After Lilia calmed down, she remembered what Sylvia said about her uncle. Joy filled Lilia's heart when she heard the news. Her mother's brother went to study abroad half a year ago. Her uncle promised that he would come back in two to three months. But half a year passed and her uncle had not returned.
Julius Halim, Lilia's uncle, was her childhood idol. Julius always greeted her with a smile and even spoiled her. His uncle was very much the opposite of her own mother.
Lilia picked up her cellphone and opened her chat with Julius. Their last contact was three months ago, when Lilia heard that her uncle was working as a researcher in the field of genetics. She hesitated for a moment before finally sending a message to Julius.
Just as Lilia's finger had just pressed the 'Submit' button, there was a loud knock from the door. Lilia jumped and turned her head, "Come in!" She said.
Merry bursted into the room as soon as she got Lilia's permission, "Sis, Mr. Louis just announced to everyone that today's shooting is canceled!" She said with a confused expression.
Lilia stopped from putting her cellphone back to her bag. Canceled? Why was it so sudden? Did this have anything to do with the investors who'd come to visit?
Lilia looked down at the costume she had painstakingly put on. She smiled dryly and looked back at Merry, "Did Mr. Louis explain why?" She asked.
Merry shook her head, "He just said that filming was temporarily postponed until further notice."
Lilia sighed and got up from her chair. Since today's shoot was canceled, she had no reason to linger here. Lilia took off the costume with Merry's help before leaving her dressing room.
On their way out, they came across two actors who were having a heated discussion.
"I told you that I'm not making it up! The director and the investor had a big fight!" One of the actors insisted.
Lilia's steps stopped when she heard that. Director? Were they talking about Louis?
She turned around and started walking following the two of them from some distance away. Luckily, the two actors were so focused on their conversation that they didn't notice Lilia's presence.
"And I told you that I don't believe you!" His friend snapped.
"Why can't you trust me? I overheard their conversation from outside the room!" The actor said with great pride.
"Then, explain to me why they fought." His friend was crossing his arm and challenged the actor.
The man scratched his head with an embarrassed expression, "About that… I… don't know. Looks like they are discussing a script problem. Anyway, I heard someone say something about withdrawing their investment. Do you think the investors will withdraw their funds from Mr. Louis film?"
"Don't talk nonsense." His friend said with a spicy tone, "Don't you know how many investors are lining up to fund Mr. Louis's film production? Mr. Louis was selected as the most popular director in Indonesia on the internet! Why would they want to cancel their investment from such such a great director?!"
Lilia stopped following them after hearing all that. It turned out they were talking about Louis.
The actor she overheard then laughed, "But you have to admit that my explanation makes sense! Didn't you see that Mr. Louis's film crew stopped working today? I heard their shoot has been postponed!"
Lilia turned around and walked away. She ignored Merry's confused gaze. Her assistant was surprised because Lilia had suddenly stalked the two actors.
Did Louis really fight with his investors? The conversation just now, coupled with the fact that today's filming was postponed, further strengthened Lilia's suspicion. But what made them fight?
After thinking about it for a while, the model shook her head and stopped her analysis. She didn't have enough information to guess the reason behind their fight at the moment. Lilia could only wait until Louis made a further announcement.
Lilia and Merry arrived at the car park, then immediately got into their car. In the car, Lilia sendt Jean a message via the Other app. Since it's still ten o'clock in the morning, she was thinking of Jean's plan to visit an old friend.
At least, that's what Lilia planned. But life didn't always go according to plan.
Jean's reply came as fast as lightning.
[Jean]: "Have you finished shooting?"
[Lilia]: "Filming has been postponed for a while. I don't know when the shooting will continue. "
A few seconds later, Jean immediately called her.
"Hello, Jean? Are you still at the hotel?" Lilia asked with a big smile. Her gaze was fixed on the skyscrapers outside the car's window. She began to imagine the places she would visit with Jean this afternoon.
"No, I'm in the hospital."
Jean's answer immediately erased the smile from Lilia's face. Her chest felt tight and Lilia was having trouble breathing. Did something happen to Jean?!
"H-Hospital? What's wrong?! Why are you in the hospital?!" Lilia's voice was getting higher and higher and filled with panic.
"Ah ... no, I'm fine, Lilia." Jean immediately realized his mistake and hurriedly calmed down his wife, "Calm down first and listen to me carefully. I was only at the hospital to accompany Brother Andrew, who was involved in an accident last night."
Hearing Jean's steady and soothing voice brought Lilia to her senses. She glanced at Merry, who was looking at her wide-eyed. She smiled lightly to calm her assistant before replying, "Is he gravely injured? Which hospital are you in?"
Lilia motioned for Clifford to pull over the car. The bodyguard obeyed and slowed down their car. Since Jean had already met Andrew at the hospital, Lilia also needed to visit her brother-in-law as a courtesy.
"The wound is not serious. We're on our way to Brother Andrew's house right now." Jean replied, "If you don't have work this afternoon, ask Clifford to drive you here. He already knows the way."
"Okay. I'll be there soon." Lilia answered before hanging up the phone.
As Jean said, Clifford immediately started the car as Lilia began to explain what happened. She also offered Merry to come to visit with her, but her assistant stubbornly refused. Apparently, Merry intended to find a souvenir for her friend in Surabaya. Lilia didn't ask any further and only reminded her assistant to be careful.
After Clifford drove Lilia to Andrew and Claire's house, the man dropped Merry off at the downtown shopping mall. Clifford didn't really want to leave the young woman hanging around the city alone, but his top priority was Lilia. So the man had no choice but to return to Andrew and Claire's house.
On the other hand, Merry herself enjoyed this freedom. She visited various gift shops in the shopping center. Merry wanted to buy something for Chris who was returning to Surabaya this afternoon.
Or at least, that was Merry's intention. But when she was heading for the cashier, there were only a pile of snacks in her arms. The young woman wanted to kick herself. She should have bought a souvenir for Chris, not a snack for herself!
Merry entered an accessories shop and browsed the various key chains that were shaped according to tourist attractions in Jakarta. She finally chose a key ring with the insignia of a very tall tower. Merry smiled with satisfaction as she put the souvenir in her bag.
She was completely unaware that this gift was of far below standard quality. As a result, when Chris went to a party wearing a white tuxedo one time, the paint from the key ring smeared and stained his expensive tuxedo with striking colors.
Even Chris's fingers were stained with paint after touching the keychain. He had to wash his hands for nearly ten minutes just to remove the paint.
After that incident, Chris nagged Merry for hours to be more careful when buying souvenirs.
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