Jean saw the look of horror on Lilia's face. He pulled his wife back into his arms before continuing his words.
"On the day Mellisa disappeared, Leonard had tracked her down. He managed to find Mellisa today before the party, just as the thugs threw her into the lake. Then he called me and said that Mellisa was adamant about returning to the Irwan Family house. So I ended up arranging for Mellisa and Aunt Jenny to meet first," Jean finished his explanation.
Lilia looked at Jean in surprise. So that was what happened! No wonder Jenny deliberately introduced Lilia to Irwan's family indirectly from the start of the party. She finally understood why Jenny was mostly silent during their conversation in the back hall. The woman already knew everything, so Jenny helped her and Mellisa secretly.
Their aunt, who had become the wife of the head in charge of the Hartanto family, was the most humane person in the entire Irwan family.
Lilia's clear eyes were hot and filled with tears, but not a single drop fell. At this point, there was no point in crying. She and Mellisa had done something irreparable.
Thinking about her sister made Lilia's heart feel like it was being torn ??apart. Mellisa insisted on returning to the Irwan family house because her sister wanted to reveal Lilia as her younger sibling. Lilia felt that exposing Leila's identity wasn't Mellisa's main goal tonight.
Her sister had been hiding herself and surviving for years. If it weren't for Lilia's sake, how could Mellisa be in such a hurry to appear at the party tonight?
When Lilia took a step back from Jean's embrace and lowered her head. She gritted her teeth with a frustrated expression. Her hands were clenched tightly, as if trying to suppress her emotions.
When Jean saw that, he took Lilia's hand and gently opened her fingers. The woman had clenched her fists so tightly that her nails left deep marks on her palms. Jean raised Lilia's hand and pressed his lips against her scar.
The sensation of Jean's lips touching her palms made Lilia's body tremble. She looked at the man with flushed cheeks.
"It's not too late," said Jean in a soothing voice. "Both you and Mellisa have just started new changes. Whatever you want to do, I'll do it together with you. So you don't have to face everything alone,"
When she heard that, Lilia felt that the weight on her shoulders was lifted. She rubbed her eyes and forced out a weak smile. "What if I want Leila and Aunt Trisa to pay back in ten folds of what they did?" Lilia asked half jokingly.
"Ten folds?" Jean's lips curled upwards, forming a cold smile. He leaned over and kissed Lilia's lips briefly before whispering softly, "Too little,"
Lilia couldn't help herself and laughed out loud. Her laughter echoed through the empty hospital hallways. She felt silly for worrying about everything by himself. Didn't Lilia have the best husband by her side?
Yes, making them pay ten times would be too little!
*****
An hour later, the lights in the operating room finally dimmed.
Mellisa was pushed out by a nurse in a hospital bed. Leonard, who was standing outside the door, was the first to step forward.
The chief surgeon in charge of this operation then took off his mask. He glanced at everyone who was waiting there, then said to Leonard, "The operation went well,"
Hearing the doctor's words, everyone automatically let out a sigh of relief. They were only really relieved when the doctor delivered the results of the operation just now.
"She will be fine. The wound on her back has been stitched again. The stab wounds in the waist and abdomen were a little troublesome, but luckily they didn't hit any vital areas. Besides, the water in her lungs had already been drained. Proper treatment will not cause big problems," the doctor continued.
Leonard slowly loosened his clenched fists behind his back. He said in a slightly relaxed and light tone, "I've been troubling you a lot tonight."
The head surgeon rubbed his mask with one hand and immediately grinned for a moment. "You don't have to say that. Since when did I count how many times you needed my help?" he teased.
Judging from their interactions, it was clear that they were acquaintances.
While the head surgeon and Leonard were having a brief chat, Mellisa's figure was pushed outward until she was out of sight.
Lilia, who had returned with Jean, looked at Mellisa closely. She made a mental note to ask for her sister's room number later. Lilia only found out later that the private hospital belonged to the Adler family.
*****
Inside the high level ward, Mellisa was still unconscious. Her eyes were closed tightly and her lips looked pale. Seeing her sister lying on the hospital bed with a very weak breath made Lilia's heart ache.
Lilia sat beside the bed, rubbing the back of Mellisa's hand. She didn't know what kind of injuries her sister had, so she didn't dare to carelessly touch Mellisa. Since earlier, Lilia had repeatedly prayed that her sister would immediately open her eyes again. Their victory over Leila and the Pangestu Family tonight would be meaningless if Mellisa didn't wake up.
At the same time, Lilia just realized how cruel Leila's attitude was towards her sister. Even though Mellisa was not her own sister, they had lived under one roof for nearly 20 years.
Meanwhile, Claire was standing behind Lilia. The sister-in-law kept staring at Mellisa on the hospital bed, and Claire looked at Lilia from time to time.
After Claire and Andrew were together, Mellisa had an accident that caused her death. To Claire, the girl continued to live in everyone's memory. However, it turned out that Mellisa was still alive today. Even though her appearance was very similar to Lilia's, the twists and turns of her life were far different. Claire only knew that the Irwan Family would no longer be as peaceful as before.
Andrew and Mike were standing outside the ward door. The door was equipped with a glass window that was large enough so that they could clearly see the inside of the ward. Andrew glanced at the languid face of his younger brother, who had his hand on the glass window, as if he could touch Mellisa.
Andrew sighed and said, "Mike, it's no use standing here all night. Mellisa probably won't wake up tonight. How about you go home first and..."
"Bro, what is the relationship between Sis Mel and that man?" Mike interrupted his brother's words. The man's voice was hoarse like rusty strings, and he could not hide his jealousy.
In fact, this was a question that Andrew had always wanted to ask to his friend. He still didn't know what kind of relationship that Leonard and Mellisa shared.
Andrew didn't answer, but instead he turned and walked over to the window. His eyes scanned the corner of the garden outside the window. In the corner of the garden, two figures were standing under the moonlight in the shadow of the trees talking in low voices.
They were Leonard and Jean.
Andrew was silent for a while before finally answering, "When Leonard comes back, I'll ask him,"
Even Andrew knew that the answer couldn't fool anyone. Mike and everyone else there weren't stupid.. Since the first time that man appeared carrying Mellisa, they could all see that Leonard had an unquestionable possessive nature towards Mellisa.
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