Prologue
Elana Larasati tried incredibly hard to put on the broadest smile she could as she followed Arkananta Sangkara, the twenty-eight-year-old man who was now officially her husband, wherever he went to greet the guests at their wedding reception.
A moment ago, Elana had felt as though she was about to collapse from the sudden dizziness attacking her head. But Arka's fingers tightened around hers, startling her back to full awareness in an instant.
Today, she and Arka had officially become husband and wife. They had held the marriage contract ceremony that morning, followed by the wedding reception that evening.
"You haven't forgotten to keep smiling, have you?"
That single question, delivered in an almost inaudible voice, made Elana immediately stretch her smile even wider. She turned toward Arka and showed him her stiff smile.
Elana could feel her mouth aching terribly from smiling so broadly so often. Whenever Arka chatted with his friends or business associates, Elana kept displaying her brightest smile right alongside him.
"Are you tired?" Arka asked, one eyebrow lifting when he noticed the strange expression on Elana's face, her lips still stretched into a smile.
"Nope."
And Elana cursed herself for being so stupid. Because her pride wouldn't let her admit defeat, she'd only given Arka even more reason to take advantage of her.
Could she say that her own husband was exploiting her because she had to act sweet every second of the day?
"Good. The event won't be over for another three hours."
Please, just let Elana faint right now. It wasn't only the nonstop smiling—she was also wearing four-inch heels that had been torturing her for hours.
And what had Arka just said? Three more hours? Seriously, that man really did want to mess with her.
"You okay?"
Elana blinked slowly, then let out a weary sigh. "Am I allowed to not be okay?"
Arka let out a soft laugh at once. And because of that laugh, he became the center of everyone's attention.
Arka might have enjoyed being the center of attention and been used to it, but Elana was completely different. She turned as stiff as a statue whenever so many eyes were directed at her. She had never been the center of attention before, especially not this much—not while everyone around her seemed to be whispering about her.
Well, that was the consequence of being Arkananta Sangkara's wife.
Who wouldn't be curious about Arka's wife, when he was a handsome, filthy-rich man whose every move was followed by the admiring eyes of women?
Then he had suddenly announced his marriage, and the woman he'd chosen was her, Elana Larasati. A simple woman suffocating under debt and hospital bills. An ordinary staffer at a company that wasn't even particularly large.
She wasn't from the tycoon circle like Arka and all his friends.
If you wanted to put it in fairy-tale terms, Arka was the prince shining brightly in his palace, while Elana was merely Cinderella, whose existence had never even been noticed by the world.
Elana wouldn't deny it. She was more than aware of her position.
"Have a drink, then."
One word from Arka and a stemmed glass filled with yellow liquid made Elana slowly shake her head, pushing away the fleeting comparison between herself and Arka.
"You don't want it?" Arka asked.
Elana fumbled a little. "That's not it. I do," she said quickly. Arka had probably misunderstood her earlier headshake, as though she were refusing his offer. She quickly took the glass from his hand and held it herself. "Thank you," she added before taking a sip.
"You're not surprised there are this many guests at our wedding, are you?" Arka asked, glancing around and waving to several people who greeted him from a distance.
"No, of course not," Elana said. She knew perfectly well that Arka had this many friends.
Back in college, Arka had been the popular guy on campus. He wasn't just approached by plenty of women, but by plenty of men too.
Oh, don't get the wrong idea about all those men approaching Arka. It was because Arka was so loyal and loved treating people. Another reason Elana had heard was that they wanted some of his good looks and wealth to rub off on them. Maybe if they caught it from Arka's sweat, it would spread.
So it was no wonder that whenever Arka played basketball on campus, the audience was absolutely enormous, from juniors to seniors.
Whenever Arka flicked away his sweat, everyone would click their tongues in awe as if he'd just shaken diamonds off his body. A little excessive, don't you think?
"Done resting? Then let's keep going."
That wasn't a question, by the way, so don't get the wrong idea. Without waiting for Elana's answer, her husband immediately took the glass from her hand and set it on the table. Then Arka grabbed Elana's hand and pulled her along wherever he went to greet his friends.
At last, the moment Elana had been waiting for finally arrived. The wedding reception was over, and she and Arka went up to the hotel room where they were staying. Ugh, Elana wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the bed and fall asleep. Her entire legs ached, along with her back. The long, trailing skirt of her gown had to be one of the reasons. It was heavy.
The moment she stepped into the room, Elana took off her high heels and left them carelessly on the floor. She then hurried toward the bathroom, leaving Arka behind as he closed the door.
In the bathroom, Elana immediately reached for the zipper of her gown, but she jolted at a voice that suddenly reached her ears.
"Need some help?"
Elana immediately turned toward the bathroom door and gasped when she found Arka leaning against the doorframe, arms folded over his chest as he fixed her with an intense stare.
Had she forgotten to lock the bathroom door?
The question hung in Elana's mind. And indeed, she hadn't locked the bathroom door. She'd been so eager to take off her gown and freshen up that she'd forgotten that one small detail.
"What are you doing standing there? Get out." Elana snapped, adding a sharp glare for emphasis. Instead of getting scared and backing away as Elana wanted, Arka merely flashed an inscrutable grin.
Arka shrugged. "I want to watch you change," he said lightly.
Elana shrieked. "Arka!"
Still wearing that amused smile, Arka took a step toward Elana, making her immediately retreat, her eyes filled with wariness.
"Why are you coming in? Don't you know what 'get out' means?"
"Nope."
Elana growled under her breath. "Fine, I'll get out. You use the bathroom first," she decided. Rather than stay in the bathroom with Arka, she'd rather be the one to give in. Luckily, she hadn't had a chance to unzip her gown yet.
However, her steps toward passing Arka came to an immediate halt when his arm wrapped around her waist. "Where are you going, Lana?" Arka asked, meeting Elana's gaze.
"Seriously. What did you hit your head on? Why have you suddenly forgotten the meaning of words?" Elana clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I'm leaving. Let go of me now." She tried to remove Arka's arm from her waist, but his hold suddenly tightened, making it difficult for her to break free.
"I'll help you take off your clothes," Arka murmured.
Elana glared at him. "What?" she cried.
"I know you're having trouble getting out of your dress. Come here, let me help." Arka pulled Elana toward him in one swift tug, making her body press against his and trapping her within his arms.
"No. No." Elana squirmed, trying to get free. But Arka's hold really was that strong.
"You're my wife, Lana. You haven't forgotten that, have you? And you haven't forgotten our contract from the beginning?" Arka asked in a low, heavy voice.
As though Elana's attempts to escape his embrace didn't bother him at all, one of Arka's hands quickly gripped the zipper of her gown and pulled it down.
Elana's eyes widened when she felt her gown come open. She swallowed hard as Arka's fingers brushed over her bare back. That single reminder from Arka made her stop struggling and fighting him.
Arka smiled faintly when the woman in his arms appeared to submit. He then moved one hand to lower Elana's gown from her right shoulder.
Elana gasped. "Arka," she whispered.
"You haven't forgotten that you have to satisfy me too, have you?" Arka asked, pulling his face away from Elana's shoulder and staring straight into her wary, gleaming eyes.
This was all because of the insane contract she'd made with Arka.
It had put her in a position like this.
Yes, it was all because of Arka—and the debt strangling her life.