Chapter IV - Revenge Is My Middle Name

Peyton’s POV

Every time I see that woman and her Dad, my chest explodes. The death of them is what I want to see. Surely not in an instant way because that's not my style.

Sudirman, the name of that jerk, completely ruined my family's life. My Dad left, my Mom committed suicide by cutting her wrist to bleed in the bathtub, right before I came home from school. Not to mention how my Dad's business that was robbed by that jerk and all the damage happened because of that bastard, Dirman; the Dad of the woman I'm married to now.

Every Friday afternoon, I am here, visiting my Mom's grave and bringing her favorite flowers; white roses. For years I remind myself of my vow to avenge all the heartache the Sudirman Kusuma family has caused me. So far this year, it seems like all my prayers have been answered and my vow is fulfilled!

My sacrifices to reach at this position is beyond enormous. So much bitterness that I went through…

My dad left us for his new woman when I started high school. My Mom was so frustrated, especially when my Dad brought his mistress back home with no hesitation, no notice. They stayed for more than a week. And since that incident, my Dad became a very hard-boiled ruthless person, he never stopped hitting mom and me.

Until one day, he left us without notice, leaving no dime for us to live. The series of tragic events in my family was far from over. Until I found my Mom's body lying pale in a bathtub, filled with crimson water right before my graduation. The image stands crystal clear to this day. The more I tried to get rid of it, the clearer it became. The sight of my Mom's pale corpse.

I spent three years of high school at an orphanage until my uncle, who was a cousin of my Mom, picked me up so I could stay with him. He was the one who told me everything, the root of my family's curse. How Dirman lured my Dad to have an affair with his new whore, to leave my mom and me. How Dirman finally had control of my Dad's share of the businesses and wipe away my family name as the heirs. And the worst thing was that Dirman was my Dad’s best friend since they were in middle school. They built the business together. Exactly why that bastard had the access to our family's business empire.

I still remember how often Dirman’s family gathered with mine. I still remember everything, including Mirah. Though we were 5 years apart, we used to play together. I don’t know if she still recalls it or not. She was still quite small at that time and when she grew up, Dirman sent her to Europe for her studies.

"Drrrrrrrtt …." The buzz of my phone snapped me out of a long daydream.

"Tonight sir, are we meeting tonight, at the usual café?" Asked Santoz, one of my trusted aides.

"Yes, wait for me." I replied.

"Yes, sir." he replied, followed by droning disconnection of the telephone.

We met in Kemang, where one of my favorite cafés is located. I often meet people who are quite close to me there. Santoz had been waiting for me apparently and had ordered several bottles of beer.

"Any news?" I asked without further ado.

"There sir. This is the best way to put him in prison without having to get your hands dirty," he whispered.

"You can always be trusted, Toz," I said.

"Thank you, sir."

"But do it right away. Don't take too long. You know I hate wasting time." I ordered briefly.

"Fine sir. Just wait, I’ll never disappoint you," he replied while nodding.

"Sure. That’s why I hired you. I'm so exhausted today. I’m off straight home now. Please enjoy the treats here, make sure it’s charged using the CC I gave you." while I patted his shoulder and walked away.

It was almost midnight, 11.16 pm. The gate was opened by Mr. Iman, our chauffeur. Actually, he has lived and worked with this family for a quite long time. Ahhh, I have to immediately get rid of all these jerks at home. Not because they make mistakes, but Mirah has to be away from people who have been very loyal to her family. And it will be my next mission.

I pressed the bell for the third time, and no one opened the door, where is that damn woman, is she deaf or what, my mind was upset. The door opened, and It was Bi Asih by the door.

"Where is Mirah, isn't this her job!" I asked in a loud tone, almost like screaming.

"No sir, Neng Mirah was not feeling well since the morning. She feels dizzy, she got stomachache too, because she just ate tonight. After that she went back to sleep. No need to wake her up, sir. Let me serve you until Neng Mirah recovers. " she replied while trying to beg for my understanding.

"Did she say anything about last night?" I asked.

"Last night? What's wrong sir? " she asked, directing her gaze to me, and bowed her head again.

"Nothing, it's not important. And also, you don't need to find out." I replied.

"Bi, please prepare my nightgown please and before I go upstairs please change the sheets too. I haven't eaten yet, by the way, is there a lodeh like yesterday? It's good, and just make me an omelette. Make lodeh like the other day, Bi. I really like it.” I asked Aunt Asih to prepare my dinner a little late.

"I rarely cook, sir. Most of menu now is cooked by Neng Mirah. Just like what you asked, sir." explained Bi Asih.

I was startled, went silent for a bit. Somehow, anything related to Mirah made me agitated. Though the incident last night it was a little different, I intentionally wanted to make it as a punishment for her. How dare she called another man while I was away working. But it continued with endless hatred mixed with a pinch of other feelings that I couldn’t explain.

At first, I did that with the intention of hurting her, really wanting to hurt her. But what came after that, I just couldn’t control. My feelings and body welcome what I did last night, I couldn’t deny, I actually enjoyed it. Oxytocin flowed profusely. I could not help myself, to not to do again, continuously.

It's a shame to say that I was a little addicted to what happened last night. It was played over and over all fricking day in my head. I couldn’t help but imagining her curves, both firm perky breasts. But I just can't continue thinking about it again or else I have to drag her back to my room. Though now, without the ruthless intention that I made on purpose like last night.

I have had sex with several women, not so many but also not a little. I need a woman as a stress reliever and tired of me, in the midst of my busy schedule and full of workload.

"Sir, here’s the coffee." Aunt Asih served a cup of my favorite black coffee.

"Where is Mirah?" I asked.

"Still not completely recovered sir." she replied.

"Tell her, she is not the queen here. A lot of work is waiting for her to finish. Don't be so spoiled. Tell her that" I ordered, without being replied back by Aunt Asih. I think these people must be fired immediately. They are just too loyal to Mirah.

At 9:00 in the morning and I was at the office, I had started working on a pile of proposals that I had to review and a pile of documents for me to sign. Half an hour later, I received a call from Santoz who asked me to immediately pick up the telephone on line 5 that was connected to our home phone. Hearing this, I grinned, it's time to reply!

On Line 5 * connections

"Hello Hazel, why you just called me, I've been missing you for days, it’s almost a year now and I still can't reach you, what happened ?? When are you going back to London ? What’s the problem, baby? ... " with the sound of hoarse voice, he asked. The man who’s now half away across the world from Mirah, If I'm not mistaken his name is Theo. Mirah's boyfriend since Grade 11.

"Baby, I missed you too, I wish you here." Mirah's voice sounded hoarse and small.

"Hi Theo, this is Peyton, have you heard about me before from Mirah" I instantly cut off the conversation between the two of them. Hah.

"Hello? Hi? Who is this? How can you be here in the middle of our call? Hazel is this wrong line or what? It seems like someone is also in our line." replied Theo, a little confused.

"Baby, hang up the phone, just ignore him. Hang up the phone now, now" Mirah's voice sounded quite confused, it seems like she realized that I had tapped the house phone.

"No, no Theo, please don't hang up the phone, we need to talk." Reply I tried to hold back my laughter.

"I am Peyton, and if you don’t know me yet. I am Mirah's husband. We got married almost 7 months ago. Shame on you who has no idea about this at all. In fact, we had amazing sexual intercourse last night and I’m sooo addicted to it now. I believe I repeated for like 3 times within a couple of hours, I believe you know what I mean. Right, Mirah?" I explained while grinning.

"Hazel, are you there? Who's this man? What’s he talking about? " Theo exclaimed in a confused and mixed tone, I can imagine his anger right now.

"Baby Theo, I'm sorry. I can't live like this any longer, I don't want to live anymore. I, I'm sorry. You better have someone that you deserve to live with. I love you. I do love you." Mirah’s voice sounds far away, almost like she’s murmuring. For some reason, she sounds so weak as she sighed, followed by a long tone, it looks like Mirah has ended the call.

"Hello? Hello?!" Theo was still trying to understand what was happening and I also turned off the call, leaving Theo and Mirah in a gloomy farewell.

I really enjoyed this revenge. One by one I will begin to destroy all the happiness that she ever got, whatever makes her happy, no matter how small it is.

"Drrrrrrrrtttttttttttttttttttttttttt…." The sound of the cellphone vibrated.

"Yas Hello Babe?" I greeted.

"………………………."

"I missed you too, honey"

"………………………."

"When are you gonna be here?"

"………………………."

"Seriously, end of next month?"

"………………………."

"Alright, I'll pick up at the airport, yes"

"..........................."

"Bye, love ..." I ended the conversation a little nervously.

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Sayur lodeh is an Indonesian vegetable soup prepared from vegetables in coconut milk popular in Indonesia, but most often associated with Javanese cuisine.