THE EMPERORS WOMAN

I am a divorce woman who has a fashionable appearance and a life full with wealth. People will get jealous of me, especially if they know my past. I'm just a village girl who works odd jobs. It's hard to find food to eat. I once married a poor man and accepted that burdensome life as part of destiny.

However, an incident made our household fall apart. Like it or not, divorce happens. Now, I have everything. Outsiders saw that I was lacking in nothing, but they did not know where this wealth came from. The stakes are huge, lives are being targeted.

It was Norma Wilhelmina who was after us. She's the legal wife of Hendrik, a billionaire who owns companies around the world and he made me his mistress.

Call me Kantil, a pseudonym. A mother who’s her daughter died on her father's bed while holding a test pack. My daughter's name is Keynara. She is only fifteen years old and still in third grade of Junior High School. We usually call her by Key.

Key has wide eyes with eyelashes that--we Javanese call it--tumingo ing tawang. Key's hair is like mine, curls from birth. She is the only granddaughter in my family and the family of Roni, her father.

When she was five years old, Key always said that when he grew up he wanted to be a dangdut singer. Roni and I laugh every time we see her imitating Inul Daratista's sway. By collecting the money from sewing, I was able to buy her a new DVD complete with a dozen dangdut tapes. My daughter is very happy. Every day she practiced singing and dancing. Seeing her great interest, I promised that when I had the money, I would register for vocal and dance lessons. However, our economy has not improved.