Not the Wife He Wants

CHAPTER 7: Rick

Rick's POV

As dawn approached, I went home and saw Angela asleep on the sofa, wrapped in a thick blanket, with the TV still playing a cartoon. Her face was still pale, and when I touched her forehead, she still had a slight fever.

"Angela, move to the bedroom!" I called out, trying to wake her, but she only curled up tighter, pulling the blanket closer. "Angela! Move to the bedroom." I tried again, this time shaking her gently, but she didn't react. Finally, I decided to carry her to the bedroom. When her body touched mine, I could feel the heat radiating from her. She was still weak and feverish, and imagining that no one cared for her at home made me want to marry her out of pity. Besides, knowing her for a while hasn't proven any of Zia's words, which means my girlfriend was lying to me with motives I still couldn't understand.

Angela seemed to shift to hug a bolster when I laid her on the bed, her face looking so innocent in sleep. In my opinion, Angela's behavior wasn't bad enough to be called a troublemaker. She was just a bit noisy and stubborn. But I saw her as an obedient child; she didn't dare to defy her father. It's sad that a child has to be blamed and suffer just because of their parents' problems. Isn't it true that no child asks to be born? A child's presence is because of parents, so their problems shouldn't sacrifice an innocent child.

Thinking about Angela's situation made me reflect on my dreams before I met Zia. I used to hope to get married and have a child who looked like me or my wife, and it wouldn't matter. Then, if that happened, I would strive to be a good father, one my child could be proud of when they grew up. I really didn't want my child to end up like Angela, who suffered and lacked affection. But my meeting with Zia, falling in love, and making her my girlfriend had buried many of my dreams.

First, because Zia is the kind of woman who doesn't like to be constrained, so we chose a relationship full of freedom. Second, Zia doesn't really like children, so I had to bury my dream of being a father because she once said that when she got married, she didn't want to have children.

I adjusted the blanket over Angela, turned off the main light in the room, and left her to rest. Then, when I reached the TV room, I couldn't help but smile. While Zia's taste was for European films with stylish fashion, Angela's taste in shows was cartoons often watched by children. It's amusing, considering she's an adult woman and a future doctor.

My phone vibrated for what felt like the umpteenth time. I knew it was Zia, still angry and upset, but I really didn't want to argue because I was exhausted from handling work and several meetings with business partners to discuss our cooperation since the afternoon. So instead of opening the message, I chose to lie down on the sofa, cover my eyes with my arm, and fall asleep.

My sleep was then disturbed by the aroma of delicious food being cooked. My eyes opened, and when I looked around, the sun was already quite bright, and I turned towards the kitchen and found Angela busy there. Still wearing the SpongeBob pajamas from last night, her shoulder-length hair was tied up, revealing her beautiful neck. Besides that, I could hear her humming cheerfully while cooking. Without being prompted, I smiled because, for some reason, seeing her, who was usually gloomy and now seemed cheerful, made me happy too.

"What are you cooking?" I asked as I approached her. She turned and smiled.

"Did I wake you up with my noise?" She asked, grimacing and showing her neat teeth in guilt.

"You're always noisy. What are you cooking? Why didn't you just order food? I already gave you the number." I asked again.

"I just felt like having homemade fried rice, and I had the ingredients, even though they're not all there. Do you want some, Uncle?" She offered, and I nodded. I was just curious about how this kid's cooking would taste because I already knew how bad Zia's cooking was, so we decided not to have any more cooking events.

"Why don't you take a shower first? Aren't you working today?"

"I'll shower later, it's still cold. Besides, there's nothing that needs doing today, so we'll just relax at home all day." I replied, making her happy. I had deliberately finished everything from yesterday evening until early morning so that I could spend the whole day at home with Angela, making sure she rested and took her medicine.

"Can we go to the beach?" She asked hopefully, and I shook my head.

"You're still sick, and it's windy at the beach." I replied, making her pout but she didn't argue. Soon after, her fried rice was ready in front of me, complete with a runny sunny-side-up egg. It smelled delicious, and when I glanced at her, she was already eating it heartily. I finally took the first spoonful and was quite surprised; this kid turned out to be a good cook. Her simple fried rice was so delicious that I devoured it.

"Tasty," I murmured, and she beamed.

"I cook for everyone at home every day, so maybe it's good because I'm used to it." She said, making me turn to her.

"You cook at home?" I repeated, and she nodded.

"Don't you have a housekeeper?" I asked again.

"There is, but Aunt Diana wants me to cook so she can scold me if something's missing. It seems like scolding me has become a hobby for people at home, maybe because I'm stubborn and disobedient." She replied, making me pause for a moment. Could it be that Angela never knew the reason everyone disliked her? If she didn't know, then she shouldn't find out because I was sure it would hurt her feelings deeply.

"What did you do to make everyone against you?" I probed.

"I don't know, maybe because I don't have a mom, they think they can treat me however they want, and it exhausts me." She replied, not seeming to lie, making me believe that Angela really didn't know why her father and family disliked her all this time. I was sure because Angela seemed like the type of woman who would be obvious if she were lying.

"Or maybe it's because you're noisy, annoying, and whiny that they dislike you." I joked, chuckling, and I saw her eyes glance at me with annoyance and her lips pout.

"You're mean, Uncle Rick.” She retorted, and I laughed. It's something I couldn't believe because Angela is a girl who can make others talk a lot, seemingly with her many questions. Besides, her quirky behavior can easily make others laugh. Being around her, I felt like I lost my usual self, often described as reserved and aloof.

***

"Uncle, can we go to the beach sometime? I've never been to the beach before, especially since we're in Bali, right?" Angela asked after a moment of silence. I was reading a book, and she was lying down playing a game.

"We'll see." I replied briefly.

"How can we be in Bali and not visit the beach, Uncle? It's a shame. I might not get the chance to come here again," she said, still pleading, and I remained silent. "Uncle, please, can we go to the beach? I promise I'll be good," she whined again, but I still stayed silent. "Uncle, pleeease, to the beeeach.” She started raising her voice, making me click my tongue.

"Yes, Angela, yes! You're so noisy, for God's sake." I said irritably, and she cheered happily.

"Uncle Rick is the best when he takes me to the beach." She giggled, jumping up and down on the sofa with excitement. I really felt like I was babysitting a little kid bringing her here. Now I agree she calls me uncle, not because I'm old, but because Angela really looks like a ten-year-old child. Imagining being her husband for a year with all her quirky antics suddenly made my head spin.

Then her excited shouting stopped when her phone rang. She quickly grabbed her phone and showed it to me. "It's Zia calling, Uncle, she's probably going to be mad. You're the one who dragged me here, so you should take responsibility!" She said while handing me the phone.

"Just don't answer it." I replied flatly.

"Ugh, Uncle, if I don't pick up, she'll get even angrier." She whined, but I remained silent. Finally, Angela sighed in annoyance and answered the call, and a few seconds later, she moved the phone away from her ear, grimacing.

"I don't know. Uncle Rick invited me and said he got Dad's permission," Angela said to Zia. I figured Zia already knew that I had brought her cousin to Bali, and she was probably angry. "I couldn't refuse. Dad told me to." Angela added. Then I sighed in frustration and took her phone.

"I brought Angela here to accompany me to the art exhibition you refused to attend when I asked." I said, and I heard Zia sigh. I had previously invited her, but she declined because of work, and besides, she doesn't like paintings; she finds them boring.

"Why didn't you just go alone, Rick?" She said, almost shouting.

"All my colleagues are bringing their partners, and besides, this is good practice for Angela when she eventually accompanies me as my wife. Come on, Zia, stop being mad, you'll get wrinkles." I said, trying to end the argument because, honestly, I was tired of constantly arguing with her.

"Training? Huh? So after all our arguments, you're still going to continue with that damn marriage?" She said angrily.

"Of course, I will continue with it. It's a condition from my grandfather so that I remain the heir." I replied, not wanting to be contradicted. All this time, I've always followed Zia's wishes and never restricted her, even though sometimes I didn't like it. And this is the first time I'm asking her to understand my situation and support my desire, but it seems so difficult, making me feel that this relationship is becoming annoying.

"You could use another woman, Rick. My God, why is it so hard to advise you?" She sighed, sounding very frustrated.

"I've already told you that other women might not be suitable, Zia. Angela is a suitable candidate who I can ensure will be liked by my grandfather." I replied, equally stubborn.

"Fine, Rick, if you go through with this plan, we should just break up." Zia said again, and I was silent for a moment.

"Fine, if that's what you want, we'll break up." I replied, frustrated and angry because Zia didn't want to understand my situation at all.

"Is it that easy, Rick? Be honest, you already like that troublemaker, don't you?" This time, Zia was already shouting.

"How many times do I have to tell you I don't like her, and I'm just going along with what you started? Why are you questioning if it's easy for me instead of asking yourself, since you're the one who easily says you want to break up for unclear reasons?" I replied again, my emotions peaking.

"Unclear reasons? I've made it clear I object to your marriage with that troublemaker."

"If you're against it, then let's get married ourselves but you probably don't want to, right? Because you prefer your job. And your objection to Angela is unclear, Zia. Tell me why I shouldn't marry her?" I challenged her, and she just screamed angrily before ending our call. I almost threw the phone in my hand if Angela hadn't screamed in panic because her phone was in danger.

"Uncle, if you're going to get mad, just get mad, but don't let my phone be the victim. I worked hard at my part-time job to earn it," she grumbled irritably, then headed to the kitchen, and to my surprise, this little rascal brought me a drink. "Drink up, uncle, so you can stay sane!" She said annoyingly, but it secretly made me smile a little. I discovered that Angela worked part-time to buy a phone, which I thought wasn't very advanced. This little rascal is quite determined.

"Proud of an outdated phone." I teased.

"Of course I'm proud, I bought it myself without asking my parents." She replied with pride, making me smile. It improved my bad mood just by talking about a simple phone.

"I bought a house, car, company, villa, and hotel with his own money, and it's no big deal." I teased again.

"Well, uncle, you're already old, so you've had plenty of time to work hard. I'm still young, so I haven't achieved much yet. Just wait, when I'm your age, I'll definitely be more successful." Angela said confidently.

"Successful at what, becoming rich?" I asked dismissively.

"Becoming a doctor, a wife, a good mother, and a useful person." Her answer made me pause for a moment while looking at her. I thought she would talk about having lots of money and such, but her definition of success truly touched me.

"You want to be a good mother, as if there's someone who wants to be the father of your child in the future." I teased, hiding my admiration.

"Nonsense, there are plenty who would want me, even if for someone like you, Uncle Rick, I might not be pretty, but for guys my age, I'm pretty, you know." Her response made me laugh again and successfully made me forget my argument with Zia.

"I don't believe it."

"It's really tough talking to old folks."

***