"Grandpa Anton, it's been a long time since you last saw Grandpa Simon." Claire said patiently, "Whenever you meet our brothers, Grandpa always says that they look like Grandpa Simon."
Grandpa Anton laughed out loud at that, "This is all because that person has finished his masterpiece painting. Simon used to come here almost every day and make me cook something for him. People always say that my cooking gives him inspiration!"
Lilia realized that the old man was discussing Simon Irwan, the famous painter whose works were recognized by the world as masterpieces. She again admired the connection that a business family like Lin Family had.
After exchanging polite remarks for a while, Grandpa Anton left the room so they could start enjoying their dinner. The old man called his granddaughter and told her to call Simon. He wanted to invite Simon to visit his restaurant again as before.
Anton's grandfather would never admit it, but he missed playing chess with his best friend. For an elderly man like him, friendships that lasted for years were even more valuable than any kind of wealth.
Meanwhile, the three of them returned to their seats. Claire picked up her chopsticks as she said, "The Lin Family, the Irwan Family, and the Austin Family have been friends for a long time. When Grandpa Anton first met me, he also said that I looked like his granddaughter."
Andrew glanced at his wife with an uncomfortable expression. The man wondered if Claire was intentionally insulting him gently with those words. However, Andrew and Hana—Grandpa Anton's grandchildren—were both married.
But unlike what Andrew feared, Claire no longer discussed the matter. Their dinner was relaxed and went smoothly.
Lilia must admit that Imperial Restaurant deserved to be the best restaurant in all of Jakarta. All of their dishes were delicious. There were chicken dishes that were steamed and combined with Hainanese rice, shark fin soup with thick sauce, various kinds of seafood such as lobster, crab, and so on.
When Lilia finished eating, she rubbed her stomach with an expression of regret. She didn't want to imagine how strict her diet would be to fight all the fat she got from this dinner.
Before they left, Grandpa Anton also provided them with three different types of desserts. Andrew tried to refuse, but the old man insisted that they had no other choice.
Grandpa Anton stood at the front door and watched until the three figures disappeared into the distance. The old man rubbed his chin as he muttered, "That girl really looks like Simon, especially the shape of her eyebrows."
"Grandfather." A young woman called, "Have they left?"
Grandpa Anton turned around and frowned when he saw the figure of his granddaughter walking closer, "Where have you been?" He said, "Why did you only dare to appear when they were gone?!"
Hana hurriedly waved her hand, "Not! That's not what I mean!" She tried to defend herself, "My work just finished, so I can only appear now!"
Grandpa Anton's granddaughter would turn 30 this year, but she's not getting married. As the successor to Imperial Restaurant, Hana seemed more interested in maintaining the reputation and quality of her family's restaurant than getting married.
But Grandpa Anton knew there were other reasons why the woman refused to marry.
Grandpa Anton sighed, "You don't have to pretend in front of me! The match had ended many years ago. But I know it must be hard for you to see Andrew and Claire together like that..."
"Grandpa, you don't have to worry about me." Hana hastily interrupted the old man's sentence, "Claire and I are good friends, so I'm really happy for her. Besides, I know how much Andrew loves Claire. I don't intend to interfere with their relationship at all." She explained.
Even though Hana and Andrew were only arranged by their family, she really loved him. Her feelings toward the man were sincere and genuine. But Hana also knew that Andrew couldn't reciprocate her feelings. When Andrew jumped into the sea to save Claire, Hana knew that she had lost him. She decided to give up and bury all her feelings deep down in her heart. Hana prefered to watch the happiness of the man she loved from a distance.
Grandpa Anton sighed again when he saw the bitter smile on Hana's face, but he didn't say anything else. Deep down inside, he muttered, 'You really can't force your heart to love someone who's not destined for you!'
*****
The trip from the Imperial Restaurant back to the Lilia hotel took about an hour and a half drive. They left the restaurant at about eight in the evening.
Claire returned to the back seat with Lilia. The woman was busy pointing out various interesting locations in Jakarta that they passed on their way to Lilia.
Lilia listened politely while nodding occasionally whenever Claire pointed out the car. It's not like Lilia wasn't interested in all of those places, but she kept hoping that Jean was also here with her right now.
When they had driven for half an hour, the car passed by a row of roadside bars.
"Lilia, it's still not too late, so how about we sit and chat at one of those bars?" Claire suggested while pointing out the window, "I know which bar has the best drinks and the most beautiful views!"
Claire was so enthusiastic about taking Lilia around Jakarta that she didn't think too far about her proposal. Jean's sister wanted to welcome Lilia as warmly as possible and spend some quality time with her sister-in-law.
This was the first time that Claire had liked someone so much. She felt Lilia's personality which was calm, but not boring suited her. Her sister-in-law only spoke as needed, but her words were always pleasant to hear.
Lilia nodded as she said, "I don't know about a comfortable place to hangout in Jakarta, so I'll just follow Sister Claire's suggestion."
Claire laughed and patted Lilia on the shoulder, "Don't worry, just leave it to me! We the Widjaya family always love to hang out, so we know all the best places to go!"
Andrew glanced at Claire and held back the sigh that almost escaped his lips, 'Aren't you the only one like that?' Andrew knew that neither James nor Jean was the type to wander off at night just for entertainment!
Finally Andrew could not hold back and spoke up, "Doesn't Lilia have a busy schedule tomorrow? Don't forget that she went to Jakarta to shoot a movie! You don't want to trouble her, do you?" He said softly.
The man's words sounded like he was worried about Lilia, but actually Andrew was just saying that so they could go home soon. Rather than spending time at the bar, he would rather spend time alone with Claire at home!
Claire looked at her husband with a blank face. She had completely forgotten that Lilia was here for work, not on vacation. Claire opened her mouth to retract her invitation, but Lilia was faster.
"I don't really mind." Lilia said with a small smile, "My shooting schedule just started after half past ten in the morning. Visiting the bar for a while tonight won't interfere with my work."
Lilia didn't want to reject Claire's kindness. Apart from that, she had slept the whole way to Jakarta, so Lilia wasn't really sleepy yet. But she didn't realize that Andrew's expression turned bitter at her words.
Andrew promised himself to talk to Jean about what to do after the wedding. If his younger brother-in-law wasn't careful, Lilia would be more and more reluctant to leave her job and have a child like Claire! When would Andrew be able to cradle his own child?!
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆webnovel