Dinda fell silent, realizing that her father was suspicious of her strange behavior. She quickly racked her brains to control the tense situation.

"Ehm, let's go in first, Pa," Dinda asked, trying to shift the focus.

Anggoro sighed, as if deciding to give in and not prolong the strange behavior that made him a little uncomfortable.

Without saying anything else, Anggoro walked into the apartment with Dinda following behind him. The man then swept his gaze across the spacious apartment, his slightly narrowed gaze, of course, made Dinda start to feel anxious because the man seemed unable to find something he was looking for.

"What would Papa like to drink, tea or coffee?" offered Dinda, trying to break the ice after Anggoro finally sat down quietly in the living room, although his gaze was still scrutinizing every corner of the room.

"Anything," he replied briefly.

Dinda smiled and said, "Okay! Dinda goes to the back first, Papa. "

"Where's your husband? Why does this place feel lonely?"

Bathump!

Dinda, who was about to go to the kitchen, immediately stopped, and right at that moment, her heart beat again. She really didn't expect that her father would be so quick to question Indra's whereabouts.

"I'll explain later, Papa is waiting inside."

Indra nodded in understanding, then said, "Sorry for arriving so late." He then handed her the red plastic bag in his hand. "This is for you. I thought pregnant women had to snack a lot."

Dinda was silent as she stared at the plastic bag that she had not received, the wrinkles on her forehead becoming more and more obvious, implying a sense of wonder.

The woman sighed again as she blinked her eyes deeply and then reached for the plastic bag. "Thanks... but shouldn't I be the one saying sorry? For interrupting your time."

Hearing that, Indra immediately raised both eyebrows but did not have time to respond to Dinda's words because the woman had just walked into the living room of the apartment. Finally, the man could only sigh and walk after his wife, of course with a sudden sense of regret crossing his mind.

"If only I hadn't obeyed her, nothing like this would have happened," he muttered to himself.

Indra immediately lowered his body when he saw his father-in-law sitting in the living room, looking at him intently.

"Good evening, Pa," Indra said respectfully.

For a moment, his heart was beating fast as he watched Anggoro's piercing gaze, waiting for the reaction he would receive from his father-in-law.

"Sit down," Anggoro ordered coldly.

Without saying much more, Indra immediately approached the sofa and sat down at a distance from his father-in-law.

"I'll make you a drink first," Dinda said as she walked away from the two men.

At once, the atmosphere in the room turned tense. Silence fell between the two, and no one even dared or ventured to start a conversation. Indra just bowed his head while Anggoro stared at the television program he had been watching.

"Where from?" asked Anggoro without looking away.

Indra lifted his head, focusing his gaze on the middle-aged man who was staring at the television screen with anger, but he knew full well that the man was not angry about the program he was watching.

Not immediately hearing an answer, Anggoro slowly turned his gaze from the television screen to look at the man sitting nearby.

"I still remember very well when Dinda's mother was pregnant, I never once left her at home, especially at night," he said with a flat face. "I thought you thought the same. Turns out... tsk!"

Anggoro then turned his face back, his annoyance growing as Indra remained silent as if he had no intention of denying it.

Anggoro must have felt disappointed because not even one day after he married off his daughter, he had to find Dinda living alone in the house, especially at night. Yes! He hoped that Indra would never leave Dinda, especially when she was pregnant.

Indra then fell silent, feeling awkward because, on the one hand, he did not want to leave Dinda at first, but on the other hand, Dinda was the one who forced him to go see another woman. The man could not possibly tell his father-in-law the reason.

In the end, Indra chose to remain silent, accepting all of his father-in-law's ramblings even though he wanted to deny them.

"Sorry..."

Anggoro again squinted his gaze, the wrinkles on his forehead increasing when he heard the word sorry that only came out of his son-in-law's mouth.

The atmosphere became even more tense. Anggoro stared fiercely at the man in front of him, certainly making Indra feel nervous and unthinkable to do something. In the midst of the situation, Dinda appeared with two cups of hot tea and a plate of still-warm the snack.

"Drink first," said Dinda as she set the two cups of tea and snacks on the table.

"When did you buy this?" asked Anggoro, looking at Dinda and the snacks on the plate in turn.

After Dinda sat down, she replied, "Indra bought it for me. I had a sudden craving, so he went out to buy it."

For a moment, Anggoro was dumbfounded by Dinda's statement, initially, he had not heard Dinda's answer to Indra's disappearance when he arrived home. Anggoro was busy thinking negatively because his subordinate, who was assigned to watch Indra, only said that Indra left the apartment. Because he was annoyed, Anggoro rushed away to make sure without finishing listening to a detailed explanation from his subordinate.

"Tsk! You're incompetent!" he swore, which could still be heard faintly.

"Yes? Why, Pa? Papa doesn't like it? Or do you want Dinda to buy you something else?" asked Dinda, who was busy munching on her snack.

Anggoro gasped, realizing that he had forgotten to control his emotions. "No, I'm fine. You just eat more. Papa is still full," he explained.

Dinda just nodded and looked relaxed, even though just a moment ago she had been fretting and wondering what excuse she would give her father for Indra's departure. But when Indra brought her food, the crazy idea came to her instantly.

For a moment, Dinda turned her head and looked at Indra, who was now watching her with a questioning gaze, then she lifted one lip and nodded. Signaling that everything would be fine.

***

"Shit! Why is that woman always bothering me!? Didn't she agree to my request herself?"

Elsewhere, Sonia was venting her frustration by slamming a flower vase until it broke and splattered on the floor. She was furious that her chance to meet and spend the night with her ex-lover had been disrupted.

Even more upsetting, Sonia saw the concern shown by Indra after he received a call from Dinda.

"It's true... you do like that woman, Indra!"