Prologue

The rain had just stopped, leaving the asphalt slick and the air cold enough to cut through bone. The porch light of Arsy Raihana Shahira's house glowed dim, casting a weak circle of light over the front yard — a yard that, on this particular night, had become the stage for the unraveling of someone's entire life.

Arsy stood there gasping for breath, her eyes burning red, her hands trembling as she fought to contain something that felt seconds from detonating inside her chest. Two people stood before her. The two people she had trusted most in this world.

Radit Pradana, her fiance. The man who was supposed to stand beside her before the officiant in a matter of days and speak the sacred vows. And Nadira Anindya, the best friend Arsy had loved like a sister. But tonight, the two of them stood side by side — not as allies helping Arsy prepare for the happiest day of her life, but as traitors whose single act of betrayal had demolished every ounce of trust she had ever placed in them.

Nadira stood too close to Radit, their shoulders nearly touching. Radit let out a heavy breath, glanced at Nadira — who kept her head bowed in shame — then turned back to Arsy with an expression so flat it bordered on boredom. Not a trace of guilt.

Arsy's vision blurred behind the tears she was fighting to hold back.

"Explain." Her voice came out barely above a whisper, but it was enough to make Radit lift his chin. "Explain right now what's been going on between you two." Firmer this time, even though her throat felt like it was on fire.

Radit exhaled long and slow, like a man tired of dealing with something trivial. Not like a man who'd just been caught cheating.

"You saw it yourself, didn't you? I've been seeing Nadira. That means Nadira and I are together." His tone was flat. Matter-of-fact.

The words cut deeper than any denial could have. Arsy let out a small laugh — bitter enough to sting anyone who heard it.

"So I wasn't imagining things. You two have been going behind my back."

Nadira's head dropped lower. Her hands wrung together, knuckles white. Her shoulders shook — she couldn't believe Arsy had actually caught them.

"Arsy… I-I can explain everything," Nadira's voice trembled. "I swear, it's not what you think."

"SHUT UP."

Arsy's head snapped toward her. Eyes sharp as broken glass. Tears pooled at the corners but she refused — absolutely refused — to let them fall.

"Don't you ever say my name with that filthy mouth of yours again." Low. Dangerous. "You don't have that right."

Nadira crumbled into sobs, but Radit stepped forward, placing himself in front of her like a shield — as if he were ready to do whatever it took to protect Nadira from Arsy's fury.

"Don't yell at her," he said, ice in his voice. "This isn't Nadira's fault. It's mine. I'm the one who asked her to be with me."

"Oh." Arsy nodded slowly. "So now you're openly admitting your relationship with Nadira. Right to my face."

Radit paused for a beat, then gave a small nod.

"Yeah."

That single word was enough to bring Arsy's world crashing down.

"You—" She swallowed hard. "The two of you are absolutely unbelievable. How could you do this to me? What did I ever do to either of you?!"

Radit didn't answer right away. Instead, his eyes swept the surroundings — the neighboring houses, the people pretending to be busy with their own business while clearly hanging on every word. Arsy's face burned.

"I was going to be your wife, Radit. I'm the one who was there for you from the very beginning — through nothing — until you made it and got accepted as a doctor. I was the one you always came running to whenever you needed something. I was the one who—"

"Enough." Radit's tone sliced through her words and silenced her. "I never asked you to do any of that. You chose to."

The sentence landed like a slap across her face.

"So now it's my fault?" Arsy's voice dropped to almost nothing. Radit shrugged.

"I'm just being honest."

Arsy shook her head, a small, broken laugh escaping as she wiped her face.

"Honest?" she repeated. "Which kind of honest, Radit? Honest because you're admitting you cheated? Or honest because you're too ashamed to acknowledge everything I did to get you where you are right now?"

Radit looked her dead in the eye. Without a shred of hesitation, he acknowledged his affair with Nadira in front of everyone watching.

"The second one."

Silence crashed down around them. Arsy felt her knees threaten to buckle. But she chose to stay standing. She refused to collapse in front of Radit and Nadira.

"Why?" she asked at last. "Why would you do this to me?"

Radit let out a breath, clearly impatient to finally unload what had apparently been building inside him for some time.

"Because I don't love you, Arsy."

The words fell from his mouth without empathy, without remorse — a blade driven deeper into a wound that was already bleeding out. Arsy stared at him, hollow-eyed. She couldn't process it. The man she'd believed loved her had never loved her at all.

"What?"

"I never loved you, Arsy." He didn't even flinch repeating it. "I agreed to marry you because my parents wanted me to. They liked you and your family. I was just going along with what they asked."

Her tears finally broke free.

"Then what was I to you, Radit?" Her voice cracked wide open. "A doll? A decoration?"

"Sure. Think of it that way," Radit answered lightly — so lightly that even Nadira flinched.

"Radit—"

"Nadira, please — don't stop me from telling this woman the truth. I'm tired of pretending. You want to know something, Arsy? Since I've been with Nadira, I actually feel alive."

What was left of Arsy's heart disintegrated. She turned to Nadira. The look in her eyes was pure devastation.

"Do you have any idea, Nadira — I told you everything. Every problem I had with Radit. Every fear. Even my wedding plans. You know how much I loved you. I treated you like my own sister. And this is how you repay me? You took everything I gave you — every bit of love and trust — and you used it to sleep with my fiance."

Nadira wept openly now.

"I fell in love, Arsy… I never meant to take Radit from you. I tried to stay away from him, but I couldn't."

The neighbors' whispers grew louder. Arsy's name passed between them like currency. Radit dragged a hand down his face, then raised his voice deliberately — making sure everyone could hear.

"That's enough. There's nothing left worth holding on to."

Arsy's heart slammed against her ribs.

"What do you mean by that, Radit?"

He met her eyes without wavering.

"We should call off the wedding."

The words hung in the night air like a verdict. Several neighbors audibly gasped. Arsy felt her legs go numb as Radit unilaterally destroyed their future with a single sentence.

"You… what are you saying, Radit?" she stammered.

"I said let's cancel the wedding." Not a flicker of doubt. "I'm not going to marry a woman I don't love."

Those words were still suspended in the cold night air when the front door of Arsy's house creaked open behind her. The sound was quiet — but enough to make Arsy turn.

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