“Oh, Ren... I’m so sorry,” Sekar said, guilt immediately evident in her voice. “I just paid my rent and motorcycle installments. I’m really strapped right now. The most I can do is two hundred thousand rupiah. Try asking someone else, Ren.”
Two hundred thousand rupiah. Nowhere near enough. Not even close. Rena ended the call, and her heart instantly went cold. She had only eight hundred thousand rupiah left in her ATM account, eaten away by this month’s rent.
She spent the rest of the first day and all of the second sending messages, calling old acquaintances, and even trying to apply for an online loan, which she canceled immediately out of fear. Every attempt failed completely.
On the night of the third day, after returning from work at the restaurant, Rena made her way back to the boarding house with a disheveled face and steps that nearly dragged. She tried to sleep, but the moment she closed her eyes, all she could see was Raka’s face and the cold smile of the owner of the company where she had interviewed two days earlier.
She was almost asleep when her phone rang. Her mother’s name was clearly displayed on the screen.
“Sweetheart, it’s Mom. You’re home already, right?” Her voice sounded exhausted, as though she knew her daughter’s schedule by heart. “The money you said you’d transfer still hasn’t come in, Nduk. It’s time for Raka’s dialysis. The hospital is asking for full payment no later than two days from now. Otherwise, Raka will have to postpone his treatment again. He looked so pale today.” Bu Minah tried to hold back her tears, but her words still broke apart. “Your father hasn’t harvested the crops yet, so I... I don’t have anything to fall back on.”
“I haven’t gotten paid yet, Mom. My paycheck’s still ten days away,” Rena said hoarsely, holding herself back from crying too.
“Ten days, sweetheart?” Her mother sounded desperate. “It’s hard for me to find anyone willing to lend us money, too. We haven’t even paid off the loan from the past two months because your father hasn’t harvested the crops yet.” Sobs followed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart... I’m only causing you trouble.”
Sarena ended the call, unable to listen to her mother cry any longer. Her hands trembled. She lowered her head and stared at the small memo bearing the K-VESTA logo that had been lying on the table. The thin piece of paper seemed to grow larger, swallowing the entire room.
This choice was no longer about her dignity. It wasn’t about a job. Now, she had only two options: five hundred million rupiah, or her younger brother’s life.
Rena picked up the paper and turned it over, as if hoping another helpline number might be hidden on the back. But there was nothing. Only Arya’s phone number—the tall, handsome CEO whose face now felt threatening.
“Isn’t there any other way, God...” she whispered to herself, her voice catching. Her dimples disappeared, and worry and desperation crumpled her small, sweet face.
For a moment, she tried to think of everyone she knew again. Who else could lend her one million five hundred thousand rupiah within two days? Every door was already closed. All her efforts had been pointless. Even the 3.5 million rupiah salary from the restaurant, which would arrive in ten days, felt meaningless if Raka couldn’t undergo dialysis the day after tomorrow.
Sarena closed her eyes, allowing her mind to be battered by two opposing images.
Without realizing it, her hand touched her stomach, where the womb that had suddenly become so precious was located. This was her last asset. She was nobody, but inside her was something desperately needed by a fabulously wealthy man like Arya. Should she let this opportunity pass her by? Before the CEO offered it to another woman.
Sarena rose to her feet. Her hands no longer trembled as she reached for her phone and glanced at the time in the corner of the screen. 11:45 p.m. Fifteen minutes before the deadline Arya had given her.
Her fingers quickly typed in the number from the memo and saved it. Then she opened WhatsApp. Arya’s number appeared, along with a profile picture of two people embracing. The CEO and a woman.
Beautiful.
Very.