Bittersweet Arrangements : A Sugar Dady Affair

Earlier, after Elena’s fever started to go down, Jeremy immediately took her home because at home Vanessa was already very worried, waiting for the three of them to return. Ivand had put all of Elena’s things in the room. Ivand rushed to his room to clean up after being on the road for almost a day. At four o’clock this afternoon they just arrived home and Jeremy’s daddy immediately invited him to pick up Elena at Devan’s house.

“I’m sorry, darling,” Vanessa greeted with a warm hug.

“I miss you Mommy,” Elena replied softly, then soon heard the sound of sobbing. Instantly, Vanessa broke their embrace and then summarized her daughter’s face. Giving kisses all over Elena’s pale face feeling guilty for entrusting her to Devan and Erick for so long.

“I’ll take a shower first, okay? Now you rest first!” said Jeremy then left his two favorite women.

Elena went up to her room with Vanessa. In the room, Elena immediately lay down on the bed and asked for food. Vanessa suddenly laughed and then left the room to get food. Not long after, Viero suddenly came and immediately burrowed into the blanket without paying attention to Elena’s protests.

Javiero Syahreza or usually called Viero is Elena’s youngest brother who is currently 12 years old and is still in the 6th grade of elementary school, while Ivander Syahreza, Elena’s first brother who is the same age as Erick, namely 16 years old, is still in the 10th grade of high school. The characteristics of the two younger siblings are very different. If Ivand is as talkative as Jeremy, then Viero is more like Elena, who is none other than a photocopy of Mommy Vanessa. Cheerful, spoiled and stubborn. But the spoiled affair certainly fell on Elena completely.

“I miss Elena,” said Viero as he hugged Elena under the blanket.

“Go away! I feel uncomfortable being hugged like this!” protested Elena, pushing away the blanket and freeing herself from Viero’s forced hug.

Hearing the commotion from Elena’s room, Vanessa hurried back up with food and drinks for Elena.

“Viero, don’t disturb your sister!” scolded Vanessa upon seeing the quarrel between her two children. This is how it always goes when Elena and Viero are together. They always argue, giving Vanessa a headache.

“Mommy is so strict. I just miss this spoiled girl!” replied Viero, reluctantly getting off the bed.

“Miss me, and I’ll punch you?” Elena retorted, raising her tightly clenched fist.

“Sure!” Viero accepted Elena’s challenge with enthusiasm.

“Viero, dear, Sister El is sick. Once she’s better tomorrow, you can play as much as you want. For now, go to sleep!” Vanessa intervened, trying to stop the debate between Elena and Viero.

Seeing Viero’s pitiful expression, Elena couldn’t bear it. Eventually, Elena called Viero, who was about to leave her room, while patting the empty space beside her. Instantly, a broad smile appeared on Viero’s face. He eagerly jumped onto Elena’s bed, receiving a scolding from Vanessa.

Elena sat leaning against the back pillows, receiving spoonfuls of food from Mommy Vanessa. Viero, as usual, couldn’t stay still. Unbeknownst to Elena, Viero was playing with her phone, scrolling through the photo gallery while smiling to himself.

“Aww, someone’s got a new crush!” teased Viero when he saw a photo of Elena with a boy from her school.

“Cheeky!” exclaimed Elena as she snatched her phone away from Viero.

Vanessa just shook her head, observing the antics of her two children.

“Where do I see it!” The familiar baritone voice that Elena knew so well caught her attention.

“Daddy… No, Dad, not at all,” said Elena, awkwardly smiling. Quickly, she hid her phone under the pillow, making sure Jeremy wouldn’t find out and confiscate it.

Viero’s efforts paid off. Jeremy approached and sat next to Elena. He reached out for Elena’s phone. If he weren’t her brother, Elena would have strangled Viero right then and there. As Jeremy opened his mouth to take a spoonful of Vanessa’s offering, Elena retrieved her phone from under the pillow and handed it to him.

Elena’s heart raced as Jeremy started scrolling through the photos on her phone.

“Caught red-handed with a new crush,” Elena grumbled inwardly. She then shot a sharp look at Viero, who only responded with a maddeningly smug smile.

“Wow, looks like someone had a date with Uncle Devan at the alon-alon! Cheating, why never invite me?” Jeremy’s response succeeded in making Elena stunned because she couldn’t imagine why it was her photos with Devan that were getting comments.

Elena immediately smiled broadly and answered, “Hey, Daddy is always busy with work. It’s not like Uncle Devan, who has fun taking me everywhere.”

“Oh, so now you dare compare me with Uncle Devan?” Jeremy said with a meaningful look. Deliberately teasing his daughter.

“Daddy is old-fashioned. This is not allowed. That is not allowed!” Elena protested, only to be met with Jeremy’s laughter.Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

“Listen, Sweetheart, our daughter is already defiant now,” Jeremy said to Vanessa, who had chosen to be a loyal listener.

“Aww, someone likes Uncle Devan!” Viero teased, deliberately provoking Elena.

Whack! Elena hit Viero’s shoulder with a pillow quite hard.

“Enough! I’m fed up with your constant quarreling. Elena, finish your meal and rest. I’m exhausted too. I want to rest,” Vanessa said in frustration, forcefully spooning rice and side dishes before shoving them into Elena’s mouth, ignoring the girl’s protests.

Just as Elena was about to protest, Jeremy ordered her to rest. Although Elena still wanted to chat with her parents, she understood that they were tired after the long journey. Resigned, she obeyed when Jeremy covered her with a blanket and planted a kiss on her forehead. The three of them then left her room, leaving her alone.

Elena’s hands held the edges of the blanket as she looked straight up at the ceiling. Gazing at the white-painted ceiling, she pondered something. A smile instantly appeared on her face when a crazy idea crossed her mind, recalling her conversation with Devan yesterday. Next week, she would face the national exams (UN). So, before her high school diploma arrived, she needed to have a boyfriend to break the title of the “forever single queen” at SMA Negeri 1 Yogyakarta. Besides, she had never tried defying Daddy’s rules. Elena was confident that Daddy wouldn’t be mad this time, especially after seeing his reaction to the photos with Dirga, her new crush. Maybe this time Daddy would give her permission.

Elena turned her head to the side, checking the wall clock still showing 8 PM. Her sleepiness seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Her body started producing a lot of sweat due to the effects of the medicine she had taken. She pushed away the blanket and shifted her body slightly to reach the bedside lamp switch. Hoping the dim atmosphere would take her into the realm of dreams.

However, Elena’s efforts failed. Two hours passed, and she remained awake, accompanied by the unrelenting ticking of the clock. Sleep never came. Despite changing positions, tossing left and right, her mind and body stayed awake. After feeling fed up, Elena shifted to her favorite position – lying face down, burying her face in the pillow.

“Seriously, this is so annoying!” Elena grumbled in frustration as she sat cross-legged.

She diverted her attention to the blinking phone, indicating incoming notifications. However, Elena wasn’t interested at the moment. She was reluctant to open chats from her two friends, which undoubtedly contained stories about their respective boyfriends. Elena decided to leave her bed and head out of the room. In the dim light, she descended the stairs one by one. Upon reaching the bottom, Elena gazed at the brown door adorned with flower carvings not far from where she stood.

“I wonder if they’re mad?” Elena mumbled with uncertainty.

Elena’s ego took charge. The girl walked towards the main bedroom, where her parents were. Slowly, she pressed the doorknob. Almost shouting in sheer joy when the door opened. Whether intentionally or by forgetfulness, one thing was sure – the door wasn’t locked as usual.

In the dimness of the blind, Elena could still clearly see Mommy’s position, who was asleep in Daddy’s arms. A smile spread across Elena’s lips. The harmonious relationship between his parents is a real example for his future. Is it possible that she could be matched with a man like Daddy who always treats Mommy gently and affectionately? Sometimes Elena even feels jealous of Mommy who is so lucky to be side by side with Daddy. The perfect man in Elena’s eyes.

Elena’s steps were careful in approaching the king size bed in front of her so as not to cause a commotion. Elena started to crawl slowly then spread Daddy’s arms around Mommy’s body. Mommy lazily shifted her body to make room for Elena. Not wanting her rest to be disturbed, Mommy gave in by turning her back to the two of them. This has become normal for Vanessa. Elena would sneak into their room when she couldn’t sleep. So Vanessa deliberately didn’t lock the room so that Elena didn’t have to knock on the door.

“What’s wrong darling, why haven’t you gone to bed yet?” muttered Jeremy, who had already guessed his daughter’s presence.

“I can’t go to bed, Dad,” Elena admitted in a whisper so as not to disturb Vanessa.

“Okay, now you go to bed. I’m tired,” replied Jeremy, still closing his eyes.

“I’m not sleepy, Dad,” sulked Elena. “Oh yes, as long as I live at Uncle Devan’s house I have a hard time falling asleep,” continued Elena while looking at her Daddy’s handsome face.

“So? Didn’t you sleep for 3 nights?” Jeremy replied with his hand stroking Elena’s shoulder to make her fall asleep quickly.

“On the first night there I slept with Uncle Devan.” said Elena casually and don’t forget her innocent face.

“What!!!”