It was now clear to Naura that Sandi's love for her husband had been a superficial one, not heartfelt.

It was as if Sandi had found a replacement for his own wife and was looking for someone else to rekindle his love with. Various excuses were put forward just to find another love. The child was the first reason her husband offered.

The second excuse finally emerged. The love was merely lip service, as Naura's family's debts made everything false. True love wouldn't allow its partner to cry, not even shed a single tear. Now, Naura was devastated!

Her heart was shattered. Her husband was going to marry another woman. And it all happened without hesitation or consideration. If Naura refused, he could file for divorce and ensure he paid off his family's debts.

Where would Naura's family get that much money? But more than that, Naura wanted to be a good wife and love her husband. But what could she do? Her husband only considered her collateral for a debt, worthless trash.

"Sob! Sob! Sob!" Naura burst into tears, her cries even louder in the stillness of the night. A woman's heart is broken when she is betrayed by her own partner.

"Oh God, if this is my fate, then I will accept it, even though my heart is torn with deep sorrow. Oh God, if I have wronged others, then this is my retribution. So, I will accept this as my punishment."

At this, Naura was reminded of Adam. His emaciated and sickly body was the last time she saw him. It was heartbreaking; Adam's wounds must have been deep, and she now had to share his pain.

Whatever happened, Naura would try to be strong. For the sake of her family and her life, let herself be destroyed, just as Adam was when she left him.

Unfortunately, when she left him, he didn't know that he was leaving her to become a sacrifice for his family's debt. If it weren't for her family's debt, she wouldn't have left Adam.

Adam's face flashed back in Naura's mind, and she repeatedly prayed for forgiveness. She was now Sandi's wife; she couldn't think of another man.

That was a sin!

'Oh God, forgive me. But those feelings cannot be lied to, O God. Her first love was for Adam. A love that made her smile every day among the blooming flowers on the Lake of Love.'

And now, fate was also playing tricks on Naura's life. It was fate that made her cry and feel hurt. Did she still hope that Sandi would change and come to his senses, so that their life would return to normal, as it had been in the beginning of their marriage?

Was that possible?

She didn't know, but her husband now seemed completely different from the man he had been when they first married. Once so sweet, now filled only with harshness and harshness.

There was no more romance, no more words of endearment. It was as if another person lived in the same house, and love seemed to have vanished. Naura's heart was always lonely, and life seemed to pass without a smile. Only sorrow accompanied her.

***

"Mr. Fandi," Diandra's voice startled Fandi, who was in the middle of an important discussion with Syarif. However, Fandi quickly abandoned the conversation, as Syarif was starting to be able to do many things and was more capable of being left alone. Except for a few things he found he couldn't solve, so he asked Mr. Fandi for help.

"What's wrong, Miss?"

At that moment, Diandra left Adam alone again that Sunday. She turned and approached Fandi, who was meeting with Syarif under another tree. However, a kind of gazebo had been built there. The gazebo was built so that everyone, including Syarif, could find comfortable shelter while waiting and watching Adam. The gazebo was built with money from Adam's savings.

They moved a little away from Syarif.

"I need you to do something, Mr. Fandi. So, you don't have to come home with us until next Sunday. You stay here and gather information for me, sir."

"What information does Miss need from me?" asked Mr. Fan, curious about Miss Diandra's sudden request.

The sun was still rising, the heat still not scorching, and it was still refreshing.

"Find as much information as possible about Naura, the woman Adam once loved."

Fandi remained silent, understanding what his Miss wanted. He had also gathered information and acted as an intelligence officer when he received orders from Mr. Hamid regarding the reasons why one of his companies was experiencing a downturn. At that time, Fandi carried out his assignment and discovered that someone from another company had infiltrated as a colleague and was undermining the company from within.

This time, Fandi had been given a special assignment by his Miss to investigate an ordinary woman, and it took quite a long time. One week.

"Okay, Miss, tomorrow I will conduct the investigation and gather all the information about her."

Diandra turned back to Adam and accompanied him again. She also brought special food for him to eat that afternoon. If he wanted, she would feed him, with all her sincerity, of course. Perhaps she also felt pity for Adam, as his situation was not much different from her own. When she was alone, she would have been devastated.

Yes, that's right! Everyone has their own trials and tribulations in life, and how we deal with them is what makes us different.

***

It was Sandi and Firla's wedding day. Their wedding was quite grand and even seemed extravagant to the villagers. Moreover, Sandi was the successor to his father's business: a palm oil mill that processed the palm oil harvest from farmers.

Although his business wasn't as thriving as it once was due to numerous competitors, the factory still had quite a large workforce.

Firla herself was the daughter of Rodin's friend, Sandi's father. She was asked to work as Sandi's direct assistant, managing receipts, payments, and finances. Sandi felt his job was easier with Firla around because he could relax and leave the financial matters to her, saving him the trouble.

Plus, the woman was so beautiful that he couldn't help but be tempted and tell Rodin, his father, about his plans. His father agreed and then asked for permission from Firla's parents. It turned out Firla also loved Sandi, and the marriage took place.

So, Naura now knew that the childlessness excuse was just a fabrication. Essentially, her husband loved Firla more than her. That day, Naura locked herself in her room, refusing to attend her husband's second wedding. Being his best friend was miserable enough.

"Peace be upon you, Miss."

A voice came from outside the bedroom door, Mrs. Fatma's voice. Naura hurriedly wiped away the tears that had already fallen to her chin.

"What's wrong, Miss?" Naura tried to cover her throat from crying, but a hoarseness remained in her voice. "Mrs. Santi and Mr. Hasan have arrived. They're waiting in the living room."

Naura was surprised to hear that her parents had arrived. It wasn't usual for them to come; usually, Naura came to visit her parents. Was it because of her husband's wedding?

Naura quickly cleaned her face to hide her sadness and put on her blue headscarf. She descended the stairs and headed for the living room, where her father and mother were.

Slowly entering the living room, Naura saw her mother and father. They immediately turned their heads in her direction, their eyes met, and for a moment, they were speechless.

Naura didn't say a word; she slowly approached the chair next to her father and mother. However, just as she was about to approach them, Hasan suddenly rushed over and hugged his daughter.

"Forgive me, Father, Na..." Suddenly, there was a soft sob from the man who had forced her to marry Sandi. He had indeed done it because of their family's debt, but Sandi had also promised to make Naura happy and to love only her.

"It was you who led you to ruin, my daughter." Hasan felt incredibly guilty. He remembered the story of how he forced her to break up with Adam and no longer have any contact with him. Hasan felt incredibly guilty towards Naura now.

On her husband's second wedding day, Naura was at home, surely lamenting her fate.

"The end is done, sir. Let Naura always be Mr. Sandi's wife, because that marriage was ordained by God. Isn't she doing it for the sake of our family?" Those weak words seemed to confirm that Hasan's actions were wrong for his daughter's happiness.

"Your father is truly shameless, inflicting all his hardships on his daughter and not caring about your happiness, my child. Truly, I have no ulterior motives, my child."

Hasan slumped down, his heart broken by his earlier conversation with his wife, Santi. They could have escaped the debt trap of the Rodin family by marrying Naura and Sandi. In essence, they had sacrificed their daughter's happiness for money.

Santi couldn't say much, her tears already flowing. She certainly felt her daughter's pain. Back then, her husband had forced her to persuade Naura to accept Sandi's hand in marriage and leave Adam. Santi did the same, considering the family's debts and the ruin of their economy.

"I'm sorry too, son. We've always prayed for your happiness. We've admitted we were wrong to you. We now hope you'll accept this, and that Sandi's love for you remains unchanged, even though he has a second wife, so," Santi's soft voice, as her mother, could only convey a happy boast. Naura knew exactly how much her husband had changed.

In fact, he had threatened divorce if only he could repay their family's enormous debt.

"Come on, Mom, maybe this is the path I must take. I lost my love, and he's sick and even called crazy. Meanwhile, I'm now accepting God's judgment, and I must endure the same suffering I caused Adam."

Now, Hasan and Santi were silent, except for the ensuing silence.

That day was a day of awareness, and they contemplated, grieving together and supporting each other. All were helpless in the face of fate, facing the reality that they were held captive by this tragedy.

Naura could understand her parents' feelings, but this trial was indeed too difficult, and she now felt the weight of Adam's torment, having endured years of suffering, crying in his room. She was the one who destroyed Adam's life. Therefore, she deserved God's judgment.

And Naura would face God's judgment with an open heart.

***

A few hundred meters from the Adam Barokah building materials store (TB), there was a rather grand event going on; it was someone's wedding.

Syarif visited the building materials store; everything was running smoothly, and many customers were coming because the store had a complete range of goods. The Adam Barokah Building Materials Store opened quickly because Syarif and Fandi had previously seen a row of shophouses for sale. The owner needed money, and after an agreement was reached, the house was purchased and renovated to become a building materials store.

The hardware store is fully stocked, from small and trivial items to large and luxurious ones. Development in markets and remote villages has also accelerated, so hardware stores rank high in search results, similar to grocery stores.

Management and standards are advanced and modern. Fandi has been instrumental in finding modern software with accurate reporting and recruiting good employees so that customers will feel comfortable shopping at the hardware store.

An elderly man was buying nails. Syarif helped the employee and weighed the nails for the elderly man.

"You're not coming to Rodin's daughter's wedding, sir?" The old man made small talk with Syarif, who was packing plastic bags earlier, doubled because he had purchased quite a lot of nails.

"Whose wedding is it, sir? It looks so crowded and extravagant?" Syarif became curious too. Fandi, who was also nearby and checking the placement of the goods, overheard.

"So, Sandi, who replaced his father in managing the palm oil mill at the southern end of the market."

"Oh, so Sandi's married," Syarif seemed unsure at first and seemed to simply agree with the conversation. However, his eyes suddenly widened, and a memory flashed through his mind. "Wait, sir, the Sandi who owns the palm oil mill—I mean the one who used to marry a woman named Naura?"

Syarif became curious, just like Fandi, who was a little further away, checking the goods. Naura? Right, isn't that the name that left Adam? Fandi became even more curious; it was related to his assignment from Miss Diandra to check on Naura.

The old man smiled at Syarif, "Well, you know that, yes, he's remarried, and this is his second marriage."

Syarif thanked the old man for the information. And, the old man said goodbye after paying the cashier. Syarif stood and watched the old man go. His emotions were unclear, but he realized how Naura had left Adam so easily.

Meanwhile, Fandi asked Syarif for permission to leave for a moment and urged him to continue improving the hardware store's performance. Syarif agreed, and Mr. Fandi left for a walk. The mission had begun; wasn't it already quite stressful to start today, gathering information like a detective?

This time, it was just a woman's data, and she was just an ordinary person. Of course, while relaxing, the job would be completed.