C19 No longer Together

19.

Rifki returned to his room and lay down. His eyes stared at the ceiling of the room while thinking about what happened to his daughter.

Resha who was lying beside him was disturbed because the man had left the room light on. "Rifki, you didn't sleep?" Resha asked when she looked at Rifki with a surprised look while rubbing her eyes slowly.

"Hmm." Rifki answered briefly.

Glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand, it was already one o'clock in the morning. "Why? If you miss your young wife, why don't you come and stay there," Resha said curtly when Rifki did not make a sound.

This used to happen often too. Usually, her husband would not be able to sleep well if he had not had sex with her. Then now, if her husband missed another woman, she somehow thought that way. Resha took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her chest felt uncomfortable again. Even though she just had to ask her husband to have sex, but she felt reluctant and would be embarrassing, because she had said rude things that must have hurt Rifki's heart at that time.

"What the hell, Res, geez." Rifki glanced to the side, looking at his wife's sour face.

"I'm not thinking about that. I'm still thinking about Nadia, our child," Rifki said honestly. After all Resha was the mother, and she had to know about their child.

"What's wrong with her? The school is fine, she's not sick either," Resha said confusedly.

Their eyes met, before finally Resha disconnected and looked the other way. "She just came home, and I smelled alcohol from her shirt." Rifki looked at Resha's face again, wanting to see her reaction, but the woman looked normal.

"Oh, that's all. Yes, it's normal for young people, maybe she accidentally spilled her friend's drink," Resha replied while adjusting her sleeping position and closing her eyes.

"Aren't you worried, Res?" Rifki was surprised by the woman's response. How could she just take it lightly? Though her daughter had grown up and they had to be more strict in supervising her.

"What the hell, Rifki. Please, don't act too much. Don't be too restrained, she's an adult. I'm going back to sleep, and turning off the light. Or if you want to go, just go there." Resha turned her back to her husband.

Meanwhile Rifki tried to sleep too, but still could not. Finally just silent and daydreaming.

Ting!

He heard a message on his cell phone.

From Mesya.

[Assalamualaikum, Sir. Are you doing a midnight prayer?]

Rifki smiled, and looked at it for a long time. It was as if Mesya was in front of him and was staring shyly.

[Waalaikumussalam. So unusual you chat with me at this hour]

[Yes, I can't sleep, just remember about you]

Rifki smiled while reading the message, then immediately replied to it again.

[Must miss being surrounded in bed, huh] he was just teasing.

[Ugh, what the heck. Seriously I can't sleep]

[Oh… Thanks for reminding me. So I want to make a real midnight prayer]

[Oh, okay, don't forget to pray for me, Sir]

[God willing]

Rifki was happy to see the last message from his second wife. His smile immediately widened and could not help but want to meet his wife soon. Even though he rarely prays at night, he got a message from his wife, as if reminding him that it was a sign to return to activities.

Finally Rifki got up and went straight to the bathroom to wash up. After that, he immediately established the prayer with a solemn feeling. Almost thirty minutes Rifky sat on the prayer rug. After doing midnight prayer and dhikr, his heart felt cooler and calmer.

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The morning.

Rifki did his usual activities, making breakfast for his two children and also for his wife, who looked beautiful early in the morning, in a slightly open and short dress, showing her smooth and pure white curves.

"Where are you going, Res? It's the weekend. We should have a casual chat at home." Rifki swallowed saliva when Resha approached. The smell of her distinctive perfume, immediately entered the sense of smell. If her husband was immediately tempted, what about the women out there?

"Come on, Rifki, don't be fussy. I already have an appointment with my friends for a social gathering, as well as going to the salon for facial treatments," Resha said with her hands busy playing with her cellphone.

"Okay, okay." Rifki took a deep breath. Yet he had already made breakfast for the four of them, even though the children had not yet come down from their room.

"I would also go this afternoon, okay?" Resha stopped walking, then turned to look at her husband. "Well, you are free to go anywhere, you don't have to say goodbye, after all, every week you go. If you don't go to Mama's house, most of the children go. Well, I'm leaving," Resha said as she walked away.

Rifki, who almost raised his hand, failed because Resha never kissed his hand. In contrast to Mesya who was always polite and respectful to her husband. Rifki shook his head and felt small, never appreciated by his first wife.

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The atmosphere of a sunny Sunday morning, as bright as Rifki's heart right now. By driving his four-wheeled vehicle, Rifki intended to take his wife for a trip to tourist attractions. After that the children refused to be invited to go and preferred to rest at home.

The man picked up Mesya at her sister's place. From a distance, Mesya looked smiling and waved at him. Made him smile happily and almost collapse with joy. After making small talk, the two decided to walk and went to tourist attractions that were currently trending.

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"The place is good," Rifki said looking at his wife who smiled happily when the two of them were in the garden with various flowers in it.

Mesya nodded in approval. She had never been to this place before. Because apart from being a bit far, the ticket was also quite expensive for an unemployed woman like herself who relied on pocket money from her sister.

Rama also invited her to this place several times, but Mesya politely refused. And finally, who would have thought that now she could go with her own husband to that place without having to think about the costs.

Rifki and Mesya wore masks and sunglasses so that no one would recognize them. To be honest, Rifki did not want his wife to get bad looks from people who did not know them. Meanwhile, he also had to maintain the image as a father and a good husband for his family.

At a restaurant not far from the place, a group of socialite women were holding a meal while traveling, including Resha and her gang. The woman herself had not planned to come to the place, if only her friends had not forced her to go with her.

One of his friends, who was taking pictures to capture the scene, accidentally recorded the face of a man who was very similar to Rifki, who was holding the hand of a woman not far from where she was sitting. The woman's brow furrowed in confirmation. Was that really the husband of her best friend or not? So she ventured to ask Resha directly so as not to cause a misunderstanding.

"Hey, Resha, where is your husband?" she asked casually, even though her eyes repeatedly saw how Rifki and the woman interacted, which she did not recognize.

Resha, who was bribing pasta into her mouth, immediately looked at the woman with diamonds on her finger. "On a Sunday like this, he usually goes to his mother's house or goes for a walk with the children. That's all, after all, he said goodbye to me first. What's the matter, why do you suddenly ask about Rifki," Resha said without the slightest being closed- cover it. While the woman in front of her who asked, just rejoiced not wanting to prolong it anymore.

Fortunately, she had just taken some pictures of Rifki and the woman, when her best friend's husband was taking off his mask to drink which made him even more sure that she had seen nothing wrong.

The woman's fad uploaded it to her fake social account. Along with another photo she got from her laundry clerk yesterday, who reported to her that she had found a photo that was very similar to that of Resha's husband. And she was surprised when she got a photo that immediately made her think for more.

"Isn't this Resha's brother-in-law's photo?" she muttered as she confirmed the face of the man who was in the photo with the woman and was holding a baby with a hospital background.

As if getting a good idea, the woman smiled meaningfully. Then she uploaded a photo she got from her employee along with a photo of Rifki being with a young woman with a funny caption.

[Annoying sibling brothers] click.

Sending.