Merry didn't say goodbye to Clifford. The young woman hadn't even said anything to him since he arrived at the hospital. Clifford tried to understand that Merry might have been overwhelmed? from her separation with Chris.
But Clifford didn't realize that his flat expression had changed into that of dissatisfaction. After all, being left without saying goodbye was still painful, even for him.
Clifford stood there in the waiting room for a very long time, like a wooden statue. He remained there until he heard that Merry's plane had taken off. Only then did Clifford move from his place. He stepped out of the airport and saw an airplane flying high in the sky.
The plane flew away, taking half of his heart with him.
*****
Outside the airport, Lilia and Mellisa got into the Porsche driven by Leonard.
The two sisters then sat in the back seat. As Lilia closed the door beside her, Leonard glanced at Mellisa in the rearview mirror. The man's expression was full of dissatisfaction. He felt he had become a driver.
Mellisa caught Clifford's gaze, but she ignored him and asked instead, "What is the situation at the Irwan Family house?"
Leonard held the steering wheel with one hand, then turned his head to look their way. "Leila went to the cultural center and wanted to see Richard, but she was stopped by his assistant," he replied.
"Then?" Mellisa asked, raising her eyebrows. She wasn't surprised to hear Leila trying to contact her parents. That woman would definitely rely on people picking her side to help her.
Leonard saw Mellisa's expression and glanced at Lilia again. He continued lightly, "She didn't go to the Irwan family house, but went to the real estate agent 20 minutes ago. Then she sold all the property she owned in Jakarta!"
Lilia and Mellisa instantly exchanged glances at each other. The development of this situation was unexpected for them. Lilia started to play with her hair between her fingers in deep thought.
"Is she really trying to sell the property? Isn't it a source of emergency funding for her?" Lilia asked.
Mellisa sneered. "If this is the case, then I'm more curious about what she's going to do once she gets all the money."
Lilia nodded when she heard her sister's words. Mellisa was right— what was Leila planning to do with that kind of money?
"Robert Pangestu and his wife are already on their way to Jakarta. They should be there at four o'clock this afternoon. Are you guys going there too?" Leonard asked while starting his car's engine.
Depending on the answers of the two sisters, he might need to drive them back to the airport.
But contrary to Leonard's expectations, Lilia and Mellisa said almost simultaneously, "We're not leaving!"
After speaking, the two of them smiled at each other. At least, not today!
The people behind Leila hadn't appeared yet, but the woman would definitely try to contact them. If Lilia and Mellisa let Leila do as she pleased, it would create an illusion for Leila that she wasn't being watched by anyone. Thus, Leila would lead them to those who supported her.
At the same time, they can also take this opportunity to understand how the current Irwan Family's attitude towards Leila was.
*****
Lilia and Mellisa parted ways on the lower floor of Aphrodite Agency. The model had a filming job this afternoon, so Lilia just asked Leonard to drive her straight to the agency office.
After Lilia left, Mellisa was still staring at her back as her sister was walking away. She ignored Leonard, who was squinting at her. "Are you planning to use me as a driver all day?" Leonard complained.
Mellisa turned to the man for a moment. She stared at him with a faint smile and scathing back, "Oh? But I never told you to pick me up at the airport, you know."
Even so, she still raised her hand to open the car's door. Mellisa got out of the car without rushing and went into the passenger's seat. There was a touch of joy hidden behind her calm eyes.
Perhaps only through personal experience could one understand the beauty of being appreciated and cared for. Mellisa had become accustomed to the coldness of feeling lonely. Then suddenly, a man appeared in her life and took her as if she was a treasure in the palm of his hand. The man was radiating with care and love for Mellisa all the time, like the heat of the sun driving away the chilling mist. To Mellisa, Leonard's figure looked very bright and radiant.
He was a man of iron blood, he didn't really understand a woman's mind. But he could read Mellisa's slowly softening towards him. It seemed that... Mellisa no longer rejected his presence.
As he realized that, the corner of Leonard's mouth slowly rose to form a small smile. He laughed casually and asked, "Does your wound still hurt?"
Mellisa shook her head. "It doesn't hurt, I'm not that weak. I'll fully recover in a few days,"
"Mrs. Adler, it's okay to admit it if you do feel hurt!" Leonard teased as he got back to running his car.
Mellisa snorted at Leonard's words just now, "Wait a minute, when did I ever say that I wanted to be your wife? I don't think I ever said that,"
The atmosphere inside the car was shrouded in an awkward silence after Mellisa dropped her answer. The silence made the awkward tension between the two heavier and more annoying.
However, Mellisa's reaction was still understandable. She only experienced teenage love when she was still in school, then her life changed one hundred and eighty degrees. Mellisa didn't have time to think about love when she had to fight tooth and nail to survive. That's why she didn't understand what love was, so she still had a little awkward emotion with her.
Mellisa thought that Leonard would be angry with her words being too harsh, so she stole a glance at him. But Leonard instead stared at her without saying anything. His gaze showed a depth that Mellisa couldn't comprehend.
This silence made her heart tighten and she felt as if she had been stung by Leonard's gaze. Her heart churned with confusion. At this time, Mellisa regretted that Lilia had to go to work. If her little sister were here, the atmosphere between them wouldn't have turned out this awkward!
At this moment, Leonard clearly caught all of Mellisa's expressions. He did not argue, nor did he take offense.
As Leonard was driving away from the road in front of the agency office, Mellisa heard him say, "Since you don't want to be the wife of the Adler family, how about I become your family's son-in-law?"
Mellisa's heart was confused by him. Was this the response a normal man should have? Suddenly, she wasn't so sure anymore.
What kind of man was Leonard actually?
For this problem, Mellisa might take a lifetime to slowly understand.
*****
That afternoon, Lilia arrived at the shooting location for a perfume commercial. Harold accompanied her for this premiere. Her assistants Dina and Rini were arranged to help her throughout filming.
This perfume was touted as a domestic internet celebrity brand that had just been launched. Even so, its reputation and popularity on the internet were very high. Lilia was a little surprised when she heard that.
Harold was an experienced manager and definitely wouldn't just take a job offer for her for the sake of money. The man always considered the brand that Lilia would advertise in order to maintain her reputation as a model.
So Lilia was very curious what kind of internet celebrity perfume could make Harold nod and agree to this contract.. After all, she always had famous brands that had reached the international level as her endorsement.
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on (f)reew𝒆(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦