But this year, Jean didn't attend her birthday party. He only sent gifts in the form of a set of branded skincare products through his assistant Kenny. Sasha didn't know whether Jean chose the gift himself or not, but it was enough to convey Jean's message. The man didn't care for her at all. The man never found her special because they were childhood friends. To Jean, Sasha was just like any other woman.
Sasha stared at Jean with wild eyes. She was determined to get a direct explanation from the man of his absence tonight.
Jean leaned back and folded his legs. His handsome face was emotionless as he cast an icy gaze towards Sasha, "Didn't Kenny deliver a gift for you?" He asked.
Sasha almost replied that she didn't want a present— she wanted Jean's presence. But she managed to swallow the sentence back. Sasha lowered her gaze and said in a bitter tone, "He has already delivered it, but Kenny can't replace you. Over the years, we always celebrate our birthdays together. But why this year… you…"
Sasha's voice disappeared and her throat caught. She felt suffocated by the words she wanted to say.
'I love you. Choose me. I've loved you for a long time. Why don't you ever see me? I am always by your side.'
"Sasha." Jean's sharp voice made the woman look up, "No matter what you think, I've sent Kenny on my behalf. If you don't respect him, that is disrespectful for me. Besides, I'm sure you already know why I can't be there tonight."
Jean's voice was calm and controlled. There was not a single trace of guilt or regret in it.
However, Sasha panicked when she heard that. Did Jean know anything about her involvement in this assault case?
Before Sasha could speak again, Lilia had returned from the kitchen. The woman carried a silver tray filled with three porcelain cups filled with tea. Lilia seemed to be having a hard time balancing the tray with her injured hand, so Jean got up to help her.
"Thank you." Lilia grinned as Jean took over the tray.
"Don't push yourself. I will immediately find a maid to take care of the house, so you don't have to do trivial things like this." Jean said. His expression was soft and warm when he spoke to Lilia.
Sasha clenched her fists tightly to hold back her jealousy. Jean never showed that gentle expression in front of her. How dare Lilia steal that honor from her?!
"Drink this tea to warm yourself up. It's cold tonight and your clothes are thin, so don't get sick." Lilia said kindly as Jean put the tray on the table. She took one of the cups and handed it to Sasha.
"Yes, thank you." Sasha accepted the cup reluctantly. She was sure Lilia was deliberately being friendly with her to win Jean's heart.
"What were you two talking about?" Lilia asked in a light tone as she handed another cup to Jean.
The man accepted the cup as he sat back down. Jean then reached out and pulled Lilia to his side, as if he didn't want to be away from his wife for too long. The woman's face flushed red, but Lilia didn't protest.
Jean took a sip of the tea for a moment before turning his attention back to Sasha, "You already know that Lilia is injured, right? So you know why I can't attend your birthday party tonight." His answer was cold.
Sasha gripped her cup tightly and resisted the temptation to throw it in Lilia's face. Wasn't that woman only lightly injured?! Lilia could even brew her own tea, so why would Jean insist on accompanying her?!
Sasha took a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking, "Is Miss Lilia's wound that bad? I'm acquaintanced with a hospital doctor. If you need help…" She offered in a friendly voice.
But Lilia didn't miss the woman's sly gaze, "Miss Sasha please don't bother." She immediately interrupted, smiling broadly, "My husband has arranged everything I need."
Sasha's hands were shaking so much that she almost dropped her cup. She gave Lilia a poisonous gaze. If possible, Sasha wanted to tear up that woman's broad smile!
For a moment, no one spoke. The atmosphere in the living room was heavy and awkward. Suddenly, the sound of the telephone ring broke the silence.
Lilia automatically searched for her cellphone, then she realized that the voice was coming from Sasha's cellphone. Yet the older woman seemed too shaken to notice. Lilia had to wake her several times until Sasha came back to her senses. The woman immediately took her cellphone from the bag and picked up the phone.
"Hello, brother ...?" Sasha answered the phone with a tone of fear and respect.
"Yes ... I'm sorry, brother. I was in a hurry to go because of a sudden matter."
"Alright, I'll be right back."
The volume from the other end of the phone wasn't too loud and Lilia couldn't make out the contents of their conversation. However, Lilia could hear the anger in the voice of the person on the other line.
Sasha earlier called him 'Brother', which means that it was Samuel Hiroshi. That man was Sasha's older brother and the current head of the Hiroshi Family.
Sasha ended her conversation and immediately got up from the sofa, "Since I have seen that Miss Lilia's condition is fine, I will go home first. Jean, see you in 5 days. We are all waiting for your invitation." Sasha said while giving Lilia a defiant look.
Without waiting for their reply, Sasha hurriedly left the house. Jean and Lilia didn't even have time to offer to walk her outside.
Lilia secretly sighed. Sasha's late night visit and hasty departure intrigued her. But she tried not to think about Sasha's true intentions. She also deliberately didn't question Jean about his private conversation with the woman. Lilia was sure that Jean would tell her when he was ready. She trusted her husband.
Meanwhile, Jean took a sip of the tea before putting it back down. He leaned back against the soft sofa and closed his eyes. The man was so lost in thought he didn't notice his surroundings.
Suddenly, the fragrant scent of flowers tickled his nose, followed by something heavy on his shoulders. Jean opened his eyes and saw Lilia resting her head on his shoulder. The man smiled a little as he pulled his wife into his arms.
"Jean, what will happen in 5 days?" Lilia asked.
"Hmm ... I don't know." Jean dodged the question.
Lilia pulled herself out of Jean's embrace and glared at him, "You don't know, do you? I thought you must remember your own birthday." She said sarcastically.
Jean smiled dryly, "How do you know that?"
"From the marriage certificate." Lilia replied stiffly, "If Sasha didn't say anything about it, do you intend to hide the fact that your birthday is on September 30th?"
Lilia felt a little annoyed that Jean's birthday was only 5 days behind the woman's birthday. As she thought about Sasha's invitation to celebrate Jean's birthday together, Lilia's mood got even worse. She really didn't like her. Not only because Sasha was trying to grab her husband, but also because her behavior was pretty inappropriate for a young lady from a respectable family.
Jean shook his head and replied, "I didn't intend to hide that from you. You were busy with your career, and then you got hurt and went to the hospital. I wanted to make sure things were calm before I told you."
Lilia studied Jean's face with a suspicious look. However, the man returned the gaze calmly.
"Lilia, I won't lie to you." Jean tried to reassure her once again, "I intended to surprise you, which is why I didn't say anything on purpose. I'll never keep it a secret from you." The man grabbed Lilia's hand and squeezed it gently.
"…Okay." Lilia's sharp gaze softened when she heard that, "Are you planning on inviting everyone to dinner?"
Jean smiled mischievously, "We will see later."
*****
After that, Lilia returned to her room and picked up her cellphone. She sat cross-legged on the bed staring intently at her cellphone. Lilia seemed to be thinking about something deeply. After a while, the woman finally turned on her cellphone.
She changed her cell phone's?password with a new number, which was 0930. Lilia locked and unlocked her cellphone several times using the new password. Normally, those numbers meant nothing to Lilia. Now, that number meant a lot to her because it was her husband's birthday.
Lilia tried repeatedly to open and close her cellphone to get used to the new password. Every time she typed in that number sequence, the smile on her face grew wider. Lilia felt like she was copying Jean, who used Lilia's birthday as a code.
"Huh?" Lilia suddenly realized something. Her birthday?
Without thinking, Lilia jumped out of bed. She grabbed her cell phone before running out of the room and into Jean's study. Lilia was so excited she forgot her house slippers. Her heart was pounding, as if preparing her to hear the man's answer. Her steps stopped outside the study door.
Lilia knocked on the door while trying to calm her heart.
"Come in." Jean replied.
When Lilia opened the door, she was immediately greeted with a strong smell of cigarettes. She automatically covered her nose as she went to the nearest window to get rid of the smell.
"Why don't you wear your house slippers?"
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