(The young man was none other than Liyas Mayusra. The very man whose name had already been mentioned earlier in this story. That afternoon, he had finally returned to this land after spending four long years abroad. He had gone to pursue his studies, to earn the title of a doctor).
His sudden arrival took Pak Ato completely by surprise. After all these years of silence, they stood facing each other, lost in a long pause where neither dared to speak first.
Liyas himself could no longer contain the longing he had carried. This place was full of memories for him. He had once come here often. And above all, the girl—that girl—was the true center of his yearning. The girl he still loved, even though he had no idea what her life was like now. That girl was Nina.
Pak Ato, too, was a figure he could never forget. Once, he had been the only person close to Nina who welcomed him sincerely. But perhaps that was all in the past.
Now, Pak Ato's feelings were impossible to read. Was it joy at seeing someone he once knew after so long, or was it still resentment—old wounds left festering?
After all, it wasn't fair to blame Liyas for what had happened back then. Just like Nina, he had been a victim of the past, a past they never fully understood. And yet… everything had changed since that day.
(Over the years, Liyas had come to know the truth. He had learned about Pak Ato, who had once been a close friend to the man who later became his mother's husband. He also learned about the events that tore their friendship apart, leaving only bitterness. But even now, the full picture of that broken bond remained clouded).
(And still, there was another secret—one that only Liyas carried. A secret he might finally reveal tonight).
"How have you been, Pak?" Liyas broke the silence, as though his sudden appearance had not already been enough of a shock.
(Pak Ato, still struggling to hide his astonishment, kept staring at the young man's face. Only after regaining some composure did he finally speak—but not with an answer. Instead, his voice carried the weight of interrogation).
"When did you come back?"
"This afternoon. How are you, Pak?" Liyas repeated, perhaps because he himself was nervous about beginning this conversation.
"I'm fine." Pak Ato answered curtly, almost coldly.
(Then, his tone shifted. His voice grew sharper, heavier with disapproval).
"And what exactly are you doing here again?"
Liyas faltered under the weight of those words. His lips tightened before he gathered the courage to reply.
"It's been so long, Pak. I wanted to see you again… and also… Nina."
"You should know by now," Pak Ato's voice rose, thunderous, "that ever since that incident, you were never welcome here again! We've spent years trying to forget everything connected to you and your family. And now, out of nowhere, you show up? For what? Don't disturb my family's peace. You'd better leave at once."
(His words rang louder with every syllable).
(But with eyes full of earnest plea, Liyas pressed on).
"Please, Pak. Just let me see Nina. I don't want anything else. I know you'll never approve of us, not after what happened. But I need to apologize to her. That day… when I left for my studies abroad… I wasn't even allowed to say goodbye. You refused to let me speak to her. And ever since then, I've lived in guilt. So please, I beg you."
(Pak Ato fell silent. His face turned red, as though holding back a storm. Anyone who knew him, especially Gibran, would understand—when he grew this silent, it meant an explosion of words was coming).
"So… you want to see Nina?!"
(He paused, took a deep breath, steadying himself before continuing).
"Fine. But you must promise me one thing. If I let you see her today, this will be the last time. You are not to speak to her. You may only look from a distance. I will not allow her wounds to reopen. You'll understand once you see her condition."
(With that, Pak Ato stepped inside his house, gesturing for Liyas to follow. They moved toward the garden. And there, sitting quietly, was Nina. Pak Ato stood at a distance so she would not notice him. Liyas stopped just behind, his eyes fixed on the one person his heart had never forgotten).
The sight overwhelmed him. The weight of years of longing crushed down in a single moment. His tears fell, unstoppable.
Pak Ato noticed. He seemed to understand the young man's pain, though it did not soften his guarded stance. Instead, his voice dropped to a low murmur, careful not to reach Nina's ears.
"You've seen her now. Do you want to know something else? … Nina can no longer see."
"What??!!" Liyas gasped, eyes wide with horror. His tears flowed even faster as disbelief shook his chest. For a long moment, he could only stare at Pak Ato, struggling to process the unbearable truth he had just heard.
Meanwhile, in the garden, Nina sat peacefully, lost in her own thoughts. She had no idea that Gibran would not be coming that evening. She had no idea that her uncle was speaking to the very man who had long been the source of both her deepest love and her deepest sorrow.
She had spent countless days grieving his absence, never knowing why he had left her. To Nina, he had been her true love. His sudden disappearance shattered her, leaving her in endless mourning.
Day by day, her life grew dim. She became a shadow of herself, drifting through moments without focus, haunted by memories of his departure.
Until that tragic accident—one careless moment when she bumped into the cabinet where chemicals for the flower shop were kept. Bottles toppled, spilled, and the harsh liquid burned her eyes. From that day on… Nina's world was shrouded in darkness.
That afternoon, the flower shop "Kembang Setaman" was unusually quiet. No customers came and went, no transactions at the counter. Inside, however, the air was thick with tension as Liyas and Pak Ato continued their serious exchange.
"Now, what else are you waiting for? You've already seen Nina. You've seen her condition. Isn't that enough? You should leave. And remember—this will be the last time you ever come here!" Pak Ato's voice thundered once again, firm and unrelenting.
"Alright, Pak. But before I go… please allow me to say something. This is a promise I made to my late mother…" Liyas's words trembled as his eyes filled with tears once more. His grief was layered, years upon years of sorrow pressing down on him all at once.
"What?! Your mother…?" Pak Ato was stunned—more shaken by this revelation than by Liyas's sudden return. That woman… she had once been the love of his life. Perhaps, even now, a part of him still loved her. After all, true love was never easy to erase, even when it left deep wounds.
A painful silence fell between them. Pak Ato's sternness softened, his face clouded with sorrow. His eyes grew distant, as if dragged back into memories he had fought so hard to bury—the sweet ones, the bitter ones, and the tragedy that ended it all. Tears welled in his eyes despite himself.
Seeing him like that, Liyas too was overwhelmed. He knew, deep down, that this man had loved his mother with all his heart.
"Yes, Pak," Liyas continued, voice breaking. "And it wasn't illness that took her away. It was torment—emotional torment she carried all her life. She left behind the man she truly loved, only to be forced into a bitter life with someone she despised. She lived the rest of her years breaking her back to raise me on her own.
Her greatest pain came when she discovered that I had fallen in love with Nina—the niece of the man she never stopped loving, right up until her last breath."
(Pak Ato froze, struck by the weight of Liyas's words. His anger faded completely. What remained was only sadness. For at his core, he was never a man who thrived on hatred).
"Before she died, my mother revealed a secret. A secret she had buried for years. It wasn't just about my life…" Liyas paused, his chest heaving. "…It was about yours too."
"What do you mean?" Pak Ato asked, his voice low, strained.
"My mother told me… I was never the son of the man who just got released from prison today."
Pak Ato's eyes widened. "What?!"
"Then… who is your father?" The question escaped him, sharp with disbelief yet heavy with a desperate need for the truth.
"My father," Liyas whispered, "was my mother's husband before him…"
---
(And so, in that evening's conversation, the tangled knot of secrets that Tiara Febriyanti had carried for decades was finally unraveled. She, the mother of Liyas Mayusra, had been the only one who knew the truth all along.
Her secret tied the threads of fate together—between Pak Ato, his niece Nina, and a young man who had once been innocent but was now dragged into the storm of this complicated story. Perhaps he was only ever meant to be a listener… or perhaps he was the one destined to tell this story to you).
Liyas's return that day was long awaited in his own heart. He still loved the girl he had once been forced to abandon—not by choice, but by the cruel turns of life. That was why he had come back: to set things right, after years of being crushed by guilt.
He had kept his promise to his mother, the strong woman who raised him alone without a father. A promise to finish his medical studies. Yet fate was cruel—she passed away before she could see him graduate, before she could see him fulfill his vow and stand proudly as a doctor.
As for his father… Liyas had never truly known him. All he knew was the man who had been imprisoned since he was a baby. A man he had never once looked in the eye. And today, that very man was walking free at last.
His name was Bayu Arianto—once a friend to Pak Ato, until greed and betrayal turned him into a sworn enemy.
But Tiara had known the truth all along: Bayu was never Liyas's father. That truth was preserved in her diary, hidden inside a wooden box among her belongings. The pages revealed it all: Bayu was nothing but a criminal, unworthy of being called "father."
In truth, Liyas was the son of the man she had truly loved. The man she was forced to leave behind. The man she still loved, even in her last breath.
That man was… Pak Ato).
---