Arka unwinds after a busy day of emergency surgery on a patient. Resting his back on the bed for a moment, he opened the top button of his shirt.

The cell phone rang. An incoming message on WhatsApp containing a photo of his wife made him get up.

"What the hell is this?"

A photo was taken to provoke Arka's jealousy. Lisa could be seen carving a smile as Suga bent down slightly to rub her belly.

"Who sent this?"

An unknown number. Arka let out a frustrated sigh because he didn't want to be prejudiced.
Just as he was about to leave, the door opened. Someone appeared. A figure he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Mayang?"

The beautiful woman with shoulder-length curls smiled. Her graceful steps approached the sofa in the corner. She placed the cake box from the famous bakery on the table.

"Long time no see, Arkana. I haven't seen you in a while."

Arka quickly got off the bed. He approached the woman from his past. Long before Lisa came into his life.

"Why are you here, Mayang? For what reason?" Arka growled.

One or two steps away, Mayang moved closer to Arka. She put two arms around that handsome doctor's shoulders.

"Why, Ka? What are you angry about? We got married, but that doesn't mean our relationship is broken, right? I'm still your younger cousin, you know."

Arka snorted, furious. He let go of the beautiful woman's touch in her typical Western style. Mayang had been living abroad for a long time after their marriage was annulled ten years ago.

Mayang sat on the sofa, watching Arka approach the refrigerator and take a bottle of mineral water from there.

"Yes, cousin. I hope it's nothing more than that and you don't mess anything up."

Mayang smiled bitterly as she accepted the water bottle from Arka's hand.

"I came back to Jakarta to attend my friend's wedding. I also heard you're going to be a father. Congratulations! Finally, your wife has been proven not to be infertile."

Arka clenched his jaw, holding back his anger when he heard Mayang's insult to his wife. Ten years on, they finally had the good fortune to become parents.

"But really, I'm jealous of your happy marriage, Ka. Even though I know you loved me before," Mayang babbled again.

Arka was too lazy to respond anymore. He quickly packed up because his duty hours were over.

"I'm going home now, sorry I can't stay with you. If you want to stop by the house to see my parents, feel free."

Mayang quickly got up from her seat, briefly blocking Arka's steps from preceding her.

"Sorry, Ka. Don't be such a jerk! I just want to make peace with you. Real cousins. I'll stop by your house sometime to talk to you like a cousin. Okay?"

Arka just smiled wryly, leaving Mayang to go home. He didn't want to talk to his cousin any longer.

*

Lisa smiled as she cleaned the bed cover. After dinner, Arka didn't talk much and was cleaning up in the toilet. She turned her head towards the table when her cell phone rang. It was an incoming call from the gynecologist.

"What's wrong?"

Lisa swiped the green icon and picked up the call. "Yes, Suga. What's up?"

"Did you remember you have a check-up tomorrow?" the doctor said from the other end of the line.

"You said there was no problem."

"That's not it. It's about the ultrasound. Don't you want to know the sex of your baby?"

"Ooh, it's ...."

"I already know, but you didn't ask."

"Not like that. When you know, it's no longer a surprise. I've been waiting for this baby for almost ten years. Baby girl or boy, it's the same. If it's a boy... he must be as handsome as his father."

"I thought you'd say he's as handsome as me. I'm the one who always checks on him, Lis."

"The handsome one, and then he'll be a doctor too like his father." Lisa smiled as she rubbed her belly, looking forward to welcoming her baby into the world.

"Yes-yes, whatever you want. If you want to come tomorrow, let me know. Maybe I have another surgery or maternity schedule."

"Okay. Thank you, Mr. Doctor."

The call ended.

Lisa didn't realize her smile had been noticed by Arka. Her husband stood at the door, watching her enthusiastically talk to the obstetrician.

"Honey, why are you standing there?" Lisa asked.

"No, it's nothing."

Arka didn't know why this bothered him so much. Ever since he'd received the photo of Suga and Lisa, and this time his wife was talking so intently with her ex-lover, it made Arka a little jealous.

Kling!
There was an incoming message on his cell phone's Whatsapp. It was the same number sending photos of Lisa and Suga again.

'F*ck!'

Lisa noticed her husband's furious look. She touched Arka's shoulder in reprimand. "Why, who's texting?"

Arka quickly put his phone down on the table. "No one. Come on, get some sleep!"

"Not sleepy yet."

"It's okay, let's sleep. I want to rest too. I have work to do tomorrow."

Lisa lay right beside her husband. It was very difficult to sleep with her belly growing at this time. She tilted to the left, but her husband just closed his eyes without speaking again.

'He wants to sleep? No good night kiss?' she lamented inwardly.

Lisa smiled as she rubbed the top of Arka's nose with her thumb. Tracing the curve of her husband's sharp nose.

"Are you sleepy, Ka?"

"Why?"

Although he answered, Arka did not open his eyes. Lisa pursed her lips, annoyed. Her husband wasn't usually this lazy. Arka would be blatantly flirtatious with her. She stroked Arka's cheek, reducing their distance because she wanted to spoil her husband. She tilted her face slightly so she could kiss Arka's tightly closed lips.

Arka didn't reply intensely, opening his eyes and staring at his wife's face. Jealousy that drove him almost crazy.

'I know I should trust you, but...'

Realizing Arka's response was different, Lisa stopped. She looked at her husband seriously.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Lisa asked.

"Nothing. Just a tired."

Lisa was annoyed and chose to sleep with her back to her husband. Normally Arka would have quickly coaxed her or hugged her from behind. This was different. Arka turned to the other side just to close his eyes. They had their backs to each other this time.