Gerald glanced at his watch once again, for what felt like the hundredth time. He looked at Vivan, who stood motionless nearby. "Are you sure you informed her about this?" he asked, probably for the hundredth time too. "I have given her the information, sir. And she confirmed that she would come," Vivan replied firmly. Of course, she would come, Gerald thought. She must be eager to hear the news that the Social Services Department was coming for the adoption process. But the question now was, where was she? Why hadn't she shown up yet? Gerald sat back in his chair in his office. More than a week had passed. Deep down, he missed Ariana's presence. Every night and morning, he felt a void when he realized her side of the bed was empty. He missed her smile, her cooking, her warmth wrapped in her cold demeanor. But this time, Gerald resisted the urge to approach his wife. He didn't want to be the one always pleading. He refused to be the person begging for love from the woman he truly l
"What makes you rush?" Mrs. Sri asked again. "Just so I can feel at ease," Ariana replied honestly. Mrs. Sri looked at her again with a scrutinizing gaze. "Your marriage is still in its early days. From what I know, marriage isn't easy, especially for those who are arranged like you and Mr. Gerald. Don't you need more time to get to know each other?" She asked again. Ariana just smiled. "In the end, I realized that we will never fully know someone who is close to us 100%. Throughout the marriage, we will always adapt to each other. And waiting for us to be perfectly matched might take a long time. Meanwhile, I can't wait. Axel will slowly grow up, and when his mind starts to comprehend the situation, he will question his status. And I don't want to give him ambiguous answers." Mrs. Sri nodded her head. "But you know that Axel also has family on his mother's side?" Ariana nodded. "That means you also know that it's not just your and Mr. Gerald's obligation to take care of Axel?" Ari
All the staff had gathered in the living room. The interviews with the entire family were done, as well as surveys of the employees and Zeroun's residence. "I apologize for my grandson's absence," Mrs. Rosaline said apologetically. "He's not feeling well and is resting now. I hope it won't affect your evaluation." Her words were directed more towards the middle-aged woman who had conducted the interview in Gerald's office. Hearing Mrs. Rosaline's words, the woman smiled and nodded. "I understand," she said. "I am a mother too, and I know how it feels to be unwell during pregnancy, like Mrs. Ariana. I had morning sickness all the way until my children were born." She continued. Mrs. Rosaline looked relieved hearing this. "Such matters won't change our assessment. But we need to inform you that after this, we will also go to Axel's school to interview the teachers." Mrs. Sri, as the woman was called, continued. Mrs. Rosaline and Gerald just nodded. "I'm sure the school will also spe
Mrs. Rosaline called the nearest servant to her. "Where is Yosef?" she asked the servant, who turned back to look at Mrs. Rosaline with fear in his eyes. Understandably so, her Christian face clearly displayed anger. "Um, ma'am, Mr. Yosef went out with Mrs. Ariana's guest earlier," the young servant stammered. Mrs. Rosaline simply nodded and went back into the living room, closing the door behind her. She grabbed her phone and searched for Yosef's name there. He picked up the call on the first ring. "Where are you?" she asked the middle-aged man who had devoted more than half his life to their family. "On the way to the hospital, ma'am," Yosef replied from the other end. He was now sitting in the car being driven by Jody, looking back where Ariana was held in Amber's arms. "Which hospital?" Mrs. Rosaline asked again. Yosef mentioned the name of a hospital well-known to Mrs. Rosaline. "Very well. Do as we discussed earlier," commanded Mrs. Rosaline before ending the call. Yo
"From the EKG results we've obtained, for now, we can confirm that Mrs. Ariana is experiencing tachycardia. This is a condition where the heart beats faster than it should," he continued quickly as three pairs of eyes stared at him with confusion. "Have you ever experienced your heart beating faster during exercise?" the young doctor's question was directed more towards Jody. Jody nodded. "That's what's happening to Mrs. Ariana right now. But clearly, it's not because of her exercising." "There are many reasons why someone might experience tachycardia aside from exercise. Hypertension, anemia, stress, and several other factors can cause a patient to experience something like this," the senior doctor explained again. "We need to conduct further tests on Ariana's condition." The three people in front of the doctors nodded. "Do your best for them, Doctor. I want my granddaughter-in-law and future great-grandchild to be under the best care," Mrs. Rosaline said. The two doctors nodded si
Amber stared at Ariana with a sharp gaze. "What do you mean?" she asked, unsure. "I'm going away," Ariana replied again, deliberately repeating her words even though she knew Amber had heard them before. "As soon as the adoption papers are out, I'm leaving." Amber continued to look at her, confused. "Where are you going?" she asked, anger rising again. "Where do you want to go? Your family, your home, everything is here," she reminded her. "I've consulted with a doctor, Amber. I can't stay here for long," Ariana said softly. "So where are you going?" she asked again, her voice filled with frustration. "You want to leave? To whom? Your family, your home, everything is here," she reminded her. "I've consulted with a doctor, Amber. I can't stay here for long," Ariana said softly. "So where are you going?" she asked again, her voice filled with frustration. "You want to leave? To whom? Your family, your home, everything is here," she reminded her. "I need to go far away," Ariana answ
The next morning, the atmosphere at Zeroun's residence seemed tense. Since leaving Axel's room, Gerald spent his night intoxicated. Meanwhile, Axel cried in his grandmother's arms until he fell asleep, his sobs fading away. Now, when they met at the breakfast table, both avoided each other. Axel didn't want to greet his father, and neither did Gerald. The older man deliberately kept his distance from Axel. Mrs. Rosaline knew that Gerald's actions were not driven by anger towards Axel but by the immense shame his grandson felt. "Axel, why?" Shelma's soft voice made the little boy glance briefly and frown. "Axel, did Grandma teach you to be disrespectful to your elders?" Mrs. Isidora asked sternly. Axel looked at his grandmother and then frowned again. "Axel!" Mrs. Isidora exclaimed, her voice raised. "Be quiet!" Mrs. Rosaline replied sharply. Immediately, Mrs. Isidora fell silent. "Can't you all be calm? If Axel doesn't want to talk, don't force him." She continued, addressing Mrs.
Amber stared at Ariana with a jumble of thoughts in her mind. "I don't understand your thoughts," she said softly. Ariana, who was reading a book in front of her, looked up to gaze at her cousin and friend. "What don't you understand, Amber?" she asked just as softly. "You! I don't understand your thoughts!" Amber huffed in frustration. Ariana just smiled. Amber's explosive emotions were oddly entertaining to her. "We've kept this secret for years. Even your dad doesn't know anything about your illness. You let everyone believe you're fine, when in fact, you're not. And now, you're pregnant with the person you love, and he loves you too. But why are you keeping all of this a secret from him? Isn't love supposed to be accompanied by facing hardships and joys together, sickness and health? Why do you want to bear it all alone?" she asked again. Amber knew, she understood what Jody had said earlier. But still, she was curious about Ariana's mindset, and she wanted to hear it all from A