The sun was starting to set when Lilia and Harold returned to the hotel. Harold was seen rubbing his stomach with a satisfied expression from his seat beside her. It seemed that the man had gotten over his annoyance thanks to the delicious food.
As their car approached the hotel, Lilia's cell phone suddenly vibrated without stopping. She hurriedly checked and found out that there were a flood of notifications from Other apps that just came in.
All notifications came from a chat group created by Louis.
[Louis]: "Attention, all the cast. We'll have a meeting in my room at eight tonight. Please be on time at room 3365."
Several actors in the group responded to Louis's announcement with confirmation of their presence, causing Lilia's cell phone to vibrate incessantly.
Lilia also sent confirmation of her presence. Then, she checked the time on her cell phone. It was almost half past seven in the evening.
As their car entered the hotel parking lot, Lilia remembered something. She turned to Harold and asked, "By the way, when are you planning to return to Surabaya?"
Harold was busy with his cell phone when Lilia asked that. He replied without looking up, "Next week. I've been handing over my work for the past two days to another manager."
Harold planned to accompany Lilia to shoot while she was in Jakarta. If he came across a scene that was deliberately made to tarnish Lilia's reputation...
Harold gritted his teeth and his eyes lit up. Lilia thought the man had gotten over his annoyance, but that model was wrong. He didn't easily forget his grudge.
Louis and the rest of the staff might think that Lilia was just an inexperienced model who could be fooled, but Harold wouldn't let them do whatever they wanted. If anything happened to Lilia, Harold would immediately cancel the shooting contract!
*****
When Lilia returned to her hotel room, she immediately looked for Merry. She was worried about her assistant's health condition, but there was no one in the room. Lilia checked the bedroom that was supposed to be occupied by the two of them, but Merry's bed was still neat without any signs of being used.
The only sign that Merry had been in this room was a pile of blankets on the sofa. Lilia lifted the pile of blankets while half expecting Merry to appear, but of course she didn't.
Finally, Lilia decided to call Merry. The assistant picked up the phone in just a few rings.
"Hello, Sis Lilia?" Merry's voice on the phone was a little hoarse, but at least she was more excited than ever, "Is the shooting finished?"
"Yes, I've returned to the hotel. Where are you now? I was so worried looking for you!" Lilia asked half grumbling.
"Ah, sorry! I forgot to leave a note for you!" Merry replied in panic, "I felt better after sleeping, but then I was starving. Now I'm looking for food outside the hotel. I'll be right back, I promise!"
Lilia smiled a little, "Okay, don't come home too late. I have a meeting with the other cast at eight, so go to bed first."
The two of them exchanged a few more words before Lilia hung up the phone. Then she looked around the room. Her gaze fell on the large window which was covered in heavy curtains.
Lilia got up from the sofa and pulled the curtain open. She held her breath as she watched the beautiful sunset from the window. Lilia took out her cellphone and took a photo of the scene, then sent the photo to Jean.
Less than two seconds later, the man replied to her message.
[Jean]: "So beautiful!"
Lilia smiled slightly at the message. She leaned against the window and began to type in her reply.
"I also feel the scenery here is very beautiful. Too bad you are not here to enjoy it with me."
After typing that, Lilia's finger stopped above the 'Send' button. She hesitated to send the message. Didn't this just make her sound spoiled? She didn't want Jean to think that Lilia sent him a code so that the man would come to Jakarta and accompany her. She knew Jean was very busy and didn't want to bother him.
A few seconds passed, but Lilia didn't send the message yet. Before Lilia could make her decision, Jean had sent another message for her.
[Jean]: "This is what I mean by very pretty."
The man included the photo that Lilia had sent earlier, but part of it had been cut. The remaining part of the photo showed the reflection of Lilia's figure in the window pane.
Lilia enlarged the edited photo. Her reflection in the window was faint, but her smiling expression was clear. She couldn't help herself and laughed out loud.
She wondered how she should respond to the photo when her cell phone started ringing. Jean's name appeared on the screen.
"Hello, Jean?" Lilia greeted as she picked up her phone. Her lips parted into a broad smile.
"Have you returned to the hotel?" The man asked softly.
"Yes, I just came back. I was really surprised when Harold suddenly came here this afternoon. Turns out he wanted to talk about the script for this film. How about you, Jean? What are you doing now?" Lilia asked lightly.
Hearing that question, Jean turned his gaze around the room. He was currently sitting at the dining table of the Widjaya Family main house. Jean's gaze fell on the two people sitting across the table. James Widjaya, his eldest brother, glared back at Jean while his wife, Irene, smiled broadly.
Jean looked away and answered slightly reluctantly, "I was eating at the main house of the Widjaya Family."
"Oh?" Lilia's eyes widened when she heard that. Since when was Jean willing to return to his childhood home on his own?
Just as Lilia was about to say that, she heard Jean talking to someone else on the other end of the line. She waited patiently for the man to finish guessing who Jean was talking to. Could it be that the man was with his eldest brother?
"Lilia." Jean's voice pulled Lilia back from her thoughts, "Sis Irene asked when you can come to visit after you are done with your shoot?"
Lilia was surprised again when she heard that question. She hadn't been to Jean's childhood home, had she?
Lilia hesitated for a moment before answering. She just realized that she and Jean had not had time to visit the main house of the Widjaya Family after they got married. Jean never mentioned that and Lilia admitted that she was too busy to even think about it.
As Lilia was struggling to think about what answer she would give, she heard a different voice on the phone.
"Hello, Lilia? This is Irene, your sister-in-law!" A voice that was soft but authoritative greeted her.
Lilia automatically straightened her body, "Y-Yes, hello Sister Irene!" She replied quickly, like a soldier greeting her superior.
Lilia's first meeting with Irene still remained in her memory. The woman she met at the dinner of the two families looked gentle, elegant, but also had the quality of the wife befitting a conglomerate's family head.
Irene's voice sounded very patient and soothing, like a gentle breeze that brought a feeling of peace.
Irene said warmly, "Lilia, how was your shooting in Jakarta? Are you tired?"
Irene's question that showed concern slowly cleared Lilia's nervousness.
"I just started filming, so I'm not too tired yet. Thank you for worrying about me, Sister Irene." Lilia replied, her voice was calmer than before.
"Lilia, we're a family now, so you don't need to be formal with me."
Irene said as if reprimanding her, but Jean and James could see a big smile on her face.
"Today, when Jean returned home, we just found out that you went to Jakarta to shoot a movie. As a young woman travelling far from home, you need to be careful there huh." Irene advised Lilia in a motherly tone, "If anything happens, you can always tell us, your family. When Jean is less busy with his work, he will definitely be there to accompany you."
Irene's words ran deep into Lilia's heart. The warmth of her words was like the spring sunshine chasing away the winter. Lilia, who had never heard such words from her own mother, didn't know what to say. Her eyes felt hot and her throat was choking on something.
The words "you can always tell us, your family" hit her deep, and it sounded very sweet to Lilia's ears. Maybe Irene was just giving general advice, but for Lilia, those words made her feel the meaning of "family" for the first time.
Before Lilia could reply, Jean had taken his cell phone back from Irene. The man reminded Lilia not to forget to eat and take care of her health while she was there. He also told her to always take Clifford with her wherever she went. Jean would continue to add a bunch of advice and talk to her at length if Lilia didn't stop the man. After hanging up the phone, Lilia stood still staring out the window for a long time.
Irene's warm words came to her mind again. In terms of age, Irene was approximately the same age as Sylvia. But their attitude towards Lilia was like earth and sky.
Lilia sighed and shook her head. There was no point in her thinking about things she couldn't change.. Lilia wondered if her mother had returned the company money she took from her father.
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