Hello! I want to let you know that this story will not be published until the end of the webnovel. For those of you who want to read this story to the end (is there anyone who wants to?)
TSoFA will be available as an English PDF ebook. (Sorry if my English is still bad) The reason I'm not publishing until the end is because this story has been rejected for contract for the following reasons: the writing pace is too draggy. The opening is not eye-catching enough, the plot is not engaging enough and difficult to follow.
So, does anyone want to own the novel? I need money too :')
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As Kenan opened the door, his retinas caught a middle-aged woman in the middle of her back. However, the woman's figure could not be called middle-aged either because almost every inch of her physique was out of sync with her age, instead of the wrinkle lines created by time, she exuded a distinctive aura of beauty.
When the sound coming from the door being opened greeted her hearing, the woman immediately turned her head towards the source of the sound. Behind her dark eyes, her gaze looked straight at the spot where Kenan was standing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed with both hands folded across her chest. One step Kenan entered, the woman had completely turned her body around, her leisurely walk seeming both graceful and haughty even under the dim lighting.
As soon as they were within a meter of each other, her gaze locked onto Kenan through the stern gaze of a woman with sharp eyes. Eyes that reminded Kenan of someone.
"Good evening, Mrs. Renatha." Kenan's soft voice opened the conversation.
"How are you, Kenan?" A question slipped between her red lips that formed a faint smile.
"Fine." One word slipped out smoothly in response.
"I heard you had returned to Serge." She said straight to the point because the woman didn't like small talk. The cold tone was clearly felt by Kenan through her words.
Kenan looked down, not daring to look up at the pair of dark, shiny irises that were now staring intently at him. Kenan knew immediately that the woman did not like his decision, which was why he had been summoned, after a month or two back to Monsieur Serge.
Kenan had a good enough reason to finally reply, "Madame, I have other intentions for returning to—"
"What purpose?" Renatha Carim—that woman's name, she raised one eyebrow, the smile disappearing from her beautiful face. "To play with Austin?"
Kenan blinked when he heard the word 'play' come out of the woman's mouth. Kenan raised his head, looking at her with an evasive look. However, Renatha took something out of an envelope that had been lying on the table for a long time.
In a split second, sheets of paper in the form of photos scattered in front of Kenan. His eyes widened when he saw what was in the photo. It was him and Austin hugging and kissing in front of the hotel at night.
"I have a reason for that," Kenan said, his voice hardening an octave.
"What reason?!" The woman snapped.
Kenan's mouth opened. However, he was unable to voice any reason. Until Renatha smiled scornfully. "I don't want to hear a single nonsensical excuse from you."
"I'm sorry if I disappointed you."
The woman sighed, trying to be patient with the behavior of the man in front of her—who she thought was sluttier than a bitch, "I'm not disappointed that you went back to Serge, it's your choice, but what I don't like is the way you're trying to be accepted by Austin. Was it like that? By becoming the mistress of a married man? You lower yourself for a man like him, have you forgotten what he did to you? You're easily swayed by a jerk like him."
Some of the vocabulary from the last sentence managed to make Kenan smile wryly. His heart hurts? Don't ask.
Kenan ventured to look at Renatha's face. "Isn't that jerk also your son?"
Those words were like a slap in the face to a mother. What mother wouldn't be sad when someone said that the child she gave birth to was called a jerk. Perhaps that was Renatha. Ever since her son was born 27 years ago, she has never given him the love that other mothers give. After she divorced Serge Keano, Austin's custody was won by him, she was jealous and resented her ex-husband, and even that resentment extended to Austin.
"You'd better make peace with him, Madam," Kenan continued.
Renatha was dumbfounded by Kenan's words just now. How dare this man in front of her. Exhaling harshly, it seemed like his encounter with Kenan this time was a test of patience. The woman did not guess, but she knew that Kenan's childhood was filled with a mother's love, no wonder he dared to suggest that he had to reconcile with the man who was his son just because they were related by blood.
Her initial intention was to tell Kenan to stop approaching Austin, because she didn't want him to get hurt further. However, what did he get for the meeting just now? The man had unconsciously sided with Austin and told him to make up with the man whose status as a child was not considered by him. She didn't expect the conversation to end like this. Before her patience gradually faded, the woman immediately ended their meeting.
Renatha looked at Kenan defiantly. "You want me to make peace with him? Tell him to come and kneel in front of me, I'll make up with him." The woman's voice was sharp and piercing.
Kenan didn't respond—even after Renatha passed and disappeared behind the door. He knew what kind of personality Renatha had. Kenan had known her for years, as her subordinate. When she was his go-to woman after leaving Leon Keano's family. Behind her arrogant nature, the woman had shown Kenan a soft side several times, the side of a surrogate mother after her biological mother died. That was what caused Kenan to dare to tell her to make up with Austin.
*
This morning, in a rather bad mood, Austin dragged his feet along the corridor. Not far behind him Shofie, his assistant followed with a slightly glum expression. Even so, the woman kept smiling even though it was a little forced.
Today was his last day at work after Austin had dismissed him five days ago. Shofie is surprised at his sudden dismissal, she asks. Austin only said that Brandon had asked him to dismiss Shofie.
Shofie knew, even though Austin was his boss, the man couldn't refuse the request of Brandon, his best friend. So with a heavy heart Austin agreed. Moreover, Shofie was his friend's fiancée. Several employees stared at their boss when Austin entered the manager's room in a hurry. He was in a bad mood again-after someone who always greeted him at the desk with his hands on the keyboard was nowhere to be found. Where was Kenan?
"Sir, are you looking for Kenan?" An employee asked.
"Do you know where he went?" Austin asked, because Kenan always came early. Maybe he was out looking for something for breakfast.
*
In the morning when the glowing street lights illuminated the new sky, birds chirped to chase away the loneliness even though they didn't mean to disturb those who were still sleeping under the covers.
Of the many people still struggling in dreamland, a man with a medium high 169 cm—had already woken up to busy himself with the daily routine of cooking breakfast.
Ersya painstakingly cut several types of vegetables such as cabbage, carrots and others to be put into the pot in which boiled beef was waiting. Usually Ersya was helped by Kenan, but that was when he was still living with them. Since Kenan returned to Monsieur Serge and stayed at Austin's place, Ersya was the only one who got the cooking part, while Bisma got the cleaning duty.
Ersya had just put the washed and cut vegetables into the pot of boiling water. Her attention, which had been focused on cooking, shifted when she heard footsteps approaching.
"Mas Kenan, don't you usually wake up early?" Ersya asked the figure walking towards the dining table.
Kenan didn't answer, he just looked down while messing up his hair. The acrid smell—which Ersya believed to be from alcohol and nicotine - still lingered on the older man's body, forcing Ersya to return to her cooking.
The fragrant and savory taste of the long-boiled beef broth infiltrated Kenan's sense of smell, making him, who was still sleepy because he had just woken up, immediately feel hungry. Yesterday night, early morning to be precise. Kenan came in drunk. At that time there was only Ersya at the boarding house, who was so surprised by Kenan's arrival. The younger man didn't ask anything until this morning, nor did Kenan tell him what had happened. Ersya was just waiting for Kenan to tell him, although she didn't know when. His brother will definitely tell him.
"Where are the others?" Kenan asked, being the opening word after he hadn't said anything since last night.
"Haven't been home since Bisma and Ivan left in the evening," Ersya replied, picking up a porcelain bowl to put the cooked meat and vegetables in.
"Where did they go?"
The bowl of beef soup was placed in front of Kenan before Ersya answered again, "To Markus' place."
Taking the spoon that had been provided, Kenan simply nodded in response, and picked up a cubed piece of meat. His only intention was to put the meat in his mouth and taste the savory broth.
Ding dong!
The apartment bell rang, instructing Kenan to stop. It was useless to swear, so Kenan asked, "Who's visiting so early in the morning?" Kenan took a moment to chuckle, "Ersya, is that your friend?" he asked.
Ersya gasped. Her eyes blinked a few times at Kenan before answering, "I never tell my friends where I live."
The stove was turned off, and the soup pot was left on the stove.
True enough, if it had been Ivan or Bisma, they wouldn't have rung the bell to open the door. Since they started living together, the four men had never invited their acquaintances over.
Ding dong ding dong!
The bell didn't seem to want to stop ringing until someone opened the door, err, the person ringing the bell didn't want to stop until the tenant opened the door for him.
Ersya just looked at Kenan, he was waiting for his reaction to leave it alone or to be opened. After many seconds passed, the bell rang faster and faster. Ersya made her own decision by going to the front room.
"I'll open it," he offered after coming out of the kitchen.
Kenan just nodded slowly and watched Ersya's departure through the corner of his eye.
As soon as the door opened, Ersya was confronted by a man in a black suit that was practically untidy, in other words, riotous. The man smiled at Ersya who only looked at his figure stunned. However, the look in his eyes showed admiration.
"Is Kenan inside?" One question was immediately asked without further ado.
Ersya just nodded his head twice wordlessly, and without asking permission first the guest went straight in as if the landlord had said 'make it like your own apartment' to the guest.
The sound of hurried footsteps made their way to the kitchen after Kenan was sure the owner of the footsteps had explored the entire apartment, though not all of it.
"So, who's here? Is it the package delivery guy?" asked Kenan, in between chewing meat without looking at the owner of the steps who was standing behind him. He thought the owner of the steps was Ersya who had returned.
"No, he's the handsome Sir Austin," said a sarcastic voice.
Kenan almost choked, surprised by Austin's unexpected arrival. As soon as he turned his head, he found a handsome face. Yet, shabby, a man with a smile as bright as the morning sun refracted in his retinas.
"Hi," the man greeted Kenan, whose cheeks now looked cubby because his mouth was full of meat.
Kenan struggled to swallow the meat in his mouth. "How do you know this place?" The tone of surprise could not be concealed in his question, and Kenan even stood up from his sitting position.
"It was easy for me." Austin shrugged, having men facilitated his ability to find information.
"I'm already here, you didn't let me sit down?" he asked, as Kenan sat back down, while he was still standing.
"You're not even welcome to come in, why ask to be seated," Kenan snapped back.
Austin smiled wryly, giving no response to Kenan's sassy response. Instead of sitting down, the handsome Mr. Austin went to the refrigerator and took a bottle of mineral water from it.
Kenan looked at him.
"Think of it as your own boarding house, I know," Austin added, and after closing the fridge, the man gulped down almost the entire bottle.
"You look shabby," Austin commented, looking at Kenan from head to toe as he walked over to the dining table.
Pulling out a chair and seating himself next to Kenan—a voice answered Austin's comment to Kenan.
"That's because Mas Kena came home drunk last nig—"
"Ersya!" Calling out the voice's name, Kenan instructed him to stop.
Ersya was silent. He wondered though, why would Kenan interrupt him just because he mentioned his brother's condition last night, wasn't Austin Kenan's foster brother? Then why did Kenan hide anything about him from Austin?
Ersya didn't know that Kenan and Austin's relationship wasn't as good as he thought. Well, even though Austin himself had tried to fix it, it was always constrained by something. Whether it was an unintentional misunderstanding or someone trying to put distance between them.
"This soup looks good." While Kenan looked at Ersya, Austin quickly pulled Kenan's bowl of soup and immediately got a quick reaction from the owner.
"That soup is mine." Kenan tried to take it. But his hand was blocked by Austin's.
"You deliberately want to let your handsome brother starve, huh? I haven't eaten since yesterday."
"You think you're the only one who's hungry? Me too. Besides, who told you not to eat when you can get good food so easily!" Kenan snapped in one breath.
Because Kenan's yell was more like anger, the room instantly became silent once Austin was no longer fighting over Kenan's soup to eat. While Ersya herself didn't know what to do. And Kenan, after yelling at Austin he was silent, asking himself why he was angry with Austin. Kenan's anger was not triggered by his soup being taken away, but because of another problem. Problems that he didn't know how to solve, problems about their illicit relationship, problems between him and the man's mother and problems from ten years ago that hadn't been resolved until now.
All those problems filled her mind, causing a dizziness in his head. Haunting him with a past he was reluctant to face.
"Sorry." Kenan regretted, bowing his head without looking at Austin—or at the soup he had snatched. Now, Kenan's appetite for soup was gone.
Austin who was surprised at Kenan's sudden change in attitude—was immediately in a bad mood. Rubbing the back of his neck with a faint smile, he said, "I-I'm the one who's sorry I made you angry." The man didn't know what to do.
"Ano, I'll get another bowl for ... um ..." Ersya, who had been silent, finally spoke, although she didn't know what to call Austin, but she still tried to break the awkward atmosphere that had spread between the two.
Immediately without waiting for Austin's response, Ersya took an empty bowl, took a few spoons of soup from the pot along with the meat complete with vegetables.
"Thank you," Austin said to Ersya who had placed the bowl in front of him. The man just nodded kindly and Austin added, "Call me by the name Mas Austin only."
"Oke, Mas Austin," Ersya said.
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