"M-Miss? W-why are you here?" the receptionist greeted, surprised as she rose from her chair.
Dinda smiled warmly and nodded. "Yes, Rane. I came to see Indra. Is he in his office?"
Instead of answering, the receptionist fell silent, looking visibly nervous at the question from one of her superiors. Her behavior surprised Dinda, especially when Rane started looking around in every direction, seemingly unable to meet Dinda’s gaze.
Frowning, Dinda asked again, "Rane? Are you listening to me?"
"Ah! Y-yes, ma’am," Rane stammered. "But… did Mr. Indra not inform you? Or did he know you were coming?"
Dinda shook her head. "No, I didn’t announce it. It was a spontaneous decision—I happened to be passing by, so I stopped in."
The two stood in silence for a moment before Dinda noticed the anxiety on Rane’s face. Especially since the woman hadn't even notified Indra of Dinda's arrival.
"What’s going on? Is Indra not in his office?" she asked again, snapping Rane out of her daze.
Rane gasped lightly, hesitating to reveal Indra's whereabouts because she herself wasn’t certain.
"Um… he left when lunch hour started, ma’am," Rane said, slightly stammering.
Dinda narrowed her eyes. "Left? Did he have a meeting with a client?"
Rane paused, as if trying to recall. "I don’t know. He went out alone."
"Alone!?" Dinda raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised by the receptionist’s response.
An awkward silence followed. Instead of calling Indra to confirm his whereabouts, Dinda tried to assess the situation herself.
"Where’s Sofia? Isn’t she here today?"
Rane slowly shook her head and lowered her gaze. "I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t know… Mr. Indra also left in a hurry, so I didn’t get a chance to greet or ask him."
Really? Dinda grew even more worried, her mind racing with possibilities about Indra’s whereabouts. She tapped her fingers anxiously on the reception desk.
Unlike Dinda, Rane was growing increasingly nervous, her body visibly trembling with fear that her words might cause a misunderstanding between her superiors.
"Lend me the phone. I’ll call Papa," Dinda said, holding out her hand.
"Ah! Y-yes, ma’am!" Rane quickly picked up the phone near the computer and handed it to her.
Rane's nervousness only worsened as she saw the mix of concern and suspicion on Dinda’s face.
Dinda dialed the company’s main number, pressing 1. It didn’t take long before a deep voice answered, causing a small smile to spread across her face.
"Ah, Papa? It’s me, Dinda."
["Dinda? Why are you calling from the office line? Are you—"]
"Yes, I stopped by after going to the mall."
["Oh my god! Why are you going out instead of resting!?"]
Dinda sighed at her father’s concern. "Don’t worry, Dad. I’m fine."
["Still... you need to take care of your health. Don’t go out unless it’s important. Does your husband know you're there?"]
"That’s what I wanted to ask. Does Mas Indra have a meeting scheduled outside today?"
Silence followed. Anggoro seemed to hesitate before responding.
["Meeting? I don’t think so... the meeting with the foreign executives is scheduled for tomorrow. Why do you ask?"]
DEG!!
Dinda gasped at her father's words. Her heart began to race as her mind flooded with thoughts.
["Dinda? Are you still there? If so, I will—"]
"Okay, Dad. I’ll go now. I’ll visit you sometime. See you later!"
Click!
Dinda hung up abruptly before her father could finish. She quickly said goodbye to Rane and walked briskly out of the office building.
"Damn it! Why does everything feel so suspicious? Where the hell is he!?" she muttered internally.
She walked faster, pulling out her phone and quickly dialing Indra’s number.
"Why didn’t I just call him right away? Such a waste of time!" Dinda waited anxiously for the call to connect, but Indra didn’t pick up.
Her anxiety worsened, her thoughts spinning with endless scenarios.
"Is he meeting with Sonia… without telling me?" she murmured, then scoffed in anger, "Our relationship may just be on paper, but that doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants!"
Dinda kept cursing Indra’s actions, pacing rapidly down the sidewalk. She didn't even care that she was pregnant; her curiosity and frustration overwhelmed her.
But where could she possibly go to look for him? She had no idea where to begin.
"Oh God…" Dinda suddenly stopped, catching her breath from all the rushing. "I should’ve made sure he didn’t have a girlfriend before marrying him. I shouldn’t have rushed into this!"
Why not? Dinda had hoped her marriage would solve her problems, but now it seemed to be creating even more—especially with Indra’s past continuing to haunt them.
Her shallow breathing made it hard to keep walking. She searched for a place to rest and finally sat down with a long sigh.
"Damn it! Why am I going through this because of him? I should’ve stayed calm even if he is seeing someone else."
She didn’t know what was getting to her, but Dinda felt overwhelmed with anxiety and unable to think straight, especially with Indra gone without any explanation.
Unconsciously, Dinda’s growing concern was actually a sign of deeper feelings. Frustrated, she struggled to shake off all the troubling thoughts that were taking over.
She sat quietly at the bus stop, trying to calm her pounding chest, still completely in the dark about her husband’s whereabouts. Then, suddenly, Dinda blinked and nearly leaped from her seat.
"Wait!" she squinted across the street, trying to get a clearer look at a familiar figure. "Isn’t that… them!?"