In their third year, Nana became more curious about other boys and finally dated one of them. Hendra felt left out, ignored. He couldn't accept that. They fought several times and then drifted apart. Until one day, Nana cried and ran to him. She said her boyfriend had hurt her. She was crying and even refused to eat for days. It got worse to the point that Nana forgot who she was talking to. She forgot about what kind of person Hendra was.
And Hendra, a boy suffering PTSD and being forced to grow under his grandfather's heavy and manic control, could not accept knowing that someone had treated his precious person like that.
Hendra lashed out.
He threw a punch to Nana's boyfriend, and perhaps twenty more of them. He kicked him, all frustration and anger channeled with such viciousness. Then, he dragged the bruised boy to a storage room at the back of their school. He locked the door, leaving the other boy's battered body all alone without a way to get out. The craziest part was, Hendra took a photo of his masterpiece and sent it to Nana's phone.
He thought she would stop crying after that. In contrast, Nana was so frightened and refused to meet Hendra again. She reported Hendra's excessive behavior to his grandfather. Hendra didn't only get a scold, his grandfather truly punished him.
After that shocking affair, Nana asked to live with her real sibling who was adopted by some foreigner. She left Hendra, just like that, and lived in the country Leona was living.
Alas, even after receiving such heavy punishment from his grandfather, Hendra still couldn't discern what mistake he made. He was merely following his instinct, just what he was taught by his grandfather's people. The people who then made the team of psychiatrists to give up and only leave Diana to be there for Hendra. She was far too attached to him, making her unable to leave him in his most helpless moment.
Even after a day of receiving all the rage from the beaten boy's family, Hendra merely stayed silent. Despite the severe beating he did, Hendra was untouched by the laws and was free out of jail, seeing as he was a minor at that time.
That was what he did just to please Nana.
Sadly, that also cost him, making him enduring another long therapy session. Pressured with his position as the only heir of the Wenceslas, he must attend an elite school, not just a normal school like he was before. Hendra grew even more distant, lonelier. There were rumors going on, saying things about him. Moreover, about his uncontrollable anger and violent self.
Hendra then must go to therapy to erase his violent characteristic, which was actually the byproduct of Wiryo's own manipulation. The therapy also had a purpose to erase his memories of Nana.
Unbeknown to anyone else, he was pretending to lose his memories of Nana just to stop going to the therapy. From that time, he began to differ and oppose his grandfather, as well as his entire family. A true hater who chose to stay silent. At first, he merely suspected his grandfather exploited him, and it was proven to be correct.
Hendra didn't expect Nana would be back into his life when his life was gradually changed by a certain someone.
That was why Nana felt as though she was the only one deserving of Hendra. No matter what, she was the one who stayed by his side when they were kids. Completely not knowing that Hendra had fallen in love with another person.
All this time, Hendra was pretending to have no recollections of Nana. He didn't even want to have anything to do with her. He would never come back to her after she left him alone because she was too scared of him.
***
[Darling, I'll be there any minute. Where are you?]
Mahendra called his wife once he parked his sleek jet black car in the hospitals' underground parking lot. Aruna readily directed him and the blue eyed man dashed inside to meet his forgiving wife.
.
There she was, with her back facing him. Her name was Aruna, in Sanskrit and Javanese language, it meant dawn, or a reddish hue of the dawn, to be more precise. No wonder she has a warm personality, like the sun that warmed the earth at dawn.
She was my wife, Hendra whispered in his mind, quickening his pace to the elixir of longing who was waiting on him.
Being separated for a night, he was crazy just to touch her. It was like a torment. Lately, his desire for her was uncontrollable. He needed to hold Aruna in his arms just to sleep peacefully.
One step away and Hendra finally hugged the love of his life from behind. Kissing the crown of her head as a greeting. She turned her head to meet his smile. Her face ragged, like she didn't even wash it after a day and night being awake. Such a far cry from Nana's fresh face, dotted in perfect make up and equally bright smile he had to leave behind.
Yet, somehow, Aruna's shabby face was what made his heart flutter in jouy.
"You haven't showered, have you?" Hendra said after sniffing the back of her neck.
She laughed then, free and innocent, "Yes."
"Why not?"
"Helping my sister since the night before. Mom couldn't help her because she had a bad experience with it. A trauma, if you will," Aruna said, smiling gently as she observed the babies sleeping in their own cribs in the other room.
Her hand was on the glass dividing them and the babies, looking as if she wanted to touch the many little humans laying there. Hendra moved to her side.
"The one in the green blanket is Alia's baby boy," she uttered, eyes locked on the sleeping baby, "His eyelashes looked like Aditya's, but he was moving so much just like Alia."
Unnoticed by Aruna, he was studying the babies. His blue eyes glinted, bright in his amazement. He brought his right hand to Aruna's hand, still placed on the glass. Her left hand was shifted by him, pointing to the direction he wanted.
"I want a baby like that one," Hendra confessed.
Aruna was looking at where Hendra pointed with their joined fingers, "The one in the blue blanket?"
"No. The right one," he explained, looking at Aruna who was searching for the baby he meant.
"The baby in the pink blanket?"
"Yes. I think that one is a baby girl."
"You want a daughter instead of a son?" Aruna raised her eyebrow, looking back at him.
Locking their gaze, Hendra declared, "I want to be loved by more girls. It's better if she's just like my wife," smiling brightly. Lovingly.
"Can you even share your love fairly between us?" there was a twitch in Aruna's lips.
"I don't know. I'll just love the one who loves me more," his blue eyes twinkled, the smile never leaving his face.
"You have to first love the one who keeps it in her stomach for nine months before birthing her," Aruna pouted, unrelenting to fight for her love. She didn't want to be the second, even if it was between her and their future daughter. Still, she just didn't know how she would feel once their future child was born.
"Does that mean my wife is ready for a child?" he teased.
"When did I say I'm not?"
Her words brought a twin dimple on his cheeks. The handsome man then leaned in, giving her a kiss on her unwashed face, "Looks like we should shower together," he chuckled, throwing an idea that suddenly occurred in his mind.
"Oh, please!" she rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance as she walked away from her husband.
"We have to do the deed if we want the result," he appeased, "The process is much more important."
"Since when did you care about the proces?" Aruna halted, turning back to her husband who followed behind.
"Since," he queried his eyebrow, as if lost in his thought, "My wife made me crazy at night."
A line of teeth were shown, caused by the pull of her lips and the reddish cheeks at her husband's words.
Hendra closed the distance then, bringing his hand behind her shoulders and holding her to his side. Forgetting the time months ago when they fought just because their shoulders brushed against each other.
***
Once Aruna took a shower, the married couple visited Alia's room. They were greeted by Aliana and Aditya's smiles, who were happy seeing their closeness.
Lesmana was quick to get up from his seat, greeting Hendra and directing him to a couch inside the room.