Lilia was so astonished that her anger vanished. It seemed like the 'playing pretend' that the man had suffered from long ago was getting worse! What else had she to say to make William understand? Lilia was clearly saying that she was married! Did she need to show William her marriage certificate?
While Lilia was racking her brains to find a way to convince William, the man stepped closer to Lilia. His eyes that were filled with passionate love were fixated on Lilia alone.
Lilia's hair shivered when she saw William's gaze. For her, an ex-boyfriend was a creature that needed to be thoroughly exterminated!
Lilia stepped back with a sigh, "William Anggara, didn't you hear what I said just now? I'm married! Besides, even if I was looking for a sugar daddy, I would never choose you! Do you understand?"
Lilia met William's gaze with serious eyes.
"Not everyone lives in the past like you, William Anggara!" She said before turning her body
This time, Lilia walked away without heeding William's pleading voice calling out her name. She headed towards the auction room with an exasperated snort. On what basis did William think Lilia would give him a second chance? The man must be deluded!
*****
The auction room was located on the second floor of the mansion. Lilia climbed the stairs to the second floor, which was dimly lit and completely different from the first floor. The room Lilia was aiming at was located at the end of the second floor hallway. She reached the top of the steps and down the hall. However, when Lilia had only taken a few steps, someone grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into one of the empty rooms.
Lilia suddenly thrashed violently. Her bad experience from when she was attacked by Peter made Lilia panic. Just before Lilia slammed her elbow into her attacker, she heard a familiar voice whispering in her ear.
"I heard that Mrs. Widjaya is looking for a sugar daddy?"
Lilia's body turned limp when she recognized Jean's voice. The man's hand wrapped around her waist and supported Lilia's body. Jean's other hand turned Lilia's body to face him before embracing her.
Lilia sighed and smelled Jean's soothing spring scent. She raised her face to meet the tall man. The man's face still looked grim from earlier.
"President Jean, aren't you my sugar daddy?" Lilia teased with a mischievous smile. It seemed that the man overheard her conversation with William. On second thought, she might have got carried away and raised her voice during an argument with William.
Lilia was surprised when Jean's arms hugged her tighter, "Did you enjoy your pleasant chat with him?" The man asked in a flat voice.
Lilia wanted to protest, 'Where's the fun?!' But she knew that Jean was only being jealous because of William's presence. This overprotective and sometimes obsessive man was always unwelcoming when Lilia was around other men.
She just shook her head and replied, "Absolutely not! I would rather chat with you than that person!"
The gloom on Jean's face diminished when he heard Lilia's positive answer. But the irritation still remained in his expression. To prove her words, Lilia stood on tiptoe and landed a soft kiss on the man's lips. She didn't want Jean's mood to be ruined just because of someone like William.
When Lilia moved her face away from Jean, the man grabbed her neck and crushed her lips. The man's kiss was savage and uncontrollable, as if pouring out the emotions Jean felt on Lilia.
When Jean finally let Lilia go, the woman was gasping out of breath. Jean felt a little guilty and stroked Lilia's head.
Lilia gave Jean an accusing look while struggling to catch her breath. Luckily, they were in one of the empty rooms. Lilia didn't want to imagine what would happen if their kiss was seen by another guest. Her cheeks flushed just from imagining that.
But as if mocking Lilia, someone's voice came from the door that was slightly opened.
"Are you two finished? The auction will start soon!"
Lilia looked away when she heard that. She didn't dare look at Chris, who was standing in the doorway. Why did that man know they were here?!
Jean released his embrace reluctantly. He observed Lilia's appearance and rubbed her lips with his thumb to remove the slightly ruined lipstick. As he led Lilia out of the room, he shot Chris a cold gaze before ignoring him.
Chris sighed while scratching the back of his head. He only came here to warn them not to miss the auction! What should he do?!
"Bro, Uncle Felix is ??looking for you." Chris said while trailing behind the two of them, "After the auction, will you come to meet him?"
"Yes. Where is Uncle now?" Jean replied without turning around.
"On the second floor's terrace." Chris answered straight away. He and his friends often played over to Felix's house— they knew the layout of this mansion by heart.
Without saying anything, Jean changed directions and headed to the terrace with Lilia. Chris watched the two leave with a sigh. He hoped Lilia could be patient with his friend's obsessiveness!
Chris went to one of the windows in the hallway and pulled out a cigarette. Exhaling cigarette smoke, Chris watched Jean and Lilia sit opposite Felix on the terrace.
Chris shook his head with a sigh. He could already guess that Jean intended to introduce Lilia to Felix as his wife. After all, Felix's name was known as a philanthropist and he had many connections. The man who always pampered his wife would not miss this opportunity.
When Chris turned around to enter the auction room, he happened to see William who had just emerged from the stairs. Chris secretly sighed again. That actor went too far with his actions towards Lilia. If Chris and Alex didn't hold down Jean earlier, William would have been beaten up to a pulp by that man.
"William Anggara!" Chris called as the man passed in front of him.
William stopped his steps and studied Chris's figure. He knew Chris as Sara's brother who just took over Hartanto Entertainment a few days ago. You could say that Chris was William's boss now.
"President Chris." William greeted him respectfully.
Chris was stunned to hear the call. This was the first time he was called 'President', which was usually reserved for Jean. Chris was delighted that he had finally reached an equal position with his childhood friend.
While Chris was enjoying his excitement, William continued his steps toward the auction room. Chris hurriedly blocked his steps, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave? How about we chat for a bit?"
The two men exchanged glances for a moment. In contrast to Chris's gleaming eyes, William's eyes were blank. It looked like that man was still thinking about what Lilia said earlier.
"What does President Chris want to talk to me about?" William asked warily.
Chris puffed out his cigarette before answering, "Of course I want to talk about you and my sister. I heard that you decided to do so as soon as Sara lost her position as president of Hartanto Entertainment. Is that true?"
William's expression turned irritated when he heard Sara's name, "Of course not. It's just a fabricated rumor. Where did President Chris hear the news?"
"Where the news comes from is not important." Chris waved his hand, "I guess we can't ignore the fact that Sara financed you hundreds of millions of dollars so you can have a career overseas, can't we?"
William subconsciously stepped back when he heard that.
"Of course, all the money comes from company funds. But until now, the investment hasn't paid off. Do you intend to dump Sara because she can't pay for you?" Chris glared at the actor, "You think you can do what you want, huh? William Anggara?"
"I-I…" William couldn't deny that that was what he was going to do. He deliberately spread rumors that they had broken up so that Sara wouldn't be able to protest when William dumped her. Ironically, it was the same strategy that Sara used when taking William from Lilia.
Chris flicked his cigarette and continued in a cold voice, "Even though Sara is no longer president of Hartanto Entertainment, that doesn't change the fact that she has funded you with the company's money. So you still have the responsibility to return it!"
Chris stepped forward and gave him a stern warning.
"Instead of wasting your time thinking about how to snatch women from other men, you better use your time to return the money! Even though you have the title of king of films, you got that title 3 years ago. Now there are many newcomers to the industry. If you don't work hard, there's no point in keeping you in my company!"
Even though Chris had given him an ultimatum, William barely listened to him. His attention was distracted by the words 'snatch a woman from another man'. So Lilia actually chose Jean Widjaya over him?
William's gaze was filled with hatred and resentment. Various kinds of complex emotions mixed up in him, making William unable to think clearly.
Chris could clearly see the change in William and he frowned with a look of disgust. No wonder Lilia hated this man so much. After William used the Hartanto family's wealth through Sara, he was now trying to find new targets to exploit. And that target was Lilia. Chris secretly swore that he wouldn't let this sneaky man succeed!
*****
When Lilia set foot on the terrace, the cold night wind blew hard, playing with her long hair. The woman looked around the wide terrace. There were several round tables and chairs, all made of wood.
Jean tugged gently his wife toward one of the tables, where an elderly man was waiting for them. The two of them sat across from Felix and Jean immediately introduced the two.
"Uncle Felix, introduce my wife, Lilia Pangestu. Lilia, this is Uncle Felix."
"Good evening, Mr. Felix. I'm Lilia Pangestu." The woman smiled and bowed her head respectfully.
Felix was momentarily stunned when he heard Jean's introduction. Then he immediately controlled himself, "Hello, hello! Nice to meet you, Lilia." Felix said with a warm smile. The elderly man seemed satisfied to see Lilia's polite attitude.
Then Felix turned to Jean, "Jean, I haven't seen you in the last few months, then you suddenly said that you were married? Why didn't you tell me about that?"
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦