"You love my brother, don't you?"
"I really love my brother," she said, who immediately hugged me, making me tighten the hug.
We both hugged and cried together. This separation was indeed very painful. Before we parted, my sister and I exchanged bracelets. My black bracelet, I gave to her. While her white bracelet, she gave to me.
We promised that when we grew up, we would meet again. However, that never happened because my mother and I had to leave Indonesia. After a year of separation, my mother remarried a German national.
We left Indonesia and settled in Germany. While living in Germany, my mother was often sick. When she was diagnosed with cirrhosis by the doctor, I felt my life was ruined.
Before she died, she gave me a heart-shaped necklace. And, before she died, she told me everything about why she decided to separate from my father at that time.
1 year ago. . . .
"Why did you give me this necklace?"
"It's my favorite necklace, Natan. It was given to you by your father when we were still dating. Open it, inside the necklace is a photo that you should know about," she pleaded.
I immediately opened the necklace. And to my surprise, when I opened the necklace, it turned out that there was a photo of my father and sister inside.
"This?"
"All this time, mamah never hated your father, Natan. Now, you're an adult. It's time for you to know why your mom and dad divorced back then."
"What do you mean?"
"Until now, I've always missed your father. I always loved him sincerely and never hated him."
"So, why did you divorce?" I asked with teary eyes.
"Cirrhosis, when I found out I had the disease my heart was broken. There is no cure for this disease unless someone is willing to donate their liver to me. When I found out about this disease, I knew I didn't have long to live. Therefore, I asked your stepfather to help me find a reason to divorce your father immediately," she said, making me surprised to hear it.
"What?"
"Yes, Natan, your stepfather is your best friend since childhood. I deliberately asked your stepfather for help so that I could separate from your father. Maybe it was the wrong way, but it was for the sake of your father's happiness. Maybe your father thought you were cheating on him with your stepfather. However, I did it all for the sake of your father's happiness. Because I . . . because I love him very much."
This was like a slap to me. So, all this time my own mother had kept such a big secret from me. And I had never realized it.
"You don't have long to live, Natan. I'm very grateful to your stepfather for helping me all these years. When I found out that my stepfather's wife died in an accident, I realized that I had hurt him. Therefore, I wanted to repay him by marrying him.
"I love your stepfather, but my love cannot exceed my love for your father. Therefore, help me to return the favor to your stepfather and your two stepbrothers. I'm giving you this necklace because I know you'll miss them. Natan, take good care of yourself. I always love you. You are my proud son."
After finishing her sentence, nyokap closed her eyes forever. After she gave me the necklace, my stepfather told me everything and explained what had happened. He also apologized for his mistakes.
Since I moved to Germany last time, I had changed my name to Maxime. Because I wanted to bury my real name deep. There were too many memories in that name, but only my nyokap and the late Anggi always called me by my real name.
Even though my name had changed, I never forgot my childhood memories. After thinking about things for a while, I decided to return to Indonesia to look for my sister. After receiving permission and support from my father and my two stepbrothers, I decided to return to Indonesia with Anggi.
Traveling in Indonesia, trying to find information about my biological father, made me lose my loved one for the second time. After successfully finding my brother's whereabouts, the deadly accident came, causing me to lose Anggi.
So many sacrifices were made by the people around me for my happiness. After losing my nyokap and Anggi, I didn't want to lose my loved ones again. Therefore, I must take good care of my loved ones in the future.
After finding my sister, I was very happy. But, that happiness felt sad for me because I couldn't hug tightly my little brother who hadn't met for many years. And, my little sister that I had found was Nadia.
Yes, Nadia is my biological sister. The sister I'm proud of and the sister I love the most. I still can't tell her all this because I'm still not ready to turn over a new leaf.
"I wish you knew that I'm your real brother, Nad," I said softly.
"Max!" someone called suddenly as he sat down next to me.
"Dara?"
I looked at the woman named Dara confused. She immediately sat next to me with a sad expression on her face and with both eyes looking sad.
"What do you think I should do when I find that my lover doesn't want me back?" she asked sadly.
"What do you mean?"
"The Niko I know now is not the Niko who once loved me. Ever since I found out that Nadia and Niko used to date, I was a little shocked to hear it. But, I think the love between Niko and Nadia is still in their hearts. Are you sad to see the person you like, like someone else?" she asked, making me smile a little at that.
"Not at all."
"Why, don't you like Nadia?" Dara looked at me confused.
"I do like Nadia. But, if Nadia is happier with someone else, I'd rather see her happy with the person she loves than for her to continue being with me without any happiness at all."
After finishing my sentence, Dara then left and looked glum. I was actually worried about her current situation. Everyone knew about Nadia and Niko's status, while she didn't. Can Dara accept the marriage of her two best friends?
Dara!" someone called from behind. I, who happened to be not far from Dara's current position, could clearly see that she was with Lisa.
Lisa, the snake girl who was said to be my sister's enemy since high school. Out of curiosity, I got closer to the two of them and listened to their conversation.
"Why are you calling me?" asked Dara sarcastically.
"It's been a long time since we met. How are you?" she said sarcastically.
"What do you have to do with me? Don't bother talking to me."