Her hand reached out endearingly. The woman ruffled Azka's hair as he bowed his head in tears. A moment later, his body was hugged tightly by Azka.
"Mama isn't angry, Azka. Mama is just disappointed in Azka." The woman gently stroked Azka's head down to his back and kissed the top of his head repeatedly, trying to soothe her youngest child so he would stop crying.
Azka looked up with watery and swollen eyes. "Mama isn't angry at Azka anymore, right? Won't ignore Azka anymore, right?" Azka asked in a hoarse voice.
His Mama nodded and kissed Azka's head gently again. "Mama won't be angry, but Mama also asks Azka not to do that again. Moreover, find that girl until you find her! Search wherever she is, even to the ends of the earth!" she asserted.
Azka immediately nodded firmly. To hell with what his Mama said at the end! The most important thing for him right now was to get his Mama's forgiveness!
As for finding that girl, Azka would think about it later. If necessary, next year!
A month had passed since Azka spent the night with a woman he met at the club. Who she was, he had no idea.
"Azka, don't bother Mama like this! Mama can't move freely!" Madeline scolded, feeling uncomfortable with her son hugging her from behind.
Azka didn't reply, but instead tightened his embrace and inhaled his Mama's fragrant scent deeply. For some reason, Azka liked that scent so much that it bothered his Mama who was preparing breakfast with Aunt Marti, one of the housemaids in this house.
"Hahaha, it seems Young Master Azka loves Madam so much that he doesn't want to let go," Aunt Marti, a middle-aged woman who had worked in the house for a long time, laughed, seeing his clingy behavior.
Madeline clicked her tongue in annoyance, then turned around and pushed Azka's slightly flushed face away.
"If you're sick, you better just sleep! Mama still has to cook breakfast!" Madeline asserted, seeing her son's haggard face.
Azka shook his head, pouting his lips. "Azka doesn't want to!" the man whined. He almost hugged his Mama again if Madeline hadn't stopped him.
"You better sleep or get ready for work instead of bothering Mama like this!" Azka's Mama said, pushing her son to obey her words.
In the past few days, since his relationship with his Mama had improved, Azka had started working under Noah's guidance. Their youngest son was being prepared to inherit one of the companies, just like Jacob and Dominic. Of course, everything took time and process. Azka was placed in his field gradually and hierarchically until he was truly ready to become a leader like his father and two older brothers.
Again, Azka pouted. However, the sound of the door being slammed open made him turn his head quickly towards the source of the sound. He saw Dominic and Jacob who had just returned carrying durian fruits in their hands.
"Azka, Brother brought your favorite durian—" Dominic said, but his sentence was cut short when he saw Azka suddenly feeling nauseous in front of the sink. Meanwhile, his Mama looked worried and pressed the back of Azka's neck.
"Are you alright, Azka?" Jacob and Dominic asked simultaneously. They walked towards the kitchen, watching Azka who kept feeling nauseous, only bringing up clear liquid from his mouth.
The pungent and nose-stinging aroma of durian increasingly tormented Azka. He felt nauseous and disturbed by the presence of the fruit.
"What's wrong? Are you sick, Azka?" Dominic asked, seeing his younger brother's pale face.
Azka shook his head and pointed at the durian on the kitchen table. "Get rid of that," he said, while closing his nose and mouth tightly with one hand.
Dominic frowned, confused. Wasn't his younger brother very fond of durian? Why was he now rejecting it and asking for it to be removed?
Jacob immediately moved the durian elsewhere, far from Azka, as his younger brother requested. He also felt confused by what was happening.
"Young Master, have a drink first," Aunt Marti said, handing a glass of water to Azka who looked unwell.
"Slowly," his Mama scolded as Azka hurriedly gulped down the water Aunt Marti gave him.
"Let's go upstairs," Madeline suggested, then took Azka's hand to leave the kitchen when she saw her son's face getting paler.
Azka followed his mama with faltering steps. One of his hands was used to cover his mouth and nose, while the other hand was held tightly by Madeline.
Arriving in his room, Azka lay on his back on Madeline's lap. He looked at the worried face of his beloved woman who now looked very concerned about him.
"Don't go to work today. Rest at home," Madeline said, stroking Azka's face and hair alternately.
"Ma, should I call Brother Yangshui?" offered Jacob who had just entered Azka's room carrying a teapot of water, followed by Dominic who carried a cup of water and a medicine box in his hand.
His Mama nodded and turned her gaze back to her youngest son who had fallen asleep on her lap.
"He said 20 more minutes, Ma. Brother Yangshui still has business at the hospital," Jacob said, showing the contents of a text message from Yangshui, their cousin.
"Azka, where are you going?" his Mama exclaimed when Azka suddenly woke up and walked towards the bathroom.
The sound of Azka vomiting was heard from inside the bathroom, making Madeline, Jacob, and Dominic immediately follow him anxiously.
"Azka, are you alright?" his Mama asked, gently pressing the back of Azka's neck with concern.
"Azka—" Dominic, who had just arrived, began to speak. However, his words were cut short when Azka pushed him out of the bathroom. Azka even said that he and Jacob smelled terrible.
"But Brother doesn't smell, Azka," Dominic said. He smelled his own body to make sure he didn't smell as Azka said.
Jacob nodded, saying the same thing to Azka.
Azka shook his head, then hugged his Mama's body and again inhaled the calming scent emanating from Madeline's body.
"Alright, you two better leave here," his mama said to her two sons.
Exchanging glances for a moment, the two brothers nodded in agreement. Their feet moved away from Azka. Ah, no! They even went out of Azka's room too! While their younger brother was still protesting their presence!
Twenty minutes passed quickly. Azka was now lying on his bed, waiting for Dr. Yangshui, his cousin, to finish his examination.
"How is he? Is Azka alright?" Azka's Mama asked with concern. It was rare for Azka to be this sick, especially to the point of being clingy and asking for hugs.
The man shook his head and said, "He just has a regular fever. It's just, there's something strange," Dr. Yangshui said, surprising everyone in the room, including Jacob and Dominic who were peeking in front of the door when Azka forbade them from entering.
"What exactly is strange?" asked Noah who had suddenly arrived. He pushed aside his two sons who were standing in front of Azka's room door and entered. His gaze immediately fell on Azka who looked truly terrible in his eyes.
Dr. Yangshui, often called Yang, a man of Chinese-Indonesian descent, turned to his uncle. "Azka's increased heart rate, blood pressure, difficulty breathing, and headache complaints seem to indicate symptoms of someone who is pregnant," he explained.
Instantly, Yang's words made the entire Xavier family exclaim in disbelief.
"What? Azka is pregnant?" Dominic asked, accidentally slapping Jacob's face as he stepped into Azka's room. To hell with his younger brother's request to stay outside! The most important thing for him was to know what was really happening!
"Azka is a guy, idiot!" Jacob snapped, hitting Dominic.
Azka squeezed the dress his Mama was wearing when he heard the word "pregnant." That word made him truly scared!
Feeling Azka's fingers squeezing, Madeline gently caressed her son's face. She patted Azka's back, reassuring him that everything would be alright.
"Did he eat something or do something before these symptoms appeared?" Yangshui asked, stroking his chin.
"Yes," Dominic replied quickly, making all eyes turn to him.
"What?" Yangshui asked curiously.
"One night stand," Dominic said, instantly receiving a punch in the stomach from Jacob. Meanwhile, their parents and Azka were shocked to hear Dominic say that so casually. Hadn't they agreed not to talk about that to anyone else?
Unlike the others, Yangshui gaped in disbelief. His gaze shifted to Azka, who was now hiding his face in his Mama's embrace.
What exactly happened? He didn't mishear, did he? His younger cousin did that...?
"Who did you do it with? When? And where did you do it?" Yangshui pressed, demanding answers about with whom, when, and where Azka had a one-night stand.
"A month ago, at the club. And I don't know who I did it with." Azka peeked from the gap in the blanket where he was hiding, admitting that he did it a month ago at the nightclub, but didn't know with whom.
Yangshui was stunned, looking alternately at his aunt, uncle, and two cousins.
"Why didn't you tell us that?" he asked, questioning why the family had hidden such big information from him.
"We thought it wasn't necessary," Jacob replied with a smile on his lips, while both his hands were still covering Dominic's mouth.
"You can see for yourself," Noah chimed in, directing his gaze at his son who was increasingly hiding under the blanket.
Yangshui sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head which didn't itch. "I'll hide this from the others. At least, now we know what's happening to Azka."
"Thank you," Noah replied gratefully.
"Argh! Azka, not here!"
Instantly, Azka's room was filled with shock and panic as the sound of nausea was heard again.
"I've already given him anti-nausea medication. If he wakes up later and still feels nauseous, just give him the medicine I gave him earlier. Give it to him 2–4 times a day, it will help relieve his nausea," Yangshui said to Azka's family.
Noah nodded, then stroked Azka's head, who had fallen asleep a while ago after accidentally vomiting the contents of his stomach onto his wife's stomach, who had now changed into new clothes.
"If that's the case, I'll go first. Let me know if Azka's condition worsens," Yangshui said. He glanced once more at Azka who was still asleep, then nodded to the Xavier family before getting up and leaving the room.
Noah, Jacob, and Dominic exchanged glances before finally deciding to go out as well, leaving Madeline to accompany Azka who was still asleep on her lap.
Inside the room, Madeline gently stroked her youngest son's hair. Worry still hung over her heart. She knew that Azka was indeed a cheerful person, although sometimes quite careless. He always tried to be careful in many things, but his innocence often made him vulnerable to unexpected situations.
However, the fact that her son had a one-night stand with a woman, coupled with strange symptoms like this, made her heart even more uneasy.
Occasionally, Azka mumbled in his sleep. Madeline leaned her face closer to hear more clearly.
"Stop... don't do that..." Azka whispered, his body wriggling slightly restlessly. "Don't go..."
Madeline frowned. Stop? Don't go?
Who shouldn't go?
A mother's heart can sometimes feel something that cannot be explained by logic. And right now, Madeline's instinct told her that something was bothering her son, something more than just fatigue or ordinary sickness.
Madeline reached out, touching Azka's cheek which felt warmer than usual. "Azka... are you dreaming something?" she whispered softly, even though she knew her son couldn't hear.
Azka stirred slightly, his breathing sounding heavier. "Don't... go..." he whispered again, almost like a groan.
---
Somewhere...
A long-haired woman sat in front of a dressing table, staring at her reflection in the mirror with a vacant gaze.
Her hand reached out, touching her still flat stomach. However, behind the calmness she showed, her mind was in turmoil.
A pregnancy test lay on the table, with two clear red lines visible.
Her eyes welled up. Then, in an almost whispered voice, she said, "I didn't expect that I'm really pregnant with your child."
The woman covered her mouth with one hand, as if still in disbelief. However, in contrast to her expression, her eyes actually looked touched.