Chris looked at Merry in surprise. He didn't think that the young woman would dare to refuse his order. His lips then curved into a cold smile and his sadistic eyes glistened.
"Okay." He nodded without trying to force Merry again.
Merry watched Chris with great caution. That man wasn't the type to give up easily. She had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.
Chris took out his cell phone and called someone, "Bro Jean, come back for a moment. I was waiting for you at the place earlier— hmph!"
Before Chris could finish his sentence, Merry immediately covered the man's mouth with both hands. Her face looked so panicked. She leaned toward Chris.
"Brother Chris, I can't sit up front with you!" Merry whispered in the man's ear. She was afraid that Jean would hear it if she yelled at the man in the driver seat.
Chris was stunned for a moment. He could feel her soft and delicate hand pressing against his lips. Chris's body stiffened as Merry's breath tickled his ears.
When the man came to his senses, he immediately pulled Merry's hands from his lips, glaring at her. He accidentally dropped his cell phone during the struggle. Merry then hastily grabbed Chris' cellphone before the man could react.
However, when Merry was about to hang up the phone, she realized that Chris was just bluffing. The man only pretended to call Jean to scare her. She looked up and gave Chris an angry look. However, Merry's anger vanished and was replaced by fear when she saw Chris's menacing expression.
'If you disobey, I'll drop you here.'
As she had no other choice, Merry moved to the front seat, frowning. She fastened her seat belt and turned her back on Chris in annoyance. They did not say a word all the way home.
*****
Meanwhile, Clifford had taken over Jean's car. The car owner sat in the backseat with his fiancée.
The first thing Clifford did was raise the glass divider that separated the front and rear seats. He had learned from experience that he was better off not listening to the two lovebirds' conversation.
Lilia sat next to Jean holding the cake box that the man had bought for her. Bright, cute pink ribbons adorned the box.
"...Are you serious about what you said earlier?" Jean asked after confirming that Lilia had calmed down.
Lilia's hands automatically grabbed the cake box tighter. Her heart was pounding again and her fingers played the pink ribbon. Lilia thought about her decision for a moment.
"After I come back from Milan, I will sign our marriage certificate."
That's what Lilia told Jean before she left for Milan. But when Jean mentioned the matter on the plane, Lilia deliberately delayed the answer. Even after that, Lilia kept looking for reasons to avoid Jean, such as helping her old friend Rachel or working with a tight schedule.
Even so, Jean kept his promise and did not mention it again in their conversation. Lilia knew that the man would wait patiently for her until she was fully prepared. And Lilia took advantage of Jean's patience to keep procrastinating her answer. She did that for only one reason—fear.
Lilia was afraid of making irreparable mistakes.
'What if Jean doesn't really love me?' 'What if one day Jean realizes I'm not the woman he wants to be?' 'What if he finds the woman he loves and leaves me?'
These series of what-ifs caused by the text that William had sent her continued to haunt Lilia. Even though she thought she had forgotten that man's betrayal, her heart had not forgotten.
But tonight, Jean had given her the confidence she needed. Because of that, Lilia would no longer hesitate.
"… Y-yes, I'm serious." Lilia answered with a red face.
Jean studied his fiancée. Lilia's expression looked tense and her eyes moved from side to side as if looking for an escape, but her hands were holding Jean's shirt tightly. That action expressed Lilia's determination to ignore her embarrassment in order to convey her feelings to Jean.
Jean sighed. Did his fiancee realize that she looked so cute right now that he had a hard time holding back?
At that moment, Lilia looked up and met Jean's eyes. The woman said in a small voice, "Don't you… believe me?" Her big eyes filled with anxiety were even more charming.
Jean decided to ignore his common sense and reached out towards Lilia. He caught the woman's face with both hands before kissing her deeply.
When Jean finally let go of Lilia, the woman's breathing was ragged and her eyes lost focus. Jean gently placed his forehead on Lilia's and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Do you really want to be my wife?"
Lilia closed her eyes for a moment. She felt stupid for questioning her fiancé's love. His deep and strong love had caught her like a net. Once Lilia was caught, she couldn't escape. But Lilia didn't want to escape from that man's snare either.
Lilia opened her eyes and nodded confidently, "I want to be your wife!"
When their car arrived at the Surabaya toll gate, it was already past midnight.
Lilia was fast asleep while leaning on Jean's shoulder. She was completely exhausted from the long round trip in one day. In addition, she had also experienced that intense crash incident. No wonder Lilia didn't wake up at all when Jean brought her into his house.
Meanwhile, Chris separated from Jean's car after they exited the toll booth. He needed to take Merry back to her apartment first. When they reached the address Merry had given them, Chris turned his head towards the passenger seat. He saw that the young woman was still asleep. Merry's head rested to the side and her body was covered by Chris's party coat.
The man sighed and got out of the car to wait for the woman to wake up. While smoking, Chris stole a glance at Merry. He thought back to their conversation in the car and wanted to laugh at himself. He finally agreed to keep Merry's identity and whereabouts a secret. If this situation had happened a few years ago, Chris would never have agreed to help her!
Chris took a deep breath and exhaled again. His chest was filled with complex and inexplicable feelings whenever he thought about the young woman.
After waiting long enough, Merry did not wake up. Chris lost his temper and opened the passenger door. He reached out to pat her cheek, "Hey, wake up."
However Merry did not react at all. When Chris kept trying to wake her up, Merry slapped the man's hand.
"Annoying…" Merry muttered in her sleep.
Chris's patience finally ran out, "MERRY HIROSHI!" He shouted right in Merry's ear, "WAKE UP!"
The woman jumped up and almost fell out of her chair. She looked around with a confused look. Her brain was still trying to process what was happening around her. When Merry met Chris's cold eyes, all of her drowsiness vanished.
"Get out of the car!" Chris ordered as he hurriedly averted his gaze.
In Chris's eyes, Merry's face looked very cute when she had just woken up from her sleep. Her big, innocent eyes flickered with confusion and one cheek was red from sticking to her seat belt. Merry's blank expression made her look like a living porcelain doll.
Chris shook his head vigorously. He must be crazy to be attracted to a little girl like Merry!
"Ah, are we there yet?" Merry asked as she recognized the apartment building. The woman got out of the car and stretched her stiff body. Then she turned towards Chris, "Thank you for driving me home, Brother Chris! Good evening!" She said with a big smile
But before Merry could leave, Chris called out to her.
"Wait a minute, put this on." The man threw his party coat on Merry's head.
"Eh, for what?" Merry protested as she lowered the coat from her head, "It's not cold here at all."
Chris didn't answer, but his gaze was threatening. As soon as Merry saw the man's expression, she immediately covered her shoulders with the coat.
"…Goodbye." Said Merry half sulking before entering her apartment. She didn't look back at the man.
Chris watched Merry's back as she walked away. For the first time, he realized that the little girl who was always trailing behind him had grown up to be a beautiful and charming young woman.
Merry was the favorite daughter of the Hiroshi Family, but why would she prefer to live in this modest apartment instead of studying abroad? Was she really doing this just because she liked entertainment, like she said earlier? Chris couldn't completely believe Merry's story.
He decided to find out what really happened.
*****
The next morning, when Lilia came down from her room, she saw Jean waiting for her in the dining room.
Sister Mei, who was cleaning the kitchen, turned her head when she heard Lilia enter. The middle-aged woman smiled warmly as she greeted, "Miss Lilia, good morning. Your breakfast is ready. Young Master has been waiting for you to wake up earlier."
Note:
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