Episode 7

After venting his emotions, Theo left his wife alone. Without eating or speaking, he hurried to clean himself up and went to the office. It was still before working hours.

Annisa knew his husband's behavior was because he was angry about the news of Riu's marriage. But who wouldn't be angry? She herself felt disgusted. Camelia must have felt the same way too.

"Kelvin! Kelvin!" Annisa shouted as she headed towards the dining table. Before calling her younger brother, Annisa would speak to her only son first.

"What's wrong, Ma?" Kelvin approached his mother. "Where's Papa?" he asked.

Annisa sighed heavily, then lazily threw herself onto a chair. Kelvin looked at her confused, while taking a seat in front of her.

"There's bad news from Indonesia. Your uncle... he has gotten married, and the assets there will be transferred to him." Annisa spoke with narrowed eyes, showing how much she despised this news.

"Uncle Riu, married? That's impossible, Ma. He's permanently disabled, no woman would want to be with him."

"I don't believe it either. But this information came from Mr. Suryo. And so far, the news he brings has always been accurate."

Upon hearing his mother's answer, Kelvin could only shake his head while frustratingly ruffling his hair. He hadn't even finished being curious about Vale's marriage, and now he was confronted with his uncle's marriage. It was irritating. It seemed like the situation was so overwhelmingly chaotic.

"That's why, you need to quickly marry Angela, so our family position becomes stronger. Don't remember Vale anymore. Her social status is much lower than ours. She's not suitable for you," Annisa scolded. She once again pushed Kelvin to marry Angela as soon as possible.

"This Uncle's marriage has nothing to do with me or Vale, Ma. Please don't mix them together. I'm not ready to get married yet, especially to Angela."

"What do you mean by saying that? Do you plan to get back with Vale?"

"Ma___"

"No matter what, Mama will never agree for you to marry her. Remember that, Kelvin!" Annisa concluded. She scolded Kelvin so vigorously, as if she found a place to unleash her emotions that morning.

Kelvin took a deep breath, "Ma, I have separated from Vale, as you wanted. I won't get back with her, let alone marry her. But please, Ma, don't make me hurry to marry Angela. I'm not ready to take our relationship that far. Even though it's financially beneficial, I also don't want to ignore my feelings."

Annisa smirked, dismissing Kelvin's answer as irrational in her opinion.

"You're still talking about feelings, even though you've played with them many times. What's on your mind, Vin?"

"Love and de-sire are very different." An answer that Kelvin could only keep within himself.

Whether it was his lack of courage or his cowardice, he didn't dare to say that answer out loud.

"I have done so much for your future. Don't ruin everything just to follow your irrational feelings. Remember that!" Annisa said with a high tone. Then, she got up and left Kelvin alone, who was still lost in his emotions.

______

"Ask Dad about it. I don't believe that disabled man could get married this quickly," Camelia said when Annisa called and explained everything.

Camelia was also angry. Although she had received the assets in France, she still didn't want Riu to get a share. In her opinion, all the inheritance should be divided equally between her and Annisa. Riu didn't need it because he was not their mother's child.

With a heart that was not completely at ease, Camelia called Jason. Without any pleasantries, she asked about Riu's marriage. Whether it was true or not.

"Yes, your brother has indeed gotten married, legally and according to the government. That's why the assets here will be transferred to his name."

Camelia was stunned. She couldn't believe if the recent news was true.

"Who is the woman married to Riu, Dad?" Camelia asked, pretending to be calm.

"As for that, ask him yourself."

"Why is that, Dad? Papa said they were legally married, so what's wrong with me knowing her name?"

"That's her privacy, so it's better if you ask her yourself," Jason replied, still hiding Vale's identity.

Finally, Camelia ended the call. With an annoyed heart, she called Riu. She asked the same question about the sudden marriage.

"Yes, I'm married, sis. But, sorry, I can't tell you my wife's name. If you want to know, come home! You can meet her too. She'll be happy to meet her sister-in-law as good as you," Riu answered from afar. His tone was so calm, as if intentionally challenging.

"Riu, I am your sister. Do you think it's polite to act like this? I just want to know your wife's name, what's so difficult about that? Oh, or maybe... did you only enter into a contract marriage with her? To obtain assets from Papa?" Camelia accused.

"Sis, I'm not a coward who's willing to do anything for an inheritance. I'm like this because I miss you. It's been a long time, right? You and Annisa haven't come home? Don't you want to visit your disabled sister?"

Riu's increasingly calm response made Camelia worried. On one hand, she thought Riu was too naïve. But on the other hand, she felt that Riu knew everything.

"I'll let you know later." Without waiting for a response from Riu, Camelia abruptly ended the call.

Then, she immediately discussed the matter with her husband, Vir Hanz. Not much different from Theo, Vir was also a greedy man who wanted to control his in-laws' inheritance. He would do anything to remove Riu's name from that share.

"Let's just go there and see what kind of woman he married. We'll surely find a way to manipulate her to side with us."

The sound of a spoon clattering could be heard, right after Vir finished speaking. The sound came from their son, Sander Hanz. The same age as Kelvin, he rose from his seat, leaving his barely touched croissant.

"Uncle Riu is also Grandpa's child. He has the right to receive the same inheritance. Why are you both so greedy?"

"Shut your mouth, Sander! Your mother and I are doing this for you!" Camelia retorted, her eyes glaring sharply.

Sander laughed bitterly\, "For me or for your own satisfaction? From when I was little until now\, when you moved us here\, I never asked for anything extravagant. Just so you know\, Mom\, I'd rather live in poverty than live luxuriously with a tainted background. I___"

"You insolent child!" Vir interrupted, delivering a harsh slap.

Sander didn't respond further, only his breath visible as he endured the pain on his cheek and in his heart. Then, without a word, he left his parents behind.

Not sure where he was going. Camelia and Vir ignored him for a moment. They first devised a plan to prevent Riu from obtaining that share.

"We'll go back as soon as possible, and make that woman side with us, through subtle or harsh means," Vir said, which was then agreed upon by Camelia.

After reaching that agreement, Camelia informed Annisa. The woman immediately agreed. To her, the plan was quite brilliant.

"We just need to sacrifice a little money. With that, Riu's wife will side with us. Nowadays, which woman can resist money? Especially... when compared to a disabled man like Riu, he won't win," Annisa confidently stated.

Little did she know that in a faraway country, Riu was actually hoping for her presence. Riu had prepared a big surprise to welcome his sister's return.

To be continued...

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