Tshabina wasn't even aware that she was already here, in a five-star hotel and lounge that also served as a restaurant in the heart of Central Jakarta. When she looked at her watch, it was already 8.30 p.m; she was very late due to the damn traffic that made her age on the road. Moreover, it's still rush hours, and she had taken public transportation, having to transfer several times to get here. Here she was now, in the elevator heading to the top floor towards the lounge of this place.
When Tshabina reached the top floor of the building, she was briefly taken aback by the incredible view she could see from up here. No wonder this place was popular among wealthy people; it turned out that besides being luxurious, this place could also help alleviate boredom just by looking at the scenery and a little liquor.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" Greeted one of the staff when she saw Tshabina looking a bit confused and gawking in front of the glass.
Finally, Tshabina regained consciousness when she heard the greeting. "Ahhh yes, I....I am here for Mr..Zioh? Zioh Danudara," Tshabina said carefully.
Hearing Tshabina mention the name made the female staff turned to look behind her as if asking for confirmation from there, which was followed a few seconds later by the appearance of a slightly older man approaching her. "Excuse me, are you Ms. Sophie?" The man asked.
Tshabina felt a bit awkward and stammered, it's very rare for someone to call her by her last name, almost no one does, and only one person used to call her that. "Yes sir that's right....I'm Tshabina Sophia."
"Allow me to introduce myself, ma'am, I am Kevin, the manager here. I apologize for having to call you here, but...there's an important guest who is unconscious and somewhat drunk. We were about to report to the authorities because he came alone and has a foreign ID, but... when we saw his name and credit card." The man spoke while handing over Zioh's Coutts World Silk Card. "We believe he isn't an ordinary person, so we took the initiative to contact the emergency number on his phone, and your number, Ms. Sophie, appeared. If I may ask....is he your husband?" said the man, who held the position of manager there, at length.
Zioh saved her phone number as an emergency number? Damn, sometimes Tshabina wanted to curse her weak heart because now she could feel her heart pounding so fast. Well, Zioh did do that before, but that was a long time ago before he hated her. Was it just a coincidence that it hadn't been changed? And based on how the manager called her Sophie, even the incident with Zioh's manager some time ago meant that Zioh hadn't changed her contact name.
The nickname that Zioh gave specifically to her, which he now chose not to call her that anymore. Suddenly Tshabina snapped out of her "blushing" when she saw the manager's face a little suspicious and wary of her momentary daze.
Processing the man's initial question, Tshabina immediately denied it. "Ah- no-no sir...I'm...his assistant." Tshabina answered, which was of course a lie, how could Tshabina possibly explain her relationship with Zioh? Especially since Tshabina could be sure that Zioh hadn't changed the emergency contact number on his cell phone.
Actually, there were so many questions Tshabina wanted to ask, why hasn't Zioh changed it? Didn't he say to act formal from now on? Then why does Zioh still name her contact "Sophie?" Really why? Zioh hadn't called her that since he disappeared to the UK 10 years ago. All of Zioh's attitudes and actions were beyond Tshabina's understanding.
"Alright then ma'am, let me take you." The man said while guiding Tshabina out of the lounge which of course made her reflexively raise one eyebrow in confusion.
Realizing Tshabina was confused, Kevin immediately explained. "Sorry ma'am, we moved him to our hotel, there were many other guests in the lounge earlier, I'm afraid he would be in the spotlight, actually Mr. Zaeem Danudara is one of our VIP regular guests, so to protect him I decided to take him to rest in our hotel room, we just need to cross to the next building ma'am, please follow me." It seemed that all this initiative happened when they saw the name "Danudara" on Zioh's identity card, Tshabina thought.
Tshabina followed the man with a restless and nervous heart, what should she say when she meets Zioh later? Especially since it will only be the two of them. She walked across from one building to another using a luxurious glass corridor that presented a fantastic view, seeing the beauty of the towering buildings with twinkling lights adorning the city of Jakarta at night, Tshabina seemed to be hypnotized for a moment by the view. At least she could divert her mind for a moment by enjoying the view from the top of this building, at least this could help her relax a little.
Until finally her feet also stopped when the manager of this place stopped at one of the hotel room doors, which Tshabina could be sure was the floor with the suite room. "This is the room, Ma'am, when we moved him he was still asleep, here are the room keys and if you need anything else you can contact our staff, thank you for your time and attention." Said Kevin while slightly bowing slightly towards Tshabina, which she naturally responded to with a friendly nod. Tshabina didn't go straight in, she was still standing in front of the door while catching her breath and thinking about who she should contact after this? Zaeem? Or Bibu? Ahh, never mind, what matters is that Tshabina has to go in first and check on Zioh's condition.
Tshabina still remembers a little of Zioh's habits, that he wasn't a heavy drinker, he's different from Zaeem and Zeremia when it comes to alcohol. His tolerance for alcohol is quite low, so Tshabina knows Zioh rarely spends his time just drinking alcohol, especially without anyone accompanying him unless he's having a problem. If in the past Zioh always asked Bibu to accompany him, and in the end Bibu would take him home in a tipsy, that's why Tshabina really wanted to call her twin, Tshabina wasn't sure if she could handle this alone.
"Ziii? Zioh-" Tshabina had only said a few calls when she immediately remembered that Zioh wanted Tshabina to be formal with him, so in the end Tshabina changed her call, "Sir? Mr. Zioh?"
Actually, for Tshabina this is more like a small apartment than a hotel, where in this room there is still a living room and 2 separate bedrooms, so Tshabina checked each room in this hotel one by one, when one room is neat and uninhabited, that means there is only one room left.
Tshabina finally opened the doorknob of the last room she hadn't checked. "Mr. Zioh? It's me Tshabi-"
"Sophie. What are you doing here?" Zioh said, interrupting Tshabina's conversation while sucking on a cigarettes whose smoke had already filled the room. The first thing Tshabina saw was Zioh's very disheveled state, his suit was sprawled on the floor, his shirt was crumpled, his tie was loose, there were even several bottles of wine scattered on the floor, and now the man was even smoking cigarettes while lying on the bed. Tshabina could smell the bitter, sharp and stinging odor and it made her nose itch instantly.
Her eyes met Zio's bleary eyes, Tshabina's heart was pounding now, not a blushing or nervous thumping, but a painful thumping seeing the man in front of her in disarray, Tshabina really wanted to hug him, just like she always did in the past. Tshabina didn't even realize her voice would tremble due to the mixture of emotions she felt.
"The manager of this place called me, said you were drunk and unconscious...are you okay? Should I call your family? Or maybe your manager?" Tshabina asked with a worried tone while staring intently at the man in front of her. Tshabina was worried but she didn't want to cross the boundaries that Zioh had given, Tshabina understood that Zioh wasn't okay now, so she didn't want to make things worse.
Hearing that, Zioh immediately snapped. "Don't you dare call them, especially your brother, I don't want my family to know and make noise about it. And Tsabinu.... " Zioh paused and looked straight at Tshabina, "Your brother will only make things worse." Zioh chuckled cynically. "Danudara's favorite slave, since when did your twin become their bootlicker huh?" Zioh exclaimed in a low tone while continuing to inhale and exhale the cigarettes in his hand.
Tshabina can feel her heart a bit heated, but she knew she had to control herself, the man in front of her was a mess and drunk, so Tshabina could understand him. "You know you can trust Bibu Zioh....as a friend, Bibu'll always be your side not t-"
"Friend?" Zioh stared sharply at her, even his voice just now was very frightening and sounded more like a growl, Zioh is usually like this when he is angry. "What kind of friend were you talking about? Don't be arrogant Sop-...Tshabina, just because I've been silent lately, you think you can consider me your friend again?" Zioh now laughed sarcastically, his expression hardening and sharpening.
"You have no idea how much I fucking hate you, Sophie, you might forget it, so let me remind you of it, I..hate you. You, Tshabinu..... I hate you all. Remember that." Zioh said intimidatingly, his voice very low and full of emphasis, which made Tshabina's tears unconsciously fall and wet her cheeks the next second.
But would Tshabina just stay silent? Of course not, this man...this man really, since that night he always said that he hated her, he hated Tshabinu and everything about them. But why? Did Zioh ever explain it? Making her and Tsabinu at least know what went wrong after that day, that night.
Tshabina really can't understand, she and Tsabinu had never done anything wrong to him. And even though Zioh disappeared, claiming he hated her, there were several things that Zioh didn't change to prove it. That's why Tshabina can be here, right? She can be in this place to accompany him, compared to his manager or right-hand person, who is here now, it's her, Tshabina, and whether he realizes it or not, Zioh is the one who always pulls Tshabina to stay around, as if there is a string that always binds them.
So now Tshabina started walking towards him, with watery eyes and hurried breath she walked towards Zioh and immediately took and threw away the cigerattes in his hand. Not because she didn't want him to smoke, but more than that, she really hated the smell cigarettes. She was very sensitive to odors, so because she would be dealing with this man for a long time, at least Tshabina had to get rid of that first so she could think clearly. Of course, receiving such treatment, the next second Zioh gave her a cynical look, and just as Zioh was about to open his mouth, Tshabina interrupted him first.
"My turn. My turn to speak now." Tshabina returned Zioh's cynical gaze with a sad look. "If you hate it, at least change your emergency call Zi, so people won't contact me when you need help." Now Tshabina grabbed Zioh's collar, the collar felt so sharp in Tshabina's hand, perhaps because Tshabina's hand grasped the collar so firmly, as if Tshabina's emotions were channeled in that grip.
She held it tightly while whispering. "Maybe you're angry, you hate and sick of me, of Tshabinu, for even things we don't even know the basis of," Tshabina paused for a moment, took a breath and closed her eyes, then spoke again. "But Zi, even for these 10 years it's just you, we haven't changed, it's just you Zi, we still love you as much as we did then, so please lean on us, don't hurt alone Zioh..." Said Tshabina, her tears streaming down her cheeks, some even splattering onto Zioh's face because their faces were so close now.
And damn it, it worked, the sentence that only contained a few words managed to bring down the defenses that Zioh had painstakingly built. Maybe it's because this woman used to be Zioh's biggest weakness, but now maybe it's because of the effect of alcohol, and his mind is very chaotic now. Zioh knew he would regret it later but for now, fuck it, because the next second Zioh pulled the nape of the woman in front of him and approached her lips with his own.