"Accepted?" Adiwangsa nodded curtly. "Listen to this." He took out his phone and played a recording of a call he'd received a few days ago from an investor in Singapore.
The voice on the phone was clear, with a thick foreign accent. "I've considered your proposal, Adiwangsa. But I'm sorry, we cannot accept the property. There are certain risks we're unable to take." The voice sounded friendly, yet the decision was final and firm. The recording ended, leaving a suffocating silence in the executive office.
After the recording finished, Adiwangsa put away his phone and stared at Celine. "See? That's what you call 'accepted'?"
The employees watching the commotion began whispering among themselves, gazing at Celine with pity. Celine felt humiliated, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wanted to run away, to hide. "Father... please..." she pleaded softly.
But Adiwangsa didn't care. He looked at Celine with eyes full of hatred.
"You were never worthy of being my daughter," Adiwangsa said, his voice cold.
Celine felt as if her world had crumbled. She stared at her father. "Father..." she whispered, her voice trembling as she fought back sobs, though her tears were impossible to stop and continued soaking her cheeks.
"Get out!" Adiwangsa shouted, pointing at the door. "I don't want to see you here again! You're fired!"
Celine was stunned. She looked at Adiwangsa in disbelief. "Father... I beg you..." She dragged herself closer to Adiwangsa, clutching his leg tightly. For the first time in her life, she knelt before her own father.
"Get out!" Adiwangsa repeated, kicking Celine's hand away.
"Arghh," Celine whimpered in pain as her hand made a sound like cracking bone. She blew on her injured hand. Once more, she looked up at Adiwangsa, desperately searching his face for a gentle gaze, for mercy-but found nothing except a vicious stare that cut right through her.
She struggled to stand, though her body felt weak. In an instant, Celine experienced what it was like to be hated by a father-who should have been her protector, a loving figure who cherished his child. But from this moment on, Adiwangsa was none of that.
She closed her eyes, her hands clenching into fists. *How could Father humiliate me like this in front of all the employees? He could have talked to me privately, not made me his scapegoat like this. I know-Father is blaming me because he doesn't want to look like a failure in everyone's eyes,* Celine thought bitterly. Her shoulders felt weighed down as if carrying a massive boulder.
Celine felt shattered. She lowered her head again, her tears dripping onto the floor. She turned and walked out of the room with unsteady steps, leaving her father and the employees who watched her with pitying gazes.
"Oh my God, did Mr. Adiwangsa really fire Celine?"
"Huh? This must be staged, right? Impossible! Celine is Mr. Adiwangsa's only daughter!"
"He has no heart. Mr. Adiwangsa is cruel. Let's get out of here."
Celine kept walking, passing through the office exit. She glanced back at the magnificent office building and smiled bitterly. "I'll prove it to you, Father. I can succeed without you," she whispered, then turned and walked away, disappearing into the city crowd.
---
Several hours after that incident, the man who had relentlessly blamed Celine now sat leaning back in his grand chair. He sighed several times.
He looked at Celine's photo displayed on his desk-a small, plain black frame. Adiwangsa reached for it.
"Celine... I'm sorry. Father went too far." He traced the photo of Celine, his voice weak and listless. His words earlier must have hurt Celine deeply.
"Father... only wants what's best for you. And for you to learn from this mistake." Not wanting to be seen as a cruel man, Adiwangsa was only trying to teach Celine not to give up easily or overlook small details.
---
Celine had been walking for some time now, making her way alone along the main road. She refused to use the car Adiwangsa had given her. Just remembering what happened made her heart ache with disappointment.
Tears still faithfully traced Celine's beautiful face. Her light makeup had faded, washed away by her sorrowful tears.
The faint sound of rushing water reached her ears. Celine gazed at the swift current of the river below.
Her fingers gripped the cold iron railing tightly. "If I am no longer Father's daughter, then so be it. Now... I no longer have a father," Celine declared, her voice resolute. All this time, she had only had Adiwangsa-the only parent she loved. But now, after he had cast her out and no longer considered her his child...
Celine lowered her head, the corner of her lips lifting into a faint smile. "Then I promise-I will never appear before Father again. Not... ever!"
The wind swept through Celine's free-flowing hair. She leaned forward, hoisting herself onto the railing.
In a matter of seconds, Celine would leap and plunge freely off this bridge into the raging river below.
One...
Two...
Three...
Unable to keep her eyes open, Celine squeezed them shut.
"Goodbye, Father." And Celine jumped off the bridge.
But then...
Celine's body dangled mid-air. A hand had caught her.
"Are you insane, huh? Why would you jump off a bridge? Seriously, you want to die and throw your life away like that?" A deep voice, high with emotion, shouted at Celine in anger.
Startled, Celine looked at the person who had so kindly reached out and saved her. A man with blue eyes, thick perfect brown eyebrows, and fair skin-distinctly foreign-looking.
"W-who are you?" Celine stammered, her hands reflexively gripping the man tightly. If his strength gave out, her body would certainly fall into the raging river.
Without answering, the man pulled Celine's arm and lifted her back up. He hoisted her seemingly weightless body to safety.
Embarrassed, Celine could only look down. "Sorry for troubling you," she murmured, facing this blue-eyed man made her nervous. His piercing gaze felt as if it could devour her whole.
"If I had been one second late, you'd have died a senseless death, swept away by the river," he snapped cynically. He honestly couldn't fathom the woman standing before him.
He clicked his tongue in irritation. "If you have a problem, just talk about it. Don't just-" Before he could finish, Celine cut him off.
"I was cast out by my father. I was fired by my own father. He no longer considers me his daughter." In a single breath, Celine explained everything so quickly. Yet somehow, her heart felt slightly lighter. Before, it had been so heavy with burden. And again, her tears forced their way out, freely streaming down her cheeks.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS, HUH? TO NO LONGER BE CONSIDERED A CHILD?" Celine screamed, unleashing her emotions. Her sobs grew heavier, constricting her chest until her breath felt shallow and tight. It was unbearably painful-being this honest now.
His sharp gaze instantly softened, a flicker of guilt surfacing. Hearing the pitiful cries of a woman other than his mother stirred something painful inside him.
Without hesitation, his hand reached out and pulled Celine into his chest, embracing her. He nodded slowly. "From now on, don't keep things buried inside, okay? Your life's journey is still long... so don't give up so easily."
Celine pulled back and looked at his face. It seemed... familiar.
