When Lilia came into the living room, Jean was leaning back on the sofa. His blonde hair contrasted with the black T-shirt he was wearing. The man puffed out his cigarette smoke while staring blankly out the window. The table opposite him was filled with various dishes, such as porridge, soup and other snacks.
Jean turned his head when he heard the sound of the door opening. He saw Lilia's figure through the smoke. The man smiled gently and reached out to his wife, "Let's eat."
Lilia smiled back and walked over to the man, then accepted Jean's outstretched hand. However, she coughed a little while inhaling Jean's cigarette smoke, causing the man to immediately throw his cigarette into the ashtray.
"Sorry. Here, have something to drink." Jean fetched a glass of water for the woman.
"It is okay." Lilia accepted the glass while shaking her head.
She was a little choked by Jean's cigarette smoke, but she didn't hate his smoking habit. Because the smell of cigarettes always reminded Lilia of her beloved husband.
She took a sip of the water in the glass, not realizing that Jean's gaze was fixed on her. The man's eyes followed every movement of Lilia's white and long neck. Jean hurriedly averted his gaze as he finished the water in his glass. Lilia put her glass back on the table with an innocent face that made Jean feel a little guilty.
"When did you get here, Jean?" Lilia asked while turning to the man, "I wanted to greet you earlier, but it turns out I fell asleep so soundly I couldn't wake up." She laughed shyly as she said that, "I should have asked Dina and Rini to wake me up when you came earlier."
The battle scene earlier was much more tiring than Lilia imagined. Her strength was drained after a day of shooting on the river. Even now, her body still felt weak and heavy. Lilia really admired actors who did their own battle scenes without using a stuntman.
Jean reached out and touched Lilia's forehead for a moment. Lilia looked at him with a confused expression as Jean pulled his hand back without saying anything. Then, the man handed Lilia a bowl of porridge.
"When I came earlier, your body felt hot. Looks like you are so tired today that you have a fever." Jean explained, "But luckily your body temperature is back to normal now."
Lilia stopped from spooning porridge into her mouth when she heard that. She looked at Jean in surprise, "Did I have another fever?" She asked in disbelief.
Her body was really weak! She had only been filming for a day and she immediately caught a fever. What if she had to shoot for a week here? Would she be hospitalized afterward?
Lilia let out a sigh and returned to scooping out the porridge. Could it be that her body was weak because she rarely exercised? If she was going to dive into the movie industry, she couldn't possibly collapse every time she had to do a battle scene! Lilia decided to start exercising regularly when she came back to Surabaya.
*****
Lilia could only finish half a bowl of porridge before putting it back down. Even though her body felt weak and needed strength, her appetite decreased drastically whenever she caught a fever.
Jean also tried to persuade her to eat more, but Lilia firmly refused. She knew from experience that forcing herself to eat would only make her more nauseous. The woman leaned against Jean's side and closed her eyes.
Having that man by her side gave Lilia a sense of security that could not be replaced by anything. At this stage, Jean was like a medicine to her. The man's hand was stroking Lilia's cheek in a regular motion. Her eyes began to feel heavy and drowsiness came to her again.
Lilia suddenly remembered something she wanted to ask Jean. She took Jean's hand and pushed it away before sitting up straight.
"What's wrong?" Jean asked in surprise when Lilia suddenly woke up.
"Jean, when will the DNA test results for Sis Mel and me come out?" Lilia asked while looking straight at the man. She believed that Jean wouldn't lie to her, but she wanted to confirm with her own eyes.
Jean didn't betray Lilia's trust. He was honest when he answered, "Tomorrow."
"Oh ..." Lilia didn't expect the results to come out so quickly. She lowered her face and said nothing more.
The more she thought about the results of the test, the feeling of worry gnawed at her heart. Lilia had proven to be not the daughter of the Pangestu Family. But what if tomorrow's test results prove that she wasn't the daughter of the Irwan Family either? Then who was she actually? Did she even have parents? Was...
"Stop."
Suddenly, the man's hand covered Lilia's eyes, startling her. But it was an effective way to pull Lilia out of the waves of negative thoughts that flooded her mind.
"Don't worry about it." Jean continued calmly, "Whatever the result is, I'm here for you. I won't leave you."
"... Yes." Lilia was amazed how those simple words were able to lift her mood in an instant.
She looked up and turned towards Jean. Her eyes looked clearer than before.
"I'm just feeling a little anxious. What if I'm not the daughter of the Irwan Family? And even if I'm their daughter, should I go back to the Irwan Family? Do..." Lilia bit her lips and paused for a moment.
Jean waited patiently as Lilia mustered up her courage.
"... Will they accept me as their daughter?"
Jean smiled softly and stroked Lilia's head, "Do you want to hear a secret?" He said, as if trying to change the subject.
Lilia gave him a confused look, but she still nodded.
Jean pulled Lilia into his arms and whispered, "As soon as the test results come out, I plan to reveal Leila's identity to the Irwan family."
Lilia's eyes widened in shock, "Really? But ..." She bit her lip, "Leila has been raised as the daughter of the Irwan family for 24 years. According to Sis Mel, she is loved by everyone in her family. Even though they know that she is not their real daughter, the feelings of love over the years will not go away that easily." Lilia said while frowning.
Jean was about to open his mouth when Lilia suddenly straightened up.
"Except ..." Lilia's eyes shone slyly. The corner of her mouth automatically lifted into a smile full of conspiracy.
Jean raised his eyebrows when he saw the drastic change in Lilia's face. His wife rarely looked like this, but once Lilia smiled slyly, that meant she had a plan.
"Except for what?" Jean asked, smiling indulgently.
"Unless we let the Irwan Family know what kind of person Leila is truly like!"
*****
The next day, Lilia's shooting schedule would be done at noon. Louis was kind enough to rearrange her schedule so that Lilia could get enough rest.
When Lilia woke up at nine in the morning, her waist was still a little sore. However, her spirit had recovered. Lilia ate her breakfast while looking for information on her cellphone. She planned to spend her free time that morning by going boating on the river with Jean.
At the end of October like this, the weather was ideal for river boating. Plus, the views of the river and mountains were beautiful. Lilia could already imagine how comfortable it would be to sit on a small raft while enjoying the natural scenery with Jean.
They could get into the car brought by Clifford, so the commute to and from the river would not take long. They should be able to get back to the hotel before one o'clock.
Unfortunately, the plan that Lilia carefully arranged was canceled due to shocking news.
Sasha disappeared!
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