When Lilia's cell phone rang, she almost dropped it in shock. With trembling hands, she checked the name on the screen. Jean Widjaya. She frowned with a guilty expression. Lilia was worried that she might actually disturb Jean's rest with this phone call.
"Hello, Jean?" Lilia said while picking up the phone.
"Have you returned to the hotel?" Jean asked. The man's tone sounded as gentle as ever, but Lilia could detect a faint irritation in his voice. It seemed like Jean was still angry because Claire took Lilia to the bar.
Lilia leaned against the head of the bed, her hands playing with the thick blanket that was spread on top of it, "Yes, I just came back. Why are you not sleeping yet? Are you still busy?" She replied lightly.
She could imagine Jean surrounded by piles of documents in his office, accompanied by Kenny, half crying because Jean forced him to overtime. The corner of Lilia's mouth lifted into a faint smile at the thought. She made a mental note to buy a souvenir for Jean's dedicated assistant.
"I'm waiting for your call."
Jean's words broke Lilia's thoughts and wiped the smile from her face. She wrung the blanket in her hand, muttering, "…Sorry. I enjoyed my time with Sister Claire too much… so I came home later than I planned. But I promise that I won't do it again." Lilia added that last sentence quickly.
Guilt filled Lilia's chest and made her feel even worse. She didn't mean to make Jean stay up all night just waiting for her call.
Jean heard the guilt in Lilia's voice and chuckled. The man was able to guess what Lilia was thinking easily. He didn't blame Lilia for forgetting to contact him, but there was nothing wrong with making his wife feel guilty sometimes.
"Lilia, I'm not forbidding you to have fun." Jean said softly, "But you have to remember that Jakarta is different from Surabaya. Take Clifford with you wherever you go."
Lilia nodded while listening to Jean's lecture. She could already tell that the man had sent Clifford to escort her. But Jean's lecture still wasn't over.
"Then don't put yourself in danger. Always put your safety first, no matter what. I don't want what happened in Milan to happen again. You know that I'm always worried about you, right? Understand?"
Lilia couldn't help herself and laughed out loud. The man's lecture was lengthy and he was too overprotective, but Lilia didn't mind at all. Worrying about her like this was Jean's form of love. Lilia's chest felt warm as she realized how much that man was thinking about her.
"Lilia? Do you understand?" Jean repeated, her tone not accepting of rejection.
As long as Clifford was with his wife, Jean would not be worried. Clifford was the head of Jean's security team and the best bodyguard the Widjaya Family had. That man's ability would not be inferior to an experienced military soldier.
Lilia was a public figure, and her appearance always attracted attention wherever she went. For the sake of protecting his wife, Jean would not hesitate to send his best personal bodyguard.
"Yes, yes, I understand. I won't make you worry, Jean." Lilia said with a big smile.
"Very nice. I don't want you to sleep too late, so I'll hang up." Jean said, "Sleep well, Lili."
Lilia's cheeks immediately warmed when she heard that nickname, "Y-Yeah...good night ... honey."
Without waiting for Jean's answer, Lilia immediately hung up the phone. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. Her face felt hot and Lilia felt a little relieved that Merry didn't see her embarrassing appearance.
In his office, Jean stared blankly at the cellphone in his hand. A few seconds later, he chuckled and put the phone back away. If Lilia were here with him, Jean would have held her tight and kissed her.
Kenn repeatedly stole glances at his boss from his working seat on the sofa. He watched Jean's behavior with a worried expression.
Jean had been acting weird ever since he finished talking to his wife. At first, the man chuckled, then suddenly he took a deep breath as if regretting something. Then Jean looked back at his cellphone with a conflicted look, as if he wanted to call Lilia back but didn't want to bother her.
"What are you looking at?" Jean asked curtly as he caught Kenny's gaze.
Kenny hurriedly lowered his head as Jean's gaze fell on him. He prayed that Lilia would quickly finish filming and return home. Kenny didn't want to be forced to work late every night just because his boss was lonely at home!
*****
The next day, Lilia arrived at the film studio at nine in the morning to start shooting.
As their car drew closer to the studio, she realized that Merry's movements looked suspicious. Her assistant continued to hold her stomach and her face was pale white.
"Merry, are you alright?" Lilia asked worriedly. She reached out and held Merry's forehead. The young woman did not have a fever, but her body temperature was lower than usual. Merry's forehead was also covered in cold sweat.
Merry took Lilia's warm hand and pressed it against her cheek, "Sis Lilia, this is my first day... my stomach feels cramped..." She complained in a small voice.
Lilia took a moment to process Merry's words. Then she understood that this was the first day she had her period. There was Clifford in the car too, so Merry didn't want to say it out loud.
But Merry's poor appearance worried Lilia. She looked around and saw that they would soon be reaching the studio.
"Clifford, you just have to drop me off at the studio. Then you can take Merry back to the hotel. Have the hotel staff prepare hot ginger soup for her." Lilia ordered.
"What? No, I don't want to go back to the hotel! " Merry protested as she kept clutching her stomach, "I have to accompany Sis Lilia to shoot! There must be plenty of other celebrities there, and they must all have their assistants with them! If Lilia came without an assistant…!"
Lilia's reputation among the other cast would fall. Maybe they wouldn't be that brave enough to look down on Lilia so blatantly, but they would definitely look down on that model. This would only add to the reason to treat Lilia as they wished because this was her first time filming.
Merry went to Jakarta to accompany and help Lilia, but now she was giving her a hard time. She lowered her head while biting her lip, trying to hold back her tears.
Suddenly, Lilia grabbed Merry's cheeks and lifted her face, forcing Merry to look at the older woman, "You are too much!" Lilia scolded while putting on an angry expression, "I'll be fine, so you don't have to worry about me!"
Before Merry could react, the car stopped in front of the studio building. Lilia removed her hands from Merry's face and got out of the car.
"Clifford, bring Merry back, will you? Please take care of her for me." Lilia said before turning away.
"Sis Lilia, wait ...!" Merry reached out to catch the model's arm, but Lilia had closed the car door without looking back.
Merry tried to open the car door, but the door did not budge. She turned towards Clifford with an angry expression, "Open the door! I have to catch up with Lilia! " She demanded.
She didn't want to let Lilia go alone because she didn't trust the other cast. Even worse, Harold wasn't here to accompany Lilia. What if one of them tried to cause trouble with Lilia?
Yet Clifford acted as if the young woman had said nothing. He started to run the car again, "Sit down." He said briefly in a calm voice.
Merry glared at Clifford, then ignored his words. She repeatedly tried to open the car door, but the only way to unlock it was by pressing the button on the driver's door.. As they got further away from the studio building, Merry finally gave up.
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