Mrs. Belinda looked like she was going to kill the man and appeared extremely terrifying. She slowly entered his apartment.
The man was named Angga Santiago. Angga glanced at Mrs. Belinda, wincing as he did so. It was one o'clock in the morning, and he had promised Mrs. Belinda that he would not come home past midnight.
Gathering his courage, he opened the door as quietly as possible. Eva usually slept very lightly and was easily awakened.
Angga closed the door slowly, grimacing when it creaked. Damn it...
"Angga…" said Mrs. Belinda, rubbing her eyes before sitting down on the sofa.
Angga glanced at the twins, but they did not seem to be awake. He walked toward their babysitter. It did not take long, as the apartment was very small.
Mrs. Belinda frowned deeply, a displeased expression on her face.
"I'm sorry," Angga said before she could say anything. "I am truly, sincerely sorry. This will not happen again, I swear. I couldn't get back any earlier. It was a very slow night, and I didn't make much in tips today. I don't have enough money to pay you this week, so I ended up having to stay out until I could get some."
Mrs. Belinda pursed her lips. She sighed. "Mr. Angga Santiago. I understand your situation—that's the only reason I'm still here—but you need to understand mine too. I have a family of my own, yet I spend up to fifteen hours a day here, taking care of two energetic four-year-olds. And you don't pay me enough to do that."
"I'll look for another job," Angga said quickly, trying to suppress the rising panic in his chest. "I'll find a better job and pay you more than usual."
She sighed again and shook her head. "That's exactly what you said a month ago, Angga." She looked at the girls. "I admire your dedication, but this can't go on. You're only twenty years old. You deserve better. They deserve better too. Why don't you find a good family for them?"
"No," Angga said firmly, his voice loud. "They already have a family. They have me as their family."
"They rarely see you. They ask about you all the time. They really miss you."
Angga immediately looked toward them. Eva and Cia were sleeping curled up together, their chubby cheeks almost touching.
A lump formed in Angga's throat. "I miss them terribly too." He looked at Mrs. Belinda. "Please. I'll find a solution to this problem. This will definitely not happen again." Angga pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and gave her all the money he had. "This… take it."
She shook her head but accepted the money anyway. "Think about what I said, Angga," she said before taking her things and leaving.
Angga locked the door and went back inside.
He knelt beside the bed, resting his chin on the mattress as he looked at the twins.
The dim light made their platinum blonde hair seem almost golden. They looked like little angels.
Angga closed his eyes. Oh God, he was so tired, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. He didn't need to open the refrigerator to know they were out of food—he knew exactly how long it would take for supplies to run out. They would have nothing to eat tomorrow.
Despair clawed at his throat. Then came bitterness and anger.
Angga pushed the thoughts away. Being angry at his parents for racking up so much debt and leaving them with nothing was useless. He didn't want to waste time. He needed money now.
But how? He was already working two jobs.
"Kak Angga?"
Angga opened his eyes. One of his sisters was awake. A wave of panic washed over him as he realized he could no longer tell them apart. Was it Eva or Cia?
"Sweetheart?" His voice was hoarse, caught in the lump in his throat.
The little girl sat up slowly, being careful not to wake her sister, and Angga let out a long breath. It was Eva—she was more mature and thoughtful than Cia, who was always full of energy but rather oblivious.
Eva reached out her hand to him, and Angga lifted her into his arms. "Hey, little princess," he whispered, kissing her temple and breathing in her sweet scent.
"You're home," Eva said, wrapping her small arms around Angga's neck. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, love," Angga murmured as he stroked her back. Forgive me. "Did you have fun while I was gone?"
Eva nodded. "We played a lot, but Belin wouldn't let us go outside!"
"Don't call Mrs. Belinda that." Though Angga had to hold back a smile. "Anything else?"
"A big man came after breakfast. He had a letter for you, but he wouldn't let us touch it."
"A letter?" Angga stood up, carrying Eva in his arms as he walked to the table. "Let's go see it."
He picked up the envelope and went back to the bedside lamp. He squinted, and his stomach dropped when he saw who it was from.
"What is it?" Eva asked.
Angga opened the envelope, pulled out a sheet of paper, and began to read.
"…unacceptable grades…" "…if improvements are not made…" "…scholarship will be terminated unless the student achieves…"
The paper slipped from his fingers to the floor, and he didn't notice.
"Kak Angga? Did something bad happen?"
He looked at Eva's wide blue eyes and forced a smile. "No, sweetie. Everything's fine." He buried his face in Eva's hair and closed his eyes.
Just then, it began to rain—very heavily indeed.
"Is something wrong?" a familiar voice asked, before an arm was placed on Angga's shoulder.
Angga glanced at Rio but kept walking. Their next class would start in ten minutes, and he couldn't be late. "No."
"You're lying. I know you too well." His friend's dark brown eyes were fixed on him curiously.
Angga shrugged. "I'm broke. And on top of that, they're going to cut off my scholarship if I don't raise my grades in three classes at once."
Rio frowned. "I thought you already talked to the professors or the dean to explain your situation."
With a sigh, Angga ran his hand through his hair. "I did. But there's a process to it."
Rio winced. "You know Professor Ricardo."
"Yeah," Angga said sadly.
The youngest professor at the school, Dany Ricardo, had earned the nickname "Asshole Professor" for a reason. He was strict and harsh, setting extremely high standards for his students and despising those who failed to meet them. He had no tolerance for laziness. And because Angga had missed too many of his classes and often didn't have time to complete assignments, he was probably one of Ricardo's least favorite students—even though the man was a favorite among other pupils. There was absolutely no chance that Ricardo would cut him any slack. He wouldn't make exceptions for anyone. His demands were almost ridiculous, but in the eyes of the board, Ricardo had done nothing wrong—he brought in a lot of research funding and had accomplished many good things. Angga had to give Ricardo credit: someone didn't become a highly respected researcher at thirty-three without being exceptionally smart, but that didn't change the fact that the man was a complete jerk in his book.
"What are you going to do?" Rio asked.
"I have no idea how to fix this." Angga walked to his usual seat at the front of the lecture hall. Ricardo had ordered him and Rio to sit there after catching them talking during class one time. Angga sat down and sighed. "What am I supposed to do now?"
"I wish I could help you." Rio dropped into the chair next to him. "But you know I'm a bit tight on money too."