Ludwina Went To London

The atmosphere became serene with the light rain outside the window. Andrea brought out a bottle of wine and two glasses as well as a glass of juice for Ronan. He poured wine for himself and Adeline. He handed a glass filled with wine to the girl. Adelina received it with her eyes still teary.

"Evenings like this are perfect for drinking wine. It can lift up the mood quite a bit." Andrea clinked his glass against Adeline's and sipped his wine. "Drink... so you can feel better."

Adeline nodded and took a sip of the wine. Her gloomy face gradually began to brighten.

"Wine makes adulting bearable," she said with a smile beginning to adorn her face. The two of them chuckled. Andrea nodded too, agreeing.

"I know you're a strong woman, but if you feel sad and want to talk about anything, my place and a glass of wine will always be here," said Andrea. "That's the least I can do for the mother of my son. I'll always support you as best as I can."

"Thank you. I appreciate your good intentions, Andrea." Adeline was silent for a long time before then venturing to ask, "Your wife... You've been here for a year and she's still in Singapore... Does she still not want to move to London?"

Andrea shook his head, feeling down.

"I don't think so. I haven't been able to meet her and ask her in person. But Joe has given me flexibility. I can work for two weeks in Singapore and another two weeks in London. I probably will if Ludwina agrees to it."

Adeline pursed her lips in surprise, "Andrea, that's exhausting! Why are you sacrificing so much for—"

"I'm just trying to do what I can. If it turns out that I can't bear to commute from London to Singapore like that, I can think of another way. What's clear is that Wina is still hurt because she feels cheated. Just imagine how she feels, knowing that her husband actually has a child from another woman. She must be devastated. I understand for sure that until now, she's still sad and hurt..."

Adeline bit her lip, staying silent. She felt that Andrea was going too far in sacrificing for his wife...

In her heart, she regretted leaving Andrea nine years ago...

Maybe if they were still together, Andrea would have done the same for her.

This man's love and patience were bottomless...

"The rain has stopped..." Adeline muttered. She hurriedly finished her wine and got up from the sofa. "Thank you for today, for the wine, for our conversation, and for taking care of Ronan all weekend. We have to go now."

Andrea led them downstairs into the taxi. "See you in two weeks. Be good, okay, Ronan?"

"Bye, Dad."

Andrea watched the taxi disappear into the distance and went back into his apartment. He understood that Adeline was still hoping for him, but he couldn't go back to her. His heart was occupied with his wife and he missed her very much now.

***

Andrea hadn't returned to Indonesia since he moved to England and his mother spoiled him during his visit to Jakarta. She cooked all his favorite dishes and they exchanged news while looking at Andrea's photos and videos with Ronan.

Mrs. Annie was very happy knowing she had a grandchild. She knew that Ludwina didn't want to have children, so she had lost hope of having grandchildren. But now, with Ronan in Andrea's life, she felt that her wish had been fulfilled.

They discussed plans for Mrs. Annie to visit London to see Andrea and meet Ronan. Andrea was touched to see how excited his mother was to meet her grandson.

While in Jakarta, Andrea also took the time to stop by his parents-in-law's house. Too bad Ludwina was still in New York. He couldn't see her.

"We agreed to meet at Hilton Bali after I finish speaking at the conference, Mom," said Andrea when Mrs. Inggrid asked him about his plans. "I hope I'll be able to persuade Ludwina."

Mrs. Inggrid nodded with teary eyes. This week, she was supposed to be busy preparing a massive party to commemorate Ludwina and Andrea's 5th wedding anniversary... but reality said otherwise.

She really hoped that Andrea would be able to coax Ludwina to abandon her plan to divorce and get back together. She knew that Andrea was a good man, and the mistakes he made in the past shouldn't make Ludwina leave him.

***

Ludwina suddenly decided to change her itinerary by adding a 24-hour transit in London. She wanted to see how Andrea was living there.

During this time, she avoided going to London for fear of accidentally meeting Andrea or Adeline and Ronan. But now, she knew that Andrea wouldn't be in his apartment because he had already left for Indonesia. She could see for herself how her husband had been living there.

She wanted to see if Andrea had started to involve Ronan and Adeline in his life. She wanted to know if Andrea had opened his home for his first love and their child.

Ludwina arrived at Andrea's apartment building at 8 PM. Everything was exactly as her husband told her. The passkey was the same as their apartment passkey in Singapore. When Ludwina entered, she found a very familiar apartment.

All the furniture and designs seemed to have been handpicked by Ludwina herself. The flat really reminded her of their apartment in Singapore. The curtains, the sofa, the arrangement of the kitchen... Ludwina felt as if she had entered a house prepared for her. She felt very familiar and comfortable in this place.

She saw a box of crayons and some drawings on the table, which seemed to have been made by a small child. These must be Ronan's, she thought.

Apart from the crayons and drawing papers, she didn't see any belongings of a woman or a child there. Ludwina then went into the bedroom.

Her tears immediately flowed profusely when she saw the minimalist bedroom and a frame on the table containing a photo of her and Andrea, taken during their honeymoon in Bali.

She missed seeing her husband's face. Her tears were overflowing when she realized that until now, Andrea hadn't forgotten her.

It's been a year, but Andrea was still waiting for her faithfully in London. Everything about this apartment was typical of Ludwina.

She took the frame from the table and hugged it while sobbing on the bed.

"Oh, Andrea... why don't you move on from me..." she complained, "Why don't you forget me, Andrea, my love..."

She cried all night while hugging their photo.

***

The last day of the conference was a very important day for Andrea. Not only would he be a keynote speaker, but it would also be his and Ludwina's 5th wedding anniversary. If there were no problems that caused Ludwina to get angry with him, their marriage would still be fine and they would have celebrated their anniversary with the grand party that was promised to Mrs. Inggrid.

Now, he only hoped to meet Ludwina and talk to her. He deliberately asked for a beautiful suite with a view overlooking the sea and ordered flowers and prosecco to be prepared in the room on the third day.

He wanted Ludwina to remember the night he proposed to her after two glasses of wine and half a glass of prosecco and hoped that it would soften her up.

Ludwina didn't agree to meet him in the hotel, but she didn't refuse either. That's why Andrea had to think of a way for Ludwina to not just meet him in the lobby and then leave.

He went to the hotel manager and asked for her help.

"I have a surprise for my wife in the suite because tomorrow is our anniversary. I want her to be taken straight to the room to rest because she just flew from New York." He took out his phone and then showed Ludwina's Instagram account. It was full of her photos. "Can you assign a guest relations officer to help her?"

The front desk manager studied Ludwina's photo and nodded. "Yes, Sir. I'll arrange with the receptionist on duty tomorrow to notify me when your wife comes."

"Her name is Ludwina Baskara, she's a writer. She is coming to Bali to be a speaker at UWRF," said Andrea in a voice obviously sounding proud of his wife.

"Ahh... no wonder your last name sounds familiar," commented the front desk manager in awe, "So you are Ms. Ludwina Baskara's husband? I just bought her novel, but I didn't know how she looks in real life. Now I will."

Andrea nodded. He thanked the front desk manager and then excused himself. He couldn't wait for tomorrow to arrive.

***