“I wonder why Maxime called Cecilia, causing her to be unable to refuse answering the incoming call from Alexander. Countless times he tried to reach her, from voice calls to text messages, and now a video call. He was extremely worried about his wife’s condition as she hadn’t provided any definite updates.
“Hi, honey,” greeted Cecilia, waving her hand in front of the camera. Her eyes looked puffy due to lack of sleep, and she hadn’t cleaned herself up since arriving in Bali.
Alexander raised an eyebrow as he observed Cecilia, whose hair was disheveled, her face swollen, and her eyes showing signs of exhaustion. She didn’t look like her usual self.
“Did you just wake up?”
Cecilia nodded.
“Yes, I’m exhausted. I haven’t slept at all. And when I finally woke up, this is how late it is,” Cecilia chuckled slightly, hiding Maxime’s presence as he still held her slim waist.
“Oh, I thought something happened to you. I haven’t heard from you at all since yesterday. I miss you,” Alexander said, expressing his longing.
Cecilia forced herself to smile, concealing the thorns in their marriage at the moment.
“I’m sorry, it’s not that I didn’t want to keep you updated. It’s just that as soon as I arrived in Bali, I had a photo shoot. I’ve been working non-stop, without a break, and I ended up falling asleep and just woke up now.”
“Oh…” Alexander pursed his lips. “Now it’s better for you to take a shower and eat. You must not have eaten anything yet. Later…”
“Just a moment,” Cecilia interjected, placing her hand over Maxime’s mouth to silence him, as he had awakened.
Cecilia was afraid Maxime might speak while she was on the video call.
“Okay, I’ll take a shower first, honey! I’ll let you know after I’m done. See you later.” Cecilia ended the call.
Alexander awkwardly nodded, feeling a bit strange and reluctant to end the video call, but he had no other choice. Seeing Cecilia looking tired, he was worried she might be unwell, so he allowed her to ignore him for the time being.
“Don’t get used to snooping through other people’s phones,” Cecilia moved away from Maxime, who still wanted to embrace her.
“Is that not enough earlier?” Cecilia shook her head.
“It’s not about being enough. It’s just that I don’t want to miss this opportunity because you may not always be consistent with the agreements we’ve made,” Maxime stretched. “Okay, and by the way, I’ll let you know later tonight that you have a photoshoot, so be grateful. I won’t touch you tonight.”
Okay, then,” Cecilia responded with enthusiasm.
“Before the photoshoot, please take a shower, get dressed nicely, and have a meal. I’ll arrange for dinner to be delivered here shortly. After eating, we’ll head straight to the location.”
“Alright then,” Cecilia scooted down to clean her shapeless body.
Her body was filled with the sweat of her affair with Maxime, and Cecilia didn’t like it, but she had to endure it for the sake of a name.
After about two hours, Cecilia appeared beautiful in her somewhat revealing outfit, but still tolerable as it didn’t excessively emphasize her prominent assets in the chest area. The dress she wore had no sleeves and was above the knees.
“You look beautiful,” praised Maxime as he saw Cecilia finished with her makeup. Cecilia simply smiled in gratitude.
They both walked side by side toward the hotel lobby. It seemed that after seeing Cecilia’s appearance, Maxime canceled the in-room dinner. He wanted to enjoy a meal at an expensive restaurant, indulging the woman he deeply loved.
The chosen restaurant was truly romantic, directly facing the sea. Many other couples were also enjoying a romantic dinner there. Likewise, Cecilia and Maxime resembled more of a husband and wife rather than work colleagues.
It was awkward, indeed, but Cecilia tried to appear normal, hiding the fact that she was under immense pressure due to her own actions.
And for some reason, Cecilia suddenly felt drowsy after finishing a glass of orange juice, specially prepared for her by Maxime.
“If I may ask, what time will we have the photoshoot?” Cecilia rubbed her neck, her head feeling heavy now.
“Around half past ten, for sure. We’ll wait for the studio to be ready before heading there. I don’t want you to be too tired waiting at the shooting location.”
“Okay,” Cecilia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “We still have about two hours before the photoshoot. May I take a short rest?”
“Of course,” Maxime pointed to a nearby cottage. “We’ll rest there.”
“Just for resting! I beg you…” Cecilia requested, fearing that Maxime might ask her for more.
“Of course, just for resting. I love you. I’m doing this because I love you, not to harm you.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Cecilia immediately got up and left before Maxime could rise from his seat. She didn’t want to walk alongside him anymore, given the crowded beach. Cecilia was afraid of running into Alexander’s friends or business associates at the beach.
The cottage chosen by Maxime wasn’t overly luxurious, but it was enough for Cecilia to rest. She lay down there, and it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.
Once Cecilia was asleep, she was unaware of what Maxime was doing to her. What was certain was that it didn’t take long after she fell asleep for Maxime to send in two women dressed in white.
It’s unclear what Maxime did, but it was all connected to his ambition of possessing Cecilia. At exactly half-past ten, the two women left and received payment from Maxime.
Maxime entered and smiled faintly upon seeing Cecilia, who had been transformed according to his desires. From the outside, there seemed to be no change in Cecilia, but internally, Maxime had altered her to ensure a successful takeover from Alexander’s grasp.
Maxime believed that once his plan succeeded, Alexander would let go of Cecilia, no matter how deep their love for each other was.
***
“Ma,” Cassandra greeted, holding Meri’s hand as she had been feeling down since Alexander left the house. Sitting alone in the living room, the middle-aged woman had no desire to do anything.
Gita actually didn’t want to leave Meri. However, due to work demands, she had to return to the hospital immediately. Meri remained silent, refusing to engage in conversation with Cassandra or anyone else, for that matter.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to see Mom like this. But honestly, I can’t handle it, Ma. I can’t imagine how I’ll live after this. It’s not easy for me, especially since Mr. Alexander hates me so much.”
“Mom knows that,” Meri replied casually, “maybe it’s fate that Mom wasn’t given the chance to have grandchildren. So, don’t worry about it, go ahead! Live your life the way you want. Mom will ask Alexander for a divorce.” Meri stood up from her seat.
“But, Ma,” Cassandra followed, trying to persuade her, even though she was actually glad that Meri had reconsidered her decision.
However, seeing the woman so sad and discouraged, Cassandra worried that it would worsen her condition again. Especially since Meri had just been discharged from the hospital after the argument with Cesilia.
“What? I think you have no business here because you’re just an outsider paid by Cesilia to be the mother of Alexander’s future child. Since you don’t want to and are forced, then let everything stop right here. Two years, hopefully, I have enough time to wait for Cesilia to be ready to get pregnant and have his child.” Meri grumbled incessantly.
Cassandra wanted to continue following her, but seeing how dismissive and unaffected Meri was, she refrained from persuading her and let the woman go into her room.
Cassandra was truly confused about what to do. On one hand, she felt guilty and sorry for Meri, but on the other hand, she was genuinely afraid of facing Alexander.
“What should I do? I’m so confused,” she sighed inwardly.
***
“Where’s Mom?” Alexander asked, startling Cassandra who was still standing in front of Meri’s room.
Cassandra shook her head. “I don’t know,” she replied nonchalantly, leaving Alexander there.
Damn, it’s not that she intended to be impolite or anything, but Cassandra didn’t want to be scolded by Alexander once again. It was better for her to avoid him like this. It felt safer than confronting Alexander, especially since he looked disheveled after coming home. Understanding that Cassandra didn’t want to talk to him, Alexander decided to search for his mother on his own.
No need to guess or search further, he was sure his mother was in her room since Cassandra had stood there earlier.
He didn’t know what had happened. All Alexander knew was that something bad must have happened, to the point where Cassandra wasn’t allowed to enter his mother’s room.
“Good afternoon, Ma,” Alexander greeted, approaching Meri and kissing her forehead.
“Do you still want to call me ‘Mom’?” Meri snapped, turning her back to Alexander.
“Ma, please…”
“Don’t ‘please’ me… Don’t ‘please’ me, what? Didn’t you promise to give me a grandchild through Cassandra? But what happened? You deceived me and laughed at me just because you love Cesilia.”
“That’s not what I meant, Ma. But it’s true that I love Cesilia, and I can’t do that with another woman, especially now that Cesilia is not here. I won’t be able to do it, Ma.”
“Can’t do what? Do you really want to see me die without being able to hold my grandchild? All Mom asked for was a grandchild, nothing more. Mom never asked for wealth or a position in your father’s company. But what actually happened? It’s been six years since your marriage to Cesilia, and neither of you had the intention of having a child.”
“Ma…”
“I’m disappointed, Lex. But you don’t have to worry. Tomorrow morning, Mom will leave. It’s up to you what you want, but never ever come to this house or contact Mom again. Because Mom no longer has a child.”
“Ma, please don’t say that. You’re my mother, my first love!”
“I, your first love? Save that love for Cesilia. Dote on your wife, fulfill her every desire. Mom refuses to have a rebellious child like you, Alexander!” Meri grabbed Alexander’s hand and dragged him outside. “It’s better for you to leave. Mom refuses to see you again. Allow me to stay here for one more night before leaving tomorrow morning.”
Meri was still unsatisfied; her mind was thinking about what she could do to make Alexander comply with her wishes.
“Ah, let’s do it this way then,” Meri flicked her finger. “It’s better for you to stay at a hotel tonight, rather than freeload here and later on, you’ll use whatever enters Mama’s womb as payment.” Meri pushed Alexander. “Watch out, Mama wants to pass.”
“Ma, please don’t do this.” Alexander continued to try to persuade Meri.
But in reality, Meri ignored whatever Alexander said. She kept packing her belongings into the suitcase.
Her decision was final, she would stay at a hotel. It was up to Alexander to decide what he wanted because she would no longer interfere.
She realized that her son couldn’t be relied upon due to the depth of his love for Cesilia.