All the way back to the hotel, there was only silence in the car. Lilia was repeatedly stealing glances at Jean, who kept staring out the window without saying a word. Lilia struggled to find a topic of conversation, but her brain seemed to refuse to work.
Jean suddenly spoke, "...You know who helped you, right?"
Lilia jumped at Jean's words. "I-I ..."
"Do not lie to me. You might trick the cop, but you can't trick me." Jean turned his head with a sharp gaze.
Lilia sighed, "... Yes, I know who helped me."
Jean leaned over and tapped the glass separating the taxi driver from them, "Stop here."
Lilia looked at her fiancé in confusion as the car pulled up. Jean paid the fare and led Lilia out of the car.
"Jean, what ...?"
Lilia's question was interrupted when the man suddenly hugged her tightly.
"I've wanted to do this since earlier. You don't like it when I do it in front of other people, right?" Jean whispered in Lilia's ear.
Lilia's face immediately turned red, "Doing it on the roadside like this doesn't make me feel any better!" She protested, but she didn't try to get away. Since being kidnapped, Lilia had realized that her body was still in a tense and alert state. The warmth of Jean's body eased her and made her feel completely safe
After a while, Jean reluctantly released Lilia. The man grabbed his fiancée's hand and they started walking towards Lilia's hotel, which was only a few blocks away.
"Are you cold?" Jean asked, breaking the silence between them.
He was worried that her fiancé would catch a cold from wearing only a simple blouse and shorts. If Lilia had known what Jean had in mind, she would have complained that this guy worried too easily.
"No!" Lilia shook her head, "According to the weather forecast, tonight the temperature is only 20 degrees. That temperature isn't too cold for me!"
Jean frowned, but he didn't argue. He actually said something that was on his mind since earlier.
"You won't tell me about the person who helped you?" Jean asked.
Lilia's steps paused for a moment as she stared at Jean in surprise. Then she immediately continued walking, "I can't tell you."
"Why?!" Jean's voice sounded sharper than he intended.
"Because I don't know him either." Lilia answered earnestly, "All I know is that he is a young man. Oh, he also has lots of acquaintances in this town, so I guess he's a local."
"Hmm ..." Jean muttered. Even though that woman sounded honest, Jean had the feeling that Lilia was still hiding something from him, "Okay, I won't ask again about that."
"Really?" Lilia turned to him with a big smile.
Jean's suspicion turned into conviction. The man was making mental notes to conduct a thorough investigation into the case when he got home.
*****
When they finally arrived in front of the Townhouse Hotel where Lilia was staying, she felt a little sad. She still wanted to spend more time with Jean, especially after what happened today.
But Lilia tried to keep her expression neutral as she said, "Jean, thank you for escorting me to the hotel. Where do you stay? Is the place far from here?"
Jean stared at her for a moment, then he smiled softly as if he could read Lilia's thoughts, "I also stay here, by accident." He sounded relaxed.
Hearing that, Lilia's eyes widened in surprise. She was happy and embarrassed at the same time, "Why didn't you tell me?" Lilia protested.
"Think of it as a surprise for you." Said Jean ignorantly as he opened the front door, "Please come in, Miss Lilia."
The man followed Lilia to the front door of her room. Lilia used the hotel card to open the door to her room before stepping inside. When she turned around to say goodbye to Jean, the man was still standing in front of her room as if he had no intention of going anywhere.
Lilia gave Jean a curious look and asked, "Where's your room?"
Instead of answering, Jean stepped into Lilia's room and closed the door behind him. Lilia automatically took a step back when Jean approached her. The man's lips curled into a sadistic smile and he approached Lilia as if he was about to pounce on her. The woman continued to step back until her back hit the wall.
In an instant, Lilia was caught between Jean's arms. The man looked down at Lilia and his smile grew wider when he saw her restlessness, "Why did you run away?" He asked in a deep, sexy voice.
Lilia looked away, "Y-You admire me, that's all. Can you let me go?" She pleaded.
Jean leaned closer and whispered in Lilia's ear, "Guess which room I'm staying in. If you're right, I will let you go."
Jean's breath tickled Lilia's ears. But she actually remembered the moment when Alfred whispered in her ear, "This is our secret."
"Lilia?" Jean tilted his head as Lilia just stared blankly at him.
"Um…" Lilia woke up and hurriedly forced her brain to think.
Of the many rooms in this hotel, why was Jean so sure that Lilia could guess it?
"Ah ... could it be, the room next to mine?" Lilia guessed.
A mixture of surprise and disappointment crossed Jean's face. The man lowered his arms reluctantly.
"I didn't think you could guess it." He muttered in a low voice. Then he cleared his throat and neutralized his expression again, "Right. Do you like surprises from me?" Jean asked.
Lilia laughed and hugged the guy instead. She could feel Jean's body turning stiff with surprise. Lilia wanted her fiancé to feel the happiness she was feeling right now, "Yes, I really like it!"
Having Jean with her in this strange city far from everything she knew made Lilia feel very grateful. When Lilia finally let go of her embrace, Jean cupped Lilia's face with both hands.
"Why do you look like you want to cry?" Jean frowned, "Did I do something wrong?" He asked.
Lilia's cheeks immediately flushed red and she hurriedly broke free, "No, that's just your feeling! Rather than discussing that, I want to show you the night view from my bedroom balcony!"
Lilia turned around and walked quickly towards the balcony. She wasn't mentally prepared to tell Jean that she was so happy that he was here with her.
The night wind blew to greet Lilia as she opened her balcony door. The cool air cooled her hot face. She leaned on the balcony railing and took a deep breath to calm herself. A few moments later, Lilia heard the sound of footsteps behind her.
Lilia's heart suddenly pounded, making her remember the time when she first fell in love.
Even though at that time she was 20 years old, she was still innocent and didn't know anything about love. Lilia thought that she had found her true love in William, so she gave her whole heart… only to be smashed to pieces. Lilia had promised herself to never give her heart to others again.
But now destiny brought Jean to her.
"What are you thinking?" Jean's question broke Lilia's reverie. The man leaned on the balcony railing as well and stared intently at Lilia's face.
Lilia turned to Jean and caught her breath. Her fiancé's hair looked like strands of gold under the moonlight. The sight of the handsome man against the backdrop of the starry night sky looked like a work of art by a famous painter. Lilia felt a strong urge to capture that moment.
"Lilia?" When Jean called out to her, the woman realized that she had been staring at Jean without saying anything.
She coughed and looked away, "I didn't think about anything. I just feel that the view from here is very beautiful, that's all." She quickly replied.
Lilia could see a satisfied smile on Jean's lips from the corner of her eye. The man seemed to be able to guess what Lilia meant by 'beautiful sight'.
"Um ... Jean." Lilia dared to express her feelings, "Thank you for coming all the way to Milan."
Lilia looked straight at the man and smiled sweetly.
"I'm glad you are here with me." Her words were sincere.
Jean was stunned when he heard that. Lilia's smiling face against the backdrop of the starry night sky made her look even more beautiful. It took Jean a while to realize that he was staring at Lilia without saying anything.
"Y-Yes ... I'm also happy to be able to come here." Jean gave a small cough to cover his awkwardness, "I'll go in first. Don't stay outside for too long, you will catch a cold." Jean ordered before going back into the room.
After confirming that Jean had closed the balcony's door, Lilia put her head on the stone fence and let out a deep sigh. She didn't know what made her dare to say something embarrassing like that.
Suddenly her cell phone rang. Lilia took out the cellphone and checked the screen. There was a new SMS from an unknown number. With alarm, Lilia opened the message.
"This is Will. Your performance tonight was amazing, Lili! I want to talk to you. Can we meet?"
Lilia immediately deleted the message as soon as she read it. Why did William contact her all of a sudden? What did he want now?
Lilia spent a few minutes on the balcony to collect herself before finally returning to the room. She was greeted by a hot cup of coffee from Jean.
"Did you brew it yourself?" Lilia asked while sitting on the sofa. She glanced at the coffee grinder in front of Jean before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Right. Did you like it?" Jean replied while operating the device skillfully. The man remained elegant even when he did something as simple as brewing coffee.
Lilia nodded, "This is better than my own. If only I could drink this everyday…" Lilia muttered.
Jean chuckled, "When you move into my house, I'll make it for you every morning."
Jean's words about their married life made Lilia's face hot again. She hurriedly changed the subject.
"By the way, you said you just got to Milan this afternoon?" Lilia asked.
"Yes. There are many things I have to take care of before I can go here." Irritation colored Jean's voice, "To be honest, I would like to leave on the same day as you. But Kenny complained that he would die of exhaustion if I did that, so I had to resign him. I had to work late for a few days just so I had time to come over here."
Lilia could imagine Jean's assistant begging him not to leave with a face full of despair. She promised to buy lots of gifts for Kenny as a thanks for his hard work so far.
"So that's why you didn't reply to my message for a long time?" Lilia asked in an accusing tone.
"Oh?" The corner of Jean's mouth lifted into a faint smile, "I didn't know you were looking forward to my reply."
Lilia couldn't answer and could only look down with a red face.
*****
Milan Fashion Week lasted 5 days. After the opening show, there were more than 60 brands displaying their clothing collections.
Thanks to her appearance in the show owned by the Van brand, the name Lilia Pangestu became famous. She received many offers from other brands to appear on their shows. Because of this, her schedule was really busy and she often didn't have time to eat, let alone meeting Jean.
Lilia felt tired, but she was also happy because her hard work and ability as a model had received recognition from the world.
On the last day of the fashion week, Lilia felt great relief when she stepped off the stage one last time. She went straight back to the hotel and fell asleep without taking the time to eat dinner.
Meanwhile, Harold returned to Indonesia with Merry as soon as the fashion week ended. Ever since Jean appeared, Harold tried to avoid Lilia as much as possible. Whenever he met Lilia on the sidelines of her busy schedule, Jean was always with that model.
The two men acted as if their fight never happened, but they also refused to talk to each other. Plus, Jean always flaunted his fondness of Lilia in front of Harold. Such childish acts made Harold hate Jean even more. It seemed that the two men were indeed destined to be enemies.
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