Unwanted Marriage - English Version

Mirah’ Pov Now I feel like I have the life that everyone wants; my sweetheart who flatters me all the time, and soon I’ll complete my master’s degree at one of Europe's most acclaimed universities. Ah, I really miss my dad and can't wait to meet him soon. I mean, he’s halfway around the world! In just a matter of months, I’ll receive my diploma, then, spend a few months in Jakarta, and return to busy streets of London to work and stay indefinitely with Theo. Speaking of Theo, you know Noah Mills, right? Honestly, I think their faces look so similar though Theo has grayish eyes. Believe me, he has the most gorgeous eyes in the world, you can die by drowning in it. “Hazel, have you prepared the docs for your graduation?” Theo startled me with a light kiss on the left cheek. Hazel is a cute nickname Theo gave me. He said my eyes were hazel colored, and since then, I don’t think he recalls what my real name is. “Almost.” I replied affectionately while bringing my lips closer to his lips as I pulled the coffee cup that he almost sipped. “Why are you so excited about my graduation?” “Well Hazel, because I cannot wait for any longer, to take you as my partner for life” He replied. “Wife, you mean?” I replied, frowning with flirtatious eyes. “Yeah… isn’t it obvious?” My sweetheart is so awkward when it comes to expressing his words of love. I guess, maybe his tongue will burn from saying one.           Graduation day is here. I’m in this lovely graduation robe and Theo is next to me, chivalrously holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I’m just so excited about this new chapter. "Drrrrrrrrr..." My cellphone buzzed, "Yes, Daddy?!" I answered, almost screaming with joy. "My favorite baby, how's my beautiful doll?" he asked. "Beautiful and proud! My GPA is almost 4.0, one of the brightest in Uni!" I enunciated trying to boast. "I know, baby girl. You were always brilliant… just like your mother. you even beat me in a chess in fifth grade, remember?" he asked, then I replied with a small laugh. "Mirah." suddenly the tone of his voice turned serious and deep. "Yes, Dad?" "Can you come back to Jakarta as soon as possible? Maybe around this week?" he asked. "What's the matter, dad?" I replied. "I will tell you when you’re home, dear." The answer was brief. Then suddenly, the phone tone was interrupted. This never happened before. "What's wrong Hazel?", Theo wondered, "Nothing. But I need to go back to Jakarta within this week," I muttered. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Jakarta, Indonesia I finally arrived; 17 hours flight is always tiring. This is my first flight back home this year. There have been a number of changes that I noticed at the airport. Now, it is definitely much better. I rushed to wait at Anomali Café, one of my favorite local coffee shops, for Mr. Iman our chauffer to pick me up. "Dad, you came to fetch me!" I exclaimed excitedly finding my dad in the back seat. "Of course, dear. it's been over a year since I’ve seen you. How could I not come to pick you up?" He replied with a sweet kiss on my forehead. "Mr. Iman, how are you?" "Good, Neng", he answered with a smile and a gentle nod. Mr. Iman has been with us since I was in elementary school. He was here even when Mom was still with us. He knew this family by heart, inside and out, good and bad. "What do you want to talk about?" I whispered closer to my dad, while leaning myself against his body and hugged his arms tightly. "We'll talk about it in a restaurant while eating. I want you to meet someone as well" "Okay…" I answered simply, as I draped my two arms around his potbelly and he smoothly stroke on my forehead. Ahh, there is no love more special than a dad's love for his daughter. Though, I can sense that Dad's attitude is a little bizarre today. Usually, he is so cheerful and full of jokes. But now he was completely quiet, he seemed fatigued and his gaze was blank while staring at the road out the window. After an hour and a half, I almost fell asleep on his arm. We eventually reached the restaurant. Dad woke me slowly while stroking my head. "Uhh, it's a shame we've arrived". We entered a spacious restaurant with a garten-theme, like some Sundanese restaurants that I’ve been to several times in Bandung. We headed off to a private room which seemed to have been ordered in advance. There was a man in a suit, so neat, with a pretty stiff face who has been waiting for us. I wondered “Why the heck did Dad invite me to some inner business meeting.” The man glared at me, from top to bottom with a very discomforting cynical look, but why, I don’t know. I’d never even met him before. "Mirah, this is Peyton, a son of my old friend." Dad opened the conversation. "Huh yeah, friend." he replied in a mocking tone, still sitting and folding his arms. Gosh, why is he so impolite?! Then, my Dad pulled a chair for me and we sat facing each other in the private room. "So, what do I need to explain?" Peyton looked at my dad's face closely and sharply. "What's this, Dad??" "I got involved in a case dear…” Dad said, “And only Peyton can help me. But he has a requirement. That’s why I brought you here" "And, what’s that?" "He is willing to help only if you agree to marry him," He replied regretfully. I was freeze for a while, tried to digest my father just said "Wait okay, I hope what I heard is not wrong, but this is too far! I can't marry someone that I just met! Not him!" I raged, while pointing at the face of the man. "Well, the decision is yours, Mr. Dirman. Whatever your decision is, it will never bring harm to me." his cynical face changed with a small, infuriating smile. "What is this? Are we still in the era of Siti Nurbaya or what? Involving marriage in some business solutions, this is ridiculous! And you, you are crazy!" My response was in a high-pitched tone that I almost screamed. I was shocked, irritated, disappointed and deeply furious. "Enough Mirah. You are embarrassing me!" my dad barked with a hand slamming onto the table, without looking at my face while I was still struggling to hold my back tears. I was startled, my dad rarely and even never yelled at me this hard. My chest felt heavy while Peyton just smiled watching us. Who is this man, I wondered. _____________________________________________________________________ This is my fifth day in Jakarta, after that incident. I haven't talked to my dad at all. I only stayed in my room, not even contacting Theo, even though he tried to call me a gazillion times a day. I don't know what to say, I'm confounded. I understand nothing, I have no clue at all! I really don't think this can be tolerated. I have to talk to my dad. I have to go to his office now. It's been a long time since the last time I visited my dad’s office, a 27-story building, and he rented 5 floors for his office. The smell of this lobby always puts a me smile on my face, the earthy aroma of citrus that never changes, and the cool sensation of every glass door in the building as it wide open. High ceilings filled with brown marble across the walls and floors as well as enormous paintings in the center of the lobby make this building look much more luxurious. I sat in the lobby while I ordered a cup of coffee, waiting for Mrs. Mariana, a secretary of my Dad’s who had been with him for a dozen years, to pick me up. "Mirah?" she called me from behind. "Aunt Ana!", I laughed cheerfully while hugging her. We are quite close, every time we have an event, dad never forgets to invite Aunt Ana and her family. Dad already treated Aunt Ana like her own sister. After grabbing for my order, we walked to dad's floor office while chatting, expressing our longing. We walked through glass-walled office spaces, into one of the largest rooms in this floor. My eyes were fixed on someone, Peyton. His boxed beard which was full and very neat was not easy to forget. "Why is he here, auntie?" while directing my gaze to Peyton from a distance. "Mr. Peyton? " she asked "Yes, that person. Why is there in the old dad's office?" "Oh, you don't know? He bought 55% of your dad's company. He owns the majority share now." "You mean Dad doesn’t own the Zander Group Inc. anymore?" I questioned curiously. "40% of it still belongs to your dad, but obviously your dad is not the main decision maker now" Aunt Ana tried to explain. "How is that even possible?" I asked again. "That question can only be answered by your dad, Mirah. Now come on, your dad is waiting for you and he has another meeting at 2. Hurry up." while pulling my hand to the corner of the building. Aunt Ana knocked softly, and a voice told her to come inside. I entered slowly, without saying anything, and my dad seemed to deliberately avoid eye contact and continued his work instead. "Dad, help me understand what’s happening." I opened the conversation. Dad stayed silent for a moment, then turned his face to me. "What do you think of my new office, Mirah?" he asked "Obviously much smaller than the previous one dad. As far as I’m aware, this room was used as a warehouse to store unused company assets, stacks of computers and laptops normally occupy this space. Why would you even choose this room for your new workspace?" "Yeah, I have no authority like I used to, Mirah. I’m not like I was." my dad's voice began to shake, and I was even more confused about what actually happened. "Dad, I never cared about your position at work like that. Even if you had to work on the streets, you are still someone I love the most. Please explain what happened. I'm really confused right now." My dad's body trembled as he held the tears. I approached him and hugged him. I just couldn’t see him like this. My dad had never appeared so weak, even on the day when Mom passed away. The most painful thing for all of us. “I made a huge mistake in the past, dear. And now, you have to pay for it!” He said with his low voice, “Please forgive me!” I could feel how hurt he was as he kept continuing to apologize. "Dad please, stop apologizing and explain what this is!" I asked firmly. "I have a debt to Peyton's dad. It's huge. Not just material, but a debt of gratitude, and maybe even my soul!" .The last word made his body tremble wildly. "And now it seems, Peyton has come to avenge his heartache on us," dad continued. "Dad, can you explain why? How we can get stuck with this debt?" "Mirah, I don't have that much time. I got an important meeting at 2. I’ll tell you when I am ready, and when the time is right." Then, he rushed to wear his suit and asked Aunt Ana to accompany him to the meeting room. Dad turned briefly to me while his fingers were on the door knob "If you want to help me and this company, please marry Pey, this isn’t just about us Mirah, but people who have worked with us for a long time, all employees in this office. More than 300 people now depend on us. Are you willing to sacrifice for them, dear? Think about it. You don't need to answer now." Those were my dad's last words before he closed the door and left me alone in this small cramped room. Dad's words continued to spin in my head. All the way home, the words continued to ring endlessly. The clearer it got, the more it brought the memories of my mom and the words she always told to me when I was little. "Mirah, always remember, kindness will never betray you. As painful as it can be, it’ll turn around to help you, and there is no greater and noble kindness more than prioritizing others. Remember this, my dear." The words that mom and dad said kept turning in my head that night, making it so difficult for me to close my eyes. My dad's car entered the driveway, roaring softly at 11:30 at night. But he doesn’t usually go back home this late. I could hear the steps as he’s going up the stairs slowly then entering his room. "Dad ..." I walked into his room without knocking. "Yeah, Mirah?" he replies, showing a tired smile. "I agree. After all, sacrifices are what you and mom have taught for me. I hope with this I can help many people as well" my dad didn’t say anything, he immediately embraced me, buried his face on my shoulders. He hugged me so tightly, followed by a shivering sorrow as he cried again. This time, he hugged me tighter.