The Scars

"No, that's impossible. You must be lying. You are acting, aren't you?" I looked into her eyes, searching for her true answer.    

"Why should I lie to you? Indeed, we have slept."    

"Enough!" Vera interrupted. She was approaching Angeline with her eyes which were ready to burn Angeline at any time. "I know you very well. It's only your trick to intimidate Ilana. It won't work this time. Ilana is not the same girl you've ever bullied."    

"Well, I won't ask you to trust me." Angeline gazed at me. "If I were you, I wouldn't marry the man who has impregnated another woman."    

"Leave! I said leave now!" Vera shooed her out. Angeline walked out of the room. Vera came closer to me who was standing still. My brain still processed what I just heard. Did she truly say the truth? "Don't believe in what she said. She just tried to daunt you. We all know who she is. She will do whatever to accomplish anything she wants."    

"You're right. I should not let her intimidate me."    

Vera waved goodbye after everything was fixed. It left me with curiosity. I was still curious about what Angeline told me about her pregnancy. She even went to Bandung from Jakarta just to inform me of that news. Was it Reno who did it? I had to find out soon before Reno got back from another city. I just didn't want that I married the wrong person.    

That thought kept tinkering in my mind even when I reached the apartment where I stayed. I lived here with my mother. My eyes caught a brown sealed envelope slipped under the door. Doubted, I picked it after ensuring that no one around. The person who put this probably observed me somewhere.    

I carefully unsealed the envelope and what I saw next was shocking. There were piles of pictures, pictures of Angeline and Reno. They looked so intimate in the pictures. Angeline and Reno were so close, their head even clutched. Reno merely might be trying to buckle Angeline's seatbelt. However, their intimacy like they were a couple bothered me. I soothed myself. It was possibly just a coincidence. Then, another picture displayed their romance. They walked shoulder by the shoulder in which Reno and Angeline held each other's hands. My heart raced when I eyed the final picture. It was something I never imagined. They...    

"Ilana!" I was startled. My mother had been staying in my back. "What are you standing here? Why don't you get inside?"    

"I am looking for my....my purse." I sputtered while slipping the envelope into my bag. "Ah...it's here." I dialed the code to access my room.    

"You should be more careful. What's in your bag? It looks thicker."    

"Nothing. Where have you been, Mom?" I just wanted to distract her focus on my bag.    

"I just met Mrs. Ujang and talked about the wedding. Why didn't Vera drop by? Isn't she in Bandung?"    

"She is so busy. She has something to do."    

"Where will Reno come back?"    

"I don't know."    

"Where are you going?"    

"I am going to have my shower." I heard my mother grumble.    

***    

I checked the pictures once again to make sure nothing was left at home or scattered around my apartment. Thankfully, my mother did not inquire about this envelope when she noticed it in my bag. She might think that this envelope contained my crucial-document.    

My hand was shaking while securing it back to my bag. The last picture, on which Reno and Angeline seemed to kiss, cracked me up. The picture was just taken after we engaged. The date was there. It was no wonder that they went to the department store together. They might have ever secretly lived in the same house.    

I contacted one of my friends, an expert in photography. To find out the the picture is not fake did matter. I prayed that these pictures were just edited. My friend would find out. My car stopped in front of the huge eight-floor building. My friend's office was on the fifth floor. Taking the lift, I headed to his room.    

"How have you been?" He welcomed me generally. "It has been a while since the last time we met."    

"I've been well. How are you?" I took a seat opposite him and put my bag on the table.    

"Great! Is there anything I can do for you?"    

"I need you to check this out." I nudged him the envelop that I just took out of my bag. He dipped her head and examined the pictures from the envelope.    

"Is this...your fiancé?" He lifted his chin and stared at me in disbelief.    

"I bet. But, to make sure that it is him, I want you to help me."    

"Well, anything for you."    

"When can I get the result?"    

"See me here tomorrow."    

"Well, see you tomorrow then. Thank you." I got up. He just bowed his head.    

I reluctantly ignited the car's key when I was in my car. No matter how hard I tried to forget Angeline's confession and those pictures sent by someone – I was sure Angeline who did it – it kept tinkling in my head and hurt me.    

I could not concentrate well to write and even do anything all day long. I just locked myself in the bedroom, reading a novel to divert the dilemma I was facing. It did not work, though. I could not wait to know the result. What did it take so long for today to change into tomorrow?    

My mobile phone beeped. It was a text from Reno. He said that she would be back tomorrow, one day faster than his schedule. I had no interest to reply his message. So, I just swiped it away.    

***    

I panicked that I woke up late this morning. It was only the pictures I had been thinking about. I was too worried that those pictures were real. I was too afraid of betrayal. Reno was the first and probably the last man I had been in love with. For me, loyalty was something that could not be swapped with anything, even money. If Reno betrayed me once, he would possibly do the same thing next time.    

I inhaled and exhaled three times before I walked into my friend's office. Knocking his door, his baritone voice asked me to get in. I had been sitting in front of him with my heart throbbing. He sighed and then showed the pictures. From his gesture, it signaled a bad thing.    

"Just tell me." I pursued him.    

"The pictures are real, not edited nor fake." That statement spontaneously stabbed me like a knife. "I'm sorry."    

"What are you sorry for? You have done your job well."    

"I suggest you discuss it with Reno. I mean, the pictures are real but the angles. Someone has taken the pictures from a certain angle. We cannot conclude that they do it just by looking at it from one angle," he elaborated.    

"At least that makes me a bit relieved." I let out of sigh. "Thanks, anyway." I grabbed the pictures and put them back into the envelope. After saying goodbye, I headed back to my car. I had to see Reno in his office today asking for his clarification. He just messaged me that he had been in Bandung.    

It was midday when I arrived at Reno's office. He just established a new office in Bandung. The girl in the reception office forbade me to meet Kevin since he had a guest at the moment. But, because I thought this was an important matter, I urged to barge into his room.    

I hardly breathed seeing two people, a man and a woman, hugged each other. Their eyes locked like no one else in this room. Angeline's hands gripped tightly on Reno's shoulders while Reno's hands secured Angeline's waist.    

"Ilana!" They both said my name in unison