What Lilia said about the fake accident made the guests there immediately exchange gossip and stories. James looked around with a frown. He was about to open his mouth, but Irene's glare made him close his mouth again.
Irene knew that James didn't want to make this problem bigger than it already was. But if they didn't finish it right now, it would be hard to change everyone's view of Lilia. Apart from that, Irene also wanted to know how Lilia would solve this difficult situation.
After Lilia helped Irene up, she let go of the woman and took two steps forward. She slowly knelt in front of Sara, who still refused to look at her. Lilia stared at the Hartanto Family's third grandchild with flat, emotionless eyes. Then she reached out and caught the woman's wrist. Lilia grabbed Sara's hand that was still covering her cheek.
"Wai— what are you doing?!" Sara protested in panic.
"Wasn't it you who said I slapped you? How can we treat it if you refuse to show me the marks of my slap?" Lilia replied calmly.
Hearing that, the guests immediately averted their eyes. Their expressions were tinged with embarrassment and awkwardness. They all came from respectable families, but they easily believed what people say without looking at the evidence first.
Meanwhile, Sara was desperately trying to keep her hands over the sides of her face. But Lilia used all her strength to pull Sara's hand away, while the woman didn't dare to fight back. Sara must maintain her image as a victim and so she was caught in a dilemma.
In the end, Lilia managed to force Sara to let go of her hand. Her left cheek did look redder than the other side, but it was unclear whether the color was due to Lilia's slap or from being constantly covered up.
Lilia stared at Sara with an icy gaze. "Miss Sara, I don't see a trace of a slap on your face, what do you think?"
"I-I… I…" Sara stuttered, but she couldn't find the words to refute Lilia.
The model continued, "If it's not proven true that I slapped you, then what you said was also unbelievable, right? You said that I couldn't forget William, and I was blinded by jealousy and attacked you. Isn't that what you said earlier?"
This time, Sara was completely mute. She could only lower her head and bite her lips.
Sasha frowned and clicked her tongue as she watched Lilia easily corner Sara. The woman turned out to be even more useless than she imagined! She had a chance to destroy Lilia's reputation by using Sara, but Sara instead gave Lilia a chance to reverse the situation.
Sara stole a glance at Sasha, who was staring at her with a disappointed look. She immediately panicked and tried to argue with Lilia.
"L-Lilia Pangestu, don't talk nonsense! If you weren't the culprit, how could I have sprained my leg and bruised my face like this?!" Sara sounded like a dog that could only bark but not bite.
Lilia sighed and put a hand on Sara's shoulder. Then she said in a low voice, "Sara, do you remember what happened to Rina? Are you willing to live the same fate for a man like William?"
Sara gasped and tried to move away, but Lilia gripped her shoulders tightly. She had no intention of letting her escape.
"I'll tell you something important, Sara. What you want is something that has been thrown away by someone else. I neither need nor want William. You can keep him." Lilia continued.
"You don't have to pretend in front of me!" Sara hissed angrily. "You are still trying to seduce William, even to the point of making that man oppose me and turn to your side...!"
"Whatever William does is none of my business." Lilia sharply cut her. "It's his choice. Just so you know, I never asked him to do anything. Why should I ask William for help when I already have Jean?"
"That…!" Sara could only swallow her rebuttal again.
"Enough about the man." Lilia shrugged Sara's shoulders. "Since you insisted that I slapped you earlier, we can only wait for evidence from the CCTV camera footage. If it were proven that I didn't slap you..."
Lilia smiled sadly. At this moment, she looked more like a perpetrator than a victim.
"...I'll meet you in court, okay?"
Sara's pale face now turned blue. Her mind instantly thought of Rina, who was forced to spend half a year in prison after assaulting Lilia. That woman's career in entertainment was over and she would never be able to oppose Lilia again. Sara turned with an expression of despair towards Sasha. She needed that woman's help!
Lilia followed Sara's line of sight. The smile on her face widened as she met Sasha's eyes. The Hiroshi Family's daughter hurriedly looked away, but now Lilia knew that the two of them were working together.
"Miss Sara, why are you staring at Miss Sasha like that?" Lilia deliberately raised her voice when she asked that. "This incident is a matter between you and me. So why do you keep looking at her? Are you trying to get Miss Sasha into this?"
Sasha gritted her teeth and shot Lilia a poisonous gaze. How dare that woman call out to her so blatantly in front of everyone?!
Sara had lost all color on her face. She hurriedly replied, "I-It's not like that! I-I… I just… this is just a coincidence! I happened to be looking at her!"
Hearing that, everyone there cast suspicious gazes at Sasha. The Hiroshi Family's daughter immediately put on a helpless face. Sasha approached Irene and grabbed her arm with a pleading look. She hoped that Irene would defend her in front of everyone. After all, Sasha was always with Irene ever since they walked out of the hall.
However, Irene did not immediately speak up. The middle-aged woman frowned and thought about it for a moment. Irene's gaze swept across everyone present until she met Lilia's eyes. The young woman's gaze was full of confidence and maturity beyond her years.
'Just leave this matter to me.' Lilia's gaze seemed to say that.
So Irene just smiled faintly and remained silent.
This change in attitude made Sasha start to panic. She pulled back Irene's arm, but the middle-aged woman didn't flinch.
"Dear guests, I apologize that this incident has disturbed the banquet tonight." Lilia started talking to the guests gathered along the hallway. "But since we've all gathered here, I beg you to be willing to witness the solving of this problem."
Lilia's polite words and elegant posture made everyone speechless to hear her. The young lady looked exactly like someone from a well-educated and respectable family.
Lilia continued her words, "As the brother-in-law of the Widjaya Family, I will follow the family rules. I swear in front of everyone here that the only man in my heart is Jean Widjaya, my husband."
The woman glanced at Jean, who looked very satisfied with her words. Lilia smiled slightly at him. She had already decided that she wouldn't hide her identity anymore.
Starting today, Lilia would proudly refer to herself as Jean Widjaya's wife. This news would certainly bring many changes, both positive and negative. But Lilia was ready to accept all the consequences.. As long as Jean was by her side, she didn't need to be afraid of anything.
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