DESTINED WITH YOU

Kring!!! The morning alarm on the nightstand rang loudly. A hand came out from under the blanket, beckoning the nightstand to look for the source of the sound.

Struck by intense sleepiness, the hand had difficulty finding the off button for the alarm.

Brak!!! The ringing of the alarm finally stopped when it hit the wall.

A beautiful woman chuckled at her husband's childish behavior, which remained the same year after year even though he was almost four.

"Arka!"

The mound of blankets was torn away to reveal the slacker who had been rolled up in the blanket.

"Morning, darling!"

Still the same sweet smile. Arkana Kenjiro Wijaya. The man still looks handsome at 39 years old.

His slanted eyes looked mischievously at his wife who stood not far from the bed. Lizzya Pinkan is the woman who is still loyal to him until the tenth year of marriage.

"After work, don't forget to buy a new alarm clock!" Lisa annoyed.

Arka laughed, then sat down after pulling up the covers. His wife even forgot to put down the spatula in her haste to get to the room.

"You want to wake me up with a spatula, don't you?" Arka grumbled.

"Your alarm sounay to the kitchen, you know! Uh, what time is it?"

"You know I'm working late, you shouldn't have set the alarm. Come here for a moment!"

When Arka called her to bed at a time like this, he must have wanted a little pampering. Lisa placed the spatula on the corner table and walked over.

"Hurry up. Afraid of being bitten? I'm used to this!"

Arka tugged on Lisa's arm and twisted around her waist, then tucked his chin between her tiny shoulders.

With her hair rolled up, Arka could freely inhale the scent of perfume emanating from Lisa's nape.

"It's already the 1st."

"Why, Ka? Did you get paid?"

"You only know about money. It's been two weeks, right?"

"What? You're not talking clearly, darling."

Arka pulls the drawer latch to open it. He picked up a light rectangular object on top of a stack of books. A test pack.

"What if it's negative?" she asked.

Arka smiled slightly. He brought his lips closer to the side of Lisa's ear.

"Yeah then, I'm good."

Lisa chuckled. That was Arka's way of persuading Lisa not to be afraid of whatever lines came out of that thing.

Just as she was about to welcome Arka's sweet kiss, a noise was heard approaching. More precisely, the clatter of footsteps that sounded hunting.

"Mama! Papa!"

Arka grunted in annoyance. He abandoned his pampering and collapsed on the bed. Lisa chuckled, burying her husband's head in the dark blue blanket.

"Don't do anything."

Lisa smiled, patting Arka on the back.

"Whatever!"

A handsome boy appeared from behind the door. He was already very neat in his blue school uniform. His skin color contrasted slightly with the color of the uniform.

The ebony-black hair was very neat with the typical combing of young people. He was very handsome despite being 9 years old.

"Mom, where's my lunchbox? I'll be late," Farrell whined.

Lisa got up and reached for the spatula on the table. She took the boy named Farrel by the hand.

"Sorry, Farrel, I have to wake up your little brother."

"Papa's not up yet?"

"Let it go. Come on, let's go downstairs! You can have breakfast first! I made a special lunch for you."

After Lisa and Farrel left the room, Arka came out of hiding. He glanced at the wall clock which showed half past seven.

"There's still time until the scheduled surgery at noon. I'm sleepy!"

Arka pulled the blanket back over his body. Ten years had passed, these were the days. Everything changed so quickly, passed with love and patience.

*

There were many breakfast items on the menu, but only two people were enjoying it.

"Did Grandpa have breakfast, Grandma?" asked Farrell.

His grandmother - Wendi - tried to smile to fade her handsome grandson's sad expression. Although she had been following Farrel's gaze, she turned back to her grandson.

"Grandpa will have breakfast later. He's reading the newspaper, so breakfast will be later. You just eat with me. It's already this hour, hurry up!"

Farrel rubbed his eyes. His chubby, puffy cheeks began to thin as he managed to crush the bread more finely.

"Grandpa's mad at me."

Wendi was stunned. His innocent face looked very sad. Something bad happened and fate took control of everything.

"That's just how you feel. When you finish breakfast, ask Didit to take you to school."

Wendi avoided the conversation. She couldn't bear to see Farrel's sad face. Only Farrel was left at the dining table alone. After finishing, he got up from his chair and poured tea into a cup on the table.

"I'm sure Grandpa won't get angry again."

His small feet stepped slowly to maintain the balance of the cup of tea he was carrying. Finally, he was able to carry the cup to the side of the sofa where his grandfather, Frans, was reading the newspaper.

"Grandpa, this is your tea. Grandma said you can't drink coffee anymore."

"Put it on the table," said Frans, coldly.

"Don't forget to drink it!"

Farrell lowered the cup slowly. Startled by the splash of hot water hitting his hand, Farrell accidentally put the cup in an unbalanced position and spilled it on the table.

Frans was shocked when the hot tea stream hit the side of his thigh.

"Farrel!"

Farrel was afraid. Increasingly, the anger could no longer be hidden. The innocent boy could only look down when he was used as an outlet for his grandfather's anger.

"Don't you see this, huh? Did I tell you to get me some tea?! Shit!"

Arka was stunned on the second step when he saw his son's face downcast with scolding. Farrel couldn't lift his trembling hand to wipe away the tears.

"Dad! Stop it!"

Arka screeched in a high-pitched voice. Lisa heard and followed the commotion created in the living room.

"Papa...," Farrel sobbed.

Arka prepared to challenge his father's selfishness. Lisa also tried to pull Arka's arm after Farrel collapsed in her arms.

"Why does it have to be Farrel, Dad? I was wrong. You've been angry with me ever since that incident. Why do you have to put everything on Farrel?" Arka was upset.

"What are you talking about? I'm angry with him because he made a mistake. Can't you reprimand him?"

"No! You reprimanded him out of anger, not out of love. I've noticed since that day. You can hate me like you used to, but don't hurt my son!"

"He's not your son!"

Lisa couldn't help but cry, hoping that her embrace would drown out the sound of Frans' screeching that might have reached Farrell's ears.

The old man refused to care, leaving the living room. There was a sob in the middle of the silence.

When Lisa touched Arka's cheek, her husband realized that Farrel was with them. He immediately embraced Farrel and kissed the top of his son's head.

"Grandpa always said that I'm not your son," Farrel said.

Arka raised his chin to stop the tears from falling. Lisa also rubbed Farrel's head so that their son would stop crying.

"Hey, what time is it? You'll be late, honey."

Lisa looked back and gave a beckoning order to the house-sitter aunt to approach with Farrel's schoolbag.

Farrel just obeyed being held by Siti, the servant. He waved, but Arka preferred to turn around because he had not been able to ease his sadness. After being sure that Farrel was out of the house, Arka could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Shit!"

Arka returned to the room. Lisa followed to calm Arka down this time. Arriving at the room, Arka sat slumped with his hands clenched into fists.

"Why did Dad do this again, Lisa? He's angry with us, why did he hurt Farrel? He loved Farrel before, so why did things turn out this way?"

Lisa approached Arka, pulling her husband's nape to sink into her embrace. A gentle rub on Arka's shoulder seemed unable to fade the sadness so quickly.

"Dad has always considered Farrel like his own grandson. But after knowing everything, why does he hate Farrel? He can hate me like he used to, why should he hate my son? He's my son, I raised him till now."

"Yes, dear. You must be patient. Don't get carried away with your emotions. Dad has his reasons. It's our fault for hiding my condition from them."

Arka released his embrace, raising his face to freely gaze into Lisa's watery eyes.

"Pull yourself together, darling."

Meanwhile, Farrel had not stopped crying. Despite starting the engine, he was reluctant to get into his car.

"You can't do that. Don't cry!" comforted a young waitress named Siti.

Farrel looked annoyed. He removed his arm from Siti when she asked him to get into the car.

"I don't want to go to school!"

Farrel ran and quickly climbed up to the second floor. From behind the open door, he saw that his parents were sad. Especially his father.

"Grandpa is angry because of me. Papa also cried because of me."

Farrell skipped class today. He locked the door from the inside to avoid being disturbed. His grandfather's anger surprised him, not to mention his harsh words about him.

"He's not your son!"

"So this is what you're hiding? You want me to love this child? I'm not his grandfather!"

It wasn't until Farrell heard that condemnation that he realized he was only his father's adopted son.

*

Hi, Sis. I'm an Indonesian Writer. I'm sorry my English is bad. Your feedback and suggestions are welcome. Thank you.