Indra was cradling Gaffie, pacing around the room while softly humming a lullaby. Meanwhile, Priska was busy helping her mother with some work on her tablet, occasionally furrowing her brow and scratching her temple in confusion, even though it wasn't itchy. As the heir to Gevenevie Luxe Dept. Store, Priska still had a lot to learn before her mother officially retired. Fortunately, she had a businessman like Indra Hendrawan as her husband. She glanced at Indra, who was now gently placing their baby into the crib, signaling that Gaffie had fallen soundly asleep.
"Want to eat something? I'm hungry," Indra asked.
"No, thanks. There’s some pudding and sliced fruit in the fridge if you want."
He then left the room with the empty bottle, and Priska returned to her work. She stretched her stiff muscles; caring for a baby was certainly exhausting. Whenever Indra was home, Priska could catch a little break.
Not long after, her husband returned with some snacks and drinks. He sat next to his wife, nibbling on the food, occasionally commenting on Priska's work and offering suggestions. A message arrived, it was a batch of photos from their recent barbecue party at Tera’s house a few days ago.
“From Lila,” Priska said, showing the screen to Indra.
"What did you get Tera as a gift?" Indra asked.
Priska swiped through the photos, zooming in and out on the faces of the people. "Nothing expensive, just a set of Genevie Luxe jewelry that hasn’t been released yet. I specifically had her name engraved on each piece."
"She already has a lot of jewelry," Indra replied.
Priska pouted and gave her husband a slight glare, feeling a bit offended by his comment. "What should I have given her? A land or building certificate? We know she likes collecting properties, but that would’ve been too much."
"That would’ve been a memorable gift for someone like Tera," Indra said with an amused smile.
Despite being married for over a year, Indra and Priska still found themselves frequently bickering over trivial matters. They both focused on a photo of Tama that Priska had zoomed in on. Indra narrowed his eyes at his wife, suspecting she was up to something. After all, Indra was a jealous man, but Priska just grinned, showing off her white teeth, before turning back to the picture of Tama.
“He’s handsome, isn’t he?” Priska remarked.
“Well, he’s a man. He’s not supposed to be pretty,” Indra grumbled.
“That’s not what I meant, Babe. I just admire him. He’s like a premium streaming service you have to pay for, while you’re like an illegal streaming site with too many pop-up ads,” Priska teased with a small laugh.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Indra chuckled.
“It’s the truth, right? Not all guys are jerks and weird like you. Some are classy and hard to get, like Tama.” Priska stuck out her tongue playfully.
Indra didn’t respond, and they continued browsing through the other photos. Tama’s expression was often serious, even in candid shots taken by Ardo, who had brought a camera to capture the gathering. With Aldo having moved to Singapore a year ago, and Tomi and Rey having passed away, who else did Indra and Ardo have to hang out with? Besides, their kids were all around the same age, except for Gaffie, who had just been born a few months ago.
“I’ve reformed, okay? Don’t bring it up again,” Indra sighed.
“Oh, really?” Priska retorted.
“I’m only naughty with you.” Indra smirked and wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
Indra and Tama were only three years apart. Tama had studied abroad before focusing on managing Sigma Future Group. They were similar, yet different. Indra liked to fool around and had no interest in holding structural positions, while Tama was the CEO of the group and wasn’t the type to date just anyone.
Priska had heard from Ardo that Tama’s college sweetheart was a successful dermatologist. He never switched partners like the stereotypical playboy CEOs in romance novels; Tama was only tough and ruthless when it came to business. Outside of that, he was a warm older brother to Indra and a good father to his three kids.
“Maybe it takes a long time to move on,” Priska said.
“Because Tama has high standards,” Indra added.
“A dermatologist or a businesswoman?” Priska asked, referring to both Tera and Tama’s college girlfriend.
“Exactly. He’s high class; he needs a woman who can match his intellect and stroke his ego at the same time. He wouldn’t date just any random woman.” Indra glanced at his wife, giving a faint smile.
Priska gave a half-hearted laugh at Indra’s explanation. The description of a "random woman" struck a nerve, reminding her of her own past. Before becoming Priska A. Genevie, she was Priska Pratiwi, a girl who grew up in an orphanage. If Indra hadn’t found her biological parents, she might have never cared about her origins.
“Am I a random woman too?” Priska pretended to be upset.
“Of course not, sweetheart. You’re a lost diamond, your mama’s beautiful daughter,” Indra said with a deliberate tone.
Priska knew Indra was trying to sweet-talk her out of being angry. But back to Tama and Tera, they should start learning to love each other, even though it wouldn’t be easy. Their three kids were still young and unaware, but there was always the risk that, in the future, they could be traumatized by their parents’ lack of harmony.
“When did Tama and Tera get married, anyway?”
“Three or four years ago, I forget,” Indra answered nonchalantly.
“Oh, that explains it… There’s some distance between them. He’s cold. They don’t really know each other well yet.”
“What do you expect, Pris? They got married through an arranged marriage. Even if Tera has caught feelings, Tama isn’t the type to fall in love easily. Besides, Tera can be annoying.”
Priska set her tablet down on the table. “I want Tera and Tama’s marriage to be real. Don’t you want your brother to be happy? He’s your only sibling, Babe. He’s sacrificed so much for you,” Priska said sadly.
“I asked you to learn how to run your mother’s business, Pris, not to start a matchmaking agency,” Indra teased.
“Admit it, Babe, men can’t live alone. If I hadn’t met you, I’d be perfectly fine not getting married, maybe just volunteering at an orphanage or something,” Priska replied, hoping Indra would understand.
Losing someone you love is undoubtedly hard, especially for someone like Tama, who finds it difficult to fall in love. Indra and Tama lost their mother when they were young, leaving many wounds that haven’t healed. At least Indra had Priska, but what about Tama?
“The solution is to make him and his wife live like a real couple?” Indra blinked, thinking it over.
“What else? Like you said, I think Tera’s feelings are real, not just a gimmick anymore.”
Indra yawned and started complaining about Priska’s tendency to worry too much about other people’s problems, even though they had their own issues to deal with. “Let it go. Let’s go to bed, darling. Before our baby wakes up and starts crying for his mom.”
“But you should think about your brother, Babe.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re so fussy.”