Alecia sipped her morning coffee feeling empty, looking at the empty chair across the table. Boy, her husband, had once again not come down to have breakfast with her. For the past three months, since they were betrothed and married, the distance between them had become more and more pronounced. Boy slept in the upstairs room, while Alecia spent her nights in the downstairs room, as if they were just two strangers living in the same house.

Every morning, Alecia tried to break the silence by greeting Boy, but his response was always short and cold. Boy never initiated conversation, and always seemed in a hurry to leave the room. Alecia knew that Boy had married her not out of love, but because of his father's insistence that he marry the son of his best friend who owed him money.

In the midst of her busy day, Alecia often brooded, staring at her bedroom window, wondering how it was that their marriage took place without any touch of emotion. She longed for warmth, meaningful conversations, and laughter to break the silence of the mansion.

As night fell, the silence became even more pronounced. Alecia heard Boy's footsteps upstairs, while she herself was locked in silence downstairs. The distance between them was not only physical, but also emotional. Alecia wondered if someday, the distance could be bridged, or if they would continue to live like this, separated under the same roof, but very far apart in their hearts.

Alecia's cell phone suddenly rang, breaking the silence of the room. The phone screen displayed the name 'Aunt Lisa'. With curiosity, Alecia opened the incoming message. "Alecia, your uncle is asking for money for Shena's tuition fees," Aunt Lisa's message read, leaving Alecia confused. Why would an uncle who had been independent suddenly ask her for help? "Don't just read it, Alecia. Please send it as soon as possible," the message continued. With her eyebrows knitted together, Alecia typed a reply, trying to find out more.

Alecia responded to her aunt's message with confusion, "Why, Bi? The dowry money has been taken care of by the boy's family, I didn't use any money." On the other end, Alecia's aunt voiced her frustration, "It's long gone, Cia. You don't understand, everything is so expensive now. "Alecia felt sad, her lips trembling softly. "But, uncle is still working, Bi. I haven't worked here since I married uncle's best friend's son." Her inner voice complained, seeking pity.

"You ask your husband, he's the manager of a big company, it's not much, just 10 million" Alecia's aunt replied in her message.

Alecia read the message from her aunt with dilated eyes and trembling hands. In the message, her aunt asked her to ask her husband, Boy, who was a manager of a big company, for 10 million. It was a shocking feeling, considering that before the arranged marriage, Alecia had told her aunt that Boy's family should not be asked for money. "But why is he asking me now?" Alecia muttered to herself while biting her lip, disappointed and confused by this unexpected situation.

She remembered that before accepting the arranged marriage, Alecia had told her that her uncle was not allowed to borrow money from the boy's family. But now he was asking Alecia.

"Sorry bi, I can't ask my husband for that money, let alone that much, and I told you from the start not to trouble boy's family if I marry him" Alecia replied.

"You can't be like that cia, you have to remember your uncle's service all this time, he has taken care of you since your parents died" said aunt Liza.

Alecia was only silent because her uncle's wife could discuss merit. Even though Alecia was willing to marry a boy to pay her uncle's debt.

Alecia did not reply to the message from her aunt again.

Alecia set the dining table for two, while occasionally glancing at Boy who was engrossed in his cell phone on the sofa. In his loose-fitting house clothes, he didn't seem to notice his surroundings. Alecia sighed, their three months of marriage had gone by without the warmth, without the touch that other married couples were used to.

"Boy, dinner is ready," Alecia said in a low voice, hoping her husband would turn his head and look at her.

Boy just nodded without looking at Alecia, then walked to the dining table. They ate in silence, only the sound of spoons and forks meeting each other to fill the silence. Alecia tried to break the ice, "How was your day at the office?"

"Nothing special," Boy replied briefly, his eyes still glued to his phone screen.

Alecia felt a deep sense of disappointment, she wanted to feel warmth, wanted to feel love, but all hopes were dashed. Alecia continued eating, her eyes occasionally glazed over. She looked at Boy's face which looked flat, emotionless. This was not the life she had envisioned when she decided to get married.

After eating, Alecia tidied up the kitchen, while Boy returned to the sofa and his cell phone. Alecia stood in front of the window for a moment, looking out at the city lights. She contemplates her fate, trapped in a loveless, touchless marriage. Alecia then walks into the bedroom, closes the door, and cries in painful solitude.

That night, the dim light of the corridor seemed to accompany Boy who stood tall before going upstairs. "Uh, you, I won't be home tomorrow because I have work outside the city," he said in a flat tone. Alecia just nodded, her voice low, "Oh, okay." Boy gave her a sharp look, his loud voice breaking the silence. "Don't try anything in this house. And, please clean my room while I'm gone," he ordered. Alecia, with her head bowed, replied without looking at Boy's face, "All right, Boy." Suddenly, Boy's tone rose, full of annoyance. "That's all you know, you little bitch!" he said as he turned and strode upstairs. Alecia stood in place, watching Boy's retreating steps, eyes watering, trying to hold back the pain his words implied.

Alecia went into her room.

Alecia fumbled with the sheets she had just ironed. Alecia's head was spinning as she lost control of her own life. Since getting married and living with her husband, she had been the only one responsible for the housework; washing, cooking, and cleaning every corner of the room. She let out a long sigh, trying to swallow the growing sense of disappointment. "It's for the sake of being a good wife," she mused, as her hands continued to move nimbly to clean her room.

For Alecia, every day felt like a painful battle of the soul; having a husband who clearly did not love her was an agony beyond measure. With her patience wearing thin, she kept hoping for a change that might never come. Silently, she bemoans the pain of her heart, waiting for a glimmer of attention that might save her fading love.