Before the commotion, there were very few visitors in the cafe. After they made a fuss, the remaining visitors immediately fled.
The cafe maid stared intently at their group — to be precise, at Tom, who had been causing trouble. The maid recognized Lilia's figure, so she automatically sided with the model's friend. Plus, she saw for herself that it was Tom who started the trouble on purpose.
The servant approached them asking Lilia, "Miss, are you okay?"
She didn't even glance at Tom who was still drenched in coffee.
"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for making a fuss here." Lilia said while bowing to the servant.
"We're really sorry." Vivi and Rachel also bowed.
"Ah, it's okay. It's not your fault." The servant lady hurriedly stopped them. She offered to make them take the long table at the end of the cafe while she cleaned the floor.
Ten minutes later, the coffee spill on the floor was cleared away while Lilia and her group moved to another table.
Tom sat silently trying to clean his shirt with a wet tissue. His nose seemed to be filled with the strong aroma of coffee, making him feel like a coffee bean.
Meanwhile, Lilia and Rachel were busy calming Vivi down. The woman shouted curses at Tom and almost hit him back if her two friends didn't stop her.
After Lilia confirmed that Vivi had calmed down, she turned her gaze to the only man at the table, "Tom Wibowo."
"Yes, Sis Lilia!" Tom straightened his back straight away and gave Lilia his full attention. He didn't dare to make another mistake in front of that woman.
"Even though Vivi has a very good reason for her actions, she still makes mistakes for dousing you with coffee. I apologize for her actions." Lilia said calmly as she lowered her head.
"No, no, you don't need to apologize, Sicily Lilia!" Tom said. He rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
Tom didn't think that the first thing Lilia would say was an apology. He was relieved that she was more reasonable and kinder than her husband.
"But." Lilia continued and made Tom's heart almost stop, "You have done an act of shame. You are a man, but you are trying to hit a woman. Can you feel proud of what you did?"
Lilia's words that initially lifted Tom's mood and then knocked him down made the man's guilt multiply. The man lowered his head while trying to find the right words.
"I-I know I was wrong. I didn't think clearly earlier. Please forgive me, Sis Lilia." Tom said with an expression full of regret. The implied meaning behind his words was, 'Please don't tell Jean this.'
But after a while, Lilia didn't answer. Tom looked up and saw the slight smile on Lilia's face. The woman glanced at Vivi who was sitting next to her.
'I'm not someone you need to apologize to.' This somewhat described what Lilia's gaze really meant.
Tom then shifted his gaze towards Vivi. The woman's eyes were red and she refused to look at him. The man was silent for a moment, trying to resolve the inner conflict within him. He didn't want to apologize to that insolent woman, but he was also afraid of Lilia and Jean's anger.
"…I am sorry." Tom muttered at last.
Vivi glanced at the man without saying anything. At that moment, Alex walked into the cafe.
As soon as Tom saw his best friend coming, his eyes immediately lit up. His face that had looked sluggish now looked excited. His attitude was as if his savior had arrived.
Tom hurriedly got up and walked over to Alex, "Have you bought a change of clothes for me?"?Tom asked hopefully. He was sick of smelling coffee!
Alex nodded. Today, that man happened to be wearing a thin coat that was the same color as Lilia's. He handed the shopping bag he brought to Tom.
The man accepted it with great joy, but Alex's next words caught Tom off guard immediately.
"I told Jean about this." There was a crash as the shopping bag in Tom's hand fell and hit the floor.
"Huh?!" Tom shouted frantically. His life would be finished soon!
Alex patted Tom on the shoulder with a sympathetic expression, "It's all your fault for getting into trouble with Lilia's best friend right in front of her. Just face your punishment with guts!"
Tom looked at his friend with a face and tears in his eyes. If they were best friends, shouldn't Alex be helping him cover this up?! Why did that man tell Jean?!
Tom dragged his steps towards the toilet in the cafe. He changed his coffee-drenched clothes while considering fleeing to Africa for 2 months. However, he immediately rejected the idea. Where could he run to? Even if he did escape to Mars, Jean would launch rockets to catch him and drag him back. He had no future!
Tom continued to lament his fate in the toilet when Jean entered the cafe.
After Alex gave Tom a change of clothes, he greeted Lilia who approached him.
"Sis Lilia, nice to see you again." Alex smiled broadly, "I'm sorry for the fuss Tom caused."
Lilia shook her head, "Brother Alex doesn't need to be sorry. How about you sit with us until Tom comes back?"
Alex nodded to Lilia's invitation. Then his gaze fell on the coat Lilia was wearing. Incidentally, they both wore coats of the same color and brand. Alex exchanged glances with Lilia, then both of them laughed together.
"What a coincidence!" Alex said.
Lilia nodded, "I thought the same thing."
But to the female waitress standing behind the counter, their matching appearance didn't seem like a coincidence. The servant quietly took out her cellphone and took a photo of the two. The photo result clearly showed Lilia and Alex wearing matching coats.
Then the waiter uploaded the photo in a forum discussing who was Lilia's mysterious boyfriend. The photo was accompanied by the caption, "Geez, I now know who Lilia Pangestu's boyfriend is!" In an instant, the discussion forum was bustling with various comments and opinions.
Unfortunately, the person discussed in that topic had absolutely no idea that his name was yet another stir in cyberspace. Lilia invited Alex to sit at their table while chatting lightly.
In the middle of their chat, Lilia happened to glance outside the glass door of the cafe. She saw a familiar figure and immediately stopped talking.
Alex turned his head to follow Lilia's gaze, then he smiled as he recognized the man's figure. "Oh, I called Jean here too." He said in a casual tone, as if the president of the Genesis Company could be summoned at any time.
Before Lilia could answer, Vivi immediately spoke up, "No, no, you don't need to call President Jean over a small matter like this!" She said in panic.
Vivi was still mad at Tom for ruining her blind date. But she did not think that this problem would become so big that it made Alex summon Jean.
Alex shook his head, "You don't have to be nervous. Jean is only here to punish— educate Tom so he doesn't repeat his mistakes. Tom has been a troublemaker since he was a kid, and he's only afraid of Jean. So he gets called when Tom gets into trouble." Alex explained, shrugging his shoulders.
After hearing that, Vivi sympathized with Tom's friends who were dragged along whenever he caused trouble. She decided that she would keep her distance from Tom in the future. Vivi didn't want to see Jean every time she got into trouble with Tom.
Meanwhile, Lilia got up from her chair and headed towards the cafe door to greet Jean. The fourth son of the Widjaya Family smiled when he saw Lilia approaching him.
"I never thought that Brother Alex would call you here. It's just a small matter, really." Even though Lilia said that with an unsatisfied tone, her expression was different. She couldn't hide her joy at being able to meet Jean here.
Before Jean could respond, the door behind him opened again and revealed Kenny's figure. Jean's assistant was carrying a laptop bag and a pile of documents. Kenny nodded at Lilia before sitting down at one of the empty tables and getting to work.
Lilia stared at Kenny for a moment before turning her gaze back to Jean, "Are you that busy?" She asked while raising her eyebrows.
"Not really." Jean replied briefly, but he deliberately averted his gaze from Kenny's sharp gaze.
Lilia watched the interaction between the two while holding back laughter. Jean must be really busy because he brought Kenny here with him.
"I heard Tom hit your friend?" Jean hurriedly changed the topic. His icy gaze swept across the cafe, but he didn't see Tom's figure.
Lilia shook her head, "He didn't hit Vivi. I stopped him before he could touch Vivi." She explained.
Lilia purposely didn't tell Jean that Tom made her fall too. She knew that Jean was overprotective of her. She wasn't mean enough to spill all of Tom's mistakes.
"Oh, I see." Jean said lightly, but his eyes gleamed coldly.
Jean was already about to give Tom a traumatic experience as soon as he heard Lilia's getting caught up in the matter. If he found out that Tom also knocked Lilia down, maybe that man wouldn't be able to get back from here safely.
As Lilia and Jean walked over to their table, Lilia added, "You don't actually have to bother coming here, Jean. Tom has already apologized to us, so this matter is pretty much settled."
"I don't mind. I'm free." Jean said without hesitation. The man seemed to have deliberately forgotten Kenny who was drowning in the pile of work behind him.
When Jean was about to sit beside Lilia, his gaze fell on the coat Alex was wearing. He immediately frowned when he realized that it was a coat that was almost the same as Lilia's. Jean then shot his friend a sharp gaze.
Alex shuddered as he felt a knife-sharp gaze pierce his side. He turned his head towards Jean, who looked back at him without covering up his annoyance. Alex smiled bitterly as he took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair. Only then did Jean get rid of his sharp gaze.
"Mr. Jean, I'm sorry I bothered you." Vivi opened the conversation in an awkward voice.
Even though she was sitting directly opposite Jean, Vivi didn't dare look straight into the man's eyes. That man's aura was too intimidating for her.
Jean looked at Lilia's best friend. He didn't know why Tom was attracted to this woman, but he sympathized with Vivi for catching the attention of a troublemaker like Tom.
That's why Jean said softly to Vivi, "No, Tom has troubled you. I'm sorry for his actions."
"No, no!" Vivi frantically waved her hand, "You didn't do anything wrong, so you don't have to apologize!"
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel