SR3. 26. Laura's Secret

Laura's gaze remained fixed on the orchids with purple, white, and yellow hybrid blooms that thrived on the sturdy mango tree in her spacious front yard. Normally, when she looked at these flowers that she had always cared for alongside her younger sister, Nancy, her heart would be filled with joy. But this time, she felt sadness and loneliness. She lifted her head to look up at the golden sunset, which appeared to be marching with the clouds to hold back the tears that were on the verge of falling.

What Arabella had said to her earlier had only added to her dilemma. Laura was confused about her feelings for Aryan now. Her lips might say otherwise, but her heart couldn't lie; she was genuinely concerned about Aryan's well-being. "Has Aryan eaten? Where is he now? Does he miss me?" These questions filled her mind.

"It's getting late, Laura. Come inside," Nancy called out from the doorstep of their house, where she had been observing Laura.

Laura quickly wiped her tears away and turned to Nancy, who was standing there with a smile. "Yes, Nancy," Laura replied as she got up from the bench where she had been sitting, put on her sandals, and walked inside the house.

Laura followed Nancy into her room, realizing that it had been a while since they had chatted and joked around like this. Nancy, who was now a college student, had completely redecorated her room. Everything was in her favorite color, pink, just like when she was a child. However, it was different from the past, no longer filled with Hello Kitty images. Now, Nancy's room was adorned with posters of her favorite Korean idols and some pictures of her favorite Indonesian bands scattered on the walls. Laura smiled as she realized that her little sister had grown into a teenager. Before Laura got married to Aryan, Nancy used to be quite spoiled and affectionate towards her. But now, she seemed more mature.

"Wanna watch some Korean Oppa?" Nancy asked, trying to cheer up her sister. Nancy had noticed that Laura had been quieter and more withdrawn in her room all day. When Nancy had tried to enter Laura's room earlier, Della had stopped her.

Nancy smiled as she shifted her position on the bed, which was small and only measured 140x80, clearly too cramped for both Nancy and Laura. Although they shared many facial features, their body types and skin tones were quite different. Nancy had a fuller figure and stood at 163 cm with her fair skin, while Laura, at 172 cm tall, had the statuesque figure more suited for modeling, along with her typical Indonesian tan skin.

Nancy shared funny stories about her experiences during freshman orientation at her college with enthusiasm, successfully making Laura laugh and momentarily forget her troubles.

"Nancy, help me for a moment," Della called out from the living room.

"Sure, Mom. Just a moment. Laura, stay here, I miss you," Nancy said after responding to Della's call, her mother.

Laura glanced at Nancy's phone, which was blinking with an incoming message. Unconsciously, she picked it up and sent a series of short messages to a number she remembered, then quickly deleted the message as soon as it turned blue with two checkmarks, before Nancy could inquire about it. However, after realizing what she had done, Laura tried to block the number she had just messaged. The sound of Nancy's approaching footsteps, though, made Laura abandon that idea, and she swiftly returned Nancy's phone to its original position.

Laura smiled as she watched the children running happily towards the place of worship with their friends. Her own childhood had been just like theirs, always eagerly waiting for the call to prayer and racing to get there first, even though they often received scoldings from adults. However, there was never any fear.

Despite Laura's family living a modest life, she was always grateful for the love and warmth that filled their home.

After returning from the place of worship, Laura locked herself in her room. She wanted some peaceful time to forget and erase her thoughts of Aryan, who had been constantly on her mind all day.

"Laura, let's have dinner," Della called out, walking towards Laura and sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Not now, Mom. I'm not hungry," Laura replied with a forced smile. She held back her tears as she looked at her mother's sad face.

"You barely ate anything this morning, dear. I don't want you to get sick," Della said gently, placing her hand on Laura's back. Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Laura's eyes welled up, and tears began to stream down her cheeks. Laura wouldn't be able to hide all her sadness from the woman who had given birth to her. Della could sense what Laura was going through without words.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Laura sobbed, hugging Della. Della gently stroked Laura's hair, waiting for her to let out her tears.

Once Laura's crying started to subside, Della released her embrace and held both of Laura's shoulders, smiling.

"Do you remember, Laura, when you were in the 11th grade of high school, Mrs. Liana, Aryan's mother, asked you to be her son's fiancée, but I refused because I knew you wanted to pursue higher education? I only said that if you were meant to be together, you would meet someday," Della explained with a smile before continuing her story.

"Now, when you said you were going to marry your boss, Aryan, I was surprised. I wondered if it was the same Aryan who is the son of Mrs. Liana and Mr. Andre. I was even more surprised when Mrs. Liana came to see me and said she was going to propose to you," Della continued, stroking Laura's head as she lay in her lap.

With patience, Della recounted her initial meetings with Aryan's parents at the hospital. Although Della and Johan were angry because Laura had almost lost her life in the accident, over time, Aryan's parents managed to win over Laura's parents with their kindness. Even after Laura had fully recovered, they continued to visit Laura's parents several times to maintain their relationship.

"Mom had never met Aryan before. After the accident, Aryan went through a period of depression. He suffered from hemophobia, a fear of blood, and had to undergo therapy regularly. As parents, we felt sympathetic because if that had happened to our children, we would have been just as sad. The accident was unintentional, and no one could be blamed. It was all God's plan, or it could also be a sign that you two are destined to be together," Della said with an increasingly broad smile, seeing that Laura looked calmer now.

After chatting for quite a while, Laura finally agreed to her mother's invitation to have dinner with her father and siblings, even though she had no appetite. The once quiet atmosphere now became lively due to Ricard's antics. As usual, Ricard had a talent for entertaining everyone with his jokes. Ricard was known for being cheerful and mischievous in their village, and Laura could imagine his antics at school with his friends.

"Do you know, Ricard had his heart broken? His love was rejected by Mona," Nancy interrupted the fun with Ricard's storytelling, and Ricard immediately grinned and threw a piece of fried tofu at Nancy.

"It's not a rejection, Nancy, but more like being asked to wait for a while, just being friends for now," Ricard defended himself, unwilling to accept that his love had been rejected.

"It's the same thing, Ricard," teased Nancy, prompting Johan to step in and stop the argument between Nancy and Ricard, which had just begun. If left unchecked, it would escalate into a full-blown fight.

Laura laughed heartily as she watched her two siblings exchange words, a moment she had missed. After dinner, they continued to chat in the living room while watching TV. Ricard and Nancy shared stories of their school experiences, while Laura listened attentively. Laura was constantly grateful in her heart for being able to support her younger siblings in their education. Seeing their cheerful faces made her happy.

"It's late, time to rest, Ricard has school tomorrow, and Nancy and Laura have classes as well," Johan said, noticing that the wall clock was already showing 10 PM.

With reluctance, they disbanded and went to their respective rooms with downcast faces. Ricard and Nancy still missed their sister, whom they rarely saw. They felt like they hadn't had enough time to chat with her.

Tick... Tick... Tick... The wall clock's ticking in Laura's room remained faithful as she stayed awake. She glanced at her phone, which was lying on the nightstand. It had been turned off all day because Laura had intentionally kept it that way. She hesitated between picking it up or leaving it there. Unable to resist her curiosity, Laura picked up the phone and turned it on.

Ding... The screen lit up, and Aryan's face appeared. She stared at Aryan's face, lost in thought, and the question resurfaced in her mind: "What is he doing right now?"

As the internet signal came on, Laura's phone started vibrating incessantly, indicating a series of messages and missed calls. Among the senders' names, there was one name that made her heart pound: "My Beloved." The battle between doubt and curiosity raged in Laura's mind, but once again, her emotions won over logic.

"I'm waiting for you to come back, Honey."

"You need to eat to stay healthy; I don't want you to lose weight when we meet."

"A day without you feels like I've lost my direction."

"Please come back, Laura."

"I love you, Laura, I love you so much, please come back."

After reading Aryan's series of messages, Laura's tears flowed once more. She quickly turned off her phone again when she realized that Aryan's phone was online.

***

Aryan, who had been staring at his phone screen all this time just to wait for the blue checkmark to appear, finally achieved results. A faint smile appeared on his lips. The fact that Laura had read some of his messages meant that she still cared about him.

However, a few minutes later, Laura's phone went offline again. Aryan let out a heavy sigh and went into the bathroom. It seemed like he needed some alone time with the Lord to pour out all the worries in his heart.