The Billionaire's Secret Husband

There are two things Ratu Purbaningrum does not believe in: one is ghosts, and two is love. According to her, what is love anyway? What is that strange thing that makes women and men close to each other? Just imagining it makes her sick. It's nothing, but kneeling before a man, in her opinion, is a disgusting thing that should be shunned like dog shit.

But it was already hard to earn money to make her parents happy. Instead, Ratu's parents said they could only be satisfied if they saw Ratu marry. How annoying.

"Isn't there anything else, Dad, Mom? Ratu can buy a new building, a private plane, or maybe a vacation to Hawaii. But please don't get married!" she argued.

"Do you think Dad and Mom can't buy their own?" Mr. Danaswara argued.

Ratu rolled her eyes. It was always like this. Sometimes, she was confused about what to give her parents because they could buy it themselves.

Ratu did not believe in love. According to the book she read, there is no such thing as true love. If someone loves another person because the other person loves them, it is not love but empathy; If love is because of money, it is not love but interest. If it's love for looks, it's called obsession, and if it's love at first sight, it's also not love but passion. They say that love is easy and fun. But for Ratu Purbaningrum, money is the only thing that makes her happy.

"How long will you continue to be a virgin, Rat? You're already thirty-one," added Mrs. Danaswara - Ratu's biological mother.

"All men are bastards except Father, ma'am. No, I don't want to marry them. They want to marry me because they want my money, right? There is no such thing as love. Ratu also doesn't want to be subjugated to men."

Having the name Ratu is an honor in itself. A queen is different from a princess. A queen does not need to ask to be saved by anyone, unlike princesses who ask to be held by the prince. When kept in the palace by the dragon, a princess can only wait, while a queen must fight back. The queen walks on her own feet without anyone's help. Therefore, the Queen does not believe in love; she only believes in power.

"There's one man of Dad's who's never cared about money, Rat. And it would be best if you married him. Otherwise, I will sell all my assets and donate them to social services," said Mr. Danaswara. He was very tired of advising his only daughter. From the age of twenty-seven until now, he had never missed a day advising his daughter to get married, but the result? A big zero.

"But Dad!"

"My mind is made up. Marry, or all assets will be given to social services," Mr. Danaswara repeated. He placed a photograph in front of Ratu before leaving his daughter alone. His wife followed behind him.

Ratu sighed. She took the photo her father gave her. An image featuring a young man with a tall stature, a sharp nose, brown hair, and blue eyes.

"Really?" sighed Ratu.

She did not expect to marry the person in this photo. Who was he that Ratu's father could be sure of such a man? Who was the young man with a slightly sweet smile and was able to make Mr. Danaswara sure he would make him his son-in-law.

"I will find out who this man is. How appropriate are you to be my candidate? You won't be able to be part of the Danaswara family," Ratu hissed in annoyance.

Ratu put the photo her father had given her into her purse. She picked up her shopper bag and left. There was a taekwondo practice she had to attend today.

***

"I wonder why my dad is so sure that man can be my husband," Ratu scolded. She vented her anger by spinning her kick and breaking the board held by her friend Ami.

For Ratu, this was the martial art that suited her best: taekwondo. She could beat up the jerks out there without getting her hands dirty. Taekwondo, which emphasizes strength in the legs, makes Ratu believe that only the legs deserve to touch ignorant men.

"Maybe he is good at times. You said you have a picture of him; take a look!" Ami asked.

Ratu exhaled. She went to the resting chair and took a small towel. Ratu also took a photo from her wallet and gave it to Ami.

"My gosh, he's so handsome. How could you not be interested in him? It's impossible!" Ami marveled.

"Even if he's as handsome as a prince in a fairy tale, I wouldn't be interested, Mi. You know that I don't believe in love. Love is bullshit. How handsome is the man who chased me first?" asked Ratu.

"'That man is handsome, anyway," Ami replied.

"'He's richer too. And the man in this photo is unclear about his origins. The clothes he wears also look shabby. I wonder why you want to marry me to him. If my parents want me to marry, why don't they put me to marry rich men?" chimed Ratu.

Ami could only shrug her shoulders. Even though Ratu wanted to talk until he was foaming at the mouth, Ami didn't know what to do.

"Come with me! Let's investigate who exactly is the man who convinced Father to marry me off to him!"

"Okay. If you don't want to, I'll do it for you!"

"Whatever!" said Ratu, still upset with his father's decision.

After cleaning up, the two got into the Ratu's Rubicon. Her father only showed her a picture of the young man, but she quickly learned his name and where he worked. Her impromptu detective skills made Ratu immediately know how to investigate the origins of the young man. Especially now that there is a lot of AI technology getting someone's information just from a photo is easy.

"Is he working here?" asked Ami incredulously when she saw a building under construction.

Ratu nodded. "That's why! I wonder why Father wants to marry a construction worker?" she wondered. She immediately entered the construction area. Although initially forbidden, she insisted.

A man with a dashing face and glowing blue eyes approached the gate. He, who was explaining the progress of the building to the investor, came to Ratu after being sure that all matters were in order.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Ratu and Ami turned around. They could see the man they had been looking for. A man with fine sideburns, blue eyes, and a sharp nose. His body was well-built, and his muscles were perfectly formed. For Ami, the sweat that adorned the man's face added to his impression of masculinity. This is Ami's first time seeing a dashing man in a dirty building like this. It was like seeing a diamond among a pile of garbage. Ami was sure that if this man's level of handsomeness were measured, the measuring device would be broken because it could not measure his face. His looks were too maximal.

But it was different with Ratu. The impression that came to her was that this man was a slob. Just look at his face, full of sweat and dust.

"He has been explaining all the building forms to the investors with this disheveled appearance? What nonsense," the Ratu thought.

"Here, sir. They wanted to see you earlier, but because they didn't have a permit, I didn't let them in," explained the security guard.

The man looked at Ratu. She challenged his gaze. In her life dictionary, she hated being treated like this the most and being looked down upon, especially by a man.

"Ma'am, if you want to see me, you must make a permit first. And you must wear your work gear." The man took off his helmet and put it on her.

Ratu was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe she was called ma'am. Was her makeup that old? Even though she was told to wear a high school uniform, she was sure she was still appropriate. But why did the man who said he would be her husband call her ma'am?

Ratu took off the building helmet put on by the man in front of him. She was very uncomfortable being treated like this. "Get on with it! How much money did you give Father to get him to marry me off to a poor man like you?" she said. She didn't enjoy being in a construction area like this. It was dirty, hot, and dusty.

The man laughed. "Money? How much do you think I make, Ma'am? I'm just an employee."

"Stop calling me Ma'am! You're older than me!" she snapped. No matter the friendly face of her interlocutor or the charming blue eyes, all she had in her heart now was hatred.

"We're not acquainted yet so that I can call you ma'am," grinned the young man.

She threw him a scathing look. "I'm not willing to get acquainted with a young man like you, let alone marry you!" Ratu turned around and prepared to leave. She dragged Ami, who was still staring at the handsomeness of Ratu's future husband.

The young man raised both eyebrows. He laughed, "Well, if that's what you want, Ratu Purbaningrum. But are you sure you can cancel our wedding, which will be held in one month?"

Ratu stopped his steps. She turned around again. "One month?" she asked incredulously. Only this morning, she had heard that she was to be married. Her shock still hadn't worn off, so now she was shocked again with the news of the wedding time. Seriously!