Not long after that, Mellisa left the apartment. She said that she would return to Bekasi for a while. The woman then said goodbye to Lilia before rushing off.
When the two men in the study heard the sound of the door closing, they immediately returned to the living room. Lilia and Mellisa had been talking for so long that the two men had run out of things to talk about. The silence between them began to feel awkward.
Andrew opened the living room door and looked around. But there was only Lilia alone in the room. The woman he was looking for had vanished without a trace.
"Has she left?" Andrew asked without being able to hide his disappointment.
Lilia nodded, "Ms. Mel said that she still has things to do for a while. She left a message for Brother Andrew." She got up from the sofa and walked over to the man, who was still standing in the doorway, "Ms. Mel asked Brother Andrew to keep the fact that she is still alive from everyone, including Mike."
Andrew frowned at the message. He understood that he needed to keep it a secret from the Irwan Family, but why shouldn't his younger brother know? Didn't Mellisa know how devastated Mike was by her death?
Seeing Andrew's expression, Lilia hurriedly added, "It's only for a while! Sister Mel won't be hiding forever, but before she can show herself, she needs to carefully prepare everything. I hope Brother Andrew can understand."
Andrew sighed as he faced Lilia's pleading gaze. He finally understood why neither Mellisa nor Jean could refuse this woman's request. When the usually calm and mature Lilia put on a cute face and gave a pitying look, she looked even more adorable than usual!
"Okay, I won't say anything about our meeting today." Andrew agreed to Lilia's request easily.
Even though the man looked like he had succumbed to his sister-in-law's wishes, Andrew had his own considerations. If Mellisa wanted the Irwan Family to know that she was still alive, that woman wouldn't have been hiding for the past five years. There must be something that made Mellisa unable to trust the Irwan Family. Could it be that the perpetrator of the accident came from her own family?
Andrew decided to have someone investigate this more deeply. He was also considering asking Leonard for help. As a police inspector, his classmate must have had connections who could help with the investigation.
*****
Jean and Lilia left Andrew's apartment around three in the afternoon. They returned to the hotel owned by the Widjaya Family by car. Along the way, Lilia continued to stare blankly out the window. She didn't utter a word at all, which made Jean keep glancing at her worriedly.
When they finally returned to their room, Lilia was just sitting pensive on the sofa. Jean poured a glass of warm water for the woman and put it on Lilia's front table, then the man sat beside her. Jean pulled Lilia into his arms.
"Don't worry about it." Jean said softly, "We will definitely find out the truth, so don't burden yourself with worrying too much."
Jean's soft voice slowly pulled Lilia back from her thoughts. She leaned her head against Jean's shoulder and sighed. The smell of cigarettes mixed with the man's signature spring scent greeted Lilia's nose. That familiar scent helped Lilia to calm down.
"Jean, do you know what Sister Mel said to me?" Lilia asked.
Mellisa did talk to her alone, but that woman never asked Lilia to keep their conversation secret. Lilia was willing to tell Jean if he wanted to know. But Jean's next remark startled Lilia.
"Yes, I can hear everything from Brother Andrew's cell phone on the table." Jean replied calmly.
Lilia sat up straight and looked at the man in disbelief. So from the start, the two men had conspired to overhear their conversation? No wonder Andrew's cell phone was left beside the water bottles!
Lilia sighed and leaned back against Jean's shoulder, "Brother Andrew is more cunning than I thought!"
She recalled her conversation with Mellisa, which the two men had overheard. Lilia was still angry with Robert and Sylvia for lying to her all this time, but on the other hand, she also felt lucky. If all of this didn't happen, Lilia wouldn't be able to meet Jean and become his wife like now.
Lilia turned to Jean and suddenly kissed him. The man looked at her in surprise, but he still returned Lilia's kiss.
"Jean, even though I'm not the daughter of the Pangestu Family, I still feel grateful to my father for marrying me off to you!" Lilia said with a big smile.
She thought Jean would nod, but the man's expression turned dark. Jean lowered his head and kissed Lilia's soft cheek, "Actually, the Pangestu Family doesn't have enough influence to talk about marriage with the Widjaya Family." He said in a deep voice.
"Huh? What did you say?" Lilia looked at Jean in surprise. Her smile faded, replaced by a confused expression.
Jean sighed and drew Lilia closer, as if to prevent the woman from escaping. He didn't really want to talk about this, but Lilia would find out sooner or later. If Lilia would be hurt by this information, Jean would prefer to be the one who injured her. Lilia was his and no one could hurt his wife.
"Robert did intend to marry you off in order to get funding for his business. But the initial target of the marriage was not the Widjaya Family." Jean slowly said.
In other words, the Pangestu Family realized that they were not at all equal to the Widjaya Family.
But Jean's words startled Lilia. She tried to move away from Jean, but the man's arm felt as strong as iron. No matter how hard Lilia struggled, that man didn't budge.
"Then ..." said Lilia after she gave up trying to get away, "Then who was the person who's originally going to be my partner?" Her voice trembled as she tried to suppress her emotions.
Lilia had a bad feeling that she wouldn't like the answer to her question. If the guess was correct...
Jean tightened his arms and spoke in a low voice, "Initially, he planned to marry you off to Kenneth, the founder of a famous restaurant who happened to be interested in funding the Pangestu Family business."
"Kenneth ... you mean Kenneth Remsi, the chef who just died from that illness?" Lilia asked while turning her head to look at Jean. She desperately hoped that the man would deny it.
However, when Jean nodded, Lilia seemed to be able to hear the sound of her heart breaking into pieces. From the start, there was neither genuine affection or fatherly love from Robert!
Kenneth was a chef who initially worked in a five-star hotel, then built his own business in the catering sector. His business was a huge success and the 48 year old man became very rich.
However, Lilia didn't think that Robert would have the heart to marry Lilia to a man twice her age!
Lilia took a deep breath, desperately holding back her tears from spilling out. Her body was trembling violently, as if she would burst into pieces at any moment.
Jean hugged Lilia tightly and stroked her back in a soothing motion. Contrary to his gentle demeanor, Jean's gaze was icy cold. That man would not forgive Robert, who had betrayed his daughter's trust and hurt Lilia's heart.
Lilia buried her face in Jean's chest and let out a small sobbing sound. For a few moments, neither of them spoke.
"Why…"
When Jean heard Lilia's muffled voice, he immediately loosened his hug. The woman looked up and met Jean's eyes. Her pair of black eyes looked like bottomless darkness.
"Then why did my partner change to you?" Lilia asked in a trembling voice.
Jean stroked Lilia's hair and answered in a serious tone, "Because you are mine.. Kenneth doesn't deserve you."
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