"You know what's worse than that?" The blue eyed man took a sip of the water in the glass and then put the glass down roughly, "I once forced her to fulfill my desire even though she said she didn't want to. Is there anything worse than that?" Hendra's words broke Wiryo's argument regarding 'a subordinate who clawed at his masters'.
"Now what do you want?'' It seems that Wiryo's mind was starting to work again after being lulled by the sweetness of the girl named Nana. The girl who tried a million ways to become a part of the Wenceslas family, just like how she once had.
Both grandson and grandfather were having a long argument. She had been listening. Now, she looked up worriedly, observing them, as her eyes darkened. She couldn't hide the tremble of her anxiety anymore.
"I'll stay with my wife," said Hendra as he was about to leave the house.
"You have to be kidding me! She can't return to this house," Wiryo's words sounded implicit but both of them understood what each other meant. The woman they were talking about had bad memories of this grand and luxurious place. It was close to impossible to bring her back.
Hendra was silent, his thoughts projected on his wife's face. Aruna looked much happier when she lived with him in his penthouse. She was closer now, as if in his eyelids. She laughed more often, teasing him, interfered with his work, she was more open and being her true self. Even their nights were getting more and more tempting. Because that girl didn't hesitate to moan, making Hendra want more.
"I'll give you a baby, offspring – isn't it? That's what you want, right?" The question mark at the end of Hendra's sentence lowered Wiryo's sharp gaze.
"You can't even bring her to this house. How can you give me great-grandchildren," there was a laugh of disbelief at the end of the Wiryo's sentence.
"Then what about me?" Nana took Hendra's breath. A breath to start the next argument. Nana's eyes were filled with tears, they fell down her cheeks.
"You've arbitrarily decided everything without asking for my opinion. So you are on your own! You have to take the consequences of what you've done!" Mahendra's indifferent words somehow contributed further to Wiryo's disapproval.
"Nana made the invitations because of your grandmother's wishes, I didn't stop her because I thought it would be good for you? Why don't you try it? After all, your wife, Aruna, doesn't necessarily want to come back to you, does she?" Wiryo didn't know anything about Hendra, moreover of the fact that he now lived together with Aruna. Wiryo didn't stop negotiating with his grandson, hoping Mahendra rethought his decision.
"No! I don't want to try that," said Hendra firmly.
Wiryo looked back at Hendra, then threw a glance at Nana who looked desperate, "Nana," Wiryo's sentence for Nana was cut off.
Mahendra got a call and he quickly stood up. Moving away to a corner, he put the phone to his ear.
[Hello] A woman's voice made him become heady. A woman who had become the topic of his intense debate just a second ago. A woman who was previously angry without even uttering a single word. A woman named Aruna. She was greeting him.
[Yes, darling, it's me. Do you need something?] Hendra hastily answered.
[Uhm ... I want to ask your permission ...] a hesitant voice, but pleasant as it creeped into the blue eyed man's ear.
[Permission? For?]
[Anantha called me earlier]
Hearing that name made his heart thrum in concern. There must be something going on. What was it, now?
[He asked me to go to the hospital to see my father] Aruna's voice made him worry again.
[Is he sick?] Asked the blue eyed man.
[No, but my sister's water broke. She's about to give birth]
[Oh, thank God] Hendra was happy to hear that.
[Wait, I'll try to get home in 30 minutes, okay?] Hendra responded while looking at his watch.
[Do you want to come with me?] Aruna asked.
[Of course.. I haven't seen your family in a long time,]
[Don't take too long, okay? I want to accompany my sister when she gives birth. However, you can't drive too fast either] Aruna's sentences made Mahendra chukcled lightly.
[Okay] then both of them were silent for a moment before Hendra added, [Am I forgiven?]
[A little] said Aruna, which resulted in a second laugh from Hendra's lips.
[Love you. Thank you my dear, for forgiving me] soft, but his voice was so thrilling, nonetheless. Someone was blushing on the other end of the phone.
Hendra returned to his seat. It seemed that Nana was gone. Maybe Wiryo told her to leave. Only his mother was seen talking. Too bad, Hendra didn't hear the words this beautiful woman said.
Hendra grabbed his car key, at the same time his mother stood up, looking at him for a moment and then left. Unfortunately, the circumstances didn't support him to leave immediately. Though his mind had run to where his wife was. His wife, who was sitting in front of the mirror, trying to put on makeup by herself once again. Aruna tried to put lipstick on her lips, even though she usually just used lip balm. She watched herself slowly for the umpteenth time. She was still not confident about it. She moved forward, a few inches more to the mirror, checking her lips closely.
On the other hand, Hendra was forced to stop his footsteps. He was warned by his grandfather who was now leading him the way to the room where they had conversation earlier. Vian and Andos were already there. A secret meeting regarding the explosion happened on the D floor was about to start.
Hendra got up, stepped aside for a moment, and made a call for his wife once again.
[Darling] The first words that came out of Hendra's mouth had given Aruna the abrupt change of plan. It seemed that he wouldn't be able to go together with her.
[Don't forget your jacket, and tell Herry to be more careful. I will go there as soon as I can..] Hendra ended the call with a sad tone. He had just been forgiven, yet he dared to disappoint her again.
.
.
When he just entered Wiryo's office, the three men looked at each other and started to discuss the matter in a serious, heated manner.
Vian reported his knowledge after a questioning sentence from Wiryo, who had asked for a more concrete explanation, "So, what cases have you handled recently?"
Hendra listened carefully. His grandfather sounded so experienced. The old man immediately drew a concluding relation to the explosion happened at Vian's office
"Pardon me?" Vian asked again.
"He meant, the incident that involved the team on the D floor, and your latest investigation regarding their position when the explosion occurred," Andos gave a clearer explanation, his presence so far was like the interpreter to bridge them with what Wiryo wanted to say.
Vian described the cases he was handling since the last three months. They all seemed serious, especially regarding Pengki, who was still being held in one of the D-floor rooms. He was the perpetrator which caused Wenceslas Group's highest leader to be unable to walk as before. Unfortunately, they were too focused on that.
They even considered the leak of witnesses' videos at Mahendra and his wife's divorce trial as nothing.
So their first conclusion was that the explosion was Tarantula Group's movement to free Pengki, as he could be used to slay them if he broke under pressure, or being bribed.
"I think narrowing our point of view to one case before we conduct a deeper investigation, will make us more trapped in something that might not be true," Hendra interrupted their discussion.
"We have to give the presumption of Innocence before making any unproven conclusions. In my opinion, all cases you handle always have loopholes and the potential for betrayal. Nonetheless, I agree to start with your investigation," Hendra pointedly looked at Vian, "Regarding the people who were present on the D floor when it happened. Where was everyone when the explosion happened?"