Chapter 174: Regret at the End of the Runway

At the time of Claretta's departure to London....

The atmosphere at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta Airport that morning felt so sorrowful for two people whose hearts were left behind in the past. Claretta, the international model who usually appeared graceful on the world's catwalks, was now merely a fragile woman whose shoulders shook violently. Behind her dark glasses, tears flowed endlessly.

Aditya could not bear it any longer. He stepped forward, pulling Claretta into his arms without caring about their status. Under the bright airport lights, he held the woman as if, if he let her go once again, Claretta would disappear forever.

"Don't leave in such a broken state, Claretta. I beg you," Aditya whispered, his voice hoarse as he held back the tightness in his chest that once again had to let the woman go from his reach.

"He hates me, Aditya. Frel thinks I'm a monster who abandoned him," Claretta sobbed against the man's chest. "I failed to be a mother, and I also failed to have you. My life is truly ruined."

"No, Claretta. I beg you, don't say that. To me, you are the best mother, the strongest woman I have ever known. God will not let you drown in sorrow. I'm sure this will not last long. Someday Frel will understand. Frel will call you mother and love you more than we can imagine. You deserve to be happy, my dear."

Aditya tightened his embrace even more. He buried his face in Claretta's hair, inhaling the scent he had always missed.

"Do you remember our promise at the school cafeteria back then?" Aditya whispered as he loosened his embrace to look at Claretta's tear-streaked face. "When I said that even if the whole world opposed us, I would still find a way back to you. I failed to keep that promise back then. Forgive me."

Claretta smiled bitterly between her sobs. "We were still too young at that time, Aditya. We were separated by circumstances."

"Not circumstances, Claretta. But my lack of courage," Aditya cut in quickly. His eyes showed deep regret. "I have always regretted that night, the night at the hotel when we met again after I was married. I regret that I let you leave again while you were pregnant without me knowing. If time could be repeated, I would leave everything right then to be with you and Frel."

Claretta touched Aditya's chest, feeling the man's irregular heartbeat. "Don't keep blaming yourself. You have Viona. She is my best friend, Aditya. She has taken care of you while I was gone."

Aditya fell silent. He felt guilty because deep in his heart, Viona's presence during these past dozen years had never been able to replace Claretta's position. He still believed that Viona was also someone who had been forced into this marriage because of her family's bankruptcy. He never knew that Viona kept a secret about that charade behind her sincere smile.

With trembling hands, Claretta opened her small bag. She took out two white envelopes whose surfaces were slightly damp from teardrops. She handed them to Aditya with a hesitant motion.

"Aditya, please deliver these to Frel. I have written everything there. About his origins, about my love for you, and about Mike who is targeting Abel. I don't dare give them to him directly because I know he is not yet able to look at my face without hatred," Claretta said. "I was not given the chance to explain anything. Every time I see his face, I can feel such immense hatred. I am afraid my presence will only hurt him even more."

Claretta lowered her head, looking at the envelopes as if they were the only bridge to her daughter's heart. "I realize he hates me so much. I don't dare speak to him directly because I know my voice will only sound like lies in his ears. Let him read this when he is calm. This is the only thing I can do so that he knows he was never truly abandoned."

Claretta took a long breath, trying to calm the pounding of her heart. "I also left one letter for Kevan. I want him to know that Frel is his younger sibling. I don't want them to hate each other because of our mistakes."

Aditya received the two letters with eyes that reflected deep pain as he looked at Claretta.

"I will deliver them. I promise."

Aditya embraced Claretta again. At that moment, his memory suddenly flew far back, to a high school corridor many years ago.

"You remember the first time we met?" Aditya murmured, trying to comfort Claretta with memories. "Under the banyan tree at school, when you were seriously reading an olympiad book. I was popular back then, but suddenly I felt very small when I saw the calmness in your eyes. I fell in love at that very second, Claretta."

Claretta fell silent in her sobs, slightly carried away by the memory.

"I remember how stubborn I was in chasing you," Aditya continued with a bitter smile. "Even though you always avoided me because you felt we were different. But the days when we were dating, when we ate meatball soup by the roadside, when I took you to the orphanage and we promised to build a future together ... those were the happiest moments of my life."

Aditya let out a heavy breath, his own tears now falling and wetting Claretta's hair.

"Forgive me, Claretta. I'm sorry because I wasn't strong enough to fight my mother back then. I was too cowardly when she said the company would go bankrupt if I didn't marry Viona. If only I had known that it was all just my mother's plan to separate you, I would have let go of all that wealth. I would rather live poor with you than live in a palace while my soul dies every day."

Claretta slowly released the embrace, looking into Aditya's reddened eyes. "Viona ... she was the only friend I had at that time. I thought she supported us, but it turned out she was the one standing on the wedding stage with you."

"Viona is also a victim of circumstances, Claretta. She didn't know anything about my mother's plan," Aditya said, still with the wrong belief.

Claretta only gave a bitter smile. Until now, she still believed that Viona had known the truth for a long time.

Around them, the atmosphere began to grow noisy. Several people began to recognize Claretta's face.

"Isn't that Claretta? That international model?"

"Why is she crying so hard in a man's arms?"

Suddenly the final call for passengers bound for London echoed again.

"I have to go," Claretta whispered.

Aditya kissed Claretta's forehead with deep love. "Go. Finish your business there, then come back here. We will face everything together," Aditya said firmly.

Claretta could only nod weakly. She turned around, dragging her suitcase and her wounded heart toward the departure gate. Behind her, Aditya stood stiffly, clutching the two letters in his hand.

He knew that after these letters reached the hands of Frel and Kevan, their lives would never be the same again.

.....................................