Ties of Desire

The morning sun filtered through the sheer curtains of their bedroom, casting a pale, clinical light over the rumpled sheets. Galen Prakoso stayed perfectly still, his head propped up by his hand, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of Nurin’s shoulders. She looked peaceful, a stark contrast to the sharp, distracted woman she became the moment her eyes opened. He reached out, his fingers hovering just an inch above her cheek, before he pulled back. Even in sleep, there was a boundary he feared to cross."Nurin? Hey, wake up. It’s past seven."Nurin didn't move at first, only let out a soft, muffled groan against the pillow. "Five more minutes, Mas...""You said that ten minutes ago," Galen said, his voice a low murmur. "The alarm has gone off twice. If you don't get up now, you’re going to miss that breakfast meeting you were stressed about."She finally shifted, rolling onto her back and blinking up at the ceiling. She didn't look at him. "Is the coffee ready?""Freshly pressed. I us

The lobby of Prakoso Development felt like a vacuum, the air sucked out by Haris Danuarta’s presence. Galen’s hand tightened on Nurin’s arm, his knuckles white against her blazer."Nurin?" Galen’s voice was a low, dangerous vibration. "What is he doing here?"Haris stepped forward, the lilies catching the light of the high-ceilinged lobby. "I thought I made that clear, Galen. I’m here for Nurin. It’s been a long day, hasn’t it, Nurin? You look exhausted."Nurin’s voice was barely a whisper. "Haris, you shouldn't have come.""I told you I’d see you soon," Haris said, his smile widening into something sharp. "I’m a man of my word.""Get out," Galen said, stepping in front of his wife, his body a physical barrier. "Now. Before I have security throw you through that glass door.""Always so aggressive, Galen. No wonder she looks so stressed," Haris chuckled, setting the flowers down on the reception desk. "I’ll leave these here. Nurin, I’ll call you later. When you’re... less occupied."He

Chapter 5: The Unscheduled StopThe clinical light of the morning felt harsher than ever, exposing every crack in the walls he had thought were solid. Galen stood by the sink for a long time, the silence of the kitchen ringing in his ears like a physical frequency. He looked at his hands; they were steady, despite the hollow, echoing roar in his chest.The phone on the counter buzzed. He snatched it up, hoping—fearing—it was her.It was a text from Nurin.‘Hey, just a heads up. The design team is doing a deep-dive workshop tonight for the SCBD project. It’s going to run really late, probably past midnight. Don’t wait up for me, Mas. Eat something healthy, okay?’Galen stared at the screen until the text blurred into a series of jagged lines. "Eat something healthy," he whispered to the empty room. "Right. While you’re out liquidating our life."He dialed Bagas immediately. The line picked up on the first ring."You’re fast, Galen," Bagas said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "I was

The hum of the server racks in Bagas’s makeshift basement office sounded like a nest of angry hornets. Galen paced the narrow concrete aisle, his tailored suit feeling like a straitjacket in the damp, subterranean heat. On the central monitor, lines of green code scrolled by with dizzying speed, reflecting in the dark lenses of Bagas’s glasses."I’m hitting a wall, Galen," Bagas said, his fingers flying across the mechanical keyboard with rhythmic precision. "Lumina Holdings isn't just an offshore shell company. It’s a nesting doll. Every time I crack open a sub-account, I find another layer routed through the Cayman Islands and straight into a private trust in Singapore.""I don't care if it's routed through the moon, Bagas. Find the origin," Galen snapped, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. His jaw was locked so tight his teeth ached. The image of the red-inked word REVENGE scrawled across that old photograph burned behind his eyelids."I'm trying, but whoever set up this fina

The rusted maintenance hatch swung open with a shriek of tortured metal, and Nurin shoved Galen through the gap just as a round of suppressive fire chewed through the wooden crates behind them. Wood splinters exploded like shrapnel, raining down on their backs as they tumbled headfirst into the pitch-black utility corridor."Keep moving! Don't look back!" Nurin hissed, scrambling to her feet and slamming the heavy hatch shut. She threw the manual locking bolt into place just as a heavy boot slammed against the exterior steel.The door dented inward, groaning under the assault, but the deadbolt held.Galen was already on his feet, his heart hammering against his ribs like a caged animal. The air inside the corridor was thick with the scent of damp concrete, rust, and ozone. In the absolute darkness, his tactical instincts—honed during his early days before he hid behind bespoke suits and mahogany desks—took over. He grabbed Nurin by the upper arm, hauling her down the narrow corridor a