Chapter 1 Part 1

"I'm disappointed in you, Cesilia!"

A man threw a magazine at his wife, who was in the midst of applying makeup to her beautiful face. Alexander Prakarsa, a thirty-five-year-old man, seemed unable to contain his emotions after seeing Cesilia's face featured in a beauty magazine.

"Why disappointed again, Lex?" Cesilia sighed, glancing briefly at her husband. "That shouldn't be the words coming out of your mouth. You should be proud of me instead of cursing like this."

"Proud, you say?" Alexander pointed to the magazine on the vanity. "You want me to be proud of all this? No! After you promised me to give up your entire career and focus on our pregnancy program on our sixth wedding anniversary. But instead, you accepted this offer, even though tomorrow is our anniversary!" he retorted, his face turning red and his jaw clenched.

Alexander felt the urge to vent his anger towards Cesilia even more, but he managed to maintain his composure for the sake of their marriage.

"Alexander, listen." Cesilia rose from her seat. "It's just a two-year contract. And becoming the brand ambassador for this product is the pinnacle of the modeling world. It has been my dream since forever. Didn't you promise to support all my dreams, Lex? So, this is the time." She straightened Alexander's disheveled appearance.

"But you promised me that you would let go of all this on our sixth wedding anniversary. And you also know that my mother is demanding a child from us." Alexander closed his eyes. "And you know that my mother is not young anymore, Cesilia."

"I know that. And I think two years will be enough for Mama to wait. Six years have gone by so quickly. Two years should be even easier."

"You..."

"Alexander, let it go. I don't want to argue with you anymore." Cesilia covered Alexander's mouth with her palm. "Just two years, my love. I beg you." She gently caressed Alexander's firm jaw, persuading the man who always granted all his desires.

Alexander let out a heavy sigh. He pushed away Cesilia's hand that was dancing on his jaw.

"I can't give you any certainty!"

Unable to stop him, Alexander walked away, closing the door with a forceful bang.

Cesilia merely smiled, letting her husband depart. There was no ounce of her desire to follow in Alexander's footsteps. Instead, she reached for her bag on the vanity and decided to leave for work.

***

"Alexander, is this true?" an middle-aged woman confronted him, holding a magazine in her hand. Without any preamble, she approached Alexander, who had just descended the stairs.

Alexander nodded. His handsome face looked weary now.

"Cesilia took the contract with that product. So..."

"That means Mama has to wait again?" she interjected quickly.

"How many more years, Lex? Huh, how many more years? Mama is getting older, and so are you. Do you want your child to be born while Mama is already dead and you're using a cane? Is that what you want?" She struck Alexander with the magazine.

Did it hurt? Not at all. Alexander didn't feel anything as the magazine landed on his body multiple times. But his heart ached deeply seeing his mother starting to sob, crying upon learning that his wife, Cesilia, had once again postponed pregnancy.

Again and again. After six years of waiting with hope and dreams of having grandchildren, everything vanished. All crushed because of Cesilia's ambition, never satisfied with her career. Meanwhile, Alexander had everything that could guarantee their lives for generations to come.

"Two years," Alexander whispered softly. If he could be honest and be himself, Alexander wanted to cry. To release his disappointment over Cesilia's unilateral decision.

The sixty-five-year-old woman shook her head. "That's too long. And Mama isn't sure if she can wait. As you know, Mama isn't young anymore. Mama has been ill, Lang. So Mama begs you, persuade your wife to cancel that contract. And Mama is certain that, as a wife, she will follow what you want. The money you have is more than enough to pay the penalty."

Alexander simply nodded, forcing a smile so his mother wouldn't know that he could only comply with whatever Cesilia wanted. Afraid that Cesilia would ask for a separation, following her ambitions and desires was his solution.

"Don't worry. Mama will help you talk to her," Meri continued before she stood up and sat on the sofa. Seeing that Cesilia's car wasn't in the garage, she was sure the woman hadn't returned home yet.

That's alright. Waiting for an hour or two was better than waiting for another two years to have grandchildren.

However, Meri's patience was tested once again. Until midnight struck, Cesilia hadn't shown her face. Meri became more and more annoyed with her daughter-in-law.

Frustrated, Meri decided to rest in the guest room. Maybe she would talk to Cesilia in the morning to improve her mood from today.

***

At exactly two in the morning, Cesilia, who had just returned from a photo shoot session, snorted in annoyance upon seeing her mother-in-law's car parked in her house's garage. She could already guess why Meri had come all this way to her house.

"Is Mama here?"

Instead of greeting Alexander, who was sitting leaning against the bed, she asked. The man sat there, holding a laptop, waiting for Cesilia's return.

Alexander raised his face. "Why so early in the morning? Usually, you come home at the latest by midnight."

"This is a very famous beauty product. So, it's only natural that it took longer because there were so many preparations to be done. The photo shoot was the same. It couldn't be done haphazardly," Cesilia replied indifferently, placing her bag on the nightstand. "You haven't answered my question. Is Mama here? What's going on? Is she asking for a child again?"

"As a daughter-in-law, you shouldn't speak like that." Alexander finished his work. Aware that arguing with Cesilia would consume time and energy, he had to focus only on their conversation.

"As a mother-in-law, Mama also shouldn't force me to have a child. Because I have dreams I want to achieve. So I beg you, tell Mama that I can't get pregnant in the near future."

"Cesilia!"

"What, Lex? If you want to make Mama happy, go ahead. I don't mind. As long as it doesn't involve me." Cesilia's voice grew louder. Everything she had received erased any goodwill she had toward Alexander.

Cesilia also forgot who she was and who Alexander was to her. Thus, she failed to maintain the commitment they had.

"If not you, then who else? I can't possibly give birth to my own child!" Alexander retorted, desperate due to Cesilia's constant conflicting desires.

Cesilia smiled. "That's a good idea, Lex." She approached and hugged Alexander. "You can have a child without me giving birth."

"What do you mean?"

"I will find you a wife so you can have a child without waiting for me. How about that?" Cesilia's eyebrows raised.

"You're insane!"

"Who's more insane, me or your mother, who always insists that I get pregnant when I'm not ready!" Cesilia burst out right in front of Alexander's face. "If you continue like this, it's better to divorce me right now, Lang!"

"You!"

"I don't care what you want to say. If you want to have a child, go ahead. I'll find a wife for you. But if you don't want to remarry, be patient and wait. Or you can just divorce me if you think I'm crazy and can't obey what you say!"

Silence. Alexander tightly sealed his mouth shut. Cesilia's response was far from his expectations all this time.