"I don't smoke. It's all slander from my friends. This shirt is also because of a reckless biker who splashed dirty water on my shirt." Beryl explained the true chronology.

"Never mind, Beryl. Still thankful you didn't get fired. If that had happened, you'd be even more useless. You'd better get out of here, divorce our son, we don't care if you die!" insulted Viona.

Beryl almost clenched her hands into fists. She had to muster up the patience to keep herself from letting her temper get the better of her.

"I'm too lazy to see your face again. I'll go to my room first." Viona walked away while Stevan sat back in the plastic chair, reading the newspaper. This left Beryl frozen with a gnawing heartache.

Inside the room, Viona was content. She burst out laughing. Opening the necklace from the box, she was amazed at the jewelry she had just bought. She couldn't wait to wear it, looking at her reflection in the mirror, feeling more beautiful.

"I don't regret buying this necklace at such an expensive price, the money was also borrowed from loan sharks," muttered Viona. Apparently, the money did not come from the husband of her sister Caterine. The money was borrowed from a loan shark she had met earlier that morning.

"I deliberately asked them to collect it from Beryl. Let it go, I won't pay it. Feel it, dying chased by a debt collector!"

***

In the evening, Caterine and Beryl were talking in their room.

"How could they slander you like that?" Caterine responded after Beryl told her everything that happened today.

"I also don't know when my sister's husband gave the money to mom." Caterine was surprised when her husband said that Viona bought a necklace worth five million rupiah.

"I have to talk to mom about this. I can't stand it if continue to be treated badly like this."

Caterine started to move, but was quickly stopped by Beryl.

"Don't make things worse. I'm fine," Beryl said.

"I'm sorry, darling. My family was very cruel to you." Caterine said softly.

Beryl smiled slightly. "It's okay. Let's work hard so that we can raise the money to rent a house." Who could stand living in the same house as his wife's parents and being seen as a human with no dignity for four years.
Caterine and Beryl were silent for a moment. She heard Viona's excited voice. The strong tone of her voice could be heard all the way to the room.

"What's wrong?" asked Beryl.

"I don't know, I think someone's coming. Come on, let's go see!" Both of them got up and went outside.

Up ahead, Viona looked happy that Caterine's older sister had come to the house. A mother's smile towards her child was perfect, they embraced each other.

"I'm so glad you came here." Viona felt her longing begin to heal.

"How are you?" asked Stevan. Now he was the one hugging their first child.

"Fine. How's Mom and Dad?" she replied with a question.

"Fine too." Stevan and Viona answered in unison.

"Mega!"

Mega was the name of Caterine's first sister. Feeling called, Mega tilted her head to the right, to see her youngest sister and her husband.

"Hi, Caterine. Long time no see." Mega only greeted her daughter, Beryl's figure forgotten as if he was invisible.

"I brought some food for us." Mega handed over five plastic bags filled with food.

"Thank you, dear. Come on, let's go in!" Viona led her daughter, and they gathered in a circle on the mat floor.

Caterine went into the kitchen to get the cutlery. When she returned, the food was immediately opened and arranged on plates. Mega brought many kinds. There were donuts, grilled chicken, vegetable soup, fruit juice, and grilled fish. All of it was her parents' favorite food as well as Caterine's.

"Where's your husband, honey? I miss him too," Viona asked.

"Erick is out of town tonight. I was lonely at home, so I just came here," Mega replied.

"Wow, there must be another big project?" Viona asked and Mega nodded back.

"I'm really proud of Erick, aren't you, Dad? Not like our son-in-law on this one. So bad!" Viona glanced at her husband briefly and then those eyes turned sharp, giving Beryl a condescending look.

Beryl was used to being compared to his sister-in-law. Mega also demonized her brother-in-law.

"I feel sorry for Mom and Dad. I feel even more sorry for Caterine. Why did you choose him? You know he has nothing," Mega asked.

Viona immediately responded. "Take your sister for example. She married a rich man, now her life is secured, isn't it. With Beryl, you will be miserable for life!"

"Mega, Mom, this is my choice. I love Beryl for who he is. I'm happy with him despite living in these conditions," Caterine said softly.

"Hey, don't be naive. We need money right now. Your life will suffer if you stay like this!" snapped Mega.
"Alright, let's just eat, it hurts my ears to hear noise. I'm already hungry," Stevan said.

Everyone started to enjoy the food. The food was so delicious that Stevan and Viona ate it with gusto. Moreover, they rarely eat these foods.

Just as Beryl was about to take a piece of chicken, Mega suddenly called out loudly.

"Hey, who let you eat?"

Beryl pulled back his hand. "Shouldn't this be shared?" he asked.

"Yes, it is. But you're not. Don't participate in eating whatever I bring. Go away. You're ruining our family warmth," Mega replied, shooing him away.

"Why is that? Beryl is also part of our family." Caterine defended.

"Oh, no. I don't want to. I'm not willing to let the food I bought go into his stomach!" Mega exclaimed.

Beryl immediately got up from his seat. "I won't eat it, as you wish," he said firmly. Then he left them.

Mega shrugged her shoulders. Went back to eating. Meanwhile, Caterine had no appetite because her husband had not eaten since morning.

***

A well-built man sat leaning back on the sofa. He exhaled heavily. In front of him was a table with two empty cups on it.

"Get me more coffee!" The middle-aged man gave an order to a waiter.

"Sorry, sir. But you've already drunk two cups of coffee today. You also haven't slept all night. If you drink more coffee, you'll lose even more sleep and your health will suffer." The young male servant explained so that Sir would not harm himself again, torturing himself as an outlet for stress.

The man, whose hair had turned white, rubbed his face roughly. "Bram, what's your report today?" he asked.

"We haven't been able to find the man Sir is referring to. We've been looking for months, but no luck yet." Bram was the man's accomplice. A confidant who had been sent on a mission to find someone his boss hadn't seen in fifteen years.

The man picked up a photograph lying beside the glass. Staring into the photo. There was a sense of longing and regret mixed together. So far, many people had gone out to search, but the results remained the same.

"Mobilize more people. I don't want to know, he must be found immediately!" he ordered.