"Who is it?" Axell shouted from inside."It's Mama," answered Mrs. Celline."What's up, Ma?" Axell asked again."Just open the door first," Mrs. Celline yelled."Just wait downstairs, Ma. Axell will come down later," Axell replied, still not moving from his bed."What are you guys doing? Why won't you open the door?" Mrs. Celline asked."We're just busy, Ma," Axell smiled."Busy with what?" Mrs. Celline asked again."Well, exercising, Ma," Axell replied."Why are you exercising this late in the afternoon?" Mrs. Celline asked."Well, what's the difference between afternoon and night, Ma?" Axell answered without budging from his position.Finally, Mrs. Celline gave up.Footsteps could be heard moving away. Axell breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed odd that his mother never gave them any alone time except at night."Who was it, Darling?" Zahra asked, stepping out of the bathroom, the scent of roses wafting through the room."It was Mama," Axell replied casually."Why?" Zahra asked, furr
Mrs. Ania, who saw Mrs. Celline coming out of the room carrying a large suitcase, immediately approached her."Where are you going?" asked Mrs. Ania, holding Mrs. Celline's hand."I'm going back to my house. It's pointless for me to stay here since my child never appreciates me, never acknowledges my existence, and even dares to shout at me," replied Mrs. Celline while crying, glancing at Axell and Zahra who were eating.Zahra chose to stop eating, while Axell seemed indifferent and continued eating, only glancing briefly at his mother who was playing her act. Playing the victim."Let's talk about this calmly. Wait until Axell finishes eating," coaxed Mrs. Ania, guiding Mrs. Celline to sit on the sofa in front of the TV. Meanwhile, Mrs. Sri chose to go back to her room, not wanting to get involved in her employer's family matters.Mrs. Celline complied, sitting on the sofa while wiping her tears as if she was the most mistreated person, when in fact, it was quite the opposite compared
"Did Emily pick up Tama?" Axell asked Zahra."Yeah, she and Jojo planned it yesterday," Zahra replied, looking at her husband."I mean, Emily's coming here first, right? Then Jojo will take them wherever they want," Axell said."She said she’d be here by ten," Zahra informed him."Oh, okay. Rikel’s not coming along, is he?" Axell asked again."Doesn't seem like it, dear, or they wouldn’t get any quality time alone," Zahra replied."That's fine, Rikel can stay home with us.""Are you working today?" Zahra asked."Yes, just half a day, there are some reports I need to check," Axell replied.Zahra nodded and then busied herself helping Mrs. Rasi set the table for breakfast, while Axell enjoyed his coffee."Where's Mrs. Inah, Bik?" Zahra asked."Watering the plants, ma'am, it hasn't rained for a few days," Mrs. Rasi replied."Where are Mr. Bidin and Mr. Ujang?" Axell wondered, since the older men were usually responsible for the lawn and plants."They're watering the vegetable garden out
Sometimes a wife’s intuition is never wrong, and that was the case with Zahra. Normally, even if Axell came home late, Zahra would never call. But today, she suddenly did."Where are you, dear? Sounds like you’re on the road?" Zahra asked."No, I’m still at the office. I'll be home soon," Axell replied, slightly nervous.Zahra stared at her phone screen; something was off about Axell. Yuda had said Axell wasn’t at the office, but Axell claimed he was."Maybe dear Axell was in another room," Zahra murmured, trying to stay positive about her husband. She knew Axell had never lied to her before.Axell arrived at the office and went straight to the bathroom, cleaning up. He waited until his hair dried before heading home. The guilt towards Zahra haunted him."Earlier, Mama called, and I looked for you but couldn’t find you in your office," Yuda mentioned as they were on their way home."My stomach was really upset, so I was probably in the bathroom," Axell replied nonchalantly while delet
"Zahra is not daydreaming, darling," Zahra denied."Alright, I'll take a shower first," said Axell as he headed to the bathroom, his clothes smelling of cigarette smoke. Even though Zahra never complained about it, Axell respected his wife by ensuring he didn't smell of smoke when near her."Okay, darling," Zahra replied softly. She was puzzled by her thoughts, even though Axell hadn't shown any unusual behavior since he got home."Astaghfirullah," Zahra muttered, shaking her head, and immediately started preparing a change of clothes for her husband.Axell came out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel, his face looking refreshed. He quickly took the clothes Zahra had laid out for him."What's the matter? Why are you staring at me like that? Handsome? Sexy?" Axell teased Zahra, who was staring at him without blinking."Oh, come on, darling. My husband is always handsome," Zahra replied with a smile.---Axell, Zahra, and Rikel were ready to head to a mall to let Rikel play to his
"Dad, Mom, what are you looking at?" asked a beautiful woman who looked like a model."That's your brother," said her father, pointing at Axell and Zahra who were eating.The woman immediately turned and gaped when she saw Axell in person."Let's go over there, Dad," she suggested."No," her father replied.At the same time, Fred and his wife and child were also enjoying dinner at the same restaurant as Axell and Zahra."Who's the man next to him, Dad?" asked Alin, Fred's daughter."That's his bodyguard," Fred replied, without taking his eyes off Axell."Wow, so low-profile, even eating at the same table with his bodyguard," admired the child."Yes, his foster mother is really good and has raised him well. If he was raised by Celline, he wouldn't be like that," said Fred."Just like you," murmured his wife."Is that his child?" asked their daughter, curious."That's the child Axell took from the orphanage and is raising with Mattew's grandson," Fred replied.Fred's youngest daughter,
Axell watched Zahra as she walked back to their room, struggling to stay awake. He smiled at his wife."Goodnight, Zahra," Axell said softly.Axell finished his now-cold coffee, smoked another cigarette, then went to the bedroom and tried to sleep again.Zahra was already sound asleep, hugging her bolster."Forgive me, Zahra," Axell said, looking at his wife's serene face.He gently kissed Zahra's forehead for a long time.Axell lay down beside his wife, hugging her until he fell asleep.In the morning, Axell woke up to find Zahra was not beside him. She had probably gone to the kitchen to help Mrs. Rasi prepare breakfast after her dawn prayer, even though Mrs. Inah and Mrs. Sri were also helping.Despite being told not to help multiple times, Zahra insisted on helping, as she was used to waking up early and doing household chores.Axell checked his phone and saw a message from Emily."I miss you too, Axell," the message from Emily read.Axell immediately deleted the message and did n
"What time will they be back?" Axell asked Zahra. "They said they were on their way," Zahra replied. "Okay," Axell answered briefly and sat on the sofa, playing with his phone. Zahra, who was putting on her hijab and niqab, glanced at Axell who was smiling at his phone. Curiosity stirred in her heart, but she chose to remain silent and never pried into Axell's phone. Zahra was too afraid of the truth, scared of finding something hurtful. It's not that she was suspicious, but she knew who her husband was. There must be many women offering themselves to him, even if Axell didn't respond, it would still hurt to see him being flirted with by others. "Honey, let's go downstairs," Zahra said, now fully dressed in her hijab and niqab. "Are you ready?" Axell asked. "Yes, let's go down and wait for Tama while watching TV," Zahra invited, pulling Axell's hand. "Let's go," Axell responded. They descended the stairs and found Mrs. Ania and Mrs. Celline watching television while en