Forced to Be Stepmom
Hugs The Mother For Zara

Lathan did not go to sleep immediately after entering her room. He solved the issue of posting about her first by using Zara's laptop.

"What are you doing these nights?" asked Fandy who had started yawning but was curious to see Lathan playing laptop.

"Clean up the mess that happened. I don't want this post tomorrow to be crowded and disturbing" Lathan responded to Fandy without taking her eyes off the monitor screen.

"It's just a post. You don't have to care about that. It will surely be deserted fans later". Fandy continued to talk despite his slowly closing eyes.

"Gossip posts like this are unlikely to be quiet. There are so many people who like things like this and make it entertainment" said Lathan with a calm attitude.

"alright. It's up to you. I'm sleepy, so I'll go to bed early. Good night"

"Hmn .. Good night".

Fandy immediately fell asleep after he finished talking to Lathan, while Lathan returned to focus on completing his work.

"Finally done" said Lathan while stretching on her fingers that felt stiff, then she can sleep now.

Next morning.

Mr. Zein was sitting at a table eating while reading documents in a notebook with a cup of coffee in front of him.

"Good morning, Om". Sapa Lathan woke up earlier than Fandy.

"Yes, good morning. Where's Fandy and Zara?" ask Mr. Zein in a calm and friendly manner.

"Fandy hasn't woken up yet, it looks like Zara hasn't" said Lathan, who sat near Mr. Zein.

Pek Zein put down his notebook and looked at Lathan with a serious look.

"Are you in a relationship with Zara?" ask Mr. Zein in a serious tone.

"Yes, I am in a relationship with Zara. I know that I'm too young to say anything serious at the moment but I really love him" Lathan said with a serious face.

"Are you really part of the Kusuma family?". Mr. Zein asked again to be sure.

"Right, I am the granddaughter of Violeta Kusuma" Lathan replied in a calm manner.

"That means .. Are you Radit's son?".

A moment Lathan fell silent at Mr. Zein's question.

Should I tell you the truth? No. gabe. If you have to say it, then Zara should know first than anyone else.

"Yes, I am Radit's son" Lathan replied in a calm manner.

"Om is aware of Om's fault with Zara, so Om feels he has no right to ban your relationship. But you're still young. I hope your relationship does not have a negative impact on each other". Mr. Zein advised Lathan with great authority.

"Om not to worry. I was young but I never messed with Zara. I still have a lot of dreams to pursue. I can't possibly waste my youth and lose away from my other brothers".

Mr. Zein nodded his head with a cheerful smile hearing Lathan's reply.

"good. Om hope to hold your words until the time comes for you to take a more serious stage later".

"Thank you, Om. Because I believe in me. I'll try not to disappoint Om".

"Pa! Papa! Where's papa?!".

Lathan and Mr. Zein turned their heads together when they heard the voice of a woman screaming.

"Ma? Isn't Mama coming back in a few days? Why is Mama home?". Mr. Zein looked in disbelief when he saw his wife had returned from his service abroad.

"How can Mama stay there while Mama reads bad gossip about our daughter?!" said the wife who responded with a cynical attitude while continuing to walk up to him with quick footsteps.

"Eh? You …?". His mother Zara was surprised and looked at Lathan with a look of wonder.

"Aren't you the one in that post with Zara? Why are you here? Where's Zara? Did you do anything no to him? Say it! Why just shut up?!".

How could Zara's mother be so chatty? I can't stop thinking that someone this chatty can ignore Zara for years.

Thought Lathan with a frown.

"Mah .. how can he give answers, while you just continue to ask without stopping" said Mr. Zein reminded.

"Hello, Aunt. I'm Lathan. Zara's in this house. Looks like he's still sleeping". Lathan responded with a faint smile on her lips.

"Zara's in this house? Really, Pah?" ask Zara's mother to make sure of her husband.

"Yes. He's in his room". Mr. Zein nodded slowly at his wife.

It was not long before Zara had just come down. He walked towards Lathan and his parents were.

"That's Zara" Lathan said after seeing the lover walking towards her with a smile.

Zara's mother turned her back. He looked at his beautiful daughter's face walking towards him. In her shadow looks Julia's face that is smiling gently at her. Instantly, Zara's mother's teary eyes held back the tears that fell from her two eyes.

"Julia .. is impossible" muttered Zara's mother who immediately turned around to leave the dining room.

Zara was surprised to see the mother turn her face away from her. The sweet smile previously seen on his face instantly vanished and turned into a wistful one. Zara stopped her steps and lowered her head.

"It turns out mom still can't forgive me" murmured Zara seeing the mother's attitude.

Lathan was also surprised to see the attitude of his mother Zara who was inversely proportional to when she just arrived earlier. He turned his head for a moment at Mr. Zein then approached Zara.

"Darling, you better follow your mother. You should talk about everything to him too". Lathan spoke in a soft tone while holding both of Zara's shoulders.

Zara stared fixedly at Lathan's face with teary eyes. After seeing the lover nodding his head at him, he finally turned to meet the mother who seemed to go to his room.

Zara stared at her mother from the open door. This was the first time she had seen her mother cry after the last time she died, because Zara's mother would turn her face away and leave when she saw Zara.

"Ma-ma". Zara hesitates when she calls her mother and enters her room.

Zara's mother wiped away her tears upon hearing Zara's voice.

"What's wrong?" asked Zara's mother in a cynical-sounding tone.

"I ... I .. I want to apologize to Mama, because I'm dead". Zara approached the mother and spoke with her head bowed and hesitated. She squeezed her skirt hard to ease her nervousness a bit.

Zara's mother was shocked and now her tears were unstoppable. He stood up and hugged Zara.

"No. It's not your fault. You are completely innocent of your brother's death. It's all just tragedy. There's nothing you need to regret". Zara's mother continued to talk while hugging Zara with tears on her face.

Zara, who was surprised, also shed tears. Her hands that had previously squeezed her skirt, now hugged her mother while immersing her face.

"Ma-ma doesn't hate me? hiks..hiks...hiks" asked Zara interrupted by her sobs.

Zara's mother shook her head quickly.

"No. My mom never hated you. Mama didn't beat you at all for Julia's departure. It's just, every time you look at your face, you're gonna remember everything about Julia. Her face ..the smile .. You two are so similar that Mama can never forget all about Julia". Zara's mother explained her reason for avoiding Zara, then she broke a hug between them.

"Do you hate Mama?" asked the mother while looking at Zara's tearful face.

Zara shook her head looking at the mother.

"No. I never hated Mama. All this time because Mama always turned her face away from me and never wanted to look me in the eye, so I always thought that Mama hated me" Zara explained to her mother.

"I'm sorry Mama. Mama made you think badly about this. But Mama always loved you. Mama always tries to get close to you and talk to you, taoi never works. Mom's tears flow every time she stands in front of you. But looking at you now, Mama will try to be next to you. When you saw the post yesterday, Mama realized that you are an adult and Mama could have lost you because you were getting married. Mama didn't want that to happen before Mama spent time with you".

"Mama.." Zara blushed in embarrassment and hugged her mother again.

"Good mom finally got to hug you again after all these years"

"I'm happy too. I finally felt the warmth of Mama's embrace"