Lilia walked back to the parking lot. She looked up and saw Jean waiting for her. The man was standing near the car smoking with one hand. Jean didn't seem to care even though the cold night wind repeatedly blew past him.
Lilia was surprised to see him and sped up her pace. She started to take off Jean's coat that was wrapped around her shoulders. "Why are you still smoking outside in those thin clothes?!" She said, scolding the man. "Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?!"
Jean didn't say anything, but he caught Lilia's wrist, preventing her from taking off his coat. Then he cupped his wife's face with one hand, and looked at her gently, as if trying to see Lilia's true emotions.
Lilia took Jean's cold hand and rubbed it against her cheek. "I am fine." She said softly. "Let's get in the car before you freeze out here."
She did feel fine. Apart from a few cruel words and a little pain in her heart, Lilia didn't feel any emotion towards her former mother. It'd been a long time since she felt sad because of something that woman did. She was so busy with her own life that she didn't have time to think about her pain anymore.
The two of them got into Jean's car, taking cover from the cold wind outside. Lilia let out a sigh of relief and wagged her fingers that were starting to feel numb. Then she took Jean's coat off her shoulders. Lilia leaned back on the chair and her eyes were fixed on the man's figure. The corner of her mouth then lifted into a faint smile.
"What were you talking about with that woman?" Jean tilted her head slightly and caught Lilia's sly gaze.
Lilia put the coat on the back seat, then she started laughing. At first, the voice was soft, but it grew louder and louder as time went on.
Jean looked at his wife anxiously. "Lilia ...?"
Hearing the worry in Jean's voice, Lilia desperately stopped her laughter. "Ahh… sorry, I just couldn't hold back my laughter anymore. That woman is really mindless," Lilia said with a condescending smile. "She openly admitted that Leila and I were exchanged!"
Even though she was smiling that way, Jean could see the bitterness in her eyes. Lilia tried to deny it, but it was obvious that she was still hurt by the fact that the woman she trusted to be her mother had tricked her over the years.
Jean looked closely at Lilia and asked, "Now that you know it, what do you want to do?"
His understanding of Lilia was deep. Without needing to say much, he could immediately tell what Lilia wanted from her expression alone.
Lilia pressed her lips together and turned away from Jean's gaze. She looked up at the night sky outside the window. "Jean, I think our previous investigation went in the wrong direction. There might not be a problem with Leila's birthplace. The real problem lies in my birthplace!" She explained.
They had investigated everything about Leila beforehand. However, they failed to investigate Lilia.
Maybe Leila was born in Jakarta. But what about Lilia? Her parents from the Pangestu family claimed that she was born in Surabaya. However, when compared to Leila who already lived in Jakarta, it would be easier to make some changes to Lilia's birth certificate.
Hearing that, Jean raised his eyebrows with an interested expression. He replied, "You were born at Diana Hospital on June 1."
This was the result of an investigation that he personally carried out. Even though it had been quite a while since he had read the results of the investigation, Jean would never forget a single detail about his wife.
Lilia unconsciously rubbed her chin, feeling a little confused. "Diana Hospital? How come I never heard of it?" She asked.
"Ten years ago, the hospital was split into the Apollo General Hospital and the Minerva Hospital!" The man replied.
Lilia's eyes widened when she heard Jean's answer. There it was! The hospital where Chris and Leila were treated was the Minerva Hospital.
She thought for a moment and asked, "Then, when did you investigate this information?"
"About three years ago." Jean replied calmly.
Hearing this, Lilia's eyes flashed sharply and she smiled faintly. "It turns out that when you investigated me, the results were very detailed?" Lilia quipped.
"More than you can imagine!" The man returned Lilia's gaze fearlessly. Then, she added casually, "There's also a picture of you handing a towel to the basketball captain in high school too!"
At that instant, Lilia fell silent and couldn't refute Jean's investigation.
*****
At that time, after Sylvia bumped into Lilia, she slowly walked towards the inpatient department holding a food box. If looked closely, Sylvia's leg looked a little limping while walking. That was when Leila pushed her to the ground outside the Irwan Family's house that day.
Sylvia arrived at the ward facing the hospital's garden. She had thought a lot about her confrontation with Lilia earlier. Finally, Sylvia decided to keep it deep inside her heart. Her daughter Leila had endured so much pain over the years. Sylvia didn't want to make her sad and afraid anymore.
Inside the room, Leila was lying on her side on the bed, as if she were sleeping.
The female patient next to her was talking to her family members who had come to visit her. As the door swung open, she glanced at Sylvia entering and walking in. But the patient did not greet her and only turned her face away.
This mother and daughter couple were the rudest people she had ever known! Sylvia spoiled her daughter too much, so Leila always acted her own way. Today was not that different. Sge saw Leila deliberately spilling a bowl of pork bone soup on the floor, only because the young woman didn't like it.
Leila said that she was sorry and apologized repeatedly to Sylvia. She claimed that her hands slipped so that the bowl fell from her grip. The female patient shook her head. What kind of family was this? How could they raise such an ungrateful child?
"Lei, let's wake up. Time to eat!" Sylvia placed the food box on the table and patted Leila on the shoulder gently. She acted cautiously for fear of disturbing her daughter's sleep.
After a while, Leila turned around and glanced at Sylvia. She touched her forehead with a pained look. "Cough... Mother... cough... my body feels very uncomfortable..."
"What's wrong? Are you feeling sick or hurt somewhere? " Sylvia noticed that Leila's face was red as if she had a fever. She reached out and touched her forehead that felt really hot.
Sylvia immediately panicked and hurriedly ran outside to call the doctor. She was completely oblivious to the traces of pride in Leila's eyes.
Currently, the doctor who handled Leila was touring the building. Sylvia searched several different wards before she found the doctor in charge of her daughter. However, after running back to the ward, Leila disappeared!
Her hospital gown was left at the end of the bed, and the curtains were half open. Sylvia looked around before asking the patient in the next bed as her last resort.
"Did you see where my daughter went?"
"I don't know. I heard that she wants to change her clothes. Why don't you search in the bathroom?" The patient's family members didn't know Sylvia and gave a polite answer.
Hearing her answer, Sylvia shouted anxiously, "What did you say?! She has a fever! Why didn't you stop her from changing clothes?"
The patient and her family members then looked at Sylvia dumbfounded. It seemed that there was really something wrong with this woman!
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