Novel-novel oleh Kaeb

Mrs. Bimantara felt a deep sense of gratitude in her heart. Because of Bian's presence, Adrian had changed at least a little bit. Even though it was just a start, she hoped her youngest son could open up—both to his family and to others—and loosen up that poker face and locked-tight mouth of his.Meanwhile, the nanny offered only a faint smile. This version of Adrian was so different. He felt like a completely different person, nothing like the man etched in her memory."Oh, Bia, could you hand me this?" The youngest son caught Bia's attention, directing her eyes to the bowl sitting in front of Rosa—the bowl of vegetable soup the handsome young man was pointing at.Rosa held out both hands. "Here, let me hold Bian."The nanny handed the chubby baby over to the lady of the house, bowed to the two Bimantaras before her, and stepped away. Bian remained calm, still looking happy and babbling away to himself. He was clearly in a great mood. The baby entertained himself by playing with his

The clear brown eyes of the chubby baby were already closed shut, his eyelids heavy, though his mouth kept working rhythmically as he sucked milk from the bottle. Yes, the chubby little guy named Bian was finally willing to drink formula now. He didn't reject it anymore. Perhaps he remembered the taste of the formula he used to drink as a supplement to breast milk. He lay flat on his back, his lips puckered out around the nipple of the bottle.Once the bottle was empty and Bian appeared fast asleep, Bia, who was lying beside him, gently pulled the nipple from the baby's mouth and set the empty bottle on the nightstand. She gazed at Bian for a moment, gently stroking the chubby little guy's forehead and landing a soft kiss on his chubby cheek. She loved the baby so deeply. Bia's only priority right now was tracking Bian's growth and development firsthand. Just being close to her baby was more than enough; Bia didn't need anything else.The young woman playing the role of the nanny let

There was no conversation inside the car. Adrian stayed focused on driving, while the young girl sat in the passenger seat beside him. Earlier, right before they left, the youngest son had insisted that Bia sit up front next to him. He felt like a personal chauffeur with her sitting in the back, even if she was holding Bian.The chubby baby wasn't crying anymore either. In fact, he was nodding off, exhausted from throwing a fit and still not getting what he wanted. Bia gently stroked the top of Bian's head, occasionally placing a soft kiss on his forehead. The chubby little guy looked completely cozy wrapped in Bia's care, and between the quiet atmosphere, the car's AC set to a mild temperature, and the rhythmic beat of his mother's heart acting like a lullaby, he drifted into a deep sleep within five minutes of hitting the road.The girl's heart was actually racing. Her breath felt caught in her throat. Still, she did her best to hide it so as not to raise any suspicion. Having Bian

Chapter 8The sound of a crying baby echoed throughout the house, making the Bimantaras, who were relaxing in the living room, stop what they were doing all at once and head toward the source of the noise. Well, the youngest son had to be dragged along by his older brother because he was acting completely indifferent, even though the crying child was his own. Ever since Bia took over caring for Bian, Adrian seemed even more detached. That was why Adnan was so frustrated with him.They arrived in the kitchen to find Bian squirming while they tried to feed him a bottle. Bia looked overwhelmed holding the baby, while Minah tried her best to coax Bian into drinking his milk. However, at almost seven months old, the chubby little guy had gained some weight, making him hard to hold as he thrashed around wildly."Come on, Young Master Bian. Drink your milk first. It's going to get cold, and then it won't taste good!" Minah urged, gently stroking Bian's cheeks as he continued to cry loudly.N

Just as the lady of the house had said, while baby Bian was sleeping, Bia was welcome to help with the household chores. That was exactly what the nanny was doing now. After making sure the chubby little guy was safe and fast asleep, she went to find Sri and asked what she could do. The older woman, who was always exceptionally polite—even toward her fellow staff members—asked the younger girl to tidy up the family room, as the Bimantaras would be coming home soon. They used that room often, so it needed to be cleaned and organized right away.Bia happily obliged. She arranged the sofa cushions, dusted—ah, Minah had briefly shown her how to use the vacuum cleaner earlier. Granted, it was just a quick lesson, since she had never used one before. Bia only knew how to dust manually. But the work was light, and she did a fine job."Oh, Rabia."A voice interrupted the young girl just as she was finishing up in the family room. She was currently organizing books, newspapers, and magazines o

Sri, who acted almost like a head housekeeper—was she just polite by nature, or did she treat all her fellow staff this way? Hard to say—left the nanny and baby Bian, who let out a wide yawn. The chubby little guy seemed to be waking up, his sleepy eyes blinking before he snuggled closer to the body he recognized as his mother's."Time for a bath, Bian." Bia walked into the bathroom. She undressed the baby completely, making Bian shiver slightly. Before lowering the chubby little guy into his bath, she cupped some water in her hand and gently rubbed it onto his skin so he wouldn't be startled by the water temperature.Once he was ready, Bia placed the baby into the tub. Surprisingly, Bian didn't cry at all. The pinchable chubby guy—realizing he was in the water—seemed to instantly snap out of his sleepiness. His hands splashed around, sending water spraying onto Bia. "That's right, Bian is taking a bath. How is it? Are you having fun? It's not cold, right?" she talked to the baby, rec

“Saya seorang yatim-piatu. Saya iri lihat kebersamaan orang lain dengan keluarga mereka. Sejak kecil saya punya citacita pengin punya keluarga sendiri ...,” jeda sebentar, “dan nggak disangka saya akhirnya beneran punya. Meskipun keadaan saya nggak begitu baik, saya seneng banget waktu tahu tentang kehadiran Bian. Saya janji sama diri sendiri bakal rawat dia dengan baik dan bakal besarin dia sepenuh hati.” Katanya sembari memainkan jemarinya yang saling bertaut di pangkuan.“Sayangnya ... kenyataan nggak seperti yang diharapkan. Sebagai ibu kandungnya Bian, saya nggak mau dia menderita. Bian berhak dapat kehidupan yang lebih baik daripada hidup sengsara sama saya. Saya nggak punya pilihan selain antar Bian ke rumah keluarga Bimantara. Apalagi kalian salah satu keluarga terpandang. Saya pikir, saya nggak perlu khawatir kalau Bian dirawat sama keluarga Bimantara.”Bia ingat sewaktu dirinya melihat berita tentang tanah bekas hotel terbakar–hotel di mana dia sempat bekerja part time dan m

Perjalanan dari kediaman Adam Bimantara yang berada hampir di ujung kota menuju rumah sakit memakan waktu dua jam. Bia yang duduk di sebelah kursi kemudi tidak bisa tenang. Dia terus bergerak-gerak gelisah seraya mobil terus melaju. Sedangkan si lelaki tampan yang sebenarnya terusik berusaha menahan dirinya. Memaklumi si gadis yang khawatir dan ingin segera bertemu dengan si gembul. Pun ia pasti merasakan hal yang sama jika di posisi Bia. Tanpa mengajak perempuan di sebelahnya bicara–mereka tidak dalam situasi yang menyenangkan untuk mengobrol dalam perjalanan–Adrian memusatkan penglihatannya ke jalan.Setelah tiba di rumah sakit dan memarkirkan mobil, Adrian dan Bia berjalan di koridor. Mereka melangkah dengan cepat agar segera sampai di ruang rawat inap Bian. Ah, sebelumnya si pemuda Bimantara menyempatkan diri menghubungi ayahnya; mengabari kalau ia berhasil mengajak Bia.Begitu sampai, Adrian menghentikan langkah. Dia menatap si gadis sebentar lalu meraih knop pintu dan membukanya

Mereka tiba di ruang keluarga. Kinan melirik ke belakang untuk memastikan kondisi si gadis sebelum menggeser pintu. Sewaktu pintu terbuka, pria yang sudah berada di dalam ruangan segera berdiri. Sorot hitam bertemu dengan retina coklat yang menatap takut. Sang kepala pelayan menundukkan kepala sebagai salam hormat pada sang tuan muda. Bia yang berada di belakang ikut menundukkan kepala.“Bia ....”Si gadis berjengit mendengar namanya disebut oleh si pemuda tampan.Mendapati si gadis yang berdiri di belakang sang kepala pelayan yang berusaha menyembunyikan dirinya membuat Adrian mengingat kejadian saat dia mengusir gadis itu dari rumahnya. Gadis tersebut juga ketakutan dan berusaha agar tidak terlihat olehnya. Apa dia sangat menakutkan?“Kamu di sini untuk bujuk dia, Adrian. Bukan untuk nakutin dia!” si pemuda Bimantara bermonolog di dalam hati.Bimantara muda ini menarik napas dan menghembuskannya pelan. Dia tak mau bertindak gegabah lagi. Dia akan berhati-hati agar Bia mau mendengark

Adrian duduk termenung di sebelah ranjang yang ditempati seorang bayi yang tengah tertidur lelap. Gurat-gurat lelah terlihat jelas di wajah dengan pakaian yang tak lagi rapi–jas dan dasi miliknya tergeletak di atas sofa di sudut ruangan dan dua kancing kemeja bagian atas terbuka. Dia ingin melakukan sesuatu untuk putranya, tapi Adrian tidak tahu tindakan apa yang mesti dia lakukan. Setengah jam lalu Bian bangun dan kembali menangis, namun sebagai ayah si bayi, dia tak mampu membuat putranya berhenti menangis.Beberapa perawat yang memang ditugaskan untuk mengecek keadaan Bian secara berkala ikut membantu menenangkan si bayi. Hasilnya nihil. Mereka juga tak mampu meredakan rontaan kencang si gembul hingga bayi itu kelelahan dan tertidur.Ia benar-benar ditampar kenyataan.Baru beberapa hari, tetapi Adrian sama sekali tak bisa menjaga Bian dengan baik. Malah berakhir di rumah sakit. Perkiraannya kalau si gembul nantinya akan terbiasa tanpa si pengasuh salah besar. Justru dirinya yang ta

Sudah beberapa hari Bia berada di kediaman Adam Bimantara. Selama hari-hari itu dia tak tahu mesti melakukan apa. Biasanya dia punya kegiatan sedaru pagi, di mulai dari membangunkan si gembul, memandikan, memberi makan dan mengantarkan si bayi pada keluarga Bimantara. Setelah itu melakukan pekerjaan rumah. Tetapi, sejak berara di sini, Bia tidak punya aktivitas apa-apa. Sang tuan paling besar memperlakukannya dengan baik, sangat baik malah. Hanya saja ... dia tidak diperkenankan melakukan pekerjaan rumah.Pernah si gadis ingin membantu Jelita dan Rita yang sedang mempersiapkan makan malam, tetapi Adam memintanya untuk lebih banyak beristirahat. Dua perempuan yang merupakan asisten rumah tangga di kediaman Tetua Bimantara diberi perintah agar tak membiarkan si gadis melakukan pekerjaan rumah. Oleh sebab itu, Bia lebih banyak diam di ruangan yang diberikan Adam padanya.Sebuah kamar yang luas–untuk ditempati seorang diri.Ya, bukan kamar yang mestinya ditempati oleh asisten rumah tangga

Adnan mengamati gelas kaca berisi air mineral di atas meja yang tak disentuh sejak disediakan oleh seorang gadis bersurai panjang yang digulung tinggi. Pikirannya melayang jauh. Banyak hal yang terjadi yang belum mampu dia cerna. Ditambah mendnegar pernyataan kalau keponakannya mengalami stres membuat sulung Bimantara ini makin merasa tak karuan.Bayi kecil begitu mesti mengalami stres yang tidak seharusnya. Adnan tak dapat membayangkan bagaimana perasaan tak nyaman menggerogoti si bayi hingga membuatnya tak berhenti menangis. Bayi yang belum mengerti apa-apa, tetapi tahu kalau ia telah kehilangan sesuatu yang penting. Bayi yang belum bisa mengatakan protesnya terhadap keadaan. Namun, orang-orang dewasa di sekitarnya malah tidak membantu dan malah memperburuk keadaan. Termasuk dirinya yang sempat mengabaikan si gembul.Hah ... ia adalah seorang paman yang egois, kan?Rasanya semakin buruk setelah ia mencoba lebih memikirkan keadaan si bayi. Bian harus menjadi korban dari kejadian ini.