Short Story “Between Marriage and Betrayal”
I
Karen Harlina — I wish I…
Back in 2012, memorizing the good old times…
I remember the day when I married my husband, Adrian. He is such a nice guy. I have been dating him for five years. Ah, how lovely the good old times were. I wish I could turn back time to the good old days. I remember the date of our wedding exactly. It was 27 June 2012. On that day, he kissed me on my lips and hugged me in front of the crowd. His parents also liked the way I talked to them.
“I, Adrian, take you Karen Harlina, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us part, according to the God’s holy law.” That was what Adrian said to me and in front of a crowd of people. The day when he married me.
I always thought of his sweet words in my mind. He also said to me that I’m beautiful like a red rose. Our first favorite song from the first time we met was entitled “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran. He has become my favorite singer since I was in Senior High School. His song influenced me to remember positive thoughts. It represents love, memories, healing, and also hope in my life. This song reminded me of the time when Adrian gave me a bouquet of white roses for the first time.
Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes, But it’s the only thing that I know,
When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes, It is the only thing that makes us feel alive…
We sang it every day until our wedding day came. Day by day after our wedding day, lots of things changed. He always smiled at me every morning and kissed my lips before he got to work. And at night, he always touched my body, hugged me, and brushed my hair until it became his habit. Every night before bedtime, we always prayed to God to wish a daughter in our little family.
The next day, I always pictured it in my mind ̶ the moment when we were “doin’ it” for the first time. Here it is, when I cooked our dinner, he suddenly arrived with an expression full of surprise! He ran into the kitchen, hugged me, kissed me, touched every single part of my body, looked at me glazed… of course I did not forget to turn off the oven and the stove, you don’t want the house burnt, right?
After Adrian kissed me, he carried me into our bedrooms. He also locked the door. Remember, privacy always came first.
“I’m not gonna hurt you. Please be patient with me, okay hun?”
“Yeah, I know,” I smiled at him. Then he turned off the lights, turned on the small lamps, and he opened his Spotify on his phone. The song he listened to is entitled “White Horse” by Taylor Swift. He sang a few lyrics in front of me. I never heard him sing with such a beautiful voice.
Maybe I was naive, got lost in your eyes And never really had a chance
My mistake, I didn’t know to be in love You had to fight to have the upper hand I had so many dreams about you and me
The reason why he liked “White Horse” by Taylor Swift is because he used to see me wear a white dress with a big ribbon behind it. He also saw a beautiful horse when he was still a little child. He said it to me like that.
“Karen, you are very beautiful like a red rose indeed! I’m falling in love with every single part of your body.”
“I will do it slowly. Please don’t be scared, you know I always love you, Karen. Say goodbye to your old boring life, let us welcome our married life!” He smiled at me when I was a little bit scared.
“Adrian, thank you for doin’ it with me. I will never forget our “first-time” experience. It was awesome!” I said a few words and I hugged him beside the table near our bedroom. I wonder what he said after that.
“I also want to say thank you Karen for trusting my words. Now just be honest with me, what did you expect in the future?” He asked me curiously and kissed my lips again, then he put his clothes back again. “I wish we could have a daughter in our family, one or two is okay for me…” He said it with an unhappy face. Then I didn’t answer his question. I just smiled at him and fell asleep beside him.
In 2018, the moment I remembered Adrian’s personal question to me
I expect nothing for the future. The more you expect for this world, the more you get disappointed. I’m happy you didn’t leave me alone until now” (I said it in my mind, and I smiled a little bit with tears falling from my eyes). I remember one of my favorite movie lines that almost contrasts with what I feel. “Reality is often disappointing. Now, reality can be whatever I want.
8 years later, in the middle of 2020…
“Oh crap, I’m almost late.” I woke up at 7 A.M and I was almost late for work. It was already Monday again. Another Monday, another hectic day. I work as a cashier in a supermarket. It was not that hard for me, but I do love my job here. What made me happy is that I worked as a cashier there because first, I’m comfortable with the working environment and my workmate there was also friendly with me. When I needed some help, they were always ready to assist me.
Second, the customers in this supermarket were fine. They never complained or even protested when we were out of stock that they needed.
Every night, I always prayed in my bedroom that I could get pregnant and had a daughter so Adrian would be happy for me and accept me as it is, as a wife.
When Adrian and I came to one of the hospitals near my workplace, I met the obgyn to know what was wrong inside me. Then the obgyn said it was obvious my problem that I couldn’t get pregnant because I had a womb infection and the worst part is, the obgyn diagnosed that I was interfile! Oh no!
Yup, reality hurt. It hurt me and Adrian. I hope that Adrian was not mad at me. I knew we both wanted a daughter in our life.
27 June 2012, that’s the date of our wedding day. I sat on the sofa in our living room, watching Adrian finishing his work and working on his laptop for almost three hours. Now it was already 26 June 2020. Guess what? The next day is our 8th wedding anniversary! What a joy!
“Adrian, what is special tomorrow?” I shouted at him.
He was still working with his laptop seriously, and replied to me: “Yes, Karen dear, tomorrow is… Oh My God, it’s our wedding anniversary day! How come I almost forgot our important day?” Then I stood up next to him, looking at his laptop and I kissed his cheeks.
I already prepared for our wedding anniversary the next day. Chocolate cake, red wine, duck breasts, chicken wings which is Adrian’s favorite food, sirloin steak which is my favorite, roasted vegetables, and other delicious food that cooked! Luckily, we both still wear our wedding rings.
The next day we decorated our house with different kinds of flowers, cleaning the house, preparing different types of food, such a hectic day for us! Tonight, I decided to wear a red dress, and I was wearing a beautiful golden necklace that Adrian gave me for my birthday a few months before. Adrian was also wearing his formal suit, with a black tie and wearing his expensive Gucci hand
watch. I remembered when he told me about his Gucci hand watch. It was a limited edition.
It was really a busy day! From the morning to the evening, we both went to work. In the evening, Adrian picked me up in his car after I finished my work at the supermarket. I told him that in that month, were kept running out of face masks and vitamin. I heard that some person cunningly piled up those two important human needs. That was really horrible! To be honest, these past few months our sales at the supermarket sank up to twenty percent.
When I told him everything that happened at my workplace, he just responded to me with a few words only, and with a little smile on his face. I guessed he meant to cheer me up during the hard time.
At night, after we both finished with our work, I opened the champagne bottle to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I also heated up our delicious foods that I already cooked yesterday. Adrian prepared the plates for the two of us. He also prepared the eating cutlery such as a spoon, fork, and a carving knife to slice the meat.
After we both finished dressing up, we both sat in the dining room that had already been decorated. I loved it when Adrian wore his formal suits and with his Gucci wristwatch. It made him look cooler and gentlemanly.
“Happy eighth wedding anniversary, my beloved hubby Adrian!” I said to him with a big smile on my face, then I kissed him.
“Happy celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary, my beloved dear Karen. I’m so grateful to have met you since High School and united by God. I love you 3000, Karen.” Then Adrian kissed me back suddenly, and he didn’t smile back at me.
During the dinner, I opened my phone, then I opened my Spotify app, then I set Ed Sheeran’s Photograph song. This song reminded me of the time when Adrian gave me a bouquet of white roses for the first time, again.
Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes, But it’s the only thing that I know,
When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes, It is the only thing that makes us feel alive…
But I noticed something about him. Adrian seemed unhappy that day… What I saw was, that day he didn’t wear his wedding ring at the end! Holy crap, what had he done the night before? Had he overworked until he took off his ring and put it somewhere else?
After we finished dinner, Adrian went to sleep in his bedroom. It means that I was the person who cleaned all the dishes before bedtime. Before I went to bed, I wrote down a few sentences in my diary.
“I wrote down this diary in case one day Adrian couldn’t find me when I’m escaped from this house, and I know that he needed a clue. This diary was the unspoken words that I couldn’t express or said it directly to my beloved husband Adrian. Adrian, I know that you were unhappy with me that I wqs infertile and I couldn’t give you a daughter. I’m so sorry. I hope you will forgive me in the future, and I hope you will find a better woman that can gave you a daughter and brought happiness to you, in your life. It felt something went wrong with my mental health, and I needed to talk about it with my psychiatrist, Veronika…“
II
Adrian Hartanto — What I Hand in My Mind
“Ah, it was already Monday again, I guess?” I did not know why Monday is the day people dislike it. I always asked myself why people disliked Monday so much. For me, Monday was the best day to started on your work or even business project, especially straight forward to prioritize your work-life habit then made it
balance to Friday. I always had my own motto. “Do what you love, and love what you do.” Someone gave me those unforgettable words in my life.
I just opened my phone, then I looked at the clock. It was 5.30 A.M already. Karen woke me up at 5.00 A.M and usually I helped her cooks at kitchen to prepared for breakfast. But lately, I discovered that Karen was busier with herself and her work. Women were very difficult to understand. I wish I knew what was on her mind and how she felt when she was around me.
After I woke up, I went to the bathroom, took showers, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and got dressed for work. Then I turn on the TV, watching the latest news on CNN news.
“First, we would like to report the news regarding COVID-19 disease. Authorities in 227 countries and territories have reported about 676,6 million COVID-19 cases and 6.9 million deaths since China reported its first cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) from December 2019.”
Holly crap, it was in year 2020 already. That nasty virus was spreading widely. I watched TV and I ate my breakfast alone in the dining room.
“Now we moved to the second news. Malaria, a parasitic disease transmitted through the bite of a female mosquito, kills 400,000 people every year from around the world. Malaria cases in China have been falling steadily since the turn of the century. In 2020, after reporting four consecutive years of zero indigenous case, China applied for an official WHO certification about Malaria elimination, …….”
“Oh, my goodness, from COVID-19 disease and now they were reporting Malaria disease. What happened? Was God really angry with the worst behavior of people on this earth? Did this happen because I didn’t really care much about Karen after we married?” I couldn’t think positively after watching that horrible news. I just hoped Karen still loved me, especially when she knew she couldn’t get pregnant due to her sickness. Sometimes I notice that she also had her own mental health problems, but she never shared her problems with me. Maybe because I’m an
introverted guy who do not really talk too much, eh? But I remembered the day when we went to the hospital to observe Karen’s womb. It was so sad that she had a problem with a womb infection. Luckily, nothing was wrong with myself and my body.
Back to the day where I met Karen for the first time…
“Hey, Adrian, look at that girl! Wasn’t she beautiful in her own way?” One of my best friends asked me with a curious expression on his face.
I had known Karen since Senior High School. We were born in the same year, only a few months appart. Karen was five months older than me. But I was okay with that. After school, she usually had a mathematics after class, and she joined a language extracurricular. That was how I knew, and I met her for the first time. Once we went out together with other friends, she was always in. When we went out on an English debate competition with another school, I and Karen were chosen, and we both won. She also had the same interests as me, cartoons, and anime. Movies were also our favorite, and songs.
When we worked for the first time at a café, I met Karen again. Such a coincidence. Then I dated her and asked her if she wanted to be my wife. She also told me if she really loved me. Ah, such a good moment to remember! When she was still in Senior High School, her body was perfect. She is taller than her classmates, she was also very thin and had thick eyebrows. I loved her from the first sight.
Back to 2020 again…
The next few days, I opened my phone, checked my email and messages from everyone. Finishing with my work first. I didn’t want my boss to be angry at me for not doing his orders correctly. That month, many people wanted to buy a washing machine and a toaster. Working in an electronic store was a tough job to do. You must make a list of every product, even the new products that came out every month! It’d be better to finish my work first.
When I arrived at home, my little sneaky mind always came inside my head to betray my wife Karen because she couldn’t get pregnant. So, I decided to used an online dating application named Bumble.
Every night I opened the Bumble application secretly, especially when Karen was already asleep. I turned off the light, then I started scrolling and scrolling looking for a girl who was still single and unmarried.
“Oh God, I hope Karen forgives me for what I have done right after this…” I kept saying to myself, then I shed a tear a little bit.
Some of my friends used to dated a girl from an online dating application. And now it was my turn to find a “secret girlfriend”. I just hoped it worked for me.
“Aha, this one must be a perfect girl for me!” I got a little bit excited. Her name was Darlene Wijaya, and she was still sixteen years old. It says on her Bumble profile, that she was from Tulip Senior High School, and she was looking for a boyfriend. When I stalked her Instagram account, I found out that she liked to travel to different countries. She also had lots of friends and liked cats, just like me.
Couple of months later, I secretly texted Darlene, and we both enjoyed our times together. Every weekend, we went out for a trip. We used to go to Taman Safari Puncak, Ancol Beach Jakarta, and Cimory Riverside Megamendung. It was always fun for both of us.
There was one night, right after I dropped Darlene off at her house after we hanging out at Cimory Riverside, Karen was unhappy. She was spamming my chat and trying to call me for almost forty times. I didn’t have the heart to tell my secret, to tell her that I was dating Darlene secretly.
The next three days I waited for Karen to returned home, but she didn’t immediately return. Yup, she disappeared! She fleed the house, and I noticed a small note next to her bedroom. It said that she was unhappy with her life lately and she needed to heal herself somewhere else.
III
Adrian Hartanto — The Big Shock
August 2020, during pandemic situation
“Darlene, how was your school going on? Had you decided where you will go after you graduated from Tulip Senior High School?” I asked Darlene while we were eating dinner.
“School’s days were fine for me; it was just the same as usual. Actually, I hadn’t made my decision yet about what I will do after I graduate from Tulip Senior High School. Most of my classmates wanted to study abroad, others wanted to continue their family businesses, but I…. I still hadn’t figured it out” Darlene said.
“How about your parents? Have you talked to them about your future?”
“No, I haven’t talked to them again until now. They were still busy working in the school and running their own business in Surabaya.”
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“That was fine. You should discuss it with your parents later on. Don’t discuss it too late or you’ll regret it like one of my old classmates. He discussed it too late, and his parents passed away due to an accident.”
“Oh no, poor him. I won’t be late to discuss it with my parents. Thanks for your Advice, Adrian.” Darlene kissed my cheeks and hugged me.
“No worries. Anyway, Darlene, wanna have some fun with me? Did you know what I mean?” I asked her with a little bit of a naughty expression.
“What do you mean? I’m still a vir while looking at her phone.
and she was still finishing her dinner
“C’mon, darling, I just wanna have fun with you. Don’t worry, I will teach you a little bit about love.” Then I kissed her lips, and I hugged her after she finished her dinner.
“Umm…okay, let us see if it works…” She answered me with her innocent look on her face, and I smiled at her.
After we finished our dinner, I paid the bill and we both got into my car. I had already booked a room for us in the Four Points Hotel in Jakarta. After I started the car, I spoke to her softly “Darlene, for tonight, we both stay in a luxury hotel in Jakarta. I want to know more about you. Shall I?”
“Actually, I was kinda bored at home, my parents rarely spent their time with me, they were both still busy with their own work. I didn’t mind if you wanted to do something special with me, because I was ready and free. Nobody is gonna control me. And to be honest, after we had been dating for these past few months, I think that I have fallen in love with you, Adrian. Do you love me too?”
“Darlene dear, I am always ready for whatever you want. I always wanted to spent more time with you, and privately. Tonight, we will have some fun. But don’t be scared, everything was gonna be okay. I wanted all of you tonight.” Then I kissed her lips again, and I wanted to undress Darlene right now. But I remembered we hadn’t arrived at the hotel.
In the car, she told me that two or three of her classmates had been sexually harassed by her physical education teacher. And she mentioned that her physical education teacher was weird; and he also had a high desire for love when he saw a beautiful student.
Four Points hotel in Jakarta had been my favorite place since I was in the age of early twenties. This hotel provided different kinds of facilities, included a swimming pool and gymnastics bar. Free Wi-Fi spots are in every corner. Don’t forget about free breakfast in the morning for the guests. They also provided a bar lounge, but not all the guests knew, because the bar lounge was in a private area, and only the loyal visitors (more than ten years) were allowed to go to the bar. We also needed to bring our loyalty card if we wanted to go to this bar. Otherwise, we would be banned from the bar.
Saturday night, what a fun night! I spent my time only with Darlene now. Nobody would disturb us on the weekend. When we entered our private room, the view was amazing! It had a rooftop, hanging stars on the wall, different paintings hung on the walls, and other decorations that relieved your mind.
After several weeks I’d been dating Darlene, I also shared my personal problems with Karen, and I told her that I had not been happy after marrying Karen. Darlene seemed to understand what I was saying.
I felt the connection when I was around Darlene, then guess what…a few months later, we decided to “have sex” at another hotel and Darlene enjoyed it more than Karen. I guess we ‘did it’ around three times in a week. Darlene seemed happy that she could spend time with me.
Guess what happened. One day later, I was shocked when she messaged me with the news that her pregnancy test was positive!
“Adrian, I bet that you were gonna be shocked by what I said after this. After school, I felt dizzy and kinda unhealthy. When I was in the bathroom, I felt very sick. I was nauseous and also pale. Before I arrived at home, I decided to go to the nearest pharmacy. I bought a pregnancy test kits. After I arrived at home, I immediately ran to the toilet and used one. After waiting a few minutes, holy shiiiiiit! It revealed two stripes, Adrian! What have we done? Will you be responsible to take care of and raise the baby? I didn’t know what to do, what if later my parents know?”
Oh damn! Oh crap! What had I done to her? What will Karen react and said to me when she knows it later?
Let me guess, sooner or later Darlene would tell her parents about this. When I finished my work at around 5.30 P.M., I turned off my office computer, then I turned off all the lights. I walked downstairs to the basement and went to my car.
I felt mad at the moment. Since I got unpleasant news that Darlene got pregnant because of me, I decided to be absent from work for a few days and decided to drink at a Bar.
I went out to the Midnight Bar, which was not that far away from my workplace. I went to the Bar with some of my co-workers from our electronic office. My friends from the electronic office were Michael, Calvin, and Xavier. My other friends ordered cocktails, the drink that I usually ordered. This time I ordered different kinds of drinks. So, I decided to order beer. Yup, that’s right, just a beer.
The four of us sat outside on the rooftop, enjoying the night sky views. Stars were shining, the moon had fully appeared. How I love the night sky views. First, we played “truth or dare” as Michael and Calvin wanted, then we played a card game. I still felt unhappy tonight.
Michael and Calvin returned to their home early, but I and Xavier still stayed at the bar until midnight, to got some fresh air and talk from eye-to-eye.
“Bro Adrian, it was okay if you want to cry here. Nobody will see you cried like this. Just let it go somehow. I hope that you will be happy after this. Now, as your true and caring best friend, I advise you to apologize to Karen for what you did to Darlene. I bet that sooner or later, Karen will forgive you. Just take it easy. Be responsible for what you have done. Be a wise gentleman.”
It stressed me out. Then Xavier hugged me and cheered me up, and he drove me back to my home. He stayed at my home for two days.
Two days later, I messaged Darlene again and I asked her if I was responsible for this. I am responsible for what I have done to her, and I would take care of her baby too. Perhaps Darlene could give me a daughter, even only one and I was okay with that.
So, I allowed Darlene to stayed at my house until nine more months. Three months later, Darlene dropped out from her school because everyone knew she was pregnant and her school rules didn’t allow the students to do promiscuity. She was
ready to face the school consequences of being expelled from the school. Her classmates were gossiping about her and Darlene didn’t seem to care what people were saying about her.
Every month, I took Darlene to the hospital for a medical checkup and meet the obgyn to observe Darlene’s baby. At four months, the obgyn informed us that our baby was a girl. Hooray, Such a joy! Can’t believe that I will have a daughter soon, after getting nothing from Karen.
I wish when Karen returned to this home, she wasn’t shocked to hear the news about my plan to marry Darlene. My plan was also to divorce Karen. I wish I would be brave enough. Right now I couldn’t send her a message or even phone her. I was a coward.
IV
Karen Harlina — I Had No Idea What to Do with My Life
Three days ago, I felt like I was the only person stressed out in this world.
Then I tried to think like this in my mind:
“Dear God, why didn’t you answer my prayer? Why didn’t you want to see me and Adrian happy with our life?”
What if God didn’t want me to be happy with this “fanatical” world? Should people obey His rules and prohibition?
I knew that everyone only had one chance. Everyone deserved to be happy. You have only lived once. Once you died, “bye-bye” world! You couldn’t stay alive anymore but say hello to the afterlife!
When I was a little kid, I used to ask this to myself, “What happens to people after death? Where did they go? Was heaven real for sure?”
Nobody knows what will happen to all of us in the future. To be honest, I always wondered what will happen when I die. What will happen?
Maybe I shouldn’t be scared of death because I believed every single person will have their own time to meet the creator of the world, which is God.
Still somewhere in the middle of 2020…
I still remembered the day when Adrian shouted out loudly to me and frantically yelled, “Daughter…daughter…daughter, where was our daughter, Karen? Why couldn’t you give even one to our family? Why did you have to be infertile?” Oh no, that really sucks. I suspected that Adrian secretly read the unspoken words from my diary and learned if I wasn’t at home anymore.
Well, actually, our eighth wedding anniversary should be symbolized with bronze. If only Adrian wants to buy our wedding anniversary cake like we used to do every year and give me a bouquet of white and red roses to make me feel happy. I know that this year’s celebration of our wedding anniversary will be different from previous year.
After I spent around two to three weeks drinking liquor at a bar and taking a few pills I felt a little bit better. Then I thought was probably time to meet my psychiatrist Veronika and tell her everything I had felt lately.
When I was at the bar, I decided to message Veronika to tell her I wanted to meet her. Suddenly, I saw a strange guy that looked like Adrian and I felt traumatized. Then I ran out from the bar. A few minutes later, Veronika called me, and I told her that I was at the bar. She picked me up at the bar with her husband Joshua.
“Karen, sit here beside me. We need to talk heart to heart, a lot!” “Well, I –”
“No excuse, Karen! We need to talk, now! Why do you hate your husband?
Why didn’t you give him a second chance, perhaps?”
“He was always yelling at me. Even that day when we were celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary, I noticed that he wasn’t wearing his wedding ring. I also noticed he was busy with himself and spent time scrolling and scrolling on his cellphone. Wouldn’t that be annoying to you?”
Veronika didn’t answer my question. She was just whispering with her husband Joshua. Perhaps they were discussing something else, but I hope they were not talking about me. Jeez, what an annoying moment!
I asked Veronika if I could stay at her house for a few days. Then she allowed me. She was okay with that. I decided to stay at Veronika’s house for around four to five days. Joshua was going to Europe for his business trip for several months.
Two months later, Veronika invited me to go for a vacation somewhere else. The night before I went to bed, she sang me this song twice. The song is entitled Fix You by Coldplay.
Lights will guide you home And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
This song reminded me of our friendship between a psychiatrist and a patient. Then she shared her story with me. She used to have her personal problems dealing with her parents, she was lost in her way. I advise her that she should forgive her parents. Unluckily, her father died no longer after that. Oh, poor Veronika… What a sad moment to remember…
Veronika asked me if I wanted to go see another psychiatrist or not. She said that it could help me find a solution to my problem. But I ignored her words about my mental health. For me, when I was with her, everything just felt fine. I didn’t want to waste my money, my time, and my energy only for those stupid things.
Here’s the thing. After we went out from the vacation, she asked me what I should do with my life. At the beginning, I said that I didn’t know. I felt everythinh was wrong with my life!
Here’s the thing. When she asked me what I wanted, I told her that I wanted a chocolate cake and a pan of vegetarian pizza with my favorite drink coffee! So, she spent her money to get me those, and she was fine with that.
As long as she could fix my mental health. Then she hugged me and said “You can trust me, Karen. You can consider me as your own friend. Just tell me everything that you feel or things that happened to you. Feel ready to listen to your lament.” Then I told her all of my laments.
During the next consultation session with Veronika, she assured me, “Karen, dear, it will be better if you return to your husband’s home as soon as possible. Didn’t you miss him so much? Didn’t you think he might have missed you already?”
I still didn’t know what to do. To be honest, on one hand, I missed him already. On the other hand, I still felt mad and upset at him. After thinking for ten minutes, I said to her I would return to my husband’s home when I felt better. I just wanted to be alone for a while.
V
Adrian Hartanto — My Decision with Darlene
Darlene stayed at my house until our baby was born. Every month, we regularly met the obgyn for the baby and medical check up. I hope everything would be fine with Darlene and our baby. During the eight months of her pregnancy, we both went to the hospital twice a week and the doctor asked us if we already had a name for the baby or not. After returned home, Darlene and I browsed the internet and searched for a book. We were both busy searching for our precious baby girl’s name!
After Darlene received the news that she dropped out from school, she told her plan that after the baby was born, she would look for a job to earn the money by herself. I also told her that I wanted to marry her too. She said that a part-time job was also fine for her. She just wanted to be independent by earning money by herself. I felt quite excited but also nervous at the same time.
I hope Karen was still alive and I hope she would forgive me for what I have done to Darlene. Still, I was a coward. One week later, still in the eight months of Darlene’s pregnancy, something happened. One night, Karen returned home. Oh man… she looked so pale as before. She looked very confused and wondered why there were a lot of people in here. “Adrian, who are these people at our house?” she asked me, but I still didn’t want to answer it yet. But still, I was a coward.
VI (Epilogue)
Karen Harlina — The Moment of Truth
Here came the moment of truth. My life was so…so…so…awful. Or should I say it, my life felt very bitter?
At home, I saw Adrian already with another young girl and she was pregnant at around eight to nine months, which means the baby was almost ready to be born.
“Adrian, it has been a long time since we saw each other the last time. You owe me a lot of explanation. And who are these people in our house!?” I ask him and waited for the explanation. I want to knew the truth.
“Kar, listen, I –”
“What’s going on here? Why was it very noisy?” Someone was asking, but this sound was very familiar. Oh crap, it was actually Veronika! Why was she here?
“Veronika, what were you doing here?” I asked her. I had no idea what was the connection between Veronika and this young girl.
“What am I doing here? Karen dear, let me tell you the truth since your husband hasn’t dared enough to said it to you. This is Darlene, my daughter. Don’t you know that Adrian has been betraying you all this time and that he made Darlene pregnant? We want to plan their wedding soon. Adrian wanted to divorce you.”
“Karen, Karen, listen to me. I’m really so sorry for what happened between us all this time. I knew it was my mistake, I hope you will forgive me, Kar. Once again, I’m so sorry…but I had to divorce you. Forgive me, Karen…” Adrian asked for an apology.
I didn’t like what came up after this.
Adrian sucks. I didn’t think I could forgive him right now. Suddenly my headache and heart attack come. I felt unconscious.
And so, after Karen felt unconscious, we brought her to the nearest hospital. The doctor said her heart attack came suddenly and it was no longer possible to treat it anymore. We were shocked, upset, and crying… Karen died just like that. My biggest mistake in my life. But I still have to divorce her and marry Darlene, her baby will be born next month. -Adrian
