Secrets—everyone has them. Not always out of betrayal, but out of fear. Fear that if the truth ever surfaced, the fragile world they built would shatter in an instant.
After Mahesa's release, the Ardhananta living room was swallowed by silence. Retno. Saka. Gita. Tari. On the opposite side sat Zayn and his mother, Tika. No one dared to speak. Only the ticking clock filled the void, each second striking like a gavel—reminding them that time shows mercy to no one.
At last, Tika's voice broke the stillness—soft, but piercing.
"I want to apologize. For the chaos. For the wounds that may never heal."
Retno's gaze sliced through the room, cold and unforgiving, as though the word sorry had no right to exist tonight.
Mahesa reached for his wife's hand. "Enough, Tika. This isn't just your fault. I was part of it too."
The tension grew taut. Retno stood to leave, but Mahesa caught her wrist.
"For once… please, listen to me."
Her eyes burned. "What now? That she was your first love?" The venom in her voice dripped like acid.
Mahesa's lips curved into a faint smile—painful, brittle, carved out of regret.
"If you can still get jealous, it means I still matter to you."
Retno flushed red. Their children nearly smiled, but the air turned heavy again as Mahesa tightened his grip on her hand.
"Retno, there's something I've never told you. A secret I've carried since we were young."
Her breath hitched. "Another secret?"
"Not about Tika." Mahesa's gaze was unwavering. "This is about us. About a love I never confessed."
Tika lowered her head, whispering, "Retno… the one Mahesa has always loved is you. Not me."
Shock rippled through the room. Retno stared at her husband, disbelief flickering in her eyes.
Mahesa's voice cracked, yet his words were steady.
"I accepted our arranged marriage because I loved you. From then until now. But I was a coward. I thought you only saw Dirga, not me. That's why I pulled away—not because I didn't care, but because I was terrified of rejection."
Tears welled in Retno's eyes. "Why are you only saying this now?"
"Because I was afraid of losing you."
She closed the gap between them and embraced him. Warm, but bittersweet. For a fleeting moment, the family felt whole again.
But the warmth shattered when Mahesa spoke once more, his tone heavier than ever.
"There's another secret. Not about love… but about a past far darker. One that involves Zayn's father."
The room froze. Saka stiffened. Gita and Tari exchanged alarmed glances. Zayn straightened in his seat, eyes sharp.
Mahesa drew in a deep breath, as though the very air itself had turned too heavy to swallow.
"It's time you knew. About that night. About the tragedy that should never have happened."
The clock thundered louder, slicing through the silence.
Saka locked eyes with his father, his heart trembling. He knew one thing—tonight was only the beginning.
The beginning of wounds that would unravel everything.
~~~
Flashback – 2005
Rain slicked the streets. City lights blurred against the wet asphalt.
Mahesa had just left a hotel after a business meeting. Normally, his assistant was with him. That night, he was alone. As he stepped onto the marble terrace, raised voices pierced the night.
He almost ignored them—until he saw her. A woman he knew, Tika, collapsing onto the cold floor.
Instinct drove him forward.
Three figures stood there. One man, two women. The man clung shamelessly to one woman, while the other—Tika—trembled as she tried to rise.
Mahesa caught her arm. "Are you all right?"
She flinched at his touch. The man turned, startled.
"Mr. Mahesa?" His voice cracked. It was Banu—Tika's husband.
Mahesa's eyes narrowed. "Did you push your wife?"
Banu scoffed, shoving his mistress aside. "No! She fell on her own."
"You think I'm blind?" Mahesa's voice cut like steel. "We went to school together. You haven't changed—still the same cheap playboy."
Banu's fists clenched. "Watch your mouth! Your rank may be higher now, but—"
"This isn't about rank." Mahesa stepped closer, his tone low and dangerous. "It's about truth. That woman with you—is she your mistress?"
Banu sneered. "Stay out of my marriage!"
"My friend is being hurt. How is it wrong to care?" Mahesa shot back. "At the event tonight you paraded around like a perfect husband. All of it was a lie."
Banu smirked, striking back.
"And you? Playing hero while your own house rots. Everyone knows Retno is still close to Dirga—her old flame!"
The words hit harder than any blow. Mahesa's jaw locked, his hand twitching to strike—but he restrained himself. His reputation. His company. Everything could collapse if he lost control.
"My marriage is none of your concern," he hissed.
"Then don't meddle in mine." Banu yanked his mistress closer, then spat coldly at Tika. "If you want this useless woman, take her."
With contempt, he dragged his mistress away.
Mahesa turned back. Tika's face was pale, her wrist marred by a vicious bruise.
"That's not from falling," Mahesa murmured. "He hit you?"
Tears broke loose. She covered her face. "Please… don't tell anyone. My child is still small. He needs his father."
Mahesa said nothing. He simply walked her home. But from that night on, fate shifted. Their lives became entangled again—not as lovers, but as two broken souls bound by silence.
But silence festers into storms.
Banu grew violent. Tika, fragile. Mahesa intervened again and again, until the breaking point came—at the company's anniversary party.
Banu lost his job. That night, his rage exploded. Blow after blow fell on Tika.
Mahesa arrived. Stopped him. Threatened the police.
Panic seized Banu. He fled in his car. Mahesa followed.
Rain lashed the road. Streetlights flickered dim.
Mahesa didn't know—someone had tampered with his brakes. When he slammed the pedal, nothing. His breath caught. The car surged forward, uncontrollable, barreling toward Banu's vehicle.
"Stop… please, stop!" He pounded the wheel, but fate had already chosen.
A violent crash. Metal against metal. Glass shattering. Banu's car veered off—down into darkness.
Time froze. Mahesa stood trembling, staring into the abyss.
Hands shaking, he dialed his assistant. Orders rasped from his throat: pull the car, clean it, bury the truth.
The next day, he met Tika, ready for her condemnation.
But she only wept, clutching his hand.
"Keep this secret. For my son. For your family. For all of us."
And so, the secret was sealed. For years. Until it was unearthed by the last person he expected—Tika's own son.
~~~
The living room returned to silence. The ticking clock echoed louder, heavier, like a countdown to the inevitable.
Mahesa sat hunched, shoulders trembling. His hands shook faintly on his knees.
Then, in a cracked but firm voice, he spoke:
"You can bury a corpse… but sooner or later, the stench will rise."
Suddenly, arms wrapped around him. Retno.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears glistening. "I should've been there for you."
Mahesa embraced her tightly. "No… the fault is mine. For hiding it too long."
She inhaled, her smile faint but true. "And mine… for hiding my feelings just as long."
His eyes widened. "You… loved me all this time?"
Her lips curved. "Since high school."
"But… Dirga? Weren't you—"
"That was an act," she cut in. "I thought you were with Tika. So I pretended with Dirga."
The room stilled. Their children gaped.
Mahesa almost laughed, broken. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Her chin lifted, eyes fierce. "Because I'm a woman, Mahesa. It should've been you. But you were too busy drowning in insecurity."
The silence shattered when the front door opened. Aditya and Adrian entered, each holding their child. Laughter burst as little Ethan reached for Tika's hand, shocking Gita.
"Wow… he usually hates strangers."
Laughter bloomed, fragile but warm. For the first time, the Ardhananta home felt alive again. Like a storm giving way to sunlight.
Yet amid the joy, Mahesa's words echoed in Saka's mind:
"Never hide your feelings too long. Secrets of mistakes can be forgiven. But secrets of love… only leave regrets."
Saka clenched his fist under the table. That night, he swore to himself.
If his heart still belonged to Cayra, he would chase her. Because burying that love was the same as giving it away.
And Saka Ardhananta would never let that happen.
The camera pulled back. Warmth filled the room, laughter spilling into the night. But Saka's gaze was sharp, unwavering.
Behind the buried sins of his family, one truth could no longer be hidden:
He loved Cayra.
And this time, he would not be too late.
~~~
EPILOGUE ✨
Most children only know fragments of their parents' stories. They grow up holding pieces of the truth, while the rest stays buried in time and silence.
So it was with Zayn. From a young age, he always felt something unspoken lingered around him. From the sudden death of his father, to the presence of a man who appeared out of nowhere and became so close: Mahesa—the man he called Uncle.
Back in elementary school, Zayn never suspected anything. To him, Mahesa was just a kind adult who took him to the mall, bought him toys, even paid for his schooling. That care felt so real—sometimes warmer, more genuine, than the love he remembered from his own father.
Because of Mahesa, he studied at the best schools. His mother received capital to open a pastry shop. And he grew up never feeling deprived of anything. By the time he became an adult, Zayn dreamed of building his own media company—born from his love for news and storytelling.
But Mahesa objected. He pushed Zayn instead to work within Ardhananta Group, the family empire. To Zayn, it felt like betrayal. He thought Mahesa feared competition. That suspicion grew, hardened, and burned into resentment.
Then came the opportunity. When Mahesa's marriage was dragged into public scandal, Zayn saw his chance to strike. He walked into the police station, carrying the secret he had once overheard from his mother: Mahesa had been the one who hit his father with a car.
That report put Mahesa behind bars. Zayn should have felt satisfied. But that night, when he came home, his chest ached as though he had lost something instead.
His mother was waiting in the living room, her face tense. When Zayn confessed that he was the one who filed the report, her response shattered everything he thought he knew.
Yes, Mahesa had struck his father. But the truth was far more complicated. The car had been sabotaged—by men ordered by his own father. And before the crash happened, Mahesa had just saved her from years of domestic abuse.
Tears fell from her eyes.
"If not for Mahesa, I might not be here today. He's the one who protected me. The one who raised you. Even more than your father ever did."
Zayn's world collapsed. The hatred he had carried for years had been aimed at the wrong man. That night, for the first time, he was truly lost—should he withdraw the report, or cling to the pain he had nurtured for so long?
Restless, he stepped outside, searching for air. Sitting alone in front of a convenience store, he overheard two men talking—employees of Ardhananta Media. They spoke of Mahesa, of how fiercely he had fought to build the company while enduring threats and pressure from all sides.
Their words pierced him. Maybe Mahesa hadn't forbidden him from starting his own company out of fear of rivalry. Maybe it was because he knew how brutal the battlefield truly was.
The next day, Zayn made his choice. He withdrew the report. As his pen touched the paper, it felt like a mountain lifted from his chest. For the first time in years, he could finally breathe.
That same day, when he saw his mother smile inside the Ardhananta household, Zayn finally understood.
That every person carries secrets.
That truth, though painful, can also be the first step toward healing—if one dares to face it.
And for Zayn, that was the moment he realized something simple, yet profound:
Hating is far more exhausting than forgiving.