Noah and Armand entered the villa, followed by Orion and Tarra, who looked just as shaken.
The bride, who still looked incredibly beautiful despite everything, sat on the floor in the corner of the room. Her tears had dried, but the traces were still visible on her face.
Her eyes looked empty.
Things weren't any better for everyone else in the room.
Mahesa and Irawan sat across from each other on the sofa, their faces red with barely contained anger. Jonathan looked just as furious, but since he was sitting with his younger sister in his arms, he was trying his best to keep his temper under control.
Irene sat on the floor with her head resting against her husband's knees. Her cheeks were still wet from the tears that refused to stop, accompanied by quiet sobs escaping her lips.
Citra sat beside Irene, while Monica, her eldest daughter, held her tightly.
On the sofa beside Mahesa, little Athena, his granddaughter, was still sleeping peacefully.
The moment Mahesa and Irawan saw Noah and Armand arrive, they immediately stood up.
"Well?" they asked almost at the same time.
"Let Orion explain, Dad," Noah replied, pointing toward Orion, who stood behind him with Tarra.
Orion briefly explained what they had discovered while showing Mahesa and Irawan the CCTV footage of Adam leaving at two in the morning, along with the files proving that Adam had purchased three domestic flight tickets under his own name.
Noah then explained what had made him suspicious.
His suspicions grew even stronger when he called Marissa's house. According to her housekeeper, Marissa had already returned to Singapore two days ago.
After Noah finished explaining, Orion showed everyone something else—the ferry departure schedule from Batam to Singapore.
He zoomed in on the screen and pointed at a name listed among the VIP passengers on a ferry scheduled to leave Batam at ten that morning.
A name everyone in the room knew very well.
ADAM ASHFORD
Crash!
A loud sound suddenly came from the corner of the room.
Everyone turned in shock.
Jonathan was standing there, fresh blood dripping from his knuckles.
The thick glass wall in front of him was no longer intact. Shattered pieces of glass were scattered around his feet.
All the women in the room screamed.
Irene tried to run toward her son, but seeing the broken glass everywhere, Irawan immediately wrapped his arms around her and stopped her from going any farther.
Natasha was different.
The moment she saw her beloved brother lose control, she immediately ran after him without caring that she was barefoot.
She ignored everyone's screams telling her to stop.
Fortunately, Noah, who was standing closest to Jonathan, managed to block her path.
Natasha screamed hysterically as she called out her brother's name again and again.
Seeing her like that, Noah had no choice but to pull her into a tight embrace, stopping her from forcing her way past him to reach Jonathan, who stood with his back toward them.
Half-dragging her away, Noah pulled Natasha's exhausted body away from the broken glass.
He guided her toward the sofa and sat her down.
Hearing Natasha's cries, the other women began sobbing again in the arms of their husbands.
Jonathan seemed to finally realize that his outburst had only made the situation even more chaotic.
After taking several deep breaths, he carefully walked toward everyone gathered in the room.
"It's already nine in the morning. We only have one hour left before the ceremony is supposed to begin. What are we going to do?" Jonathan asked as he wrapped his bleeding hand with a piece of cloth he had apparently found somewhere.
"Mr. Irawan, I'm sorry once again. I truly never imagined my son would do something this cowardly."
Mahesa's apology was met with a slow shake of Irawan's head.
"I'm sorry for butting into this family matter, but I have two possible solutions. May I say something?"
Tarra's voice cut through the tension like a breath of fresh air.
They still didn't know what she was about to suggest, but simply hearing that someone had an idea brought a little relief to everyone.
After receiving a nod from both Mahesa and Irawan, Tarra continued.
"I have two options. The first one is that we go outside and tell everyone there's been an emergency and the wedding has to be postponed. But the risk is that, sooner or later, both families will become the subject of gossip."
"The party here can easily be canceled because it's a private event with only family and close friends. But what about the reception in Jakarta?"
"You two won't be able to cancel the invitations in Jakarta that have already been sent out. There are five hundred invitations, after all."
Tarra looked directly at the two men in front of her.
"You're right. Then what's the second option?" Mahesa asked.
"The wedding goes ahead... but with a different groom."
Tarra lowered her voice as she said it.
"What do you mean? My daughter should marry some random man just to save our family's reputation?" Irawan shouted angrily.
"Why does he have to be some random man?" Tarra replied calmly. "Mr. Mahesa has more than one son, doesn't he? And his other son is actually more than qualified."
Everyone turned toward Noah.
He sat there frozen, clearly stunned that such an idea had come from one of his closest friends.
"Those are the two doors I've opened for you," Tarra said. "You can decide which one you want to walk through."
With that, she grabbed Orion's hand.
"Orion and I will head out first. You can discuss it among yourselves. You only have one hour left. Excuse us."
She walked out, dragging Orion along with her, leaving him just as speechless over the plot twist she had casually dropped on everyone.
---
"Tarra's suggestion isn't a bad one," Mahesa said quietly.
"I could agree to it, but what about the kids?" Irawan asked. "What do you think, Mahesa?"
Without saying a word, everyone's eyes turned toward Natasha and Noah, who were sitting beside each other on the sofa across from them.
Neither of them spoke.
"I don't agree, Dad. I'm sorry."
Natasha finally broke the silence.
"If I force Noah to marry me, wouldn't that be unfair to him? I still love Adam. Maybe that love is buried beneath all this anger right now, but my heart still belongs to another man. How can I marry Noah while I'm still carrying someone else's name in my heart? Wouldn't that be no different from cheating?"
Her voice was soft.
Natasha knew Noah was a good man. He would probably be willing to sacrifice anything to protect both families from embarrassment.
But she couldn't bring herself to make him pay for a mistake he hadn't made.
Everyone fell silent.
They couldn't deny what Natasha had said.
It wouldn't be fair to Noah.
They couldn't force him into a marriage simply to protect the family's reputation.
They didn't want to turn something as serious as marriage into a solution for a scandal.
Noah looked at everyone in the room one by one.
Every face was lowered toward the floor.
The shame of what had happened would be difficult to bear.
And if the news spread, the company's shares could be affected as well.
Not only that, Irene was still working as the principal of a public elementary school. The last thing they wanted was for her name to become the subject of gossip just before her retirement.
Noah took a deep breath.
"What if we do this instead?"
Everyone looked at him.
"I want to propose to you, Natasha Blackwood, daughter of Irawan Blackwood."
His voice was calm and steady.
"I don't mind that your heart isn't ready yet. I won't ask you to suddenly stop loving Adam. Feelings can't simply be forced to change overnight."
His words left everyone speechless.
There was no hesitation in his eyes.
Noah believed this small sacrifice could save everyone from a much bigger disaster.
And besides, what was wrong with Natasha?
She was beautiful, kind, came from a good family, and at only twenty-seven, she was already a respected specialist doctor.
Natasha stared at him in disbelief.
She searched his eyes, looking for even the slightest trace of doubt.
But instead of doubt, she found absolute certainty.
"You've heard Noah's answer yourself, so what about you?" Citra asked softly. "Honestly, I've always hoped you'd become my daughter-in-law. I don't think I could bear seeing you become part of another family."
Natasha didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she looked at her mother sitting beside her father.
Both of them gave her a small nod, silently giving her their blessing.
Her brother, who had suddenly stood beside her, gently squeezed her shoulder, silently showing his support.
"Mom, Dad... are you both really okay with this marriage?" Natasha asked.
Everyone nodded.
Natasha took a deep breath.
"Then... I'll accept Noah's proposal."
The moment she said it, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
The heavy weight that had been sitting on their chests finally seemed to lift.
"All right. Since everyone has agreed, we need to move quickly."
Citra raised her voice.
"Orion! Tarra! I know you two have been listening from the kitchen. Come out! We need to hurry!"
A few seconds later, the two friends appeared from the direction of the kitchen, grinning sheepishly after being caught.
Apparently, after leaving through the front door, they had simply gone around the back and entered through the poolside door, which had been left wide open because Citra had instructed the photography and makeup teams to wait near the pool.
"You two need to go to the ceremony venue right away. The officiant will probably be there soon."
Citra looked at them seriously.
"Work with the wedding organizer and buy us some time. Everyone here is going to be late."
"Okay, Auntie," Orion and Tarra replied together.
"Wait a second, Orion."
Noah walked toward him and whispered something into his ear.
Orion nodded immediately and hurried outside, followed closely by Tarra.
***