That night, Mona and three of her friends invited Mila to a new club in South Jakarta. Mila initially refused, but Mona persisted in her coaxing and persuasion, until Mila finally relented and joined her. Trendy music blared, and bottles of alcohol were neatly lined up before them, waiting for them to enjoy. Mila stared in horror at the cursed object before her. Mila was confused: when had her friend, Mona, started consuming such illicit substances? As far as Mila knew, Mona had been naughty, but never this wild.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Mila?" Mona raised an eyebrow with a smirk, glancing at Mila, who was staring at her with a confused look. "It's okay, Mon. I'm just wondering how long you've been getting so drunk?" Mona shrugged dismissively.
"So, we live in the modern era. Not the Stone Age, where we only adhere to old traditions, huh? Do you still believe in old customs?" Mona gave Mila a cynical look, tugging her hand to sit beside her.
"Instead of just staying silent, let's go. TOD," Mona suggested to Mila and her two friends. They all nodded in agreement, except for Mila. She was still processing what was happening, especially since people were dancing erotically around her, and the loud music was pounding, making her dizzy. "But Mon, I better go home. I'm afraid Mom's already home," Mila whispered beside Mona.
"Auntie Rosa won't be mad, just stay quiet." Mona put her right arm around Mila's shoulder.
"We're grown up now, we're free to do whatever we want. Why are you afraid of your parents? Do they ever think about you? They don't even come home often, right?" "But—"
"Okay, shut up. Now let's start. I'll spin the bottle first," Mona interrupted, and she began spinning the bottle of wine on the table. The bottle was aimed at the girl in the tight dress next to Mila.
"Truth or dare?" asked Mona. The girl raised an eyebrow, then answered loudly,
"Truth!" "Have you ever made love?" Mona asked. The girl, named Lusi, smiled mischievously and bit her index finger. "Do you want to see?" she asked, laughing. The others did too, but Mila wasn't. The girl was shocked, astonished by the girl... the woman next to her. What was considered embarrassing? She looked so happy. "Now it's my turn to spin," Lusi said. The wine bottle continued spinning, finally stopping right in front of Mila.
"Truth or dare?" Lusi asked. "Tru--" Before Mila could answer, Mona interrupted. "She, dare!"
"Okay, now drink this wine!" Lusi said, holding up a glass. Mila remained silent, about to object. But Mona quickly snatched the glass from Lusi.
"You have to try this, Mila." Mona thrust a glass of alcohol in front of Mila's face. Mila stared blankly at the glass, looking away when the distinctive aroma of the thick, yellow liquid assaulted her senses.
"You're crazy! If Dad finds out I came to a club, let alone drank, he'd kill me.
" Mona laughed. "Mila, Mila, you're still the same, huh, as before?" Pausing for a moment, Mona continued, emphasizing the word, "coward!"
Mila, hearing this, naturally couldn't accept it. She felt like she'd never been inferior to anyone, no matter what. Without further ado, Mila downed the glass of alcohol. A bitter taste crept into her mouth, and her face flushed. Mona held back a smile, thrilled that her plan had worked. Now it was only a matter of time before the beautiful girl next to her reacted to the drug she'd mixed with the alcohol. They played for quite a while, until Mila felt something strange inside her. She felt hot, her head spinning, and her vision starting to blur. Mona gazed with satisfaction at Mila, who had been looking as uncomfortable as a worm in the heat. Her plan to destroy Mila had worked. Mona had always hated Mila, envious of everything she had.
She had mixed the drink with aphrodisiacs, and it worked. Sweat was now pouring down Mila's face, and she was waving her hands over her face in the heat. A headache followed, and she suddenly felt weak, until Mila fainted. Her friends, who had been silent until now, were now laughing along with Mona, who was also laughing.
"Mila, honey, let me take you to your room." Mona winked at one of her female friends sitting at the bar. They carried Mila to a room upstairs in the club.
"Bye, Mila, honey, enjoy this wonderful night." Mona and her friend laid Mila down on the bed, then left Mila alone in the room, her eyes still closed.
A man entered the room, in the same state, also heavily intoxicated. Unable to contain the passion that had taken over his sanity, the man pounced on Mila from behind. Without knowing what would happen next, she was shocked to find a man beside her, sound asleep. Mila was confused: who was he? And worse, he wasn't wearing a single piece of clothing. Mila got up and picked up all her belongings scattered on the floor. She held back tears. Mila had been framed, and the perpetrator was Mona, her best friend. Mila was terrified. What if her parents found out about this?
A month after the incident, Mila was no longer her cheerful, joking, and laughing self. Mila, who had always been the star of the show, had now withdrawn from everyone. She'd distanced herself from her friends and even asked her boyfriend, whom she deeply loved, to break up. She was ashamed of herself. Meanwhile, Mona was freely joking around. Her relationship with Mona had become strained since that night.
"Mila, dear Aditama, your grades have been dropping lately. You've also been skipping music extracurricular activities frequently. What's really happened to you?" Mrs. Sinta looked disappointedly at Mila, her favorite student. "I'm sorry, ma'am."
Okay. I forgive you, but you have to fix it. Don't do that again, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am. If that's the case, I'll excuse you."
"Okay, go ahead." Mila stepped out of the teachers' lounge. Suddenly, she felt nauseous, so she had to run as fast as she could to get to the school restroom. However, Mila only vomited clear liquid. A headache was also starting to torment her head. Mila immediately reached for her cellphone and called her personal driver. "Hello, Mr. Parjo?"
"Yes, Miss Mila, what's wrong? Are you allowed to go to school yet?" "Yes, sir, I'll wait at the gate." Mila hung up the phone and immediately went to the gate to wait for her driver to pick her up. She still felt dizzy, and she was afraid something bad would happen. "Sir, can you take me to the pharmacy first?" "Okay, Miss. Are you sick? Should I take you to the doctor?"
"No need, Sir. You'll probably get better with some headache medicine." Mila smiled kindly at Parjo, though a feeling of anxiety continued to creep into her heart.
Mila stepped into the pharmacy. She was scared, but what could she do? She couldn't ask someone else to buy a pregnancy test for her. "Who's it for, Miss?" the cashier asked, smiling kindly.
"Uh-uh, um... this is my mom's, Miss," Mila replied, flustered.
"Wow, congratulations. I hope the results are positive!" Mila cried out inwardly, "Don't let that happen."
"Yes, Miss. Amen. If you'll excuse me, Miss." The cashier nodded briefly and smiled warmly at Mila.
Upon arriving home, Mila was immediately warmly welcomed by the housekeeper, who had also been her caregiver since childhood. Mila's parents were very busy, and Mila only saw them once a week, or once every few months. The Gilbran Aditama family was a very successful family in the property business. Their business was spread far and wide, so it was no surprise that they rarely saw Mila, their daughter.
"Miss, what would you like to eat? I'll get it for you."
"No need, Auntie. Mila will get it herself. Mila will go upstairs first."
"Yes, Miss."
Mila climbed the stairs to her room on the second floor. Her heart was still pounding. She immediately went to the bathroom, silently praying for a negative result. Unfortunately, her prayers were not answered. Two red lines appeared clearly on the test kit she held. Mila's hands trembled. Her world shattered in an instant. She cried, afraid her voice would be heard by the entire house. Mila shook her head in disbelief, tears streaming down her face. Her heart ached at the sight in her hands. A life had taken root in her womb, a life she never expected.
Knock, knock, knock. A knock on the door interrupted Mila's reverie. Mila quickly put the device away in her closet. Mila washed her face at the sink, wiping away the tears that had been streaming down her face. She didn't want anyone to suspect anything. "Mila, dear, it's Dad. I brought you a gift." Gilbran knocked on his daughter's door, happy to be back home and reunited with his only daughter. Mila took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then she walked toward the door, approaching Gilbran—her father. "Y-yes, Dad."
"Tadaaaa! Dad has something for you. I really miss not seeing Dad's beloved daughter for a month," he said cheerfully. Gilbran kissed Mila's forehead, channeling his longing there. Mila forced a smile to accept the paper bag that Gilbran brought. "Thanks, Dad." "Come on downstairs, auntie said you haven't eaten yet?"
"Yeah, aren't you coming home?"
"There, your mother is downstairs."
Mila's eyes lit up, then she saw a woman sitting in the dining room, waving with a smile. It was her mother. Mila immediately walked over to her mother. Mila immediately rushed to hug her mother.
"Mom's daughter, how was school?" Rosa asked, returning Mila's hug.
"It went well, Mom."
"Good. Come sit down, Mom is hungry. Auntie said you haven't eaten yet, right?"