"Sorry..."

Dinda suddenly squinted her eyes, staring intently at the man in front of her, who was about to become her husband. She clucked in annoyance as she held back the pent-up irritation.

"I wonder why you say sorry so often," Dinda muttered, which Indra could still hear.

For a moment, the two were silent until an awkward atmosphere came over them. What Dinda didn't like was that the woman let out another ragged sigh as she shook her head in an attempt to shake off her irritation.

"I'm going to take some time off because our wedding is coming up soon. Papa will take care of the rest of the wedding preparations," Dinda explained.

With a furrowed brow, Indra said, "Ah! Right, you should start taking some time off and taking care of your health." His words were cut short, and Indra seemed reluctant to finish his sentence.

But seeing that Dinda certainly realized it, she smiled slightly and said, "Well, no wonder since he's not the child's father. I don't need to make a big deal out of it either," she thought to herself.

Not wanting to be drawn into an increasingly awkward situation, Dinda again explained the possibility that Sonia would come to the office and look for her. Indra thought about that too.

"You don't have to worry, I'll make sure Sonia doesn't meet your father," Indra said, as if he knew what was on her mind.

"That's good. I don't want to hear any fuss between them," Dinda responded.

The conversation went on for quite a while, without realizing that the two of them had talked about many things about their future plans, of course by staying alert and making sure that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation.

As the days went by, the atmosphere of the office was different due to the absence of the young Miss, the heiress of the company.

Although Dinda had just taken a few days off, it was undeniable that her absence had made Indra feel strange, like something was missing.

"Hmm... lonely," he muttered.

Then a ringing mobile phone broke the man's reverie.

"Who the-" one of his foreheads brightly rose as he saw a row of numbers and a familiar name perched on it.

"Tsk! What the hell is he calling me for!?"

With a lazy movement, Indra pressed the green button and began to bring her mobile phone closer to her earlobe.

"What is it again? You know it's still working hours," he said sarcastically to the caller on the other end.

["Tsk! You're always like this, Indra. Remember, you have to treat me well if you don't want anything to happen to you."]

Indra snorted in annoyance, "Chatty! What do you want, Sonia? Wasn't it just yesterday that I sent you money!?"

Then there was a screeching sound from the other side, indicating that Sobia was not willing to be treated like that by her own ex-lover.

["The money you sent is not enough, Indra. I also remembered that my skincare was running out, so I-"]

"Then what does that have to do with me?" interrupted Indra, cutting Sonia off.

The man was visibly annoyed that Sonia had been harassing him for the past few days by asking for everything from Indra, since he had originally emphasized not to disturb Dinda during his wife-to-be's leave. It was actually an advantage for Sonia because then she could contact Indra frequently and never even hesitate to ask for anything from him, just like before when they were still in a relationship.

["I want to meet, I want to ask."]

"I'm busy, Sonia! Please don't create any misunderstandings between me and Dinda, even if you still want to live in Jakarta."

["But, Indra-"]

The phone connection was cut off after Indra rudely hung up, he threw his mobile phone so that it lay on his desk. His mind was completely messed up because of Sonia's attitude, which kept bothering him and even inviting him to meet.

"Shit! Why did I go out with that woman in the first place?" grumbled Indra as he let out a rough sigh.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Sonia looked furious as Indra abruptly hung up before she could even finish her sentence. Her heart was beating fast with a head that felt hot as anger hung over her body.

"Tsk! How dare he ignore me! He should be nice to me because I might do something desperate with the secret they have," Sonia cursed endlessly.

The woman's face instantly turned grim, her head tilting as she continued to think about something.

"That's right... I could reveal their secret, but then my already better life would be jeopardized, and I would inevitably have to return to the village and marry that ugly man! Yikes!" Sonia shuddered as she recalled the reality she would have to face if she returned to her parents' home.

She certainly couldn't do anything without thinking it through, as her threat to Indra backfired on her. She was now stuck in her own hole.

"Damn it! I ended up falling for my own plan."

***

The days went by without a hitch, even though it was nerve-wracking because the wedding day had arrived. In the dressing room, Indra kept looking at his reflection in the mirror. He squeezed the hem of the suit he was wearing for his wedding with Dinda.

For a moment, he was lost in the mirror image until a smile was etched on his face.

With a long sigh, Indra muttered, "Am I really getting married? To a beautiful woman like Dinda?"

Yes! The man must have felt incredulous. For although he had always hoped to find a mate in a beautiful and kind woman, it was undeniable that he recognized this marriage as a formality and even a pretense.

Indra then squinted at herself in the mirror.

"I don't know whether to feel grateful or sorry for you, Indra. Because in the end, your fate is only to be a substitute figure for someone else," she murmured, her gaze turning sad. "Well... Let's just do our best, we don't know what the future holds. Will this marriage work out and end as agreed? Or does one of us want something else?"

Indra realized that something had changed in him, even with his feelings. Lately, he has often felt restless and worried, especially not seeing Dinda because of his ongoing leave.

Even when Indra wanted to call Dinda, he always hung up before the call was connected and tapped his head instead. It felt like there was something very suffocating in his chest from not being able to meet his future wife.

But now that it was all over, perhaps the longing he was trying to cover up would soon be relieved because, in a few hours, Indra would soon meet and see the face of the woman who had bothered him every night and all day.

"You seem to have gone mad, Indra! How could you expect the impossible from this marriage?" she grumbled to herself.