While Lilia was thinking about how she would confront her parents, Jean just stared at her without speaking. Then the man stroked her cheek and whispered, "It's okay if you've decided to go back to the Pangestu Family house. But don't let yourself be harmed by them. Just tell me if you need anything,"
Lilia looked at the man with teary eyes. She bit the tip of her lower lip for a moment before finally hugging the man tightly. Lilia said in a low voice, "Yes, I know,"
What Jean said was the same as what Mellisa said earlier. The two of them were the people she cared about the most, and they were also one of the few people who placed Lilia above anything in their hearts.
Lilia didn't know that Mellisa was sleeping soundly right now after arriving in Surabaya. After the two separated at the airport this afternoon, Lilia found something in her pocket. When she took it out, it was the credit card she secretly gave Mellisa.
Mellisa returned the card to her in a very cryptic manner. Lilia understood what her sister meant, so she couldn't force it anymore. But she was still worried about Mellisa being alone in Surabaya.
*****
Contrary to Lilia's worries, Mellisa was having a good time tonight.
After separating from Lilia, she went to a hotel in downtown Surabaya. This hotel had been around for generations, so the room's layout was very old. The walls were brownish and there was a television with black and gray screen. The television looked worn after being used for years. There were only a handful of guests staying at this hotel, and there was still a slight musty smell on the carpet.
Still, Mellisa ignored the environment. For her, she only needed a place that could be her shelter from wind and rain. No matter how difficult the conditions and life she experienced, this hotel with a price of one hundred thousand per night was very comfortable.
Mellisa ordered egg fried rice through an online application. She waited for her dinner to come while lying on the bed and staring blankly at the ceiling. Moments later, Mellisa took out her cell phone to send a message to Herri, one of her underlings.
[Mellisa]: "What's the situation?"
Less than a minute later, Herri answered.
[Herri]: "Captain, everything is going according to plan. Now we are just waiting for you to return with the results."
Mellisa read this news and a grin slowly emerged from the corner of her lips.
[Mellisa]: "Give her a little room to breathe. Don't scare her to death, okay?"
[Herri]: "Ready to do it!"
Mellisa didn't reply to Herri anymore and dropped her cellphone on the bed. Her black eyes looked like frozen ice.
These days, the only thing on Mellisa's mind was how to make Leila's life even more difficult. Lilia was already planning to return to the Pangestu Family house, so as her sister, Mellisa needed to make a good plan to help her.
Tok. Tok.
"Excuse me, I'm delivering dinner for Miss Mellisa!"
After someone knocked on the door, there was a loud voice from the delivery staff that Mellisa had been waiting for. The woman jumped out of bed in a fast and agile motion. She put on her short boots and walked to the door. Mellisa cracked open the door and reached out to take the order.
"Yes, that's me. Thank you..."
Before Mellisa could finish her sentence, a hand gripped her slender wrist. Instead of handing over the box of food he was carrying, that person pulled Mellisa towards him.
Mellisa's face turned serious and she would twist the hand that was gripping her. But suddenly the door swung towards her and hit Mellisa's shoulder. Her shoulder was injured and her figure wobbled, but because the man continued to grip her arm, she didn't fall.
Mellisa bumped into the guy's chest, but before she could straighten up, one arm of that person had hugged her body. The woman writhed and wriggled, but the person didn't flinch as if he was made of stone.
The woman raised her face and glared fiercely at her opponent. But panic replaced her hostile expression when Mellisa saw who it was. Why was he here?!
The man was wearing a short gray suit and black sweater which looked thick. His body, which was more muscular and bigger than men in general, stood in front of Mellisa. Just by standing in the doorway, the man had completely blocked Mellisa's path to the hallways.
The woman came to her senses and immediately frowned. Mellisa's expression turned cold as she struggled once again. "Let me go!" She demanded.
The man did not speak, but instead grabbed the door on its heels. In just one smooth motion, the man kicked the door shut. Now Mellisa was trapped in the room with him. The hotel room was not at all spacious and the appearance of the man made it look very cramped at the moment.
The man was still hugging Mellisa tightly, as if he didn't want to let her go. The heat from the man's palm almost burned her skin.
Mellisa struggled several times, but she couldn't match that man's strength. The woman could only look at him angrily. "Leonard, I told you to let me go!" Mellisa snapped.
The man who suddenly attacked her was Leonard Adler, a senior inspector of the Jakarta police. Leonard raised his eyebrows when he heard Mellisa's angry tone. He purposely didn't use that much force to restrain the woman so he wouldn't injure her, but he pinned Mellisa down skillfully.
Leonard laughed sarcastically. "Letting you go? Why? So you can run away from me again? Just like when you ran away after sleeping with me that night?"
"You really are a psycho!" Mellisa could only swear without being able to argue with Leonard.
After being reminded by the man, the memory of that night came back to her. She tried hard to ignore the unforgettable memory, but Leonard destroyed all of her efforts with just one simple sentence.
Leonard stared at her for a moment, then he started walking into the room half-dragging Mellisa.
Mellisa struggled even more, her eyes filled with panic. "Wait a minute! Leonard, what are you doing?!"
The man glanced at her and caught the panic that Mellisa could not hide. The corner of his mouth lifted into a cruel smile. "What do you think I will do?" He asked in a playful tone.
Mellisa stopped talking and just glared at the man. If Leonard spoke in that tone, it meant that he was just playing with Mellisa. The woman calmed down a little and started thinking about her dinner. Was the egg-fried rice she ordered thrown away by this bad guy?
She was more worried about her dinner than the reason why Leonard had come here or how the man knew she was here. Mellisa didn't care about any of those things. Leonard was a police inspector, so if the man wanted to track someone down, he would definitely have his ways. After all, this wasn't the first time she had been discovered by Leonard. They'd been playing the mouse and cat game for the last five years.
Leonard pulled Mellisa towards the only bed in the room. He released his hug to Mellisa to sit on the bed. Leonard pulled the woman's arm to sit beside him, but the woman stomped on the floor and refused to move.
"Aren't you going to sit down?" Leonard tilted his head while staring at the woman's stubborn expression.
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