The Sweetest Harsh
Episode 7 - Painting Your Face

Alfa looked at the door of the treatment room with an impassioned look, but, as much as possible, she would prepare her usual smile. Trying to be going to face Tiara casually. He pressed the door lever and half of his body had stepped in. His body froze. The two pairs of eyes in the room were the same, glued, staring at him.

Is her mother in this room? Since when?

An uncomfortable feeling immediately crept onto him. I don't know what these two people were talking about in his absence. He could not keep negativity out of his mind. It was nothing, he just felt, Helmia half-heartedly accepted the presence of Tiara and Alfa could not dig deep to find out what was weighing on her mind. She understood her mother well, but, this time, somehow Alfa felt different, Helmia could not laugh and be as open as when Alfa was with her lover before. Especially because his mother has a fierce nature. He was afraid that if something did not go according to his wishes, Helmia would immediately curse with her scathing words. Hopefully because they haven't known you for long. It was the only positive thing he had always instilled.

Tiara and Mama both looked on without letting go of the slightest arrival of Alfa until the man put down the item he was carrying and stood at the end of the bed. However, the two women were finally seen simultaneously staring at the brown envelope he had placed on the table.

“What is it?” Helmia asked by turning her gaze towards the brown envelope on the table.

“Oh it ... uh .. Davian's documents. Last ... I met for a while while buying food and he handed it over.” Alfa said with a little stammering. He decided to just lie and postpone to tell about the unpleasant news. Especially here there is his mother, who will certainly give a bitter reaction to the bad news that befell Tiara. Especially if you know, that his wife turned out to be sick from taking drugs from him.

“Ya. Mama go home first.” Helmia stood up, looked at Tiara for a moment, then slightly smiled and left the room.

“Be careful Ma.” Alfa escorted her mother away with a short speech without moving from where she stood. Then looked at Tiara.

Seen with an introgating gaze, Tiara lowered her head. However, it seems that Alfa chose not to discuss anything because she immediately approached the table and took the food bag she had brought.

“Eat yes. After this you can go home.” Alfa completely lost her expression to smile. His face looked grim without being able to cover it. His mind raged full of unpleasant things that made him daydream without feeling. This news was really surprising to him. Somehow the way that he had to go to tell this to his wife was that of course would be more surprised than him.

A box of lunch that Alfa had held in his hand, which he was about to bribe was in the end just stirred. However, he did not want to be bribed. It seems that the man is daydreaming until he is not aware of what he is doing.

Tiara exhaled violently before finally holding onto Alpha's hand to wake her from the reverie. Understand what is on her husband's mind. He must have thought, his mother would speak no-no to him.

Alfa lifted her head heavily and forced her lips to smile.

“Come," said the man opened his own mouth as an order for Tiara to open his mouth, like he was feeding a child.

The tiara simply complies without a word and takes a bribe after a bribe until the food is gone.

Afterwards, the two of them packed up and said goodbye to the nurse and Doctor Jeni before setting foot out of the Maternity Hospital, taking a prescription at the pharmacy, then rushing towards the parking space.

Tiara had braked Alfa's long steps by dragging her hand until Alfa stopped her steps and looked back.

“What's up?” Alfa raised her eyebrows to see Tiara looking back. Honestly, he wanted to immediately disappear from this unpleasant place, and the woman even blocked his steps.

“We didn't consult today?” Tiara asked innocently.

Arrrgghh yes

Questions he had not yet prepared the answer for. Alpha grumbled in his heart. The man closed his eyes for a moment to think quickly and found a lithe answer as an excuse. “Doctor Jeni checked you out when you fainted yesterday. Next time we'll be back.” Answering thus hopes Tiara believes and can soon move from this place.

“Oh ...." The woman gave an answer in a soft voice that sounded more like a whisper and was certainly not heard by Alfa as the man hurriedly continued another step, preceding several steps forward.

******

“How is Tiara doing?” Jonah who had just entered the house spontaneously asked when he saw Helmia sitting on a chair that he could see as soon as he set foot in the room.

“Good. Maybe he was just exhausted. They went straight home as soon as Tiara realized.”

“Or maybe Tiara is pregnant? He looked pale and confessed to nausea.” Helmia came to her own conclusions about the situation she saw.

Jonah smiled at his wife. He's very understanding. Helmia was so expecting the presence of grandchildren given their age that was approaching the middle of the century. The woman was very disappointed when she found out that Alfa broke off her relationship with her boyfriend after almost 5 years of dating. He thought Alfa would soon get married once she had a special relationship with a woman. But in fact, he ended the relationship unilaterally and just got married after 2 years dating Tiara. The girl he knew was the son of a fashion businessman and politician with a track record that is not good enough.

“Just pray for the best for them. You must not interfere too much to make them uncomfortable.”

“You just accused me of being a no-no" he said.

“I'm not accusing. I'm just reminding. Do not let you bring your disappointment with undue treatment to Tiara.”

Helmia moved from her seat, giving a sharp look and letting her rising emotions float in the air. Going away from the conversation will inevitably lead to the quarrel.

******

The fragrant smell of hot tea wafted in the air. Tiara inhaled it deeply before bringing her teacup to the sofa in the lounge. Alpha is not in place. She saw her husband at the sofa table fiddling with his camera, intending to go to the kitchen and make a cup of tea.

He looked for the man in all corners of the room and saw Alfa sitting in front of the back wall with a brush dance there.

“What's wrong?” Tiara voiced the question with the intention to stop her husband's activities, because actually without asking any questions, Tiara knew that Alfa was painting. He stood in the doorway from the side.

“Sedang ... with whom I love.” Alfa reviewed the smile for a moment without stopping her hand that was holding the brush.

Tiara who could not cover her curiosity finally stepped away behind Alfa in order to see clearly.

“That's me?” Show it to yourself.

Looking at a painting is like being in front of a large mirror. Alfa painted on the wall between the two wooden walls. Make the painting look very big with a very large frame. Moreover, it looks as big as its real self and is very similar to the original.

“Wajahku ... is my face like that?”

Alfa looked at Tiara then looked at her painting. Tilting his head as if judging what he saw. Studying the face he painted without discovering what Tiara meant.

“I was so pale, was my face pale?” Tiara rubbed her cheeks with both hands.

“Really? Yes ... yes .. I will add color here ... here ....” The more he said like he was talking to himself and continued polishing carefully for a while.

“Of course you're not as pale as you were, I just haven't added the last color and given the red color to your lips, you're very pretty Tiara, and this painting of your face, you're, it cannot represent only half of your true aura" he added.

Tiara replied with a mocking look.

“Stay there. I'll take your picture.” Alfa took her camera, sighed Tiara to get close to the wall, close to her own face painting, then like a professional model, Tiara took a photo in a style guided by Alfa in front of her. His wife looked timid but Alfa managed to persuade him to pose.

Alfa smiled bitterly at the photos she took, seeing clearly that Tiara's face was indeed pale. He couldn't think clearly from yesterday. Doctor Jeni's words continue to haunt her. He just keeps praying, hopefully this is just an unnecessary temporary worry.

Trying to push away all his remains, he took a brush and paint the color and painted it. As if he could not hide a single speck of secret, he even painted in pain that his wife felt to take a foolish attitude by voicing her thoughts by painting the pale face of Tiara.

Keep smiling Tiara ....