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Freya Anastasya stared blankly at the street traffic from the hotel's glass window that displayed a nighttime view of the city.
The silence vanished as Kenan said, "So, what do you know about Helena Rei Surendra?" The man had just put on his pants. His attention looked up at the star-studded sky. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took a cigarette from the box and lit the lighter. He inhaled a lump of nicotine and then exhaled, leading to an abstract puff of smoke that disappeared into the night breeze.
*
"What the hell is this?" Kenan asked annoyed. He had just returned to the small apartment he still lived in at 2am. And his arrival was immediately greeted with a rough push that knocked his stage against the wall.
Ivan was the man who slammed Kenan against the wall. The man narrowed his eyes and asked, "What did you do to Helena?" his voice was deep and emphasized. Anger radiated from the depths of his eyeballs as they bore into Kenan's eyes.
Kenan smiled wryly—once he realized why Ivan had acted this way towards him. "Me? I haven't done anything to her," Kenan replied casually.
"Didn't do anything? Do you know what my question means, Kenan?"
Kenan rolled his eyes in disgust; looking away from Ivan's gaze for a moment. The man continued, "Could you not do that sickening thing with Austin in front of Helena? You're doing it on purpose, aren't you, showing it to her? Showing your relationship in front of everyone. Kenan, I can't believe you're that low."
In front of everyone?
Kenan's eyes widened instantly. Don't tell me, Helena and Ivan saw him kissing Austin on the side of the road, as he tried to quell Austin's anger at the time. Really, at that time Kenan didn't mean anything other than he really wanted to reduce Austin's anger.
"You're such a bitch, Kenan!" he insulted.
Kenan's expression flattened after hearing the word bitch that slipped so easily from his friend's mouth. For the first time, Ivan was reviling him-just because the woman he loved was hurting, the result of her husband's affair with him.
"Bitch, huh?" Kenan chuckled sarcastically. He tugged at the collar of the mint blue T-shirt Ivan was wearing, "So, she complained to you? What did she ask of you? He wants you to hit me?"
"Stop approaching Austin!" Ivan said with emphasis.
"Too bad, I was going to continue until the end—"
Kenan's last words were muffled by the "bugh" sound of his back colliding with the wall. Ivan cornered him with great force.
"Kenan, think about the end! Your plan is too dangerous!" Ivan's intonation was louder than before.
"Why, what did you say to Helena?" Kenan blinked, his attention catching the look of recognition in Ivan's eyes.
Kenan couldn't figure out what Helena had done to Ivan-to make the man shut up.
In a second, Ivan's grip on Kenan's collar loosened.
"Mas Kenan!"
"Mas Ivan!"
Followed by the shouts of Bisma and Ersya who then broke up the two.
"What happened?"
"Why is it like this?"
Ivan wiped his bleeding lip. Kenan looked at both of them through an angry gaze, along with a tired face.
"Just ask him!" Kenan's cold voice entered the hearing senses of the three people there, including Ivan. The man was also reluctant to speak.
The night had passed, if it wasn't two in the morning, if his body wasn't tired, Kenan Pradipta would have showered Ivan Northman with expletives and maybe even a few slaps. Now all he wanted was to lie down on the bed and sink into dreamland.
Austin doesn't know why, after Helena found out about his and Kenan's relationship, he found it difficult to meet the man-except when Kenan wanted to meet him.
This morning, Austin hurriedly finished a meeting with someone. It was earlier than agreed so that he would have some free time to accompany Kenan to the office. However, the plan had failed miserably. Kenan was not in his room. In fact, he had come this morning. They had even talked and walked hand in hand while exchanging words along the corridor. Arriving at his office, Kenan gave Austin a kiss on the cheek before leaving.
Looking at Kenan's desk, on it was a name that read 'Executive Manager' Austin smiled slightly, with what his father gave Kenan.
*
Honestly, ever since he met Kenan, Austin envied him. His father always praised Kenan, even since Kenan won the quiz among high school students at that time. his father happily told him that Kenan would be his best adopted son. Especially with Kenan's independence, at only sixteen years old, he had already impressed Monsieur Serge with his achievements.
Kenan had no idea how jealous Austin was at the time. There's no parent who hasn't compared their child to others. Even Austin, whose life was almost perfect, had been compared by his father to Kenan.
Now, Austin thought there was no more hatred he had to pour out on Kenan. After all, he already had everything Kenan had. Kenan was his, even before the willing man he was now.
"Sir Austin?"
Austin heard someone calling him, he turned around-staring at the door right where his staffer Ryan was standing.
"Do you know where Kenan went?" Austin asked.
"Kenan? He said he went somewhere to deliver a file."
File? Somewhere?
Austin remembered, now. Kenan must be on his way to his father's villa.
*
397654,397655,397656,397657,397658,397658,397659,397660...
"Huh..." For who knows how many times, Kenan sighed in frustration-after the stainless steel cabinet's barcode always didn't match. With a piece of paper, Kenan relentlessly matched every digit to open the safe, without scuffing it a bit.
When he found out Austin was having an important meeting, Kenan immediately rushed to the villa of his adoptive father, Monsieur Serge. The middle-aged man was still in the hospital, probably the day after tomorrow. He didn't want to waste this opportunity.
Opening Serge's safe, in his luxurious castle-like villa. Kenan had no plans for this at first. However, when Bernardi asked him for a favor to deliver a file of documents, the idea came up unprompted. If he managed to retrieve the Keano Company Hotel documents along with all of its valuable stock assets, Kenan wouldn't have to worry about anything. All he had to do was get Austin to sign the transfer of ownership papers. But would Austin voluntarily do that?
401230. He pressed the last few digits, but the safe door still wouldn't open.
Let's think Kenan... what's the code...
The man massaged his temples, which throbbed painfully from long hours of thinking. He had been trying to open the safe for three hours, but to no avail.
The faint sound of the door knob multiplied Kenan's attention. What little composure he had left seemed to vanish, as he saw a man standing behind him-who was trying to decode Monsieur Serge's safe.
"I thought you were back at the office, Kenan."
The baritone of the man who had just entered-Bernardi-did not convey the slightest note of surprise when he found Kenan in the private office of his brother, Monsieur Serge.
Putting on a casual gesture, Kenan smiled at Bernardi as he said, "This is also my return."
Calmly, Kenan put the file of sheets of paper inside and closed the large mahogany cabinet, which was almost two meters high. Inside there was also an iron safe whose code Kenan had yet to crack. From the doorway, Bernardi watched silently as Kenan tidied up the sheets of paper he had previously unpacked. Surprisingly, the man did not show the slightest suspicion towards Kenan—for his actions that could be considered presumptuous.
"Can I help you?" Bernardi asked.
"No need," Kenan refused.
At first glance, suspicion rears its ugly head. Bernardi showed no response after discovering Kenan had dismantled almost the entire contents of the office cupboard of his foster father, Bernardi's older brother.
As he walked, Bernardi stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. He stood behind Kenan who was tidying up a few more folders.
"Want to play a puzzle?" Bernardi offered.
Kenan stopped the movement of his hands, his face looking up at the man's face which was now displaying a simple smile.
Before Kenan could answer, Bernardi had made a one-sided decision. "You will not refuse." After that, Bernardi looked at the photograph of Monsieur Serge that was displayed on the wall of the room. In the photograph, his figure was authoritative in his black suit.
Following Bernardi's gaze, Kenan also looked at the picture of his adoptive father. His lips were still tightly pressed together without wanting to say anything. Not long after, his hands returned to tidying up the folder that had been neglected earlier.
"Do you remember when my brother adopted you?" Without taking his eyes off Monsieur Serge's photograph, one question was posed to Kenan after the last file had been put into the drawer.
"It was...," Kenan's answer was swallowed up by his musings-as his mind tried to recall that moment. "I forgot," were the two words Kenan chose. The image of Monsieur Serge bringing him to this luxurious mansion replayed in his mind like a classic movie. However, Kenan forgot when it happened, he couldn't remember the exact date.
"I hope you remember it soon," After that, Bernardi came out-accompanied by Kenan from behind.
Staring at Bernardi from behind, a little question crossed Kenan's mind. why did the man hope that Kenan could remember the exact date of that day in the near future? What did he mean by that?
Puzzle.
Kenan definitely thought that the question-when was he adopted-was part of the puzzle. Staring with every step he took, Kenan tried to remember-his mind kept scanning the days of that time.
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