“Tshabina…” My name slipped from his lips like a sigh while I kept staring out the window, and that was when I realized he’d pulled his car over to the side of the highway. When I didn’t answer, he softly stroked my shoulder. “What is wrong, Dek?”
Those four words, and my defenses were shattered.
Turning to him, my tears were already streaming down my face. I bit my lip to hold back the sound, but it broke. Awhimper escaped as I collapsed into his arms, sobbing against his chest, and dampening his beige shirt with my tears.
“Shh… It’s okay,” he whispered, soothing me as his hand rubbed slow circles on my back. “It’s okay, Dek.”
I cried and cried, my body shaking with sobs. My chest felt stabbed a hundred times over, and I wanted to rip it and throw it away to release the pain. Then he said something that made me freeze.
“Zioh, right?”
Snapping my swollen eyes wide open, I furrowed my brows in disbelief. He looked straight back at me, his gaze full of meaning, and at that moment, the realization hit me.
He knew.
Pulling back, I stared at him in anger. “Y-you knew?!” My voice came out higher than I intended. “You knew, and you didn’t say anything?!”
Removing his glasses, my brother let out a long sigh, regret etched all over his face. “Yes, I knew. Since last week, the office has been buzzing with news of Mr. Bakti’s second son returning to Indonesia after ten years.” His calm tone only stoked my fury. “How could I not know? Besides… Zioh is my boss’s son, Tshabina.”
What?
Gosh, my blood boiled. I could only snarl.
Tsabinu was the Deputy Chief Legal Adviser at INDTV Group. He graduated from the Law Faculty of the University of Indonesia with an outstanding GPA. Ever since we were kids, he collected trophies like they were proof of his existence, until his room felt too crowded to breathe—we ended up displaying the rest of them in the living room.
He had always been a favorite of Mas Zaeem, the eldest son of the Danudara family and now CEO of INDTV, and Uncle Bakti Danudara, the group’s founder.
Though Andi always called him “the Danudara family’s favorite henchman.” That man’s mouth deserved to be tapedshut sometimes. I scrubbed the tears from my cheeks, glaring at my brother. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
My brother looked at me long and hard, letting out a slow sigh, “Because of this.” His eyes searched mine with a subtle tremor in them. “And—” he paused, sighing again, “because this is work. INDTV Group and your office will be collaborating, so—”
“Are you kidding me?”
Because of work?
What the hell did he mean?
If anyone should know how absurd that logic was, it was him. Pretending this was only about work was nothing but self-deception.
Staring at him, I pressed my lips with tension. He sighed again, and his next words tore through what little strength I had left. “I’m sorry.”
He pulled me back into his chest, letting me sob again. I knew I shouldn’t take it out on him. I was mad, but I also knew he stayed quiet because he didn’t want me reacting like this.
Tsabinu didn’t want to reopen wounds we had tried to bury.
Because he and Zioh… they used to communicate only by looking at each other.
Their separation stole something from him. But Tsabinu always played the stronger one, putting on his mask, so my grief could be visible while his stayed hidden.
“Dad’s birthday is tonight,” he reminded me, rubbing my back while I still sniffled. “We’re stopping by a cake shop first, right?”
I nodded through my tears, and the silence returned, heavy and raw, as my sobs slowly eased. But my heart still churned with questions I couldn’t hold back anymore.
“What will happen? After this… what do you think will happen, Mas?” My voice cracked, but I didn’t explain further. I knew he understood what I meant.
My twin pulled away so I could see his face. His handsome features looked solemn under the glow of the car’s interior light. His hands gripped my shoulders as his gaze locked on mine.
“Nothing. We will continue our lives. Just as usual, okay?” His voice was deep, steady, and calming. And all I could do was nod, trying desperately to quiet the chaos in my heart.
