Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter 54 - Good Times

SEPTEMBER 2018.

It's been a year since Ludwina and Andrea had separated. Andrea had started to accept the fact that maybe Ludwina would never forgive him, but he really wanted to meet his wife just once, to try to convince her...

The email from the committee for the International Cybersecurity Conference in Bali arrived one morning. They invited Andrea to be one of the speakers at this prestigious event. He was already known as the best security expert in the Asia-Pacific and the committee was very proud of how their event would be attended by an expert from Indonesia.

The date coincided with their 5th wedding anniversary. Andrea and Ludwina were supposed to have a party next month to fulfill their promise to Mrs. Inggrid, who really wanted to celebrate their wedding in a grand way.

Suddenly, Andrea's longing for Ludwina felt suffocating... He almost shed tears when he remembered their wedding in Bali five years ago.

In the end, he pressed the call button on his phone and called Mrs. Inggrid. Once a week, Andrea would call his mother and mother-in-law to keep in touch with each other. They loved him and Ludwina very much and still hoped that the two wouldn't be separated. 

They were the ones who convinced Andrea not to sign the divorce papers Ludwina had sent him and to wait. They encouraged him to continue giving Ludwina the space she needed to recover from her heartache...

"Mom, I'm going to Indonesia next month. I was invited to speak at a conference in Bali..." he said after exchanging news. Mrs. Inggrid sounded delighted. After one year, Andrea was finally going to return to Indonesia.

"In Bali? What date? Ludwina was also invited to speak at UWRF," said Mrs. Inggrid enthusiastically. She sounded very proud, "You two are amazing. I'm so proud of you!"

"Is that so?" Andrea quickly searched for information about this year's UWRF (Ubud Writers and Readers Festival) and found that Ludwina would indeed be one of the speakers there. They would be in Bali the same week. He held his breath. How fortunate. This must be fate. Andrea smiled and said, "This is very good news."

His heart felt very light. Just as he had met Ludwina at the airport twice by chance, now the universe brought them to Bali at almost the same time. If he was coming to Bali, it would be impossible for Ludwina to refuse his presence. Her dream was to become a speaker at UWRF. She must come to the event!

With enthusiasm, Andrea then wrote an email to Ludwina. This time, he wouldn't ask for her permission. UWRF was a public event, so was his conference. He only told Ludwina that he would be in Bali next month.

[I am invited to speak at a cybersecurity conference in Bali next month. Do you want to meet?]

He couldn't believe his eyes when an hour later came a reply from Ludwina to his email.

She finally responded!!

[I want to meet you, on the condition that you bring the divorce papers and sign them.]

Andrea's heart sank immediately, but he replied.

[Alright.]

The mattered was Ludwina was finally willing to meet him. He would think about the divorce papers later.

Andrea was very happy. He couldn't wait for October to arrive.

***

Ludwina received an email from Andrea when she was in Central Park, New York. She loved to be here reminiscing the fond memories of her college days and her time here with Andrea. She met some Indonesians who recognized her and she took several photos together.