Chapter 16
Sunny looked at her phone with pride. It felt so satisfying when everything went according to her plans. She didn't care if her husband looked at her in surprise. He even said, "Don't go overboard, dear."
"Overboard with what?" Sunny frowned in annoyance. "I'm just trying to make Nathan realize. So he won't keep fooling around with women. I'll be the one dealing with the headache if suddenly some woman shows up claiming to be pregnant with Nathan's child."
Her husband, Mr. Herry, burst into laughter. "Your thoughts are wild, dear."
"Why do you say that?" She pouted and plopped herself on the sofa, sitting right next to her husband. "Don't you know what reports Tasya gave me about Nathan? There's a lot that kid is hiding, but I know why, Pa. Tasya doesn't want Nathan to be scolded and burdened with questions about his love life."
"Well, that's good, dear."
"Good from what perspective?" Sunny glared, feeling indignant. "Nathan is already over thirty, Pa. Don't we want to see our own child get married?"
"Surely Nathan needs to consider many things about the women around him." Mr. Herry knew that arguing with Sunny would only put him in danger.
"That's enough!" Sunny huffed and waved her hand dismissively. "You don't know Mama's plans. I've discussed this with Aunt Alexi, you know. She may be annoying and can't be joked with, but she thinks about Naina too. She knows that Naina only has Nathan. If Nathan ends up with someone who doesn't care about Naina, we'll be in trouble. Poor Naina, Pa. How can she lose the person she considers her parent figure?"
Mr. Herry sighed softly. "So what's Mama's plan?"
"I want to make Nathan realize that Tasya is right beside him. How can someone be so caring towards him and completely ignore Naina? Mama wonders why some men are so oblivious. Who is Nathan descended from? Even Mama can see that Tasya's care for both of them is genuine."
Mr. Herry winced and scratched his slightly itchy neck.
"It seems none of Papa's descendants are perceptive!"
See, why does Mr. Herry end up being the target? "Isn't it going to backfire if this matchmaking goes smoothly? If Nathan and that woman are compatible, what about Tasya?"
Sunny side again. "Does Mama know how Tasya feels? From what Mama sees, she is kind and patient with Naina. Even when she's with Nathan, she doesn't seem like his assistant. Sometimes she feels more like his lover. But the problem is, Nathan completely ignores Tasya."
"You're quite amusing, Mama," Mr. Herry chuckled. "Both of them don't like being forced to see each other."
"Oh!" Sunny glared fiercely. "I'll do anything to find a match for Nathan. Get married soon, have children if possible, so that Naina won't be lonely if she has a sibling. Period. No more objections. Let Tasya handle the matchmaking." She stood up abruptly, stomping away in annoyance, leaving her husband with a lingering smile on his lips.
"Just wait until you enter the bedroom! You'll sleep outside."
Goodness, God! Sunny sometimes gives Mr. Herry a headache.
Meanwhile, at almost the same time, in a different location, Tasya stared in disbelief at her phone, which had returned to the home screen. When she looked up, she found her two younger siblings staring at her intently. They were probably confused by the conversation they accidentally overheard.
To make her two younger siblings feel a bit more at ease, Tasya smiled and said, "You both go back to your room. Big sister is tired and wants to sleep."
Neither of her younger siblings objected or argued. After giving them a quick hug, where Tasya felt "whole," although sometimes her sense of wholeness was shattered by various situations, at least tonight she could peacefully rest. Especially when her younger sibling handed her a cup of warm chocolate. Tasya had a fondness for warm chocolate, which was a menu item at her café.
Just as Tasya closed the bedroom door, making sure nothing was left behind, her phone demanded attention once again. This time, Tasya furrowed her brow in astonishment at the name that appeared on the screen: Naina. "Yes, Naina?"
"Have you gone to sleep, sis?"
"Not yet." Tasya sat on the edge of her bed. "I just bought some hot chocolate. Would you like to have some before it gets cold?"
"I want it," she said, half sulking.
"Can you ask Merry to make it for you, Naina?" Tasya offered.
"I don't want to. It's not happening."
"What's wrong?" Tasya asked with a slightly probing tone.
"Will you accompany me to have dinner with Mom and Dad?"
Tasya thought that Naina had forgotten about that promise, but apparently, Naina was the type to remember what had been said. "Okay. I'll try my best. Hopefully, I won't have too much work later."
Without permission, her ears were filled with the loud voice of her boss once again. Also, a fleeting glimpse of photos and profiles of many red-haired women that she had to select. She sighed softly, trying to dismiss all this craziness from her mind. "Just know that I'll do my best, okay?"
"Don't refuse, sis," Naina pleaded. "I don't have any friends. Daddy is always busy. Tasya is also busy. If I'm with Mr. Jack, there's always something to report. But Naina isn't necessarily like that, you know."
Tasya wanted to advise Naina about the frequent chaos she caused. Going missing, refusing to go to school but wandering somewhere else, not to mention when Naina couldn't control herself. Classmates were bullied without mercy, and sometimes she even argued with her teachers. But what troubled Tasya the most was when Naina often mentioned the name "Mommy Seira."
Oh my goodness! Despite all of that, Tasya chose to be patient. Naina was forced to experience things that shouldn't have been part of her life, including loneliness.
Tasya remembered her religious teacher at school once said, "Destiny, death, birth, and children are already predetermined, and as believers, we strive to follow the path of fate that has been determined well."
So... there was nothing Tasya could do except give guidance and accompany Naina whenever she had time. It wasn't just about needing an insane amount of patience to work with Nathan; she also had to sacrifice a lot of her rest time. Nathan was the number one troublemaker in her life.
"You're my assistant, right? You should know what I do and help. If I don't have a day off, neither do you. If I want to go on vacation, we go together. That's called being a team."
If Tasya could protest, she would have expressed her objections fluently. However, Nathan wasn't stingy when it came to money. Tasya's salary was just enough to support herself and the tails behind her. There was nothing left for savings. To buy shirts and shoes, she had to save in several areas. But because Nathan pushed her to work even on holidays, the money she had fell far short of her expectations.
Often, she was amazed and uncomfortable because so much money was being deposited into her account. But whenever she asked her boss, he always answered casually, "It's for your pocket money, Tasya. You've helped me. Now, please book a hotel. I need to refresh."
Although his words were often whimsical, Nathan was fundamentally good. However, Tasya couldn't exchange Nathan's kindness for the women in his life. Oh, it was so heavy. The kindness became a minus in Tasya's eyes because of Nathan's player behavior!
There could be four or five different women he dated in a month. Sometimes their schedules clashed, and Tasya had to intervene. In addition to accompanying the women whom Nathan couldn't meet, sometimes, even more ridiculously, Nathan would use Tasya as a shield. She had to ask the woman not to contact him anymore.
The reason was classic. Nathan was arranged to be married by his parents! God! If Tasya could protest this matter, she would have done so already. But how could she when, apart from needing additional transfers outside her salary, sometimes without her realizing it, Tasya seemed to be assigned as a supervisor over all of Nathan's madness.
"Sis?" Naina called again. "Why aren't you answering my question?"
"Uh?! Sorry, Naina. I had to check the room's lights first." She lied.
"Why are you afraid of the dark?"
Tasya stopped moving the blanket. She stood frozen for a moment. Her reflection was clearly visible in the mirror. A slim figure, straight shoulder-length hair, slender cheeks, glasses framing her thick eyes, and braces still faithfully worn. From that reflection, she suddenly remembered her past, a story she didn't want to bring back into her life for even a moment. "It's nothing, Naina. I'm just afraid... uh, Kak Tasya is afraid of cockroaches."
"Oh, cockroaches are really annoying. Luckily, I'm not afraid." Naina laughed from the other side. "Pick me up from school tomorrow, okay, Tasya?"
"But I'll be working, right?"
Naina chuckled. "Pick me up during lunch break."
"Where's Mr. Jack?"
"He's around."
"Does Naina want to play with you?"
There was no response afterward. It indicated that what Tasya had said hit the mark. "Tomorrow, tell Mr. Jack to take you to Daddy's office. As long as Naina doesn't cause any trouble and doesn't disturb Tasya's work, I'll tell Daddy." "Really?"
"Yes."
"Yay!"
"What's so exciting?" Nathan's voice could be heard in the background. Tasya could clearly hear Naina's excitement as she told him about her plan to visit the office. Unfortunately, Nathan immediately shattered Naina's joy, making the girl pout and plead with Nathan multiple times.
"Don't be too lenient with Naina, Tasya," Nathan said firmly. Tasya felt like Naina's phone was already in Nathan's hand. "You're there to work, right? Not to take care of a child."
"I know, sir," Tasya said softly. "But I assure you that Little Naina won't cause any trouble."
"You have a lot of appointments with me tomorrow, so don't forget."
Once again, Tasya said, "Yes, sir. I remember."
"So, are you going to leave Naina at the office? Is that it?"
Tasya sighed softly. "Outside the office, mostly with investors and you, sir, along with the Marketing division. I won't be there. That's the plan. That's why I dared to ask Naina to visit the office. Besides, it rarely happens, right, sir?" Nathan grumbled in annoyance. "Whatever! Don't make things more difficult for me!"
"Okay, sir."
"Don't let Naina bother you too much with your work, okay? Remember, I hired you to help lighten my workload. Understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Don't just say 'yes,' Tasya!"
Tasya sighed softly. "Whatever you want, sir, I'll do it."
"Okay. Cancel all my blind dates next week. Don't think I don't know about those plans!"
Tasya was taken aback.
"Instead of going on blind dates with strangers, let's just go on a date. Deal?"