Obviously, Mellisa's emotional comments made Richard's heart ache a little.
After a while, Mellisa raised her eyes faintly. When she noticed that her father was pouting his lips, Mellisa let out a heavy sigh and her fingers touched her knees.
She asked straightforwardly, "Father, I don't care what kind of truth lies out there but let me ask you one thing. If I were planning to kill Leila, would you stop me?"
"What?!" Richard was dumbfounded by Mellisa's words, especially the word 'kill'!
He had a warm personality at first, but he'd been influenced by the Irwan family over the years, so it was clear that internal conflict was the least thing that would make him happy, let alone murder.
But now, all of this was about to go down between his own children.
Richard calmed his breath with a hint of disapproval in his eyes. "Mellisa, what did you mean just now? Don't ever say that again! You finally came back to us, do you want to throw it all away by doing silly things? Do you want to make your sister Lilia worry about you?"
This successive questioning unexpectedly made Mellisa's skin warm for a while.
Within his anxious tone, there was deep concern in his voice.
Mellisa raised her eyes, smiling at Richard's serious gaze. "Dad, if I wanted Leila to pay for what she did, would you feel sorry for her?"
What did Richard say?
Despite the silence for a few seconds, he shook his head seriously. "No, but I still hope you don't do something reckless."
"Mellisa, I don't care what you want to do, but you have to think about yourself and also for your sister Lilia. Even if you want to live with her in Surabaya, don't ever put your life in danger. I don't want you to be at risk," he continued.
"Our Irwan family always prioritizes etiquette. You are the daughter of the Irwan family, you have to be better at guarding your words and your deeds. Do you understand?" The man added.
This was the basic attitude of the Irwan family. Paying attention to words and deeds, holding back emotions, and learning basic etiquette were the lessons that Mellisa had been taught for over 20 years as a member of the Irwan family.
She never listened to this, so she was considered a bad child.
Leila on the other hand, listened intently and also studied very diligently.
Therefore, the family's good girl was Leila.
But right now, at least her father's attitude made Mellisa feel better.
He didn't defend Leila at all. But if that really happened, maybe Mellisa wouldn't mind cutting off the blood ties to the Irwan family.
Richard advised Mellisa a few more words in the living room, after which he got up and walked to the exit. There, he could feel that there were a pair of eyes staring at him from the direction of the stairs on the second floor.
Richard had heard footsteps coming from above before, he guessed that Lilia might be awake.
But she never came down, so Richard didn't want to bother her.
After Richard left, Mellisa also rose quickly and went upstairs.
When he walked to the last step, he met Lilia who was leaning against the wall. Seeing her sister's smiling eyes Mellisa asked in a low voice, "How come you're awake? How do you feel, is it still hurt?"
Lilia shook her head, took her hand, and walked down the stairs side by side. "I'm fine. Don't treat me like a weak old woman, it's just a nosebleed. Compared to the wounds you suffered, this nosebleed is nothing!"
Mellisa laughed, she put aside the worry in her heart for a while. The two of them then returned to the living room. When Lilia sat down, she asked, "Why did father come here?"
"He came here to attend the banquet, he also said that he wanted to see us before the banquet started. Then he asked me when we both intend to return to the Irwan family's house. But I disagreed and immediately refused!"
Lilia listened to Mellisa's explanation with a faint smile hidden between her brows.
In fact, she'd just heard Richard's answer, especially when Mellisa couldn't help asking the question about Leila twice.
Her sister actually still cared about the Irwan family, and Richard's unquestioning attitude had softened Mellisa's toughness towards their father's family.
After Lilia took her to the chair, she joked. "You just said that you wanted to kill her, you must have scared him half to death!"
Mellisa grabbed the corner of her mouth and shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows?"
For a while, the two sisters fell silent.
Lilia then thought in her mind. The conversation between Mellisa and Richard made her think that her sister still had her concern for the Irwan family.
Even so, her older sister didn't show that. Maybe because of her conflict with Leila that she couldn't forgive her family easily.
However, the longing for family affection that laid deep in her heart kept unfolding.
Lilia and Mellisa were siblings, but what she could give Mellisa was only a small part of the true family relationship.
It was true that Mellisa's character and attitude couldn't change overnight, but her violent character grew due to the inferiority complex that she got from how her family treated her differently than Leila over the years.
Her older sister was actually a very kind person and naturally, she shouldn't live in the shadow of the past forever.
Lilia's clear eyes fixed on Mellisa's cold cheeks. The supermodel then smiled in the next moment, pretending she was giving casual advice. "Actually, I don't think it's a problem returning to the Irwan family's house. I also heard what the two of you talked just now. He didn't force us to return to the house to stay, then shouldn't we return as guests? That way, we can talk as family and do family things?"
After hearing this, Mellisa looked at her in surprise. "Are you sure?"
Lilia nodded earnestly, then replied in a pleasant tone, "We'll see. Besides, Leila has also been pacing in front of the Irwan family's house for some time now. If we both go there, maybe we can meet her."
Lilia didn't reveal the inner emotion she actually felt inside her heart.
Even though she truly had no feelings for the Irwan family in her heart, if she could lighten Mellisa's heart, Lilia would happily accompany her to revisit her hometown.
As for the family bond, she couldn't let Mellisa continue to be depressed over this matter.
After all, the people Mellisa cared about the most were her parents, the one who had been raising her for more than 20 years.
...
In the evening, the Mayer family's banquet party finally began.
A week ago, the Mayer family had issued an invitation card to announce a big event.
Almost all the rich and powerful families in Jakarta attended.
Whether they came out of curiosity or pleasure, this banquet was a rare social opportunity.
Everyone here held important positions in the capital. Even if they weren't friends, and only spoke a few words, they would definitely benefit a lot.
Starting at 4 pm, luxury cars of various colors continued to enter the complex.
It was reported that today's dinner party had invited more than 50 prominent families in Jakarta and even Indonesia, including the mayor of Jakarta.
The Mayer family had not held a banquet with such a grand celebration for years, not to mention the venue which was still in the military area complex.
At 16..30, in the garden courtyard, the visiting guests were already busy socializing with one another.
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