Bittersweet Arrangements : A Sugar Dady Affair

Since last night, Elena has been overwhelmed by anxiety. And Nindy, who slept beside her, was certainly aware of it. Nindy repeatedly advised Elena to stay calm and not be affected by Devan’s behavior. It’s not that Nindy doesn’t understand Elena’s feelings, but she’s trying to minimize the possibility of a more severe heartbreak later on. Nindy herself is puzzled by Devan’s attitude towards Elena. If the man is not interested in Elena, then why does he continue to disturb his cousin? In fact, it seems like Devan is doing it intentionally.

Elena came down from her room with Nindy without enthusiasm. Today will undoubtedly feel different, especially since Nindy and Kyla have gone to school. At home, there will only be grandpa, grandma, Daddy, and Devan. Elena wishes to be alone with her dad. However, that won’t be possible because Devan will also be there for sure.

“Sis Elena, just calm down, just pretend that Uncle Devan isn’t there. I’m actually afraid that Daddy will get suspicious,” said Nindy as she put her arm around Elena to give her support.

“You don’t know how annoying this guy is. Anyway, since I started avoiding him, he’s been deliberately bothering me,” Elena admitted irritably. Even though he was willing to go all the way to Surabaya to avoid Devan. But now Devan is around him. Disturbing the calm he had just found.

“Okay, just relax, Sis. If you get angry like that, he’ll just keep bothering you,” said Nindy while holding back laughter, feeling amused when she imagined that the two of them were really serious about dating. Definitely very funny and unique.

“Morning Daddy!” said Elena while kissing Jeremy’s cheek who was sitting on a chair in the dining room with Devan. In order to show a normal and normal attitude, Elena was forced to greet Devan too. “Morning Uncle Devan!” said Elena with a big smile. The fake smile he had to show while he was in the midst of his family.

“Morning too El,” replied Devan with a meaningful smile. Nindy, who was in the chair across the table, could only hold back her amused laughter. Quite early in the morning he had been entertained by the absurd couple in front of him. Nindy then tried to focus on the food in front of her even though it would be useless because there was nothing more interesting than watching the interaction of the two of them who were currently sitting between Jeremy.

Elena’s body froze instantly upon hearing Jeremy say that he would go to the company with Anton and Ferdinand. Taking advantage of being in Surabaya, Jeremy wanted to check the latest condition of the company with his father.

“Ugh, why couldn’t those old folks just come along so my life could be peaceful for a while,” Elena responded, but unfortunately, her words only echoed in her heart.

Elena, who had just woken up, quickly finished her breakfast. After everyone left, she wanted to lock herself in her room. It was much better there than being with Devan. But for now, Elena had to endure in her stronghold, making sure no one suspected anything. So, she decided to escort everyone until they reached the terrace of the house. Then, she quickly excused herself to her grandmother, saying she needed to organize her things in preparation for going home later.

Upon arriving in her room, Elena heard her phone ringing. She grabbed the flat object and saw Dirga’s name on it. Suddenly, an interesting idea to drive Devan out of her life crossed her mind. Yes, Dirga was the right choice, considering both of his parents had also given permission for Dirga to come to the house.

She answered the call from Dirga. If usually Elena would act indifferent, this time she didn’t. Elena intended to try opening her heart to Dirga. With Dirga, she no longer needed to be afraid if their relationship would be discovered by their parents. And Devan would only be a thing of the past.

Ten minutes later, the phone call with Dirga ended. Feeling bored in Nindy’s room, Elena finally decided to go outside. She sought fresh air in the backyard, adjacent to the swimming pool. Besides enjoying the beauty of the colorful flowers there, Elena also played with the pool water, but not for swimming. Elena couldn’t handle the cold water. Her vulnerable body would immediately catch a fever and flu if she dared to swim. The heaviest risk for Elena was having to take medicine. Something she had hated since childhood. Besides the bitter taste, Elena couldn’t swallow pills directly. So, whenever she was sick, Elena would take liquid or crushed capsule medicine. This was the main reason Elena was most afraid of getting sick. Elena felt embarrassed. If only her family knew, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But if others found out, her dignity would be lost.

Then, Elena stepped out of the room towards her usual contemplation spot. Seeing the greenish water in front of her brought a smile to her lips. Elena’s feet continued to swing until they stopped at the edge of the pool. Quickly, Elena sat down, extending her legs into the cold pool water. Actually, the air in Yogyakarta was much colder than in Surabaya. Like this water, which only felt refreshing on Elena’s smooth skin. She wished she could dive into the water, giving permission to the fresh water to pamper her tired body and clarify her currently chaotic mind.

“Miss Elena, what are you doing here alone?” asked the Seivaz family gardener who had just finished cleaning the garden.

Elena gave a big smile to the gardener then answered, “I want some water, sir.”

“Yes, that’s fine then. I’ll go first, Miss? I want to continue mowing the grass in the yard,” said the gardener in a friendly manner and then left after getting permission from Elena.

In order not to feel lonely, Elena then opened the music application on her cellphone and played an album by the world famous singer, Arian Grande. Elena automatically followed the lyrics that were playing. Elena’s long legs swayed, creating small waves in the clear water in front of her. Then followed by his curling fingers to invite small ripples as proof of his presence. The beautiful and calm atmosphere really made Elena fall into her reverie.

Without Elena realizing it, someone approached smiling. Slowly someone crouched beside him.

“Don’t daydream!” said someone who managed to surprise Elena.

“Why indeed? Uncle likes me, daydreaming or doing somersaults isn’t Uncle’s business, right?” Elena said sarcastically as she looked at the adult man beside her.

Devan chuckled then took a sitting position like Elena. Suddenly there was silence for a few minutes, then Devan spoke.

“I know you keep avoiding Uncle on purpose,” said Devan, opening the conversation. “Uncle, I’m sorry for disappointing you. But this is all for your good, El. You misinterpreted your feelings for Uncle.”

Elena smiled sarcastically hearing word after word that lightly came from Devan’s lips.

“Sorry, Uncle, I don’t need to go to the neighborhood. El never avoids Uncle. El just needs time to understand El’s feelings like Uncle said. So Uncle Devan doesn’t need to think anything wrong,” said Elena sharply. for Devan to leave immediately. “It’s Uncle who keeps bothering El. What do you mean, Uncle?” said Elena again, starting to get emotional.

“Om didn’t mean to bother you. Uncle was just worried that you were being reckless…”

“Suicide like you thought Uncle did when he was in Paris at that time?” Elena said before Devan finished his sentence. “Just so you know, El won’t do something crazy like that. Now let’s just say that El never said anything to Uncle. Just think that El made a mistake at that time. He said something wrong or something like that. So from now on, Uncle doesn’t need to bother El anymore with chats or “other incoherent chatter,” said Elena seriously. This was the first time Elena was rude to someone older than her. Especially to his father’s best friend.

Elena immediately turned off the music that was still playing. Intend to go from there. But before Elena stood up straight, Devan grabbed her fingers. Pulling him back to sit down.

“I haven’t finished talking yet!” This time Devan’s expression turned serious and scary, forcing Elena to obey.

“Don’t get me wrong, El. I just want everything to return to normal like before. Uncle also has no intention of bothering you,” Devan replied gently so that Elena wouldn’t intend to run away from him again.

“Fix, that’s what I’ll get after this!” Elena replied firmly.

Devan was stunned to hear Elena’s answer which for some reason made him feel unwilling. However, Devan immediately dismissed the foreign feeling and left.

“Good girl!” said Devan as he rubbed the top of Elena’s head then left. Leaving Elena back alone.

After Devan left, Elena fell silent, feeling the pain that spread through her heart for the second time. Much more painful than before. Elena’s vision began to become foggy, followed by crystal droplets sliding freely down her cheeks.

“Please El, don’t cry! Don’t just cry because of those grandfathers!” Elena hissed as she roughly wiped the wet trail on her cheek. Her heart really hurt after the firm words she got from Devan. Those words succeeded in piercing his chest much deeper and more painfully.

From a distance Devan was stunned. Staring at the back of the girl whose heart he had broken for the second time.