Chapter 2

The music was still thumping, the bass shaking the glittering dance floor. Rian was laughing freely, his head spinning slightly from the cocktail of premium alcohol and the euphoric atmosphere. Vania was dancing on his lap, her long hair brushing against Rian’s face, carrying the intoxicating scent of expensive perfume.

"Rian! Rian! Rian!" Dika yelled from across the room, holding up the third bottle of champagne of the night. "We’re opening this one! This one costs twenty million, bro!"

Rian gave a thumbs-up, grinning widely. "Open it! Let’s get everyone in here drunk tonight!"

Laughter erupted around him. Rian felt that life was perfect. He was young, wealthy, surrounded by people who "cared" about him, and didn't have a single burden on his shoulders. What more could a man ask from life?

Then, his phone vibrated again.

Rian glanced at the screen resting on the marble table. This time, "Dad" didn't pop up. Instead, it was "Uncle Hendra"—his father's younger brother, an uncle who rarely reached out unless it was a holiday.

Rian knitted his brows. Uncle Hendra? At this hour? Probably just wants money again, he thought bitterly. He knew the pattern of his uncle and aunt all too well—always calling when they needed money, pretending to care, when all they really wanted was a piece of the inheritance.

With an annoyed gesture, Rian swiped the screen to answer. "Yeah, Uncle? It's Rian. If you're asking for money, make it tomorrow. Right now I'm—"

"Rian." Uncle Hendra's voice sounded different. Raspy. Heavy. Like someone who had just been crying for a long time. "Rian, listen to me. Where are you right now?"

Rian blinked, slightly confused. There was something in his uncle's tone that made him feel uneasy. "I'm at a club, Uncle. Why? What's wrong?"

Silence fell on the other end for a moment. Rian could hear background noise—the frantic voices of people talking, running footsteps, and the faint wail of a siren.

"Rian... you need to sit down."

"What? Uncle, speak clearly—"

"Rian!" Uncle Hendra snapped, his voice cracking. "Your Mom and Dad... they were in an accident. On the Jagorawi toll road. It was raining heavily, the car flipped several times..."

Rian’s world came to a sudden halt.

The music around him suddenly sounded like it was coming from underwater—distant, echoing, making no sense. Vania's laughter beside him felt like a sound from another dimension.

"...what?" Rian’s voice came out as a faint whisper.

"The car is completely wrecked, Rian. Your Dad... your Dad didn't make it. Your Mom..." Uncle Hendra sobbed into the phone. "Your Mom too, Rian. They died on the spot."

The phone felt like a hot ember in Rian's hand, yet he couldn't let go. His legs went weak, as if his bones had suddenly dissolved.

"Uncle... you're joking, right? This isn't funny."

"Rian, I'm not joking. I'm at Pondok Indah Hospital right now. You need to get here. Fast."

Click.

The line went dead.

Rian stood holding his phone, staring at the darkened screen. His brain refused to process the information. An accident? Dead? Impossible. Dad called me just this afternoon. Mom texted me at lunch asking me to come home early because there was a surprise.

A surprise.

They said there was a surprise.

"Rian? What's wrong?" Vania asked, her voice sounding far away. Her hand touched Rian's arm. "You look so pale."

Rian turned slowly. He looked at Vania, Dika, and everyone else in the room. The very faces that were laughing with him moments ago now looked like complete strangers.

"Mom... Dad..." Rian muttered, his voice breaking. "They were in an accident."

Dika, standing nearby, immediately straightened up. "What? Are you serious, man?"

"Pondok Indah Hospital," Rian said, more to himself. He began fumbling through his pockets, searching for his car keys. His hands were trembling violently. "I have to get there."

"Rian, wait, you can't drive, you're drunk—" Dika tried to hold him back.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Rian screamed, his voice laced with rage and panic. He shoved Dika hard, sending his friend stumbling backward. "MOVE, YOU IDIOT!"

Rian sprinted out of the VIP room, crashing into several people along the way. He didn't care. He didn't hear the angry shouts of those he bumped into. He just needed to get out. He needed to get to the hospital. He needed to see that this was all just a bad dream.

He ran down to the underground parking lot, his legs feeling heavy, but he kept running. When he reached his car—a shiny, metallic black G-Wagon—he climbed inside with shaking hands. He fired up the engine, slammed his foot on the accelerator, and the vehicle roared out of the structure.

The drive to Pondok Indah Hospital usually took thirty minutes. That night, Rian made it in fifteen. He blew through red lights, blared his horn, and recklessly passed other cars. Tears began to stream down his face, blurring his vision.

This isn't real. This isn't real. It's just a dream. Dad must still be alive. Mom must still be alive. They're just trying to scare me so I stop wasting money. That has to be it.

Yet deep down inside, Rian knew. Uncle Hendra's voice earlier... that wasn't the voice of someone pulling a prank. That was the sound of a broken man.

When Rian arrived at the hospital, he parked his car haphazardly in front of the ER, uncaring if it got towed. He scrambled out and rushed inside.

In the ER waiting area, he spotted Uncle Hendra and Aunt Sari sitting on plastic chairs. Aunt Sari was weeping uncontrollably, clutching a tissue. Uncle Hendra stared blankly at the floor.

"Uncle!" Rian ran toward them. "Uncle, where are Mom and Dad? Where are they?"

Uncle Hendra looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen. He stood up slowly and pulled Rian into an embrace.

"Rian... I'm so sorry..."

"WHERE ARE THEY, UNCLE?" Rian screamed, pushing his uncle back. "ANSWER ME!"

Uncle Hendra didn't get angry. He only looked at Rian with eyes full of pity. "They're in the morgue, Rian. You need to... you need to identify them."

Those words struck Rian like a sledgehammer.

The morgue.

His legs gave out completely. He collapsed onto the cold hospital floor. For the first time in his life, Rian felt something he had never experienced before.

Pain.

Not physical pain. But a agony that tore through his chest, making it hard to breathe, making the world spin violently around him. The pain of loss. The pain of regret.

Dad called me earlier. I didn't pick up. Mom texted me earlier. I didn't reply. They wanted to surprise me. They were coming home just to see me. And I... I was at a club, drinking, with cheap girls.

Rian’s tears poured down uncontrollably. He cried like a small child. He cried until his voice rasped away. He cried until he felt his soul shatter into a million pieces.

Uncle Hendra knelt beside him, holding him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Rian. I'm so sorry..."

Rian couldn't answer. All he could do was weep.

Outside the hospital, the rain continued to pour heavily. The dark sky seemed to join in the mourning. And inside Rian's heart, the world he had known—the world of luxury, parties, and endless fun—had collapsed into ashes.

That night, Rian learned a lesson he had never been taught in any school, a lesson he had never read in any book:

That money, wealth, and parties cannot buy time. They cannot buy second chances. And they can never bring back the people who are gone.