"In the tapestry of matrimony, vows weave a sacred pact, binding only the hearts of two, never more."
~ Rouzel Soeb ~
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Diandra Sasmita, or Andra as she's commonly known, gazed upon her daughter, Nayla Sasongko Putri, nestled serenely on her opulent pink bed. The cherubic face of her five-year-old bore the innocence of an angel, already enveloped in the embrace of a deep slumber beneath a cozy blanket.
Andra gently picked up a tablet phone -- still playing Nayla's favorite Frozen video -- from beside her daughter's peacefully resting face. With a tender smile, she powered off the screen, her fingers briefly caressing the soft strands of Nayla's hair. Stepping out of the room, she dimmed the lights, leaving the tranquil hush of the night to cradle the dreams of her beloved child.
"Sleep well, my princess," Andra whispered from the doorway as she gently closed her daughter's bedroom door.
The woman with short, shoulder-length jet-black hair, moved gracefully down the corridor on the second floor of her house. Descending the carved staircase to the first floor, her eyes briefly lingered on the joyous family portrait displayed prominently in the lower part of her home. The large frame showcased photos of herself, her daughter, and Yuda Sasongko Putra, her husband.
No maids graced the house that night, and the opulent ambiance seemed even more muted. The air outside carried a chill from the incessant rain that had persisted since morning, accompanied by the continuous rumbling of the sky.
"Is Nayla asleep?" asked Yuda --- her husband --- who was watching a soccer match in the living room that night. He had turned down the volume of the television to talk to Andra.
His wife nodded, then walked over to Yuda who was lying on the sofa and lay down sideways there. She immediately grabbed Yuda's arm from behind to hug her waist, while watching the soccer match with her husband.
"Did you just take a shower?"
Yuda, her tall and handsome husband, asked her while sniffing the vanilla scent of Andra's silky hair. Andra didn't answer right away and just chuckled as Yuda shook her hair out of her neck, then kissed her smooth skin.
Her husband had just returned from his office in the Sudirman Central Business District an hour ago. The man, who comes from a family that owns one of Jakarta's skyscrapers, deliberately did not greet his wife immediately when he arrived home. He knew she was always in Nayla's room and was trying to put their daughter to bed in the hours of his return.
Andra herself knew that when her husband returned from the office, he had a routine during certain times. He would promptly take a shower, have dinner, and settle down to watch recorded or non-live English Premier League matches in the lower living area. He never wanted to disturb his wife by watching it from their bedroom.
"It's so chilly here," her husband whispered in Andra's ear. His warm, mint-scented breath caressed the skin of Andra's neck, sending shivers down her spine. "You're not intentionally teasing me, are you?"
Andra glanced back with a slightly puzzled expression. "What? Teasing you?"
"Your outfit," Yuda murmured, his fingers brushing against Andra's low-cut lingerie beneath her thin kimono. "You know I can never resist seeing you in something like this, right?"
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"You're incorrigible!" Andra retorted, evading Yuda's well-founded accusation.
Her husband chuckled. Although Andra insisted she wasn't teasing him, when he kissed her neck again, she didn't stop him. Goosebumps prickled on her skin, and despite the cold, her body responded.
She squirmed as she felt Yuda's warm hand naughtily tracing her exposed shoulder. Playfully, she swatted away Yuda's hand, intending to keep it from exploring beneath the folds of her nightgown, but Yuda remained unfazed.
Her husband swiftly moved to press his body against Andra's, his warm tongue delving into her mouth. Their mouths engaged in a dance, ranging from gentle to intense and rapid—leaving Andra nearly breathless.
The woman turned her face momentarily to catch her breath, and Yuda seized the opportunity to lower his head towards the lower part of Andra's face. He then kissed the surface of Andra's throat and his hand slipping beneath her thin gown.
Andra's hands instinctively gripped Yuda's short hair. After purposefully leaving red marks on sensitive parts of Andra's body -- eliciting loud moans from his wife -- Yuda now discarded the remaining clothes clinging to their bodies.
With finesse, he then engaged in a passionate encounter with his wife. They continued for quite some time on the sofa. Their sounds of pleasure muffled by the thunderous roars outside and the background noise of the televised soccer match.
After their intimate moment, they lay for a moment on the sofa, both catching their breath. A few minutes into their shared rest, Andra noticed Yuda getting up from beside her, still completely unclothed with his muscular physique on display.
"I'll be in the bathroom for a bit," he said, planting a brief kiss on Andra's forehead. "You know that I really love you, right?"
"I love you more," Andra replied with a smile blooming on her lips.
The woman then stretched her muscles on the sofa with a happy smile. Unfortunately, the joy she felt didn't last long.
Suddenly, Andra's foot touched something hard at the inner end of the sofa arm, causing her to fall silent. She slightly lifted her body to slowly examine the object that collided with her foot.
To her surprise, on the side of the couch where Yuda usually sat, there was an unknown phone strategically placed, hidden just beneath the folds of the sofa. Andra had never seen that phone before and had no idea who its owner might be.
The woman then tilted her head, observing the unfamiliar phone, and proceeded to fiddle with it. Andra furrowed her brow upon realizing the phone wouldn't open and seemed to be secured with a fingerprint scanning system.
Deciding to give up, she intended to ask about it from her husband. However, as she attempted to put the phone back, her expression suddenly froze. Something from the phone had unexpectedly captured her attention, and she now brought the phone screen closer to her face once again.
A pair of clasped hands appeared as the wallpaper on the locked phone. Andra clearly didn't recognize the hand of one person, but she unmistakably recognized the other hand in the photo. The scar on the right thumb in the picture was so identical to the distinctive birthmark on her husband's hand.
The woman sat there, astonished. Her thoughts beginning to turn suspicious. Her mind raced, trying to comprehend why her husband's hands were on the wallpaper of an unfamiliar phone she had never seen before.
The phone had been discreetly tucked into the folds of the sofa and its volume seemingly intentionally silenced. Andra felt a heightened sense of tension as she observed the warmth radiating from the clasp of the hands in the picture, both adorned with the same wedding ring.
Not possible! Andra muttered to herself. Her head suddenly feeling hot and her heart beating rapidly. It can't be Yuda's hands! Yuda is already married to me, and our wedding rings are different. Maybe... it's just someone else with a similar scar?
Just as Andra tried to dismiss the dreadful thoughts in her mind, suddenly a notification came into the phone. Andra's eyes blinked in surprise, and her body felt a sudden sway as she read a message from a contact saved under the name 'my beloved wife'.
Beep.
[I forgot, earlier this afternoon you asked for our baby's ultrasound photo from the hospital, right? I mistakenly sent it to your other phone.]
Beep.
[You still watching soccer, huh?]
Beep.
[Yuda Sasongko Putra Junior in my womb misses his dad. Come home quickly, daddy! We both miss you so much!]
Andra instantly tossed the object in her hand onto the sofa upon reading the latest notification on the unfamiliar phone. Suddenly, she felt a tightness in her chest, and her head began to spin.
She saw Yuda emerging from the bathroom in the living room, but Andra could no longer greet him warmly. The woman swiftly stood up from the sofa, and in a matter of moments, she ran quickly up the stairs to her room, where she collapsed in tears.