Chapter 7 : His Proposal

“What are you doing here?” Lalita asked, still out of breath after running down the stairs.

“I’m here to ask Uncle Hadi for permission to marry you. I told you over chat.”

Oh, God! Brian is insane!

Just look at what the man is wearing. A white shirt, black trousers, and dress shoes. He is seriously here to ask a father for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

“Are you crazy?!” Lalita shouted. “You’re seriously crazy.”

“Ssshhh... Don’t shout.”

Lalita immediately covered her mouth with both hands and glanced around.

No one is there.

She then slapped Brian lightly on the back. “It doesn’t have to be today, Brian.”

Brian snorted.

“It has to be today, Litaaa. When will Uncle Hadi be alone again? I need to talk to him while he’s by himself first. We can deal with everyone else later.”

“But...”

“No buts, Lita. Just trust me. Where’s Uncle Hadi?”

“I-In... his study.”

When Hadi saw Brian arrive, he invited the two of them inside. With an awkward smile, Lalita immediately explained their intention before Brian could say anything.

“Lalita, are you out of your mind?!”

The atmosphere in Hadi’s study suddenly turned grim. Tension hung heavily between all of them.

Hadi’s jaw tightened as he shouted, “I entrusted you to Brian, not so you could seduce him!”

“Brian... Oh, God...” Hadi’s face turned bright red with anger. He was utterly humiliated.

How’s he supposed to face Deri now?

What was he supposed to say? That his already-engaged daughter had shamelessly seduced Brian like some kind of prostitute?

Hadi didn’t even dare imagine facing Brian’s father. His only daughter had truly brought shame upon him.

“You need to be disciplined. Starting today, you’re not allowed to stay at your apartment anymore. You’ll stay here at home, and you’re not allowed to leave until your wedding to Aldo.”

“You’ve embarrassed your father.”

“Dad... Please, just listen to me first...”

“No! I don’t want to hear any bullshit from you anymore!”

“Dad...”

With tears welling in her eyes, Lalita tried to reach for her father.

“LALITA!!!” Hadi roared.

Brian had expected the decision to get married to cause some friction with Hadi. He just hadn’t expected the rejection to be this severe.

“Why don’t you go out for a moment? I’ll talk to your father,” Brian said.

Hadi snorted angrily.

“I apologize for my daughter’s behavior, Brian. There’s nothing else I need to discuss with you. You should go home.”

Brian ignored Hadi’s words and guided Lalita out of the study.

“Sit here. I’ll talk to your father.”

“But...”

Brian didn’t respond.

After guiding Lalita to the sofa in the living room, Brian went back into Hadi’s study.

Lalita heard the door lock from the inside.

Thirty minutes had passed, and Brian was still in there.

Brian’s okay, right? Lalita wondered.

She kept pacing back and forth in front of her father’s study.

“Miss… Why are you pacing back and forth like that? Do you want me to call your father?” asked Imah, the housekeeper at Lalita’s parents’ home.

“Uhhh... umm... uh...”

Lalita fidgeted awkwardly, unsure how to answer Imah.

“Who’s inside, anyway, Miss?” Imah asked curiously.

That old  woman looked at Lalita with concern.

“No one, Imah. I just have something I want to talk to Dad about, but I don’t know how to bring it up,” Lalita lied.

Imah looked at Lalita sadly.

“Is something wrong, Miss? You can tell me about it, you know?”

Bi Imah had worked as a housekeeper at Lalita’s grandfather’s house before Lalita’s biological mother brought her along to work here.

Lalita had always considered Imah part of her family. She couldn’t bear to see this old woman worrying about her.

“I’m fine, Imah. Don’t worry. How about you make me some chicken soup while I’m here? I’ve been craving your soup, Imah,” Lalita said, trying to act spoiled and playful.

Imah smiled.

“Alright, then. I’ll make some for you first. I’ll make you the most deee-licious soup ever.”

Not long after Imah went to the kitchen, the door to Hadi’s study opened.

Brian stepped out calmly.

“What did you talk to Dad about? What happened?” Lalita asked anxiously.

“We got his blessing. Your dad gave us permission to get married. He said he’ll announce tonight that you’re breaking up with Aldo.”

Thump!

“W-What? It was that easy and that fast?” I panicked.

But Dad had refused to accept it earlier, hadn’t he?