2014 was the most confusing year of Anton’s life.
He had been dating Kevin for a year — a guy from another island who had followed him to the city where Anton was working. Their relationship felt serious, almost like fate.
But life has its own sense of humor.
At work, Anton had grown close to a colleague — let’s call him Tama. They were from the same ethnic group, shared the same faith, the same beliefs, and both held promising positions in the company.
Then came that day.
The day Tama looked straight into Anton’s eyes and said,
“Ant, let’s get married.”
Anton froze. His heart pounded hard, not out of fear, but because there was something in Tama’s gaze that warmed his chest.
But all Anton could whisper was,
“I… can’t.”
It wasn’t a rejection — it was a silent scream from a heart trapped between two worlds.
Because out there, Kevin was waiting. The man he had already chosen.
From that day, something shifted.
Not long after the “proposal,” Tama started dating another colleague. Anton was shocked — and jealous. But what right did he have to be mad? He was the one who couldn’t say yes.
One afternoon, a Wi-Fi technician came to the office. Half-joking, Anton said to a friend,
“Wow, he’s so handsome!”
Minutes later, that friend came back giggling,
“Ant, Tama got all worked up hearing you compliment the technician!”
Anton smiled shyly — secretly feeling flattered.
So Tama was still paying attention to him.
But the silent war only grew. Anton got jealous of Tama and his girlfriend, Tama got jealous of Anton and Kevin.
Until one day, everything exploded.
“Why are you always like this, Ant?!” Tama yelled.
“Who do you think you are, Ta?!” Anton shot back.
Tama grabbed a Baygon bottle from the desk, his face red with rage.
Anton froze — he never thought things would go this far.
And in a burst of ego, Anton said the cruelest words he could think of — words he knew would cut Tama deeply.
They never spoke again.
Weeks later, Tama was transferred to another branch. Ironically, to the very branch where Anton’s younger brother worked.
One night, the phone rang.
“Ant, guess what?” his brother said with a chuckle. “Tama asked you to marry him and you said no?”
Anton was shocked.
“What exactly did he say to you?”
His brother imitated Tama’s tone,
“Your sibling is stupid — I asked them to marry me and they refused.”
Anton couldn’t stop laughing. Deep down, he felt oddly proud.
Even after their massive fight, Tama still thought about him.
But life wasn’t done throwing curveballs.
Kevin — the man Anton had fought so hard to keep — cheated on him with a coworker.
“That pig!” Anton cursed as he cried the night they broke up.
“If I’d known, I should have chosen Tama from the start!”
But it was too late.
Years passed, and Tama eventually married — not to their coworker (they were of different faiths), but to someone else entirely.
“You should have called him right after you broke up with Kevin,” Anton’s brother told him recently.
“He still felt sorry for you back then, said it was sad that you got cheated on.”
Anton could only laugh bitterly.
His four-and-a-half-year relationship with Kevin was over. Kevin was now married with a child. Anton?
Still single.
Yet whenever Anton looked back, he realized — he had once loved deeply, even if it left scars.
