After she finished reading all of the information, Lilia took a fork and ladled a slice of orange into her mouth. "I really have to thank Aunty Jenny for sending me invitations to the party. This would be very useful," Lilia said after swallowing the orange.
Mellisa lifted a leg and sat down in a relaxed manner. She would have definitely gotten herself punished if she were still at the Irwan Family house. The woman rubbed her chin and said calmly, "I'm afraid. I haven't had much contact with Aunt Jenny all this time. I was surprised that you managed to get her attention. Auntie is a wise person. But she's not the approachable type,"
Whenever Mellisa met Jenny, she always bowed to her politely. That was as far as their interactions went.
Lilia thought a little, and looked at Mellisa with a frown. "Even so, I still don't know exactly why Aunt Jenny approached me. We both look alike, but you said that Aunt Jenny was not that close to you," Lilia said as she tapped her fork. "I hope she will give her the answer on that birthday party,"
Mellisa nodded. "Aunt Jenny is not a simple person either. Like you said, we need to be careful around her. She had an important position in the Irwan Family. Even though she's married into the Hartanto Family, Aunt Jenny still hasn't lost her influence," Mellisa said.
In fact, Lilia agreed with Mellisa's statement that they should be wary of Jenny, who had been in the Hartanto family for many years, but still maintained her position in the Irwan family. How could Jenny be friendly to Lilia just because she liked that model? Hadn't she been investigating Lilia until now?
After the two sisters were silent for a while, Lilia put down her fork. She wiped her mouth, then took out her cell phone and called someone.
*****
At half past twelve in the afternoon, Lilia arrived at a long-standing roast duck restaurant in Jakarta. This restaurant had more than fifty years of history and was famous for its delicious food.
In front of the restaurant's door stood two friendly women wearing black maid uniforms. They also wore white aprons, and behaved like high-class maids. The neat and professional waiters here was one of the main attractions of this restaurant.
As Lilia stepped into the restaurant, she crossed the high doorway. There was a large path lined with blue stone slabs on the ground. She walked down the street looking around. The doors and windows along the hallway were decorated with elegant carvings.
The waitress escorted Lilia to the private room that she had ordered beforehand. When the servant opened the door, there was already someone sitting inside.
Lilia thanked the maid politely before closing the door behind her. She took off her sunglasses and looked at the person sitting at the table.
Lilia smiled and joked, "Why did Uncle Julius arrive here earlier than me? Didn't you say that you were busy today?"
This afternoon, she made an appointment with Julius to ask him something. Lilia was worried that the man would refuse. But Julius responded enthusiastically to her invitation. Her uncle even canceled his lunch appointments with other scientists in order to have lunch with Lilia.
That day, Julius wore a black coat with a white shirt. Even though he was dressed like a businessman, he still looked like a scientist. Julius couldn't hide his curious expression.
Julius was pouring tea into a cup when he heard Lilia's joke. The man smiled gently and replied, "Luckily, this restaurant is not too far from the institute. Besides, how could I possibly refuse my beloved niece's invitation, hmm?"
Julius' words confirmed that their relationship would not change. Even though the DNA test results stated that Lilia wasn't Sylvia's daughter, Julius still considered Lilia to be his niece!
Lilia took off her brown wool coat and put the scarf on the back of the chair. As soon as she sat down, Julius immediately handed her a cup of warm tea. "The weather in Jakarta is much colder than Surabaya lately. Have some tea first to warm your body."
Lilia accepted the porcelain cup, which immediately warmed her cold fingertips. She gave a small smile before taking a sip. Even though Julius and Sylvia were siblings, their attitude towards Lilia was so different as if the former was an angel and the latter a devil.
Julius waited until Lilia finished drinking her tea before asking, "Lilia, did something happen that you took me out to lunch today?"
Hearing that question, Lilia's stopped from putting down her cup for a moment. Lilia's actions made Julius even more suspicious. He wondered if his niece had found another secret that was hidden by Sylvia.
After a brief pause, Lilia looked up and met Julius's eyes. The man looked worried for Lilia. Without hesitation, the model smiled and said, "Yes, there is indeed something that requires Uncle's help,"
Julius smiled and nodded. He took the teacup on the table and brought it to his lips. "Oh? What's the matter? Let's hear your request!"
Lilia saw her uncle drinking tea in an elegant manner. A warm smile crossed Lilia's lips and she immediately said, "I want to ask Uncle to help me by sending these two invitations to my parents,"
After saying that, Lilia took out two red invitation cards from the leather bag on her lap. The invitation card was folded to the size of a palm and the edges were covered with gold thread. The crafting of the card was so smooth that with just a glance, one could tell that this event was going to be extraordinary.
Julius choked on his tea when he saw the expensive invitation. He coughed and wiped his mouth with a tissue before taking the invitation from Lilia's hand. Julius politely didn't open the invitation. He only gave it a glance, before turning to look at Lilia suspiciously.
"May I know what invitation is this? Why don't you give it to them yourself?" Julius asked with an expression full of question marks.
Faced with Julius's hesitation, Lilia raised her eyebrows and laughed. "I got this invitation from the event organizer, if that's what you're worried about," Lilia explained in a light voice. "This is just an invitation to a birthday party,"
Julius's expression softened a little when he heard that. He was worried that Lilia might get an invitation to a shady or illegal event.
"Of course, I want to give them this invitation so they can come to accompany me at the birthday party. But Uncle knows how my parents, especially Mother, behaved to me, right? I'm afraid that if I give the invitation, they won't accept it," Lilia earnestly put on a sad face. "Can you help me with this?"
Julius's expression suddenly changed. He sympathized with Lilia, who only wanted to go to an acquaintance's birthday party with her parents, but was afraid of being rejected. Of course, Julius didn't know that Robert and Sylvia would reject Lilia's invitation for a different reason.
Without thinking, Julius nodded and replied, "Lilia, you rarely ask for my help. After hearing your story, you can be sure that I will definitely help you,"
Lilia smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Uncle. Oh yeah, when you gave them the invitation, please also convey this short message..."
Julius was shocked. "What message do you want to convey?"
Lilia leaned over and whispered a few words into Julius's ear.. The man frowned in surprise, but he still nodded and promised to deliver it.
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