“If you keep doing nothing, Mom can contact the Wardhana family again tomorrow morning.”
Marlena’s voice came through the phone’s speaker on the desk. Arven glanced at the clock in the corner of the screen. Seven fifteen in the evening. He had only been sitting down for a few minutes when his mother started talking about Nayara and the possibility of bringing her home.
“Nayara already said she doesn’t want our business handled through our parents,” Arven said. “Don’t contact her family again on my behalf.”
Marlena didn’t answer right away. When she spoke again, her voice was sharper. “You want to let your wife live wherever she happens to be and have everyone pretend this is normal?”
Arven sat up straighter. He didn’t tell his mother that Nayara was arranging a place to live on her own. He also didn’t mention that she had already rejected his offer to pay the deposit and first month’s rent. That information wouldn’t help anything. Marlena would only have another reason to interfere.
“I’m not saying this is normal,” he replied. “But I’m not asking you to solve it either.”
“If her father is spoken to calmly, at least there will still be someone who can make Nayara reconsider.”
“Don’t.” Arven cut her off before she could continue. “She already said she doesn’t want our parents involved. I heard her.”
Marlena then started talking about the family name, how people viewed their household, and why problems like this should be settled before they spread. Arven listened for a while. He knew the pattern. His mother was always calmer when everyone returned to the positions she believed were right.
Usually, Arven didn’t mind as long as family matters continued to look orderly. For the past three years, he had even enjoyed the benefits of that order. In front of their families, he remained the husband who paid the household expenses, attended events, and caused no trouble. No one needed to see what he failed to give Nayara inside their home.
Tonight, accepting Marlena’s help would make one thing easier: Arven wouldn’t have to face Nayara’s rejection alone. He could let someone else do the persuading, then wait for the result.
He chose not to.
“I’m not going to ask you to speak with the Wardhana family again,” he said. “If this needs to be discussed, Nayara and I will decide when.”
When Marlena kept trying to find another possibility, Arven ended the call after telling her that was enough for tonight.
The phone screen went dark again.
Arven remained seated at the desk. The house was quiet, but he didn’t try to distract himself with work. His thoughts returned to his conversation with Nayara the day before.
He knew Nayara was arranging separate housing. That was all. He didn’t know whether she had found a suitable place, whether the process was going smoothly, or where the woman was tonight.
Practically speaking, he could still call her.
Nayara’s name was in his call list. He could ask how she was, request her address, or offer help again even though she had already rejected it. Until now, questions about housing, expenses, and daily necessities had always seemed easy to him. If there was an expense, he paid it. If there was a problem that could be quantified, he looked for a sufficient number.
Nayara’s rejection made that approach stop working.
Arven opened his contacts and found Nayara’s name. His thumb hovered there for a long moment. Asking how she was doing sounded reasonable. He could say that he only wanted to make sure everything was all right.
In the past, he might have considered asking for her address an ordinary thing for a husband to do. Now he knew Nayara had deliberately chosen not to give it to him. The difference was simple, but uncomfortable. Asking again meant making Nayara say no a second time simply because Arven didn’t like her first answer.
Nayara had already made her wishes clear. She didn’t need his money. Their parents were not to be used as intermediaries. She was arranging her own place to live.
Arven closed his contacts.
He didn’t call Nayara.
He set the phone back on the desk. He didn’t ask for her address. He didn’t repeat his offer to pay. He also didn’t contact the Wardhana family after rejecting his mother’s suggestion. He sent no new message to provoke a response.
Arven was used to shutting out uncertainty with action, even when that action only made him feel as though he still had control. This time, there was nothing else he could do without crossing the boundary Nayara had already stated.
What remained was the thing he disliked most: not knowing.
Arven didn’t know whether Nayara had found a place to live, how far away she wanted to be, or when they would speak again. He moved his phone a little farther from his hand.
If Nayara wanted to tell him, he would hear it directly from her.
The decision didn’t make the house any more comfortable. It didn’t make his rejection feel any lighter. Marlena might not stop just because tonight’s conversation had ended.
Still, until eight oh four, Arven didn’t reopen Nayara’s name on his phone screen. He still didn’t know where Nayara would live, and for tonight, he allowed that uncertainty to remain a boundary he would not cross.