The next day, Rio's house felt far more crowded than usual. In the living room, Rani sat in front of the television, completely absorbed in what she was watching.
But inside Rio's bedroom, the atmosphere was entirely different. Arya, Riko, Kris, and Liam had gathered there. The air felt heavy, as if the words that had just been spoken had yet to settle.
Rio sat on the edge of his bed, his body stiff. His eyes were wide open, empty yet sharp, as though staring at something far too large to comprehend.
Arya's explanation about Rivaldo kept spinning in his head, colliding with the past he had always believed to be the truth.
He lowered his head and pressed both hands against it, his breathing restrained.
"No wonder…"
Rio muttered softly, his voice nearly drowned out.
"I finally found the answer."
The words came out, but the certainty behind them did not. A part of him still refused to accept it, as if this truth was too massive to swallow all at once.
Slowly, Rio lifted his head and looked at Arya. His gaze was sharp, mixed with anger and confusion.
"No wonder my revenge against Rivaldo was too easy… too smooth,"
he said, his voice trembling.
"So it was all planned from the start…!"
There was emptiness behind his anger, like someone who had just realized the enemy he fought had never truly stood alone.
He shook his head slightly, as if trying to brush the thought away.
"I still can't believe it,"
he continued.
"All this time I was sure… it was only Rivaldo who bullied me."
His breath hitched.
"And there was no one else. No one. Just him."
It sounded less like a statement and more like he was trying to convince himself.
Rio scratched his head quickly. "And you're saying… he was protecting me all this time?"
Silence fell over the room again. No one answered immediately.
They all knew that for Rio, this was not just an explanation. It was a crack running through his entire past.
Rio let out a small laugh that suddenly grew louder, misplaced and wrong. His smile stretched too wide, too hollow, like a mask forced to stay on.
"You think I can believe that?!"
he suddenly shouted. His voice bounced off the bedroom walls, shattering the fragile silence.
His eyes hardened, usually calm but now trembling with anger and confusion.
"So according to you…"
he continued, his tone rising and falling,
"I'm the one who made a mistake all this time…?!"
His voice rose, almost a scream, mixed with betrayal and shame as he realized his ambition and his version of the truth had overlapped.
Rio, who had been sitting, finally stood up. His steps were unstable, his breathing heavy. He sat back down on the edge of the bed, head lowered, shoulders shaking. His anger no longer exploded outward but collapsed inward, striking himself instead.
Riko moved closer without hesitation. He sat beside Rio, placing a warm, steady hand on his shoulder and gently rubbing his back. No force, no empty advice. Just presence. An anchor in the storm tearing through Rio's mind.
"I don't know what's right,"
Riko said softly, his voice honest and plain.
"I'm not good at figuring that out either."
His grip tightened slightly.
"But I'll follow you… whatever the outcome."
He lowered his head a little.
"Because you're the only person who ever wanted to be my friend."
Those words did not stop the chaos in Rio's head, but at least they kept him from completely collapsing.
Kris stood first. His steps toward the door were heavy, his face showing a mix of sadness and frustration he did not bother to hide.
"We should leave him alone for now,"
he said quietly but firmly.
"I don't want to see my friend like this. We need to calm him down, not force him to hear the truth."
Liam stood as well and walked toward the door. Before leaving, he stopped in front of Rio and lightly patted his shoulder.
"Hey… if you need help,"
he said hesitantly but sincerely,
"I'm here."
He had barely finished when Arya cut in from the side.
"No,"
Arya said gently but with certainty. He stood straight, giving Rio a faint smile, eyes closed like someone who had already made a decision.
"Not just Liam."
He slowly opened his eyes.
"All of us. If you call, we'll come."
No grand promises, just quiet assurance.
Riko finally stood up too. His face looked the most exhausted among them, as if the burden pressed against his chest as well. He said nothing to Rio, only looked at him briefly before turning and walking out. The silence felt more honest than a thousand words.
In the living room, Riko waved at Rani, who glanced at them from near the television.
"We'll come again later!" he called, forcing a small smile.
The door closed slowly, and the four of them walked away under the harsh daylight.
Outside, Kris lowered his head, his voice nearly drowned out by their footsteps.
"Maybe… I'd be like that too," he said softly. "It feels like betrayal."
Riko nodded. "You're right."
He paused before continuing, "His ambition has been there for a long time. I just never imagined… that the final result would be nothing but emptiness."
They kept walking, leaving the house in silence. Inside, Rio remained with his thoughts. Outside, four people carried the same worry about him.
Rio was still alone in his room. The silent walls felt like they were pressing in, and Arya's words about Rivaldo kept spinning in his head.
Every time he tried to push them away, the memories returned even louder, like echoes mocking his attempt to stay calm.
"You said… he protected me?" Rio's voice cracked, almost like a whisper gone astray.
His lips trembled before curving into an incomplete smile.
"Protected?"
The word felt foreign, dirty, unworthy of existing in his story.
He stood, then sat in the middle of the bed, both hands gripping his head as if trying to tear his own thoughts apart.
"The way Rivaldo looked at me when he bullied me…"
he gasped,
"…that look truly destroyed me."
His shoulders shook.
"And you're saying… all of that was protection?"
His voice rose again, anger without a target.
A dry, broken laugh escaped him.
"Ha… ha ha… are you crazy, Arya? Are you really sure about that?.. ha ha…"
he said between tears.
"Do you believe a story like that just like that? You think I can believe it from something that short?!"
His laughter repeated, louder, emptier, like someone drowning and choosing to laugh at the water.
Tears streamed endlessly. Dark circles formed under his eyes, his face pale, hair messy. Rio lowered his head, shoulders drooping, laughing and crying in the same breath.
He sat again, his body moving erratically, like a puppet controlled by his own mind. His shoulders rose and fell, his head tilted from one side to the other.
"If it's really true… then what was my revenge for?" he murmured softly, as if asking the air.
"So… was everything just a lie?" His voice trembled as something inside him began to collapse.
He suddenly stopped. His body straightened, too calm to be normal. His eyes widened, dark pupils swallowing the light, and a slow smile formed on his face.
"And then… what was my ambition for all this time,"
he said quietly, sharply, like a newly sharpened blade. The smile carried no happiness, only forced emptiness.
"Ha ha… and what about my struggle? What was all my struggle for?!"
His voice came out flat, emotionless. The question had already lost its meaning. His hands clenched on the bed, veins tightening, not from anger but from holding back something he could not understand.
Rio lay down, staring at the ceiling blurred by tears. Warm tears slid from the corners of his eyes.
"My ambition and my goal… the path I walked…"
his breath faltered,
"…was it all just emptiness?"
The last word fell without hope of an answer.
He closed his eyes. A few seconds passed in strange silence, then laughter rose from his chest. Soft at first, then louder. His lips stretched wide, teeth visible, the laughter broken and chaotic.
"Ha ha ha… what a truly funny story,"
he said, like a spectator laughing at his own life.
The laughter continued until his breathing grew heavy and his body exhausted. Slowly, the sound faded, replaced by fragile, uneven breaths.
Among the remnants of tears and a smile not fully gone, Rio finally fell into a deep sleep. Ambition, revenge, and purpose blended into a dark dream.