After being engaged in a serious conversation with Veronica last night, Darwin has been preoccupied all day today. In fact, he’s been so distracted that he hasn’t been able to focus on completing any of the tasks at the office.
Similarly, when he arrives home and finishes dinner, he finds himself lost in thought again. Choosing to sit in his workspace, Darwin recalls and carefully processes what he and Veronica discussed the previous night.
“You should know better. Since deciding to marry and become your wife, I have surrendered and accepted it wholeheartedly. I’ve even committed to making this marriage work as best as I can, even though we don’t love each other. You need to remember too, Win. No matter what past you shared with Vivian, I genuinely don’t care. I’m not God to judge your past. Moreover, I believe we live to see the future, not to dwell on the past. But unfortunately, even though I’ve tried to be understanding, you haven’t made any effort to acknowledge or respect me as your wife.”
Recalling these words, Darwin immediately rubs his face in frustration. Somehow, his mind has managed to ignore the woman who has been sincere and not cared at all about the foolishness he once engaged in.
Instead of learning to open his heart and accept, Darwin’s infidelity has escalated.
“Where is your head, Darwin? What is your heart made of?”
Darwin continues to massage his forehead. His mind is currently filled with all the words Veronica spoke to him last night.
“Mr. Darwin.”
Renata’s call snaps Darwin out of his reverie. He turns to find his assistant standing at the doorway of his workspace.
“Yes, what’s up?”
“Mr. Randy is downstairs. He says it’s really important and he needs to see you.”
Darwin nods and gets up from his seat. He follows Renata as she walks out, then goes down to the first floor.
From a distance, Darwin sees his cousin sitting and watching TV. His mouth seems to be enjoying the black forest cake that Veronica had bought for the household.
“What business do you have here again?” Darwin asks as he takes a seat next to Randy.
Immediately, Randy turns to him. The look in his eyes clearly indicates irritation and anger.
“You really are an insolent cousin!” he grumbles, pointing directly at Darwin’s face.
“What do you mean by insolent?” Darwin asks, confused. He’s just met Randy, and suddenly he’s accused of various things by his cousin. He’s unsure what problem Randy is referring to this time.
“Don’t play dumb,” Randy scoffs before taking another bite of cake. “I willingly went with you to look for Veronica last night. I even helped you call security and the police. And what happens? I end up being left alone at the Bar! Did you even think about me? How did I get back last night? On top of that, you don’t feel guilty at all. You didn’t even bother to apologize. You couldn’t even say thank you.”
Randy grumbles with a pout, venting all the frustration he might have been feeling since last night.
Darwin can only laugh. He completely forgot that he took Randy to the Bar last night.
“For God’s sake, I forgot that you were with me last night, Ran.”
“You’re such an insolent cousin! I don’t want to help you anymore in the future.”
“Oh my God,” Darwin sighs, stifling a small laugh. Right now, his cousin’s behavior is quite reminiscent of moody teenagers. “Don’t act like a child throwing a tantrum. You’re being all pouty. You’ll regret being mad at me later.”
“You’re the one who’ll regret it,” Randy retorts quickly. “Because among the Prawira guys, you’re the slowest, most clueless, and the least smooth, unlike me, Kennedy, or Rama.”
Darwin rolls his eyes and playfully taps Randy’s head. His insolent cousin is really mocking him for being slow and everything.
Then, a few seconds later, Darwin leans his shoulder against the sofa. Taking a deep breath, he tries to relax more than before. Yes, even though he can’t deny that he’s still preoccupied with all of Veronica’s words.
“Why do you have such a sad expression? Stressed out? Too many deadlines? Or lots of problems?” Randy inquires curiously. He’s sure something is up with his cousin. Especially when Darwin’s face is as tense and flat as it is now. Randy knows that when Darwin has a problem, he usually becomes more quiet.
“I’m not really stressed, actually. And there aren’t many problems either. I’m just confused,” Darwin says with a weary expression. His voice even sounds lackluster, as if he’s lacking enthusiasm.
Randy finishes the remaining black forest on his plate. He takes a sip of the lemon tea Renata provided, then shifts his body to face Darwin directly. When it’s like this, he’s ready to interrogate his cousin.
“Why are you confused?”
“I’m confused about Veronica. She gave me a difficult choice,” Darwin admits softly.
Randy furrows his brow. He’s irritated when Darwin admits there’s a problem but only tells half of the story, like now. It shouldn’t be that hard to explain the situation clearly and straightforwardly.
“What choice? Can you please explain the whole story? Don’t be vague, and don’t beat around the bush.”
Darwin nods. Still leaning against the sofa, he tries to explain what actually happened. Maybe after sharing his story with Randy, he’ll find a solution.
“Last night, after the incident, Veronica was honest with me. It turns out she hopes our marriage continues without a divorce. She also said that my past doesn’t bother her at all. Veronica is even willing to start our marital relationship over from the beginning.”
Randy listens attentively to what Darwin is saying. As family, he also wants what’s best for his cousin. He, Kennedy, has the same hope: for Darwin not to end his marriage with Veronica.
“The problem is, now I’m torn,” Darwin continues to explain. “I’m torn between choosing Veronica or Vivian.”
“Oh my god, Darwin. You’re torn over something like this?” Randy exclaims in disbelief. Even at a glance, anyone would probably think the same as he does – that it’s better to choose Veronica because she has everything. He can’t understand how amazing Vivian must be for Darwin to be infatuated with her and find it difficult to leave her.
Darwin lets out a long sigh, trying to ease the tightness in his chest. What he’s facing now keeps him in constant thought. Then, sitting up straight, Darwin looks at Randy and continues talking.
“You can say that because you’ve never truly experienced falling in love, Ran.”
“Who says so?!” Randy retorts immediately. From the tone of his voice and the expression on his face, he clearly doesn’t accept being labeled like that.
“How’s Adriana doing? You must know how deep my feelings were for her, right? I even defended her in front of Mom until we managed to have a relationship for quite a while. But what did I get in return? She secretly cheated on me with her ex. Because of things like this, I’ve become less serious about relationships with women out there.”
“But we have different situations, Ran.”
“What’s the difference?” Randy quickly responds to Darwin’s words. “We’re in the same boat. Just with reversed roles. You’re becoming like Adriana, the one who cheats. While I and Veronica are the ones getting hurt. And again, I’m reminding you, don’t make the wrong decision, Win. Don’t choose hastily and end up regretting it.”
Hearing this statement, Darwin looks intently at Randy. He observes how his cousin gives advice seriously.
“So, are you suggesting I should choose Veronica over Vivian?”
Randy grumbled in annoyance. He’s getting increasingly frustrated because Darwin keeps asking such a dumb question.
“Well, obviously, Win. Why are you even asking? Listen to what I’m saying carefully. I know you might have feelings for Vivian. But you also need to remember that your current status is as someone’s husband. You both promised in front of God to build a life together. No matter how much you may care for Vivian, Veronica is the one who has the rightful claim over you. Moreover, can you honestly say you don’t have any feelings for Veronica? Just looking at how you treat her and react when she’s with her ex, it’s clear that you do have affection and love for your wife.”
“I’m not sure that’s a form of love,” Darwin retorts, seemingly disagreeing with what Randy just said.
“If it’s not love, then why do you get angry every time Veronica is seen with her ex? Why are you worried and even willing to go to great lengths to find Veronica when she went missing recently? And don’t forget, Win. Last night, you almost got hurt while saving her from a dangerous person. If it’s not love, then what is it? A sense of teamwork?”
“It’s just a form of-”
“A form of what?” Randy intentionally interrupts. “A form of fair and civilized humanity? It sounds like a national ideology,” he jokes casually. “Come on, Win. No need to go through all this trouble to deny your own feelings. Don’t end up regretting a wrong decision. Especially when Veronica is willing to accept you as you are. If I were Veronica, I’d be pretty fed up with you. I’d rather find someone else. Preferably someone on par and, of course, someone who appreciates me more.”
Again, Darwin takes a deep breath. He swallows the words he initially wanted to say and instead continues to ponder over what Randy said. Gradually, he convinces himself to make a decision before it’s too late.
***