Chapter 66: Chapter 66
The fun-filled lunch was won by Dashtan. Rakia looked at the man with a frown on her face, not expecting to lose the bet when she was so sure that she would win. However, when she saw the menu, which was mostly spicy food, the victory she was sure of faded away. She didn’t really like spicy food because it was bad for her stomach. Dashtan smiled with a triumphant aura that made Rakia a little annoyed.
“Stop that silly smile, now quickly say what your request is.” Rakia said with a bit of harshness. Dashtan chuckled with a happy heart for successfully taunting his wife. He knew that Rakia didn’t really like spicy food.
“Do you still remind of my total request? I’ve already used it once, so there are five more left.” The man reminded and Rakia could only sigh in resignation. Dashtan started to make a thinking face then snapped his fingers after finding what he wanted.
“This time, I will use two requests at once,” he said to which Rakia responded with a frown.
“First, you must accept the new position I will give you at DS, as a program manager, second, you must be willing to carry my children.”
All those requests made Rakia’s eyes bulge perfectly.
“But- you... That’s not fair. There’s nothing in our agreement. Especially about children. No, I don’t want to. The first request I can still accept, but the second...,” Rakia looked sharply at Dashtan.
“I don’t want to do it.”
Dashtan smiled in his mind. He had clearly thought that the woman would reject the second request, but he had prepared a counterattack so that the woman would consider and finally agree to his request.
“You don’t want to? So, you want to give the task to Dalilah?” Dashtan issued his counterattack to which Rakia immediately responded with a panicked expression.
“What? You... Don’t play me, Ash! I know you just want to use me.” Rakia started to get angry. Dashtan smiled understandingly and was not bothered by Rakia’s emotions that were starting to come between their conversation.
“I honestly want to offer you to cancel our marriage contract and live like a normal married couple. Sooner or later, my stepfather as well as my mother will want a successor from my marriage, and I currently have two wives. If you agree to my second request, we will immediately cancel the marriage agreement we agreed upon earlier, but if you refuse, you know what I will do and who will take up the task.”
Dashtan’s statement sounded horrifying to Rakia at the moment. She could not imagine if it was Dalilah who gave birth to the successor instead of her, and in the end she was the one Dashtan had to let go of while her heart had desired the man. However, she thought back to her attempt to get even with Dashtan. But somehow that effort kept fading away little by little.
“If you grant my second request, I will assure you that Dalilah is the one I will eventually let go, other than because we have an agreement in our marriage, she is not the one I honestly want to take on the task.”
Rakia closed her eyes then sighed heavily.
“But, what about that divorce you mentioned?” Rakia tried to figure out what this man really wanted. Dashtan raised both eyebrows.
“If you accept the second request, the divorce will never exist between us.”
Rakia looked down while laughing after hearing the man’s explanation.
“You know, this sounds crazy to me. I who was prepared to walk away from you is now wavering. You told me not to expect too much from you about our marriage, but now you want to keep it and keep me by your side forever after you broke your promise.” Rakia looked at the man closely, she wanted to find faith in the man’s black eyes, in the soul she could see hiding there.
“Isn’t it unfair if you’re the only one who demands everything here? What do you think about me also making demands if I’m willing to grant your second request.” Both of Rakia’s hands supported her face as she still stared fixedly at the man. Dashtan thought for a moment then nodded, agreeing to Rakia’s wishes.
“Name your wish.”
“Not many, just one.” Rakia gave Dashtan a wary look. The man looked inquisitive.
“Tell me that you love me. I need your confession, that’s enough for me.”
Dashtan instantly fell silent staring at Rakia with a surprised look.
“Give me time for that.” Dashtan said again after finding the right answer. Rakia sighed and nodded.
“Alright... I’ll give you until the divorce deadline that you promised me back then, if until then you don’t say anything, we divorce and Dalilah will be the mother of your children, and I will never be heard from again in your life as if you never knew a Rakia Adeline. “
That honestly sounded scary to both of them, but Rakia didn’t want Dashtan to just get what he wanted after he broke his promise. She also had to be firm with herself, for the sake of her heart that didn’t have to keep getting hurt. Dashtan nodded in agreement to Rakia’s deal.
**
In the afternoon when Rakia returned from work, she took the time to visit her father who was still in a coma. She never missed her scheduled visit. She originally wanted to visit him every day, but due to her erratic work schedule, she could only visit him when she wasn’t busy. When she arrived, Adeline and Pedro were also there. Adeline immediately hugged her daughter as Rakia went deeper and approached her father’s bed.
“Mom... Hey, I didn’t expect to see mom here, sorry for not visiting you often.” Rakia let out her thoughts. Aside from being busy, she honestly wasn’t ready to tell her mom anything about her marriage, but sooner or later her mom would ask her about it.
“How is dad?” asked Rakia as she looked at her mother and Pedro.
“Everything is good, but there’s no sign of him waking up yet.” As Pedro answered, the man let out a worried sigh. Rakia’s face turned sad, she didn’t want to see her father continue in this state. She looked at the man who was currently lying with her eyes closed with a sad look. Adeline who saw the sad look on her daughter’s face and gaze immediately rubbed her daughter’s arm gently.
“He will definitely open his eyes again, he just needs time.” Adeline tried to calm Rakia who was about to cry. Her father had managed to become her first love, and would continue to be so throughout her life. Rakia nodded while holding back the tears that were trying to escape. Pedro excused himself briefly to get the car keys from his office and was going home with Adeline. When Rakia was alone with her mother, the woman started the topic she wanted to talk about.
“Are you okay?” Adeline began. Rakia knew the meaning of the question, the woman was asking about her wedding news. She must have heard from the media about Dashtan getting remarried.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Rakia said, nodding but not making eye contact with her mother.
“I know you’re lying, Sweetie, but I won’t force you to tell me what’s going on with you and Dashtan. As your mother, I just want to tell you that no marriage is without problem and no love is without knowing each other.”
Adeline’s words made Rakia pensive for a moment. She realized that although her marriage to Dashtan was based on interest at first, but in the end she tried to get to know the man. She wanted at least a marriage that initially had no word of love, to at least make her feel if this was real.
“You know, when mom decided to divorce your dad, something dawned on me. That all this time, we were only doing this because of our egos and so we got you caught in between. It was a mistake that both your father and I admitted after we separated. I just don’t want you to go through a marriage like ours.” Adeline looked at Mr. Reynaldi with a sad gaze, a hint of regret was present in the look she showed at the moment and Rakia saw it.
Pedro arrived a few minutes later. Rakia and Adeline embraced once more before both husband and wife left, leaving Rakia alone. The woman looked back at her father. Her mind began to think of many things, especially about her marriage to Dashtan.
“I hope you’ll wake up soon, Dad, and receive the good news from me that you’ll soon be a granpa.” Rakia said that before leaving. She gave the man a brief peck on the forehead before walking away.