Darwin appeared to be lost in his thoughts in the corner of Kennedy’s living room. Tonight, he had been deliberately invited to his cousin’s house for dinner.
Randy knew well that Darwin was troubled by a complex problem affecting his marriage. Not wanting him to dwell on it for too long, Randy took the initiative to bring Darwin along to Kennedy’s house to relax for a while. Perhaps their conversation would shed some light on the situation or help Darwin realize the steps he needed to take to win back his wife and in-laws.
“Come on, Win. You’ve been daydreaming for a while now. It’s like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Randy teased. He intentionally tried to divert Darwin’s attention so that he wouldn’t stay lost in his thoughts.
“Win, come over here,” Luna called when all the food she had prepared was laid out on the table. “Let’s eat and chat together.”
Darwin, who was looking at Luna, nodded. Immediately, he got up, walked toward the dining table, followed closely by Randy. They both took seats next to each other, directly in front of Kennedy.
“Here, try this. I cooked tofu stew, sweet and sour chicken, and some other dishes. Try them all,” Luna offered, extending a plate toward Darwin.
Meanwhile, Kennedy, who had already started eating, observed the situation for a moment before cautiously starting a conversation. She didn’t want to make the atmosphere more complicated or heated by discussing sensitive topics.
“So, how’s your relationship with Veronica? Is there any progress or resolution?”
Darwin looked up, wearing a weary expression. For some reason, he was reluctant to imagine having to separate from Veronica like this.
Just imagine, Darwin had only recently started giving his heart to Veronica. Just as he began to feel comfortable and enjoy his role as a real husband, problems arose and put his marriage on the brink.
“I don’t know, Ken. I’m really confused. I used to dislike Veronica entirely. I even hoped for a quick divorce. Now? Just when I’ve started to like her and be a real husband, I’m being forced to separate quickly.”
“Don’t play the victim, Win. Isn’t this all happening because of your own actions?”
Kennedy carefully restrained herself from speaking recklessly. It was Randy, acting without much thought, who made a statement, unsure if his cousin would be offended or not.
“This is called karma coming back to bite you, Win,” Randy continued while chewing a mouthful of food. “It’s like that saying, you reap what you sow. You intentionally made your wife suffer before. Now? God is answering all the prayers Veronica may have offered every night. That’s why it’s crucial to do good and think carefully at all times and in every opportunity. Don’t just follow your momentary desires.”
Even though what Randy said was true, Luna couldn’t help but feel lazy about it. In her opinion, Kennedy’s cousin was quite skilled at speaking.
“Your words are like Mario Teguh’s, Ran.”
“Well, what I’m saying is true, isn’t it?” Randy retorted. “From the beginning, Kennedy and I never got tired of giving advice to Darwin so he wouldn’t make the wrong moves. We asked him to be kind and gradually learn to genuinely love Veronica. But what happened? Instead of listening, he himself was always arrogant, saying he would never fall in love. Now? His romance is like that of a love-struck person.”
Kennedy couldn’t help but laugh. They knew Darwin was feeling down. Instead of consoling him, Randy seemed to be mocking and cornering him relentlessly. What could they do? That’s just Randy’s nature. He really enjoyed laughing at his cousin’s suffering.
“Don’t be like that, Ran. You might jinx yourself. Who knows, your married life might be even more miserable and tragic than Darwin’s,” Kennedy jokingly said, making Randy frown and glare.
“Don’t wish bad things on me, please. Despite being a playboy, I’ve never been rude to women, let alone cheat on my partner.”
Usually, when they joked like this, Darwin was the one who got the most agitated and would get angry when cornered or teased by Randy. But today was different. From the moment he arrived, Darwin had been quiet, ignoring Randy’s clearly provoking remarks.
“Come on, Win,” Luna gently intervened. “Don’t stress out on your own. Have some food now to strengthen yourself for the challenges of life. After eating, you can go back to pondering or whatever you want.”
Darwin looked up, smiled, and then took over the conversation.
“To be honest, it’s not really stress, Ken. I’m just worried about how to convince Papa Damian that I’ve changed and that the recent incident was just a misunderstanding.”
“It’s not easy to convince others to trust us again,” Kennedy replied. “The only way to convince them is to provide evidence of our sincerity.”
“I hope this issue finds a resolution soon, Ken. I swear, it feels awful to have to part ways when we’re so close. It really seems like I’m fighting this battle alone here,” Randy grumbled softly. He was annoyed to hear Darwin’s last words.
“Yeah, you should be making an effort on your own, Win. Here, Veronica is the victim. It’s not funny that she’s the one who got hurt but she’s also the one who has to tirelessly fight to keep you from getting blacklisted by her parents. Besides, Veronica has already fought hard enough on her own to preserve your marriage. Now it’s your turn to prove whether you’re still worthy of being part of the Wijaya family or if you’ve expired and need to be discarded.”
***
Darwin felt like exploding after receiving a divorce petition document from his father-in-law, Damian, via his assistant, Adrian.
It seemed like his father-in-law was in a hurry to separate him from his daughter without giving Darwin a chance to prove himself different from the accusations.
“This is a divorce petition document that Mr. Damian has asked to be handed directly to Mr. Darwin.”
“Mr Adrian…” Darwin began while holding the document he had just received. “I won’t agree to sign this document, let alone accept it. Please take it back to Mr. Damian.”
Adrian, who was just a delivery person, was understandably confused. Moreover, returning the document to his boss would create problems.
“I can’t take this document back, Mr. Darwin. My task was simply to deliver it. If you want to appeal or mediate, you can address it directly during the court hearing.”
Darwin sighed deeply. He felt like tearing up the document that Adrian had handed to him.
“If I may ask, where is Mr. Damian currently?” Darwin suddenly inquired.
“Mr. Damian is in his office. As far as I know, he doesn’t have any meetings or out-of-office appointments today.”
Darwin nodded. Without saying much, he reached for his coat hanging behind his chair. He didn’t forget to bring the divorce papers that Adrian had delivered earlier, and he left the room abruptly.
In Darwin’s mind, he needed to see his father-in-law as soon as possible to clarify the root of the problems that had led to this misunderstanding. He didn’t care if Damian still didn’t believe him. What mattered was that he tried his best.