The morning drizzle shrouded Jakarta in a grey mist, reflecting the atmosphere in the Yang family penthouse. David stood before the three-meter-high window, watching the rain soak the city. Behind him, Elara was busy selecting jewelry for that afternoon's socialite event, her face brighter than David had seen in weeks.
"Do you really have to go?" David asked without turning around.
Elara sighed. "David, we've talked about this. This is an important fundraising event. And you have a charity event with Kael, don't you? Everything is arranged."
"Alisha hopes her mother can come." David's voice was flat, but there was a faint tremor at the end of that sentence.
"And she'll be fine. Besides, you've always been better at charity matters." Elara finally turned, her eyes meeting David's through the window's reflection. "Or is this not about Alisha, but about Kael?"
The tension that had been building for weeks finally found an outlet to erupt. Their conversation continued with increasingly heated accusations until Alisha appeared in her still-neat school uniform, breaking the tension with her innocence.
Inside the black Mercedes gliding along the wet toll road, Alisha innocently asked why her father was angry. David was startled to realize how keenly his little daughter could read his expressions. His heart was touched, but also grew heavier thinking about Elara choosing the socialite world over family.
The charity event at the Bimo Foundation was full of contrasts. On one hand, David was moved seeing hundreds of underprivileged children with hopeful eyes. On the other, every laugh Alisha shared with Kael was like a small knife stabbing his chest. Kael patiently explained each activity to Alisha, and the little girl listened with an enthusiasm David rarely saw when he was the one speaking.
The climax came when Alisha innocently showed a picture she had drawn—a picture of herself with Elara and Kael, smiling happily in front of the foundation. "Mom and Uncle Kael took me to buy crayons yesterday," she said without burden. "Mom said not to tell Dad, or Dad would be busy."
David's world spun. Those words were like a hard slap. While escorting Alisha to the car, confrontation with Kael was unavoidable. Under the increasingly heavy rain, the two men faced each other with all the accumulated tension.
"How many times have you met Elara without my knowledge?" asked David, his voice almost lost in the roar of the rain.
Kael sighed. "Coincidental meetings aren't important, David. What's important is that you don't trust your own wife."
"And you think you're entitled to give advice about my marriage?" David's voice rose. "You're the one who still loves her! You're the one who never moved on!"
The silence that enveloped Kael after that question was the most painful answer David received.
The journey home was shrouded in thick silence. Alisha slept tiredly, while David kept calling Elara who never answered. When they arrived at the penthouse, the emptiness felt more torturous than usual. Elara hadn't returned.
The hours kept passing. At 11:47 PM, Elara finally appeared in a dark blue evening gown, her face tired but with a different light in her eyes—a light David hadn't seen at home for a long time.
"You met Kael yesterday?" David asked as Elara was about to enter the bedroom.
Elara stopped, her shoulders stiffening. "Alisha told you?"
"Answer me."
"Yes. A coincidence. He was in the school area." Elara turned, her face defensive. "Why, David? Am I not allowed to meet friends now?"
"Friends?" David approached, his steps heavy. "Or an ex-lover you still keep in your heart?"
Their argument peaked in the middle of the night, with the rain as a silent witness. The sound of their mutual accusations filled the luxurious room that suddenly felt very cramped. Elara finally entered the room and locked the door, leaving David alone in the spacious living room.
David stood in the middle of the room, his breath still heavy with emotion. His eyes fell on the still-on television. On the screen, late-night news was broadcasting coverage of the fundraising event Elara attended. The reporter talked about the fundraising success, but what made David's blood freeze was the side photo that appeared next to the reporter—a photo of Elara and Kael sitting close together in a café, laughing freely. The camera angle was intimate, and the caption below read: "Davina and Ex-Boyfriend: More Than Just Friends?"
That's when his phone rang. An unknown number. With trembling hands, David answered it.
"David Yang? This is Natasha. We need to meet." The woman's voice on the other end sounded serious, almost whispering. "About Elara and Kael. I have information you need."
Behind the bedroom door, Elara slid to the floor with her back against the door. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she suppressed the sound of her sobs. She could hear David still moving in the living room, but didn't know about the call he had just received, or the photo that was beginning its journey through social media.
In the living room, David still held the phone, his eyes fixed on the photo on the television screen. Natasha was still speaking on the phone, but her voice seemed to come from a distant tunnel. All David could hear clearly was his own heartbeat, and the sound of rain outside that seemed to pour down all the remaining trust that still survived.