Perhaps because of her guilt towards Harold, Lilia didn't leave the office as hurriedly as usual. That afternoon, he and Harold went to a restaurant near the Aphrodite Agency for lunch.
This restaurant is located on the corner of the street, with semi-outdoor and semi-indoor dining areas. Due to the cold weather lately, most of the tables and chairs in the outdoor dining room were empty. When the cold wind blew, several yellow leaves fell.
Lilia and Harold sat at a table by the window on the second floor. The window looked directly onto the highway, showing a view of the busy pedestrians passing by.
Lilia, who had ordered a pasta and salad, held a cup of coffee in her hand. His eyes are fixed on the view of the city of Surabaya which is full of life. Even though his eyes saw the scene outside the window, his mind was wandering nowhere.
Harold who was sitting opposite her was quietly observing the woman. He realized how Lilia's fingers were rubbing his coffee cup, a sign that the woman was thinking about something. Harold also noticed that Lilia's eyes were wide open.
He cleared his throat to get Lilia's attention before asking, "What problem did you have when you went to Jakarta recently, Lilia?"
Harold didn't know anything about Lilia's family situation. But he vaguely felt that Lilia looked different after returning from Jakarta. The woman seemed to be carrying something heavy on her shoulders. Even though Lilia was as indifferent and graceful as ever, there was too much emotion in her eyes.
When Lilia heard Harold's question, she slowly turned her head. The model put down her coffee cup and bowed her head for a moment. Then Lilia immediately raised her face again with a small smile.
"It's no big deal. Something happened at home, but now ... it's all resolved." Lilia deliberately minimizes the whole incident with Leila and her parents.
Harold caught Lilia's signal that he didn't want to talk about it any further. The man was still curious, but he respected Lilia's decision. Harold pondered for a few seconds before offering advice.
"If you need help, don't hesitate to call me." Said Harold.
But as soon as Harold finished speaking, he felt that he was going too far. The man who was always by Lilia's side was enough to overcome all the problems that woman faced. For the umpteenth time, Harold felt jealous of Jean's ability to protect Lilia.
"... yes."
Lilia's reply made Harold stare at her in surprise. The woman smiled broadly, adding to her natural beauty.
"I will ask your help if I need it. I promise." Lilia said firmly.
While Harold was still staring at Lilia and trying to process her words, a maid came over to deliver their food. Perhaps it was because the trays were rather heavy, that the maid approached them with great care. But just at that moment, someone walked out of the bathroom door nearby.
The second floor of the restaurant is L-shaped and not very large. Most of the space on the floor was filled with tables and chairs, leaving a narrow aisle for movement. It so happened that Lilia and Harold's table was near the bathroom door, so the person who came out had to walk sideways to avoid the maid.
But instead of walking sideways, that person immediately bumped into the maid's shoulder.
Everything happened so fast that the waiter didn't even have time to react. The pasta and salad on the tray was thrown into the air. After the sound of broken plates echoed around the second floor, everyone fell silent. They stopped all their activities to turn their heads.
The hot pasta plate fell on the table. Even though the plate was not broken, its contents scattered across Harold's cloth pants.
"Ahh!" Harold automatically jumped from his chair, knocking the paste stuck to his pants onto the floor. His forehead creased and a look of disgust spread across his face.
On the other hand, the dressing and vegetables from the salad fell on Lilia's woolen coat, staining the cream-colored coat. To make matters worse, the salad plate broke to pieces as it hit the floor. One of the shards flew off and scratched the back of Lilia's hand, leaving a line of blood.
The maid immediately turned panicked. "Miss Lilia Pangestu, I ... I'm really sorry ...!" He bowed his head repeatedly with an expression full of regret.
The servant might not know who Harold was, but he recognized Lilia's face. The international-class supermodel has chosen to dine at their humble restaurant, but he got her clothes dirty! What a fatal mistake!
The maid became even more depressed as she stole a glance at Lilia's coat. It looked very expensive, and he probably couldn't afford it. Is Lilia going to call the police and throw her in jail for not being able to pay ?!
Harold lowered his head and stared at his trousers which were covered in paste. She raised her hand, then ran her fingers through her hair with a frustrated expression. Then he looked back at Lilia, who was holding his injured hand. Harold's expression suddenly changed.
"Are you hurt ?!" Harold asked frantically.
At this time, Lilia didn't look at Harold. His gaze was fixed on the person who had bumped into the servant's shoulder. When Lilia heard Harold's question, she just shook her head without taking her eyes off the figure walking away.
After a while, Lilia turned her gaze to the maid. He took a napkin from the table, then wiped his coat. Lilia showed the maid a reassuring smile as she said, "It's okay, I know you didn't mean to do this."
There were tears in the maid's eyes, and she crumpled the tray in her hand nervously. When he heard Lilia's words, he felt even more uncomfortable.
"Miss Lilia, I… it's still my fault. Will you let me clean the coat? Or should I pay a fee to wash it?"
"No need." Lilia answered while putting the napkin in her hand back on the table.
He stared at the woman walking away, her smile turning even more sinister. Lilia lifted her chin and raised her voice. "If there is someone who has to pay compensation, it's someone who walks without paying attention to his surroundings! Doesn't Miss Sasha from the Hiroshi Family agree with me? "
Harold immediately frowned. It turned out that that woman was Lilia's acquaintance! But it's clear that they don't have a good relationship. On the contrary, they looked like mortal enemies. Harold became even more convinced when he saw Lilia's grinning face.
Harold looked at Sasha, who was forced to stop by Lilia's words. The man frowned and waved at the servant. "Next time be more careful. Please make one more portion for our order." Said Harold.
"Good, Sir."
The maid wiped the sweat from her forehead with a relieved expression and immediately cleared their table. Before leaving, he bowed towards Lilia and said, "Miss Lilia, thank you very much!"
He decided that from today, he would be Lilia Pangestu's biggest fan!
The maid's impression of Lilia turned positive even more, but her impression of the woman who had bumped into her shoulder just got even more negative. The woman did look very dignified, but she didn't even apologize when she bumped into him. It's obvious that his character is really bad!
After asking the kitchen staff for another serving of pasta and salad, the waiter returned to the second floor. He took out his cell phone and logged into his social media accounts. The maid secretly snaps a photo of Lilia before starting to compile a post.
The photos and captions posted by the waiter on social media immediately attracted the attention of countless netizens.
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