The words 'making up' that Jenny said made Sara's body trembling again. She knew that the middle-aged woman didn't help her out of kindness. Jenny just didn't want outsiders to see internal conflicts within the Hartanto family.
But Jenny's gentle and caring attitude towards Lilia surprised Sara. She had never seen her treat anyone so well apart from Alan, her own son, and Chris.
The guests finally started to disband after witnessing the conclusion of this incident. They returned to the hall to continue their delayed dinner.
Meanwhile, James and Jefferson were also surprised when they heard Jenny's words. They, like Sara, knew that Jenny was not an easy person to get along with. The two men stared at Lilia closely.
The woman at the center of everyone's attention was standing beside Jean. Jenny firmly held her hand, so Lilia could only smile politely. "Alright, Aunt Jenny. I will gladly accept Aunty's offer. Thank you for the help." Lilia said.
Sara was flabbergasted when she heard Lilia's answer. She clenched her hands tightly and glared at the model. Hatred and anger engulfed her heart. Did Lilia not understand any manner?! Wasn't it obvious that Jenny just said that as a formality?! So why did Lilia thank her and accept the offer?!
Sara stomped her foot in annoyance. She seemed to have forgotten that she should have pretended to have a sprain. Then Sara turned her gaze towards Sasha. What was the goal Sasha was trying to achieve with this incident? She hadn't forgiven that woman for lying to her about Lilia's identity.
"Since this incident is already resolved, how about we return to the hall?" Irene broke away from Sasha and walked towards her husband. She didn't even glance at the young woman. "We can't make the guests wait too long." she suggested.
James nodded and told Lauren to walk all the guests back inside. There were still some guests who were busy gossiping around there.
Then Irene approached the young husband and wife. Jenny understood what her best friend meant, so she immediately let Lilia go and returned to her husband's side. Irene stopped in front of Lilia and Jean while smiling softly.
"You two must be tired after the unpleasant incident just now. Do you want to go home first? You don't have to force yourself to attend this dinner party. I don't think Lilia will be able to enjoy her dinner comfortably either." Irene looked at Lilia with concern.
Lilia smiled faintly, but she didn't refute Irene's words. If she returned to the hall, everyone would definitely look at her with strange eyes while gossiping the incident just now. Lilia wasn't sure if she wanted to face all of that now.
"Besides, shouldn't Lilia go back to Magetan tomorrow?" Irene turned her gaze to Jean. "It would be better if she could rest earlier."
Lilia was eager to accept Irene's offer. But instead of answering, she turned to face Jean. Under normal conditions, Lilia wouldn't hesitate to take the initiative and decide what she wanted. But this banquet was held by the Widjaya Family. Lilia felt that it wouldn't be appropriate for her to make a decision without asking Jean's opinion.
Jean caught the woman's meaningful gaze. He turned to Irene and answered, "Then, we will go home first, Sis Irene. Please convey my apology to the guests."
Irene nodded with a relieved expression. "Never mind, you don't need to think about that. You just need to go home and rest, especially Lilia. Then don't forget to treat the bruise." she glanced at the bruise visible on Lilia's snow-white skin.
"Ah... fine." Lilia automatically hid her arms behind her back. Her wrist still felt a little sore, but Lilia had no intention of complaining. She knew that James reacted this way because he cared about his family. Lilia was only relieved that their misunderstanding was settled in peace.
Irene sighed when she saw Lilia's reaction. She glared at her husband, who looked away with a guilty expression. Irene was determined that she should make James apologize to Lilia after this event.
"Lilia, don't think too much about tonight's incident." Irene softly said while holding the woman's hand. "You have full support from James, me, Claire, Andrew, and Jean. We won't let anyone treat you unfairly."
Irene's words carried an infinite warmth inside Lilia's heart. She smiled broadly, trying to hold back her tears from spilling. "Yes, thank you very much, Sis Irene."
Irene let go of Lilia's hand, followed by Jean putting an arm around her shoulder. Then the man led Lilia away from there. Though they only covered the short distance to the restaurant lobby, the guests who continued to stare at them. Lilia felt uncomfortable with their critical gazes. She moved closer to Jean and tried her best to ignore all the attention.
Jean noticed Lilia's discomfort and shot a sharp glare at everyone who was staring at them. After making sure that the guests wouldn't bother them again, he then returned his attention to Lilia. The woman's face looked tired and her steps were not as steady as usual.
The man pulled Lilia closer so that she could lean on him. "Are you alright?" Jean asked in a low voice.
"...I'm just a little tired." Lilia thought about insisting that she was alright, but Jean wouldn't believe her lies. So she gave him an honest answer.
Jean stroked Lilia's back. "You can sleep in the car on the way home," he said.
"Hmm?" Lilia looked at the man in surprise. "Am I not supposed to rest at home?"
The corner of Jean's mouth lifted into a sadistic smile. "I can only promise that I won't push you too hard tonight."
Lilia's face suddenly turned red and pushed Jean away. "You really are…! If you keep doing this, I'll sleep in a separate room!"
The two of them left the restaurant joking and laughing, as if that night's incident had never happened.
Meanwhile, James still hadn't left the scene of the incident earlier. He waited until all the guests had left before giving Jefferson a cold glare.
"Jeff, I'll be waiting to hear from you." his words were short.
Jefferson nodded. He could catch James's point without needing to explain. As a replacement for the head of the Hartanto Family, he needed to provide an explanation as well as compensation to the Widjaya Family.
After all, the incident that Sara caused was not a small incident. Not only did she mess up the Widjaya Family dinner, she also insulted their daughter-in-law. No matter how close their family was, James wouldn't let this incident slip by.
After he got Jefferson's confirmation, James and Irene left the bathroom. They returned to the hall to accompany the guests.
Apart from the Hartanto family, there was only one other person who had not left the place. Sasha walked over to Sara and stood beside her.
"Uncle Jeff, I'm sure Sara didn't mean to cause this big mess. Please don't be too hard on her." Sasha spoke up in defense of the woman.
Hearing Sasha's words made Sara a little relieved. At least, she still had someone defending her. But Sara remembered that Sasha lied to her about Lilia. The Hiroshi Family's daughter knew about everything, but she purposely encouraged Sara to become the scapegoat for this incident.. Sasha was much more cunning than she thought.
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