Chapter 5 PART 4

Part 4 – My Potential Lover's Possessiveness

As morning arrived, the guests started to arrive. All of Grand Ma's and Aunt Inggrid's friends livened up the event that day. Anyelir and all her friends had even started getting ready in the morning, and Emil always stuck to Anyelir like a stamp on an envelope, making her feel like she was taking care of a baby. If Anyelir disappeared for a moment, Emil would be in a panic.

Byan had just welcomed the arrival of another friend of Aunt Inggrid's, the Perdana family. The Perdana family had a son, Rizaldy, around the same age as Byan, and a beautiful daughter named Citra, who seemed younger than Anyelir.

As a gracious host, Byan took Zaldy around Grand Ma's large house. Everyone present knew that Byan was Grand Ma's adopted grandson, who would continue the family business of catfish farming in the village, which had expanded its sales all over the country.

While Byan was chatting with Zaldy, he noticed Anyelir standing with her friends, smiling. Anyelir looked lovely that morning, wearing a light blue dress. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, pinned on the left side, while the right side swayed freely, sometimes caught by the breeze.

Byan was mesmerized by Anyelir's presence, so much so that Zaldy noticed his lack of response. Zaldy followed Byan's gaze and saw four girls, seemingly around Citra's age, chatting and smiling.

Zaldy couldn't tell which girl had captivated Byan like that. However, if he had to choose, he thought the girl in the light blue dress was the most beautiful among them all. He also recognized the girl in the pink dress not far from the one in blue. Wasn't she Nabila, his junior high school friend? It was a small world indeed, meeting his junior high school friend, Nabila, again.

"Byan, do you know them?" Zaldy nudged Byan's arm, bringing him back from his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry. What's up?" Byan asked.

Zaldy smiled. "Do you know those four girls?"

Byan looked at the direction Zaldy pointed, where Anyelir and her friends were.

"The one in the light blue dress is Grand Ma's granddaughter, the others are her friends," Byan replied.

"Ah, I see," Zaldy nodded, realizing they were related to Byan.

"She's beautiful in the light blue dress," Byan said, feeling a warm sensation in his chest. He knew whom Zaldy was referring to. It seemed he was feeling slightly uneasy seeing someone else admiring his girl.

"And that guy... the new arrival, he's Anyelir's boyfriend," Byan said.

"Anyelir?" Zaldy asked.

"The girl you said was beautiful earlier," Byan clarified, his gaze still fixed on Anyelir, observing how happy Emil looked beside her.

Zaldy nodded again. "Oh, I see... she's already taken."

"If you don't mind, let me introduce you to them," Byan said, contradicting his feelings inside. But why not just get acquainted? Zaldy smiled in response.

Once again, Emil seemed to know exactly what Anyelir needed. He brought drinks for her and her friends. Anyelir accepted the orange-colored drink and continued their conversation.

"Oh, Din, what's your concept for your wedding?" Anyelir asked, taming her hair as the breeze played with it. If only she had pinned both sides of her hair, it wouldn't be so troublesome.

Adinda blushed at the question. "I leave everything to Nico. He'll take care of it all."

Among the four friends, Adinda was the only one ready to take the step towards marriage this year.

"And after the wedding, are you going to follow Nico to his new assignment?" Nabila chimed in.

"Seems like it. Nico will be transferred to the Sulawesi branch, so I'll be moving there too," Adinda answered with a faint smile. Emil nodded, as he had known Adinda and Nico since high school. He was aware of their long-lasting relationship.

"And are we going to be separated then?" Anyelir pouted.

"Well, it's just Sulawesi, not the North Pole," Lala joked.

"Plus, it's not that hard to buy internet data. Let's video call each other, just don't interrupt my honeymoon," Lala teased.

"Of course not... how could I ever be separated from you all," Adinda looked at each of her friends. When her gaze fell on Emil, she saw him lowering his head, holding Anyelir's hand. Adinda felt relieved.

Finally, Anyelir accepted Emil by her side.

"When do you plan to submit your resignation to the office?" Emil raised his head, looking at Adinda. Adinda seemed to be pondering.

"Maybe within the next three months, I'll start submitting my resignation letter."

Adinda worked in the same office as Emil, as did Nabila and Anyelir. However, Lala worked in a different company.

At that moment, they saw Byan approaching with a guy they didn't know, probably related to Grand Ma.

"Hey, everyone, let me introduce you to Tante Inggrid's friend's son," Byan said.

Nabila seemed to recognize him. "Oh my, Zaldy! Is that really you? How have you been?" Nabila looked thrilled to meet her old school friend again.

"Alhamdulillah, I've been good, Bila. And how about you?" Zaldy greeted Nabila with a handshake.

"Great... wow, I can't believe we're meeting here after all these years." Nabila smiled warmly, and everyone present noticed the reunion between Nabila and Zaldy, wondering if they had a past relationship.

"From a distance, I thought I recognized you. Turns out, it's true, Nabila. Well, it's been ages since we last met," Zaldy looked at Nabila with a joyous smile.

"Since junior high, Zal, so many years. I can't believe you still recognize me," Nabila said.

Lala coughed. She felt like she was witnessing a reunion of two souls who hadn't seen each other in decades, and she needed to bring Nabila back to reality before she forgot her surroundings, surpassing the duration of a popular TV show.

"Oh, Zal, let me introduce you to my friends. This is Adinda, Laudya, Emil, and this is Anyelir," Nabila finally remembered her surroundings.

Nabila proceeded to introduce Zaldy to each of them, starting from Adinda, then Lala, Emil, and finally Anyelir. Zaldy even noticed how Emil had to let go of Anyelir's hand before shaking.

When Zaldy finally shook hands with Anyelir, he felt a warmth in his heart. "Truly beautiful and with such smooth skin," he thought. Anyelir looked puzzled because Zaldy didn't let go of her hand until she heard Emil clear his throat, prompting Zaldy to release her. Then, everyone saw how Emil immediately embraced Anyelir.

"It seems her boyfriend is possessive too," Zaldy whispered to Byan as he was taken on a tour of Grandma's house. Byan just gave a wry smile. Tante Inggrid also introduced Anyelir to her friends, Zaldy's parents. Of course, Emil didn't let Anyelir out of his sight even for a moment, especially when he saw how Zaldy looked at his girlfriend.

"Your niece is beautiful, Inggrid," Alya, Zaldy's mother, admired Anyelir's pretty face, causing her to blush.

Tuh mama (Mother) agrees too that this girl is beautiful, Zaldy thought.

"Yeah, Aunt, if she weren't beautiful, Emil wouldn't have proposed so quickly, right?" Emil chimed in.

Instantly, everyone looked at Emil in surprise.

"Emil... come on, what are you doing?" Anyelir whispered. She felt uncomfortable being in front of Grandma, Tante Inggrid, Zaldy's parents, and not to mention Byan, who was standing there, intensely gazing at Anyelir. It was not right for Emil to speak such lies.

"Yes, my love, I will propose to you soon. In front of everyone, I will announce that I truly love you, and we'll follow Adinda's steps and get married as soon as possible."

Anyelir looked horrified at Emil. Meanwhile, Byan tightened his jaw.

"Emil, I don't like jokes like this." Anyelir whispered softly. There was no connection between Adinda's wedding and theirs, except that they were just friends attending a wedding. Besides, why would they rush to get married together?

"I'm not joking; I'm serious. I've already talked to Grandma and Tante Inggrid."

Anyelir glanced at her aunt and Grandma alternately. Could it be...?

"Yes, my dear, Emil has asked for permission to propose to you, and he wants to get married quickly. Isn't that wonderful? I really want to see you get married soon." Grandma Esih looked delighted.

Oh my goodness, Emil!

Anyelir felt like slapping the guy next to her. How could he bring up such a topic at the wrong time and make decisions on his own? Anyelir still had to sort out her issues with Byan.

Byan took a sip of water from the glass in his hand. For some reason, the room suddenly felt suffocating.

"Well... I guess I don't have any hope then," Zaldy whispered softly, audible to Byan. Byan looked at him, not understanding.

"Anyelir," Zaldy whispered softly.

Finally, Byan nodded in understanding.

"Fix... this room is getting really hot, and he should find some fresh air outside before exploding here."