Jean realized that there was something wrong with his wife. He grabbed Lilia's hand and rubbed the back of her hand as he whispered, "What's wrong?"
Lilia jumped up and turned to face Jean, then she forced out a faint smile, "N-nothing." She replied, shaking her head.
Jean frowned, but Lilia had turned her attention back to Leila.
Meanwhile, Leila accepted the tissue that Claire handed her and rubbed her eyes. She took a deep breath as she stole a glance at Mike, who was leaning lazily into his chair. Leila bit her lip before saying, "Sister Claire, please don't get mad at him. Brother Mike didn't bother me."
"You don't need to defend this child." Andrew spoke up from across the table, "Claire and I know exactly what his real character is like."
Mike rubbed his teacup and glanced at his older brother. He smiled mockingly as he said, "If I don't bother you, then why are you crying, huh? Your attitude clearly says that I was bothering you."
Andrew kicked his younger brother under the table, but Mike didn't stop speaking in that harsh tone.
"Didn't I tell you that I'm busy today? But you still insisted on following me to the restaurant. Who do you think you are? A detective? I thought you were just a stalker!" Mike finished arrogantly.
Lilia frowned at the man's words. As per the rumors, this second son of the Austin Family really had no manners. Even when his opponent was a young woman who was crying, Mike still didn't fix his brusque manner.
"Shut up!"
"Mike, you need to watch the way you speak!"
Andrew and Claire spoke at the same time. Meanwhile, Leila started sobbing again.
Lilia secretly sighed. Her head began to ache seeing this situation. She just wanted to have dinner in peace, but why was she forced to watch fighting scenes like a television soap opera such as this?
The model looked at Leila closely. She could see that the woman was in love with Mike, but that man was treating her coldly and there was also… disgust?
Lilia was surprised by Mike's attitude. Leila might not have a fantastic beauty, but she did have the grace of a young lady from a rich family. Her big brown eyes filled with tears and her little nose was now red. Every time the woman spoke, one of her canines would stick out more and made Leila even more adorable.
Leila fixed her teary gaze at Mike, as if begging him for help. Yet the man's expression was icy cold and completely unmoved by Leila's pleading gaze.
"I-I didn't mean ..." She started to speak, but her words were replaced by sobs. Nobody knew what the woman wanted to say.
Lilia began to understand why Mike seemed so annoyed with this woman. She wondered if Leila's body was actually made of ninety percent water. How could she cry that much?
Another thing that confused Lilia was Leila's dedication to Mike. Why did that woman still like Mike even though the man treated her this badly?
"Are you hungry?" Jean's voice broke Lilia's thoughts.
She glanced at Jean and shook her head. How could she possibly eat in this situation? Only that man could think about food at this time.
Andrew and Claire's attention was completely focused on Leila. The husband and wife exchanged worried glances without knowing what they could do to improve the situation.
Leila and Mike had been arranged since they were little. Their engagement was decided by the heads of the Austin Family and the Irwan Family. When Leila was a little girl, she always followed behind Mike and called him 'Brother Mike' with a sweet smile. Mike didn't mind taking care of the little girl himself.
But as the two of them grew older, a distance started to grow between them. More precisely, Mike tried to get away from Leila. Even though the woman still loved Mike with all her heart, the man didn't reciprocate her feelings.
As the second son of the Austin Family, Mike could have any woman he wanted. In just the past few years, this man had dated more than ten different women. But Mike's relationship never lasted more than three months.
On the other hand, Leila was raised as a young lady who was loved and protected by everyone. She was the complete opposite of Mike's ex-girlfriends.
As Mike's brother, Andrew tried not to get in his way. He knew that his younger brother was a very stubborn and dominant person. Andrew didn't think Mike would treat Leila badly. After all, Leila was the favorite daughter of the Irwan Family. Plus, the two of them had been married since childhood.
However, Mike's behavior only got worse. When Andrew tried to remind him of their matchmaking, Mike attacked him back.
"Matchmaking? Does that ancient thing still work these days? Even you were arranged with the daughter of the Lin Family once, right!? But how did it end? Didn't you cancel the match and marry another woman?"
After Mike said those words to him, Andrew never discussed matchmaking again with his brother. He had no right to lecture his brother when he himself canceled the match!
As the situation in the room grew awkward, the sound of someone clapping their hands made them all turn their heads.
"Alright, that's enough! I'm tired of hearing you cry all the time!" Mike said, glaring at Leila.
Mike didn't like Leila at all. You could even say that he hated her. He had a thousand reasons why he hated that crybaby.
Leila's breath caught in her throat upon receiving the man's sharp gaze. She inched back and her body began to tremble.
Andrew massaged his uncovered forehead with a deep sigh. When would his younger brother learn to speak politely to women?
"Mike, shut up. Why are you talking to Lei like that?" Andrew rebuked in a warning tone.
Mike snorted, but he didn't argue with his brother.
Claire immediately took another tissue and wiped Leila's tears, "You don't have to listen to what Mike said. Don't take it to heart, okay? You know what kind of person Mike is. Ah, I want to introduce you to two people visiting Jakarta!" She said in a cheerful voice.
Leila sniffled and stole a glance at Mike. But the man refused to even glance at her. She sighed before nodding at Claire.
Claire smiled in relief when Leila finally stopped crying. She waved at Lilia and Jean, who had been forgotten during this commotion.
"This is my little brother, Jean. He is the fourth son of the Widjaya Family. Then next to him is my sister-in-law, Lilia Pangestu. Since they are older than you, you can call them big brother and big sister!" Claire said introducing the two.
She seemed to have forgotten that Leila and Lilia were actually the same age, maybe because of their opposing characters. Lilia was always calm and confident, making her look more mature than anyone her age. On the other hand, Leila's innocent appearance and timid nature made everyone assume that she was younger than her age.
Then Claire turned to Lilia, "This is the Irwan Family's daughter, Leila Irwan. She's a nice and lovely girl, so I hope you guys get along!" She said with a big smile.
When Claire was introducing Leila to Lilia, the model felt Leila's gaze was closely watching her. She then fixed her eyes on the daughter of the Irwan Family, but Leila hurriedly looked away. Lilia had a feeling that the woman looked panicked and scared when she saw her. Why did Leila react like that?
While Lilia was busy thinking about various possible answers, Leila turned to face Jean shyly. Jean's calm and mature attitude was no less cool than Andrew. The man was only wearing a plain black T-shirt, but that didn't diminish his good look.
Even so, Leila felt that this man was not someone she could touch. Jean's cold gaze made her want to escape this room.
"G-Greetings, Sister Lilia... and Brother Jean...." Leila said in a low voice.
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only