Love Redux: Fated to the Handsome Doctor

The sun began to rise, and Seno’s head throbbed. He squinted as the bright light hit his face. “Where am I?” Seno muttered. He couldn’t remember anything. Last night, he was very drunk. Mahya’s rejection wounded his pride. Somehow, Seno ended up venting his disappointment through alcohol, and this was the result.

“Good morning, Darling,” Olivia greeted with her mischievous smile. Her fingers pulled the blanket covering Seno’s body halfway, creating an enticing silhouette for her.

“Olivia?” Seno blinked. How did he end up in Olivia’s apartment? “Tell me, what happened?” Seno began to get up from the bed and tried to put on his clothes, while Olivia seemed to enjoy seeing the reaction of her secret lover.

“Why are you so surprised, Darling? Aren’t you used to be here?” Olivia taunted. She didn’t even intend to answer Seno’s question and wanted to play with Lara’s husband.

“Damn!” Seno growled. He quickly put on his pants and shirt, then checked his phone. “Damn it!” Seno cursed after seeing dozens of unanswered calls from his wife. He needed to go home.

“Why don’t we have breakfast first, Hm?”

“I’m leaving!”

“HAHA!”

Olivia chuckled at Seno’s regretful behavior for spending the night with her. He should be grateful for being able to satisfy his carnal desires with a beautiful girl like her. Seno was indeed rude!

***

Seno drove his car towards home. He had truly made a mistake. That bartender shouldn’t have contacted Olivia. “Damn!” Seno kept cursing throughout the journey.

He needed to get home before Lara started to suspect and… look for Bi Yani, whom he shouldn’t have met anymore.

“I hope Grandma’s maid has arrived,” Seno muttered while still controlling the steering wheel. He navigated the streets with his luxurious SUV. It was daytime now, and Jakarta’s roads were not too crowded, unlike during rush hours. Traffic jams in Jakarta would kill him.

***

Seno drove his car through the city toll road, which was starting to look busy. His heart seemed to beat faster as the distance to home got closer. Various possible consequences of his actions besieged his mind.

How could Seno explain his situation to Lara? When Seno had promised not to meet Olivia again.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Please!” Seno kept muttering as he pressed on the gas pedal on the way back home. The crowded streets now blocked his path, as if trying to warn him that his defense would end in vain.

In his mind, Seno tried to find a reasonable excuse. He knew that whatever reason he gave, it wouldn’t be enough to cover up his foolishness from last night. In silence, Seno wondered if his decision to drink excessively and spend the night with Olivia was due to his dissatisfaction in marriage or just disappointment with… Mahya? Seno’s pride was hurt!

As his car entered the residential area, Seno felt increasingly restless. He continued to drive until his car reached the front gate. Before parking the car in the driveway, Seno took a deep breath. He was so nervous because various burdens surrounded his mind.

He no longer loved Lara, but he had to maintain this marriage. Their child was a ticket to success that needed to be born soon. Seno had no choice but to pretend to be a slave to fake love, or… all his cunning tricks would be in vain.

“Phew!”

Unexpectedly, Olivia sent a message. She talked about a meeting with subcontractors and the difficulty of negotiations they faced. Olivia had created a perfect alibi for Seno and with concrete evidence from her ghost phone recordings.

“Oh! Mi amor! You’re unusually clever!” Seno praised Olivia, though the girl didn’t know it. He immediately deleted the message and entered his house gate with a relieved heart.

Lara’s car was still parked in the garage, which made Seno feel relieved. At least his wife hadn’t left the house. He could freely create the lies designed by his affair. Olivia was quite smart, in his opinion.

The car stopped in the corner of Seno’s house. After making sure that the vehicle’s engine was off, he got out lightly. Seno no longer thought about his reasons for not coming home all night.

When Seno opened the door of the house, a quiet atmosphere greeted him. He searched for Lara’s whereabouts, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Who are you?” Seno asked a pretty young girl.

“Welcome, Sir. I’m Melati, the new maid in this house,” Melati said politely.

“A new maid?” Seno frowned. “Were you sent by my grandmother?” he continued.

“Yes, Sir. But, I said yesterday that I was sent by you,” Melati said, bowing her head. She was afraid of being scolded for lying.

“Good. Good job!” Seno smiled. His wild eyes began to observe Melati from head to toe. “Beautiful,” he muttered. Melati didn’t hear anything.

“Where did my wife go?” Seno asked after thoroughly examining the beautiful new maid.

“Mother went to the market, she said, Sir.”

“The market?”

“Yes, she said she wanted to take a walk,” the fair-skinned girl continued.

“Why is her car still here?”

“Mother took an online taxi.”

“What?”

Seno was surprised once again. Why did Lara have to take an online taxi? He started to suspect where she had gone. Did Lara know that there was a tracking device in her car?

“At what time did she leave?” Seno inquired. He had to make sure that Lara wasn’t playing with fire behind his back. Seno wouldn’t stay silent if Lara ran away or cheated on him.

“An hour ago, Sir. Around 9 o’clock,” Melati answered softly. She felt pressured by her employer’s aura. It seemed that Seno was a temperamental person.

“Hhh… Okay, you can go,” Seno said, dismissing Melati. The girl sighed in relief and could finally continue her work.

***

Seno quickly walked to his private office. There, he began to contemplate the increasingly complicated situation. The lies and intrigues he created seemed to be more confusing than solving the problem. Lara leaving with an online taxi made him even more worried about the possibility of discovering the tracking device in the car.

As Seno tried to contact Lara, his phone calls went unanswered. He felt anxious and restless. Seno couldn’t deny the worry and suspicion that engulfed him.

“What’s going on?” he muttered to himself. Seno had to find out where Lara was.

Without waiting any longer, Seno decided to call Olivia. Hopefully, his secretary had a solution to his confusion.

“Olivia, I have a big problem. Lara disappeared!”

“What?!”

“Yes. My wife went with an online taxi. Where do you think she went?”

Olivia, on the other end of the phone, sounded calm. “Seno, relax. She won’t go anywhere. Is there another purpose? Isn’t she an orphan?”

Seno swallowed his saliva; Olivia’s words were true. “Y-yes, you’re right. Does she have any friends she could visit? I have a bad feeling.” Seno felt more trapped in the web of lies, he couldn’t even be honest with

Olivia-or Lara, for that matter, and everything.

“No, she’s quiet and… snobbish! Who wants to be friends with her?”

“Hhh… Alright. I’ll look for her somewhere else.”

Seno ended the call. His heart became even more uncertain. Where could Lara have gone? Why wasn’t he informed?