Chapter 10 – Bloodlines and Power Games
Chapter 10 – Bloodlines and Power Games
Chapter 10 – Bloodlines and Power Games
The drive to Reyhan’s penthouse felt longer than usual.
Nadira clutched her phone tightly, her thumb hovering over the unopened follow-up email from the Lestari Foundation. The one that confirmed the name of her biological father.
She hadn’t read it yet.
Couldn’t.
Because part of her didn’t want to know.
Not if it meant destroying everything she and Reyhan were building.
\---
Reyhan’s Penthouse – 7:41 PM
The door opened before she could knock.
He stood barefoot, shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, holding two wine glasses in one hand.
“You’re late,” he said, a smirk playing on his lips.
“You’re barefoot.”
He raised an eyebrow. “This is my house. I’m allowed to be comfortable.”
She stepped inside. It smelled like cedar and warmth and something distinctly him.
Candles flickered on the kitchen island. Jazz hummed softly through the built-in speakers.
And for a moment, she forgot about the email.
Forgot about bloodlines.
Forgot everything except the way Reyhan looked at her like she was already his.
\---
Dinner
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, after their second glass of wine. “Maybe it’s time to take you off the payroll.”
She almost choked. “Excuse me?”
“As my secretary,” he clarified. “You’re too important to be stuck managing other people’s crises.”
“I like managing crises.”
He leaned forward. “I’d rather you manage me.”
She gave him a flat look. “You want to make me your… personal manager?”
“No,” he said, his voice lower. “I want you beside me. Not behind me.”
Nadira felt her stomach twist.
Not out of fear. But out of hope.
It terrified her more than rejection.
“You’re talking like we don’t work together.”
“We won’t,” he said. “If this continues, I’ll shift you out of the direct reporting line. No conflicts of interest. Full discretion. A new role. Something worthy of you.”
“You’re serious?”
“I don’t play games when it comes to you.”
Her hand tightened around the wine stem.
There it was again.
That voice.
That promise.
And yet—
There was a shadow she hadn’t spoken yet.
She reached into her bag and placed her phone face up on the table. The email still unread.
“Before anything continues,” she said softly, “there’s something you should know.”
Reyhan frowned. “What is it?”
She tapped the screen, opening the email in front of him. Her voice trembled as she read:
> Your biological father has been confirmed as:
Dr. Wiratma Gunawan.
Silence.
Reyhan blinked slowly, expression unreadable.
Nadira’s lips parted. “You know that name?”
“Yes,” he said, voice low.
She already knew the answer.
“He’s on our board of directors,” Reyhan said quietly. “Dimas Gunawan’s older brother. A majority shareholder in the health-tech division.”
Nadira felt her blood drain.
“So now you see,” she whispered. “I wasn’t just your secretary. I wasn’t just a girl from the orphanage. I was always part of this world—whether I wanted to be or not.”
Reyhan stood.
Paced.
Processed.
“You didn’t know,” he said after a long pause. “You couldn’t have.”
“I didn’t,” she confirmed. “But now that I do…”
She swallowed.
“What if people think I used you to get closer to power? What if they think I knew all along?”
“Let them,” Reyhan said simply. “Let them talk. I don’t care.”
“But your board—”
“My board doesn’t dictate who I love.”
The word love hit her like a stone in the chest.
She blinked.
“You love me?”
He looked her in the eye. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be terrified right now.”
She felt her walls crumble—slowly, painfully.
“I don’t know what to do with this,” she whispered. “With him. With everything.”
“You don’t have to do anything,” he said gently. “Not yet. Not tonight.”
Then he walked over, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Stay. Just stay.”
And she did.
\---
Midnight – The Balcony
They sat outside, a blanket over both their legs, city lights blinking beneath them.
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
“I keep wondering what kind of man gives up his daughter,” she murmured.
Reyhan was quiet for a while before answering.
“Sometimes it’s not about the man,” he said. “It’s about the fear.”
She looked at him.
“What do you fear?”
“Losing you,” he said. “Now that I finally have you.”
\---
Meanwhile – Elsewhere in Jakarta
Inside a sleek, glass-walled office, Dr. Wiratma Gunawan stood at his desk, reading the same email Nadira had just opened.
The moment he read her name, something in his face shifted.
Regret.
Recognition.
And something far colder.
He pressed a button on his phone.
“Call Dimas,” he told his assistant. “We may have a… situation.”
To be continued....