia bahkan lupa akan rasa sakit hati karena ulah Damian. Tak lama menunggu, suster yang tadi membantunya keluar dari ruangan.
“Dengan ibu pasien?” katanya tersenyum hangat. Glara mengangguk, suster itu pun mengajak Glara masuk untuk bertemu dengan dokter yang menangani Gama.
“Bagaimana dengan kondisi anak saya dok?” tanya Glara to the point.
“Sejak kapan putra ibu menderita sakitnya?” balas dokter itu dengan raut wajah yang tak bisa diartikan.
Kening Glara sontak mengerut mendengar pertanyaan dokter di depannya. “Sakit? Putra saya sakit apa dok?”
Dokter itu tak kalah terkejutnya dengan raut wajah Glara. “Ibu tidak tahu?”
“Tidak tahu apa dok?” cecar Glara menuntut jawaban jelas dari dokter itu.
“Putra ibu mengidap sakit… .”
Glara kini terduduk di depan ruang intesif, di dalamnya bersemayam tubuh putra tercinta yang empat tahun lalu ia lahirkan. Glara berulang kali memeriksa ponselnya, ia membuka menu m-banking dan pesan secara bergantian.
“Tabunganku tak cukup untuk membiayai pengobatan Gama. Ya tuhan, apa yang harus aku lakukan? Aku tak mau kehilangan harta paling berharga di hidupku. Gama satu-satunya harta terbesar yang aku punya,” lirih Glara seorang diri. Ia menatap lurus ke arah pintu dan menyandarkan punggungnya pada sandaran kursi tunggu.
Lebih dari satu jam, Glara hanya diam menatap ponsel dan pintu di depannya bergantian. Hingga sebuah suara mengintrupsi dirinya. “Pasien mengalami penurunan, segera hubungi keluarganya!” Glara bangkit dan mendekati suster yang akan masuk ke dalam ruangan Gama.
“Suster ada apa?” tanya Glara panik.
Suster itu menoleh dan menatap Glara iba. “Maaf ibu, kondisi putra ibu semakin menurun. Kita harus segera melakukan tindakan.”
Glara menarik napas dalam-dalam dan memejamkan matanya. Ia memantapkan diri dan hati untuk mendial nomor yang sedari tadi ia pandangi. “Hallo, aku membutuhkan bantuanmu!”
Alina PovThe silence after that was deafening. I rested my head on the wooden door while my senses came back to me. My heart was racing so fast I felt light-headed. When my eyes caught sight of the mess below, I realized what I just did. On the phone, and with Mikhail no less. My hands flew to my face. The embarrassment was hitting me in waves.I could hear his voice from the phone calling after me.“Alina answer me.”My face burned. “I…I, bye.” I cut the call immediately. I can never face him again. Living with my parents might not be so bad after all, I thought. But when an image of Harris popped into my mind, I shuddered at the thought.What is wrong with me?I slowly got on my feet and walked towards the sink, turning on the faucet. I couldn’t look at my reflection in the mirror at first, as if my reflection might accuse me. When I finally did, it startled me at first. My flushed cheeks, glassy eyes and swollen lips from continuous biting which did nothing to mute my voice by the
Mikhail PovAfter doing that stupid test for my father I waltz back into the office and dropped the heavy bag filled with money on his table and threw a blood stained contract before him. He didn’t ask me anything about it. No doubt he was already filled in before I walked through his doors. He nodded to an assistant and he took the bag and walked away. I stared at my old man waiting for him to say something. He glanced at my bandaged hand before regarding me.“There is an important meeting tomorrow by 10am sharp. Be there and I’ll fill you in on our current projects.” That was all he said and all I was going to get from him. As expected.I turned around and walked away.“Oh and Cын?...” he called out and it surprised me so much I turned around. The first time he ever called me that was the day I captured some asshole that was threatening him and brought it to him like a present. He didn’t want me to know about it but I was nosy anyways and eager to get his approval. Cын (syn) it mean
Alina PovThe house was too quiet for a morning. It was always like that but today felt intentional. The curtains in the dining room were half-drawn, letting a polite amount of sunlight to flatter and reflect off the porcelain plates and golden silverware.I sat at the end of the dining table and rested my hands on my lap. A maid served a plate in front of me; scrambled eggs, sliced avocadoes, and toasted bread, beautifully arranged. My parents sat across from me. They were already half-way through their breakfast while I spaced out for ten minutes. I glanced at them.Mom moved so elegantly with a perfect posture and controlled movements as she ate. Dad was looking straight at me but wasn’t saying anything. He stopped only to take a couple of bites out of his food before resuming his original stance.I swallowed and decided to break this silence.“Am I really not allowed to leave the house?” I asked quietly. I didn’t mean to sound so small but I was finding it hard to find the confide
Igor Volkov.A little older than the last time I saw him, but still retained the same predator stare and smile. His gaze slid over my form, the way a butcher inspects a cut of meat. I could practically hear what he was thinking.A flicker of a memory flashed before my eyes. Eleven year-old me trying not to cry as my body ached all over from my judo teacher beating the hell outta me. My father and Igor were in the room watching. My teacher doesn’t hold back when my father was around, I think he ordered it.I remember the stupid grin Igor had when I was beaten down and tried to get up. That was my first moment of despising him.“Look at how much you’ve grown” Igor smirked.I shook my head. “And look how much you haven’t.”A few of Igor’s men share glances, unsure of what to do but Igor just laughed out.“Still got that sharp mouth.”I rolled my eyes, already irritated. “Let’s get this over with, where is the money?” Igor’s expression shifted from playful to serious. He reached into his
Now we’ve been left alone.The music from the ongoing opera was like a low hum in the distance. Mikhail doesn’t speak right away, he simply stood there staring at the closed door. It takes him a few seconds before he finally turns fully towards me.His gaze made me look away instantly. My hands tig
Twenty Two Years Ago…I remember the sounds of laughter from my classmates in school. For a moment, I too was one of them, running around and chasing each other with a happy smile on my face. I forgot myself.That soon shattered when I saw my dad’s bodyguard in a distance, watching me with no emoti
The dust has settled, both literally and figuratively.Trevor had driven off with Sean’s car and the crowd began to disperse. I wondered to the far edge of the lot, just staring out to the distance with my arms crossed.I had this strange feeling in my gut that I couldn’t explain, I didn’t have tim
Alina Pov I hate this. I hate everything about this party. I don’t know a single soul in this room, and they were all here for me, or rather, the version of me my father wanted them to see. I was still locked in my room until this morning, when the key turned the lock I thought maybe, just maybe h






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