As Andrew was talking about his little brother, the man's expression looked helpless and slightly troubled.
After Mike returned from Bekasi that day, his face was full of loneliness. This was the second time Andrew had seen his younger brother so discouraged. The only time Mike looked so devastated was when they thought Mellisa died in an accident five years ago. Andrew was worried that his younger brother would be depressed again.
Andrew just wanted to tell Mike that Mellisa was still alive. That way, his little brother wouldn't look so discouraged. But since Andrew had promised Mellisa not to tell anyone, he couldn't break his promise. Andrew couldn't bear the desperate look on Mike's face.
When Mellisa heard these words, her expression didn't change. She still looked relaxed, as if they were not talking about her childhood friend. Mellisa exhaled her cigarette smoke before saying, "I know. Brother Andrew, if you are willing, tell Mike to stop investigating me,"
"You think I didn't say it?" Andrew chuckled. "You should know better than me how stubborn that brat is. He never wants to listen to what other people have to say,"
Mellisa smiled faintly. "I agree with you on that,"
Then Andrew continued, "The reason I'm telling you this is to ask about your plans for the future. What are you going to do about this? Do you want to tell Mike that... you're still alive?"
Andrew stared at Mellisa closely. The man's gaze was filled with anxiety. Andrew just wanted her to give Mike at least some hope. Mellisa was like the sun illuminating his brother's life. The slightest news about her would make Mike feel so happy.
After hearing Andrew's words, Mellisa was silent for a few moments. Andrew didn't pressure her either. He just smoked in silence and waited for the woman to voice out her thoughts.
Lilia sat beside Mellisa while frowning, but she didn't say anything either. After all, she respected Mellisa's decision and supported her actions. Lilia was sure that Mellisa wouldn't do something without a reason.
Mellisa was only silent for half a minute, but that very short time seemed like a long time to everyone. After organizing her thoughts, the first thing Mellisa did was glance at Lilia. Her big sister's gaze looked complex.
When Lilia caught Mellisa's gaze, she smiled supportively and nodded. The message was clear —I trust you.
Seeing that, the corner of Mellisa's mouth lifted into a small smile. Finally, she looked at Andrew and gave her answer. "Don't tell Mike anything about me," she said firmly.
Mellisa's decision made Andrew frown unconsciously. He fiddled with the cigarette box in his hand asking, "Don't you believe Mike?"
"It's not that I don't believe him!" Mellisa refuted Andrew quickly and made the man look at her in surprise. The woman explained, "I know that Mike can be trusted. It's just that I don't want him to be too impulsive,"
Andrew fell silent. Maybe Mellisa had a point. He understood his little brother's character. Though Mike seemed clumsy, stubborn, and unruly, he could turn into the exact opposite when it came to the people he cared about. Mike could be very protective and impulsive when someone he considered important to him got into trouble.
After hearing Mellisa's answer, Andrew did not discuss this matter again. He only gave Mellisa a few words of advice before leaving the apartment.
As soon as Andrew left, Clifford also returned to his room on the sixth floor. Jean's head bodyguard didn't want to disturb the warm atmosphere between the two sisters.
*****
Starting from today, Lilia officially lived with Mellisa. Even though she didn't know how long they would stay together, she was still very excited. After Lilia looked through the apartment with Mellisa, the two of them got into a long discussion about what dinner they should order.
Lilia sat beside her and looked at Mellisa. She watched her sister focus on her cell phone's screen for a moment before asking, "Sis Mel, is Leila at the hospital or at the Irwan Family house now?"
Mellisa's finger stopped from scrolling through the screen for a moment. She looked up and looked at Lilia. "She's still in the hospital right now. Why did you ask that? Did you have any plans?" Mellisa asked suspiciously.
Lilia's elbow rested on the arm of the sofa and her fingertips tapped the side of her face. She smiled slyly as she said, "Yes, I have a plan. Where are your subordinates now, Sis?"
She still remembered Mellisa's friends whom she had met at the restaurant back then. Lilia believed that Mellisa had sent her subordinates to monitor Leila's movements. Otherwise, her sister would not have found out that Robert and Sylvia arrived in Jakarta right away.
"They're all on guard around the hospital and ready to take my orders. What do you want to do? I'll let them arrange it first," Mellisa answered happily without the slightest hesitation.
It seemed that whatever Lilia wanted to do, Mellisa would do her best to help her sister achieve her goal. This feeling made Lilia's heart warm.
Lilia was raised as the eldest daughter of the Pangestu family since she was a child. Robert and Sylvia always stressed Lilia to look after her younger brother, Daniel. Sometimes, the children of her relatives were also entrusted under Lilia's care. They all never thought about her feelings as the oldest child.
"Since you are an older sister, you have to take care of your younger siblings. You can't compete with them. They are all young, so you have to be wiser,"
Perhaps, the oldest sister in every family had heard this sentence. But now, Lilia's situation was different. She had Mellisa who was three years older than her as her older sister.
Mellisa had been going through such a hard time so she had a pretty bad temper. But she could protect and tolerate her in everything, like a big umbrella that gave her shelter and a sense of security.
Lilia leaned back on the sofa with her legs folded. Her palm rested on her face while her eyes were fixed on Mellisa.
"No, you don't have to bother arranging it first," Lilia said calmly. "Let's go and see everything tonight. I haven't seen my parents for a long time, and I also want to know how weak Miss Leila's body is,"
Mellisa met Lilia's gaze with a faint smile, then she continued ordering dinner. She said mockingly, "It's hard for me to tell if Leila's body is really weak, but what is clear is that Leila's condition always worries my parents,"
Even so, Lilia could still hear the hatred and jealousy in Mellisa's voice. She couldn't imagine how Mellisa would feel if Leila had actually faked her illness all this time.
Mellisa continued, "When the time to visit the hospital is over, I'll have Herri and the others look for an opportunity to get Leila's nanny away. But we can't stay there. We have to move fast,"
Lilia raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Looks like your parents are really worried about Leila's condition. They even hired a nanny for her even though she's already an adult,"
Hearing this, Mellisa snorted. "Not only nannies, but they also hired bodyguards to accompany Leila around. They have been doing this since she was a child,"
Lilia rolled her eyes when she heard that. Oh, how much the Irwan Family loved Leila!
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