Chapter 91 - Sido Asih

"Sorry, I can't give you an engagement ring, because it is against my family tradition. We are not supposed to give someone a ring before the wedding is held."

"Is it okay if I change it with this?" He puts a box from a famous jewelry brand on the table. Hendra has chosen a beautiful necklace and asks for Aruna's approval to wear it.

Two women, Lilian and Alia, are shocked by the name of the brand that is printed on the box. They can't even blink after seeing the Harry Winston brand on the box and both of them are furious seeing the ordinary Aruna is lucky to get it.

"I will wear it myself." Aruna takes the necklace.

"Oh ok." Hendra just let her do what she wants.

"No, that won't do!" Alia steps in and forces Aruna to turn back.

"What are you doing?" Aruna whines when the necklace on her hand is returned to the owner and asks the CEO of Wenceslas Group to put the necklace on Aruna.

"Wah… so beautiful." Alia admires when the beautiful necklace is put nicely on Aruna.

"You know, I won't be able to buy it even if I save my money for 5 years." Alia tries to make Aruna understand how lucky she is.

"Then you should marry…" Aruna glances at the man in the question.

"Nooo… I love Aditya more…" Alia replies comfortably.

"Haha…" Aditya just laughs at her statement while the others shudder at Alia's upfront confession.

"Okay… let's just start eating." And Aruna's invitation gets a happy response from her friends in Surat Ajaib. They just want to eat instead of watching the lame drama.

"Stop, don't start eating first. Let's take a photo and cut the cake first."

"It's okay, we can eat now."

"Cannot!"

"Stop, everyone stops!" Alia commands.

.

The next second.

Someone catches them by surprise.

"Hi, Aruna… hehe… nice to meet you again." Someone appears making them stop everything they are doing. 

"Finally, I found you… hehe." The man staggers and reeks of alcohol. Some of them freeze and can't hide their sadness seeing Damar's condition. They know Damar hates alcohol since his mother is an addict.

"Damar, let's go." Agus stands up and tries to grab him away.

"No, why are you pushing me away, Gus!"

Dea can't help but cry seeing Damar. The girl starts to sob uncontrollably.

"I am sorry." Dea looks at them sadly, stands up from her chair, and leaves them with a piercing silence.

Surya also stands up to help Damar. And without anyone knowing, Hendra grabs Aruna's hand tightly and whispers, "If you get close to him, I will crush him."

The heir of the Wenceslas family with unlimited power threatens Aruna. And Aruna catches his threatening expression.

"Do you want to stop me now?" Damar slurs, trying to remind Surya.

"Everyone knows that she is mine. Aruna has been mine since the beginning!"

"Don't forget that I am the one who stood by her for years." The others start to cry. Alia hugs Aditya and cries in his embrace. The others also can't hold back their tears.

"Aruna is mine."

Aruna just sits there with a blank expression on her face. She tries to get away from the man who is sitting beside her. And she can't even cry because he threatens her.

Hendra stands up and grabs Aruna forcefully.

"That man doesn't deserve her."

"Let me go!" Damar tries to get away from Agus and Surya.

"You can't take her forcefully... She is mine!"

"Please don't take her, I beg you." Damar starts to wail while Surya and Agus try to grab him.

"Return Aruna to me, please, I beg you… she is mine from the beginning… you shouldn't forget that.. Return her back…" His voice cracks, as if trying to plead. He is inconsolable and everyone pities his current state.

:

.

.

Aruna is thrown into Rolls Royce.

"Go!" The young master instructs his driver to take them away from the place/

The blue-eyed man seems to be deep in thought.

The sobbing woman beside him is making him crazy. He throws away his sash.

"If you are being like this, I won't hold myself. Stop crying!" The threat makes Aruna has to stop crying. She bites her lips and tries to calm her shaking hands.

Actually, Hendra is really devastated seeing Aruna. That means she still cares about Damar and she is afraid of his threat.

***

"Wake up! She is getting married today, right?!"

"If you said that they would be married for only 2 years, so why don't you wake up now?" The man just blinks. He has drowned himself in misery for the whole week.

He tries to pull the shabby blanket to hide his now thin face. The long hair and stubbles growing on his face make him older. The old Damar who has so many teenage fans is no longer there.

But his manager is still waiting for him patiently.

"I have an idea so you can attend the wedding." Hearing that, Damar immediately pulls away from the blanket and listens to his manager attentively.

"She can destroy you, and she can build you, right?"

"This is your last chance to meet her."

"Both of you might be destined together. The wedding organizer (WO) invites you as a singer to perform at their wedding."

"I have asked whether this is a special request or WO's request. Turns out they have asked the WO to take care of it all."

"That means you can come."

"I will make sure you will have some time to talk to her."

"Wake up now."

The man stands up, starts to walk, and grooms himself.

***

The petite lady is wearing a white kebaya and a jarik cloth with the Sido Asih motif, which represents a prayer for the bride and groom to have everlasting love.

The jarik cloth that Grandma Suka chose for her restricts her steps, so she walks slowly with her father Lesmana who holds her hand faithfully.

At the end of the aisle, there stands the blue-eyed man who is watching them intently while his dimples flash behind his nervous expression.

Everyone who is attending is stunned. The handsome man steals attention and everyone agrees that he looks cute being so nervous waiting for his bride.

Now, the woman sits beside him silently. Hendra then grabs Lesmana's hand with a handshake, trying to calm his beating heart by stealing a glance at the woman sitting beside him. She is so beautiful to look at although her eyes are empty.

Before he grabs Lesmana's hand, the blue-eyed man finds and grabs her hand. He holds her hand tightly and swears to himself that he will make her happy again. He longs to see the blush on her cheeks when she smiles.

Then he grabs Lesmana's hand and recites his promise.

Everyone is happy seeing the couple and gives them a hand while they are signing their wedding book. Then they show it to the attendees.

Unfortunately, not everyone is happy with the wedding. Aruna's brother and sister decide to leave early.

Aditya tries to stop his girlfriend from leaving, but they end up fighting. But only a few people realize their fight.

On the other hand, her friends are trying to cover their sadness. They know that Aruna is feeling sad although she is having a grand wedding.

"Aruna.."

"Come… they want us to get closer." Hendra hugs his quiet wife.

"Now, kiss her forehead." The cameramen ask them.

"Come… they want us to get closer." Hendra hugs his quiet wife.

"Now, kiss her forehead." The cameramen ask them.

.

.

Hendra looks at her as if asking for permission, Aruna just lets him do what he wants. The blue-eyed man can finally feel peace for the first time. Even though he hasn't got Aruna's heart, she finally lets him kiss her on the forehead.

_I love you Aruna, I might not be able to express it properly. But I know that every indicator that I feel shows that I love you. And I am so happy today._

The next thing which might be just as surprising is they take a photo with her dowry which costs around 3 or 4 Rolls Royce cars. Everyone is stunned seeing how beautiful and valuable the diamond is. But Aruna still keeps her expressionless face.

Her mother looks at her bitterly, because she knows that the woman who is getting married today is not her cheerful daughter who makes the world shine with her smile. Aruna's parents just sit there tiredly, especially her father. If he could cry, he would. But what can he do, the promise has been made and has to be fulfilled.

The father comes to his son-in-law for the first time when the pair is greeting their friends who attend the wedding, while Aruna is taking a selfie with her friends.

"Can you go with me for a while?"

"Yes, father."

Lesmana looks at him tiredly and sighs.

"You might be tired to hear this but I need to talk to you directly."

"Now my promise with your father has been done, and I have gotten my right back as a father and father-in-law." Lesmana seems to be trying to intimidate his son-in-law.

"Don't force her to do something that she doesn't want, including that. You know what I mean, right?"

"Yes, father." The blue-eyed man agrees to his father-in-law's terms.

"I will take action, although it might cost me everything. If you hurt my daughter…"

"Don't worry, I won't do bad things to Aruna."

"If I could fight your family, I would do it from the beginning. But I couldn't."

Hendra feels like he is the antagonist here. If the man in front of him realizes how deep he has fallen for Aruna, the result might be different.