04

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Anindya had just been about to resume enjoying her meal after Sofia's departure when her phone, lying face-up on the table, buzzed again. She glanced at it briefly — Radit's name on the caller ID. Without an ounce of guilt, she casually swiped the red button to decline.

You've had your fun long enough. Now it's my turn to be happy, she told herself firmly.

Anindya began devouring the lavish spread before her with gusto. Every bite tasted exquisite — like sweet, delicious revenge.

Her phone kept ringing, again and again, but Anindya couldn't have cared less. Starting today, her world had changed. Raditya and company business were no longer her top priority.

When she'd eaten her fill, Anindya snapped her fingers to signal the waiter. A moment later he appeared with the bill. She glanced at the eye-popping total, then casually handed over her credit card.

A smile played at her lips as she imagined her husband's face contorting with fury when he saw the charge. "Radit. This is just the beginning," she murmured.

Anindya stood, smoothed her dress, and strode out of the restaurant with her head held high.

"When else am I going to enjoy the fruits of my own labor?" she said quietly, each word laced with emphasis. "Better I spend it on myself than let it get drained by another woman!"

She didn't go back to the office. Instead, she steered her luxury sedan toward the biggest mall in the city. Today, she was going to shop until she dropped.

Meanwhile, at RA Corp headquarters...

The atmosphere on the main floor was suffocating. The sound of files being slammed down and furious shouting shattered the silence.

"Where is Anindya?! Call her again!" Raditya barked, his face flushed crimson. He paced back and forth in long, agitated strides across the spacious conference room.

Darius, his personal assistant, stood trembling before him — the nearest target for his boss's rage.

"I'm sorry, sir... I've tried calling her multiple times, but she won't pick up. It seems like she's turned off her phone," Darius answered, his voice faltering.

"Where the hell is she?!" Raditya snapped. "This is critical, Darius! The contract with the European investors has to be signed today! Anindya is the only one who has every technical detail and final negotiation point memorized! Without her, this multi-million-dollar project could fall through!"

Raditya raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. It was true — even though Raditya's name was the one in the spotlight, it was Anindya who handled all the calculations, strategy, and complex negotiations. Anindya was the brain behind every one of their successes.

"What do we do now, sir? The investors have been waiting in the reception room for a while! They're getting impatient and threatening to cancel the deal if no one can explain the technical details clearly!" Darius reported in a panic.

"Son of a bitch!" Raditya swore. He slammed his palm on the table. "Why did she just vanish?! What the hell is going on with that woman?!"

Beneath his fury, a gnawing unease was beginning to eat at him. Anindya's behavior last night, and now her disappearing when the company needed her most — a dark premonition suddenly took root in his mind.

"Find out where she is! I need her here NOW!"

Darius rushed out of Raditya's office and jogged toward the elevator, heading one floor down to the Vice President's suite — Anindya's office. He shoved the glass door open in such a hurry that he forgot to knock.

Inside, Rosita, Anindya's personal secretary, was busy typing at her computer. The moment she saw Darius stumble in, breathless, she jumped to her feet.

"Darius?" Rosita asked, startled.

"Where's Ms. Anin?!" Darius demanded without preamble, his voice edged with panic. "Mr. Raditya needs her right now!"

Rosita furrowed her brow, then shook her head in confusion.

"Ms. Anin hasn't come back since her lunch break," Rosita answered honestly.

"What?!" Darius stared. "What do you mean?"

"She said she was going out for lunch, but she still hasn't returned," Rosita added.

"This is bad!" Darius muttered. He had no time for further discussion. "Okay, thanks, Ros! I need to report back to the boss!"

Darius spun around and sprinted back to the elevator, heading for Raditya's floor.

In the executive suite...

Raditya was still pacing, his face a mask of barely contained pressure. The instant he saw Darius walk in, he pounced.

"Well?! Where's my wife?!"

Darius paused for a moment to catch his breath.

"I'm sorry, sir. According to her assistant, Ms. Anindya left at lunchtime and hasn't returned," Darius reported, fear threading through every word.

"What?!" Raditya stopped mid-stride. His brow furrowed deeply, as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"She hasn't come back? Since lunch?" Raditya repeated in disbelief. His mind raced, flipping through memories.

"Anindya always brings lunch from home. Since when does she leave the building just for a meal?" Raditya muttered, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the blank wall. Something had changed dramatically in his wife. A change that made him deeply uneasy.

"What about the investors, sir?" Darius asked quietly, breaking his boss out of his reverie.

Raditya let out a long breath, then drove his fist into the table.

"I'll handle it myself! Get all the files ready! Now!" Raditya barked. "And you — find out where she is immediately!"

"Yes, sir." Darius moved at once to carry out the orders.

With his breath ragged and cold sweat beginning to soak through the back of his shirt, Raditya strode into the main conference room with Darius at his heels. Two foreign investors sat there, their faces impassive, radiating barely concealed impatience.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. My sincere apologies for the delay," Raditya said, extending his hand with a forced smile. "I'm Raditya Wicaksono, CEO of this company."

But both investors gave only a perfunctory handshake before sitting back down, their expressions icy.

"Where is Mrs. Anindya?" asked Mr. Henderson, one of the investors, in a clipped British accent. "We agreed that she would walk us through the technical details and the financial analysis. We need assurance from the expert herself."

Raditya's heart hammered in his chest. He forced himself to stay calm and took his seat at the head of the table.

"My wife had an urgent personal matter today, gentlemen. But rest assured, I'm fully up to speed on every aspect of this contract. Please — ask me anything," Raditya replied, doing his best to project confidence.

The meeting began. But it didn't take long for the investors to realize that Raditya's grasp of the project's details was embarrassingly shallow.

"Stop!" Mr. Henderson slapped his hand on the table, cutting off Raditya's increasingly incoherent explanation. The man's face had gone red with barely suppressed irritation.

"Mr. Raditya, we are not children to be fed nonsense! The only reason we agreed to this partnership was because we trusted Mrs. Anindya's intelligence and precision!" he said sharply.

"You can talk all day about the big picture and pretty visions, but every one of your explanations has been utterly unsatisfactory!" his colleague added.

Raditya was visibly panicking. "No, gentlemen. Please, give me another chance. I can explain further..."

"That won't be necessary!" Mr. Henderson cut him off coldly. "We are not putting billions on a project whose leader doesn't understand the details of his own operation."

The man picked up the contract from the table, folded it, and slid it back toward Raditya.

"We are hereby canceling this partnership in its entirety. Good day."

Without waiting to hear another word, both investors rose and swept out of the room with furious strides.

GULP!

Raditya swallowed hard. His face had gone deathly pale. A contract worth a fortune — gone. Obliterated in under an hour.

"Anindya... !"

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