At first, Dali was surprised that Edward had this. However, because Edward just smiled without explaining anything, Dali became upset himself. Dali was curious to death about how this precious object could be in Edward's hands?
It was nestled neatly in a leather-lined box that was starting to crack with age. Amazingly, after all this time, it still glowed almost the same as the last time she saw it. It was only slightly worn after the passage of time.
"Ye, you're just smiling. Explain where you found this thing!" demanded Dali angrily.
Edward smiled widely. He felt satisfied that he had succeeded in making Dali's anger turn into curiosity.
"From Miss," Edward replied lightly.
"From me? You're insinuating? You're making things up as you go along!"
Dali was annoyed that Edward was starting to pretend to be someone involved in her past. That's good! Even though Dali began to harbor feelings for Edward, the figure from the past who became her first love would never be replaced. So, Dali would not allow anyone, including her own husband to make such claims.
"Really, Miss. This is really from Miss. Take a look at this photo."
Edward held out a photo that was starting to get a little cracked and blurry. The predominantly black and white photo depicted a school setting with a brick wall. Meanwhile, in front of the school building, a photo of children with an age range of 6-15 years appeared in the photo. Actually, there are quite a lot of them. However, not enough for the number of students in one school.
Dali was even more surprised. How could Edward have all these things? In fact, these were only rare objects that became Dali's memories with ....
"Who are you?"
Dali was really confused. Who exactly was this Edward that she had been married to for almost a year? Why didn't Dali understand the origin of her own husband at all?
"I am the boy in the picture, Miss."
Edward showed a picture of a sweet-faced boy, with slightly cropped hair, smiling broadly among a row of children his age. Meanwhile, in the back row, young Dali was also smiling happily as he embraced his friends. It was a beautiful time.
"You can't make things up, people!" complained Dali, getting confused and annoyed.
Dali began to re-compare the photo of the little boy Edward had pointed at. That child, that child was the piano player's son that Dali had been waiting for. She actually wanted to call Edward just a man who likes to claim. However, when comparing the look in the boy's eyes with Edward's, Dali was able to catch the resemblance between these two people. In fact, Dali had to smother her mouth in surprise.
"How is it, Miss? Are you sure that I am the boy in the photo?"
"You-you're really the piano player's son?" squealed Dali in surprise.
Edward smiled and nodded in confirmation. The man's eyes lit up because Dali's guess had not been wrong at all.
"Yes, madam. And I still have the necklace you gave me until now."
Edward's words almost made Dali disbelieve. Everything Dali experienced felt like a dream. This reality was too beautiful for her. So, Dali hurriedly took the necklace to make sure that the necklace given by her father on her 14th birthday was not forged. In fact, it was true, the necklace was really a diamond necklace given by her father.
"You're not lying, are you? That boy should be the only one with this necklace and photo."
Dali still couldn't believe the truth. Indeed, Edward and the boy were both handsome and did look alike. However, she still couldn't believe that her first love was really the man who was already her husband.
"Forgive me for hiding this all this time because I thought you didn't care about the past. Because, every time I see her as barren and dull as she was when we first got married, I think she doesn't want to bother with love. In fact, I was a little afraid that what I thought was love in my childhood was just an illusion. So, I'm just too focused on pursuing her love in a way that she needs more nowadays; attention and touch."
Dali teared up again. All the evidence and truth had pointed to Edward, that he was indeed the man she had been looking for all this time. However, there was still one thing she had to make sure of. Where, the evidence is only the man of her childhood who really knows.
"Then, now, try to play the kind of song I watched when I first met you," Dali challenged.
It seemed, from the way Edward played with her earlier, that Edward was not just any pianist. The reason was, Edward could immediately adapt to Dali's hand movements so that the blend of tones became perfect. However, that was not enough for Dali to be convinced that Edward was indeed the man Dali had met.
Edward smiled knowingly. The man began to stretch the joints of his fingers. Meanwhile, Dali moved slightly away knowing that Edward needed more space to play rhythmically this time. When the first key was pressed, Dali waited anxiously. He really hoped Edward would remember their childhood song.
"Actually, it's been a while since I played the piano, Miss. But I'll give it another try," the man said with a comforting smile.
Dali just waited. Meanwhile, Edward actually started playing the piano after taking a deep breath. Edward's burly fingers began to move nimbly over each piano block. At first a little fast, then a slow tempo. Beethoven. Yes, that's right, the man was playing exactly the same Beethoven rhythms as before. Edward really remembered him?
Gradually, Dali was swept away with the tears that began to flood. Every note played played back all the sweet memories in her head. The sweet Edward, now turned into a handsome and solemn Edward when stared at from the other side. Apparently, his nose and eyes were still the same, equally lithe, focused, and charming. She couldn't hold back her feelings anymore. Dali was really crying.
"Edward! Why did you take so long to come back? Hiks, hiks."
Dali hugged Edward's body tightly as the last note sounded. Dali's feelings were completely overwhelmed with relief. The man she thought of as her first love had become her husband.
Edward hugged her back gently as he smiled lovingly. "I'm sorry, Miss. Actually, all this time, I haven't really disappeared from your life."
"Ma-meaning you?" asked Dali in a choked voice.
Edward released the hug. He wiped away the teardrops that flooded Dali's beautiful face. His wife was as beautiful as ever until Edward could no longer look away.
"Yes. After she returned to her studies, I tried to find out about her background. So, after the old-school cell phone era, I actually exchanged messages with Niel to ask how she was doing and confirm that she did not have a boyfriend," Edward explained lightly. He even laughed a little crisply.
"What!" screeched Dali in disbelief. "Are you crazy? All this time I've been desperately longing for you, and you're even having fun asking me how I'm doing from Niel!"
Edward laughed even harder. It turned out that his lady was still as barbaric as ever. "Yes. Because I like to see Nona's unique mood swings."
Dali immediately threw away Edward's hand in annoyance. "Damn it! You're so good at talking. Your reasoning is not acceptable. Because you still owe me an explanation about Intan!"
Deg!
Edward's heart stopped beating instantly.