Chapter 124 - Leader Replacement

Merry arrived at the hospital around eleven in the morning. Along the way to Lilia's room, she was always tiptoeing around and repeatedly looking over her shoulder. Her movements were so suspicious that the hospital staff stopped Merry and questioned her. When the young woman got close to Lilia's room, she called the model first.

"Hello, Merry? Where are you?" Lilia asked.

"Sis, is P-President Jean there with you?" Merry ignored Lilia's question and asked in a whispering voice.

"No, it's just me alone. Why? Do you need something from Jean?" Lilia replied.

Merry was so scared that she almost dropped her cell phone, "N-No! I… I'm just asking! I'll be there in a minute, okay!" She hastily hung up the phone.

Clifford had been trailing behind Merry and sighed at the young woman's childish attitude. He wondered why Merry didn't call Lilia first before coming to the hospital. If she had done that, Clifford would not have needed to save Merry from the hospital staff's questioning.

When they reached Lilia's room, the woman looked surprised as she opened the door and saw Clifford with Merry.

"Good morning Madam." Clifford gave a brief greeting. The head of the security team took a quick glance at Lilia and was relieved to see that she was fine.

"Good morning. Come on in, you two." Lilia invited them while opening the door wider.

"Thanks, but I'll just wait outside." Clifford politely declined Lilia's offer. He turned around and stood by the door like a loyal watchdog.

With no other choice, Lilia invited Merry to enter. The young woman closed the door behind her before approaching Lilia with a sparkling expression.

"Sis Lilia, have you read the latest news on the internet?" Merry asked enthusiastically.

Lilia was packing her clothes and cosmetic equipment and instantly turned around when she heard that question. She shook her head and replied, "Not yet. So what?"

"Look at this!" Merry took out her cell phone and typed in something before thrusting it out to Lilia. Her round face looked excited as she explained, "The owner of Hartanto Entertainment has changed! This morning, they issued a statement that starting today, the chairman of Hartanto Entertainment's board of directors is no longer Sara Hartanto, but Chris Hartanto!"

"Is it true?" Lilia immediately grabbed Merry's cellphone and read the news.

According to Merry's words, all mass media were reporting the same thing. The appointment of Chris as the new owner of Hartanto Entertainment made the headlines. Lilia had a feeling that Jean was intervening in this. The man seemed to be helping Chris take over Hartanto Entertainment to make sure Sara couldn't bother Lilia with her financial strength anymore.

As Lilia was thinking about all that complicated matters, Merry was bouncing beside her, "Not only that, there's still another good news! I heard that Rina's assault case has been officially processed! If there is no problem, she will be sentenced to prison!"

Then she clapped her hands together as if she had an idea.

"Oh, I know! Sis, why don't you ask President Jean to step in and increase Rina's sentence? That way, she can be jailed for a few more years!" Merry suggested.

Lilia reached out and pinched Merry's cheeks.

"Ow, ow, ow! Sis! It hurts!" Merry protested when Lilia let go.

"If I do that, I'll just be as bad as Rina. Just because my husband has wealth and power doesn't mean that I can do whatever I want." Lilia said sharply.

"Y-Yes." Merry nodded obediently.

"Stop talking nonsense again. Go on and take care of my return from the hospital." Lilia instructed while returning Merry's cellphone, "Is Harold here, by the way?"

Merry rubbed her cheek and took her cell phone back, "No, just me and Clifford is enough! We're going out of the back door of this hospital. Clifford checked earlier and said there were no reporters there. That way, we can get away without anyone knowing!" She explained.

Lilia looked at Merry in surprise, "Since when did you become that close to Clifford?"

Merry was stunned, then hurriedly explained, "Y-Yes, that's because… because we often meet! Clifford always picks up Ms. Lilia, right? We talk a lot on the way, so we're good friends now!"

If the man that stood outside the room had heard that, he would have said, 'Since when have we been close friends?!'

*****

Half an hour later, Merry finished taking care of Lilia's discharge from the hospital. She, Merry, and Clifford got off in a special elevator that no one else used. Lilia wore the mask and hat that Merry had prepared beforehand. They walked out the back door and didn't see a reporter. The three of them got into the car, then immediately drove away from the hospital.

On the way home, Lilia opened her cellphone and posted it on her social media account. There were already more than 3 million netizens posted the tag #PrayForLilia and they couldn't take it anymore.

[Lilia]: "Thank you for the prayers! Thanks to all of you, I'm fine!"

The post was immediately flooded with comments from fans and netizens. They all congratulated her while questioning her condition. The first artist to comment was Ryan Fever.

[Ryan]: "@Lilia, get well soon, huh!"

The next artist was William Anggara.

[William]: "@Lilia, get well soon and don't worry about me anymore."

The man even added a heart-shaped sticker at the end of his comment.

Next to Lilia, Merry read William's comment and her eyes immediately lit up. She typed with such emotion that Lilia was worried that her phone screen would crack.

[User1060]: "@William, why are you worrying about my idol? Mind your own business! We don't need your worries!"

Meanwhile, Lilia showed her reaction to William's attention more subtly. She replied to Ryan's comment and deliberately ignored the man's comment.

When Lilia arrived at the Lakeside Villa, Sister Mei had already made lunch for her.

Merry only escorted Lilia to the front door before escaping back to the car. She didn't have the courage to come in even though Lilia offered her lunch. After confirming that Lilia was inside the house, Merry patted Clifford on the shoulder and asked the man to take her home.

Lilia greeted Sister Mei and went up to her room to change. When she entered the dress room, she realized that the number of clothes and suits in the room had increased since the last time. Jean must have bought her a new dress without telling her. The corner of Lilia's mouth lifted into a happy smile.

She sat in front of the dresser and texted Jean via the Other app.

[Lilia]: "Are you busy?"

After sending that, Lilia waited patiently for his reply. She imagined Jean working on the pile of documents in his office. Lilia liked watching the man work. Each of his moves was streamlined yet elegant.

In just a minute, Lilia's cell phone rang. She held back a smile as she read the caller's name on the screen. Lilia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before answering, "Hello?"

"Are you home?" Jean's deep, low voice made Lilia's heart pound. She felt so close to Jean, as if the man was standing right beside her at this time.

"Yes, I just arrived." Lilia answered while playing with the ends of her black hair, "Are you still busy? Have you had lunch?"

Lilia waited, but Jean didn't answer. She could faintly hear footsteps from the other end of the line. Maybe the man was heading to the location of the next meeting. Lilia leaned back into the chair while continuing to clench her ears. However, Jean did not answer.

While feeling a little disappointed, Lilia said again, "Looks like you are busy, so I won't bother you any longer. I'll hang up, okay. Don't forget to eat lunch!"

Lilia hung up reluctantly. Was Jean so busy that he couldn't say a word or two? The woman let out a deep breath.

Lilia was about to put her cell phone on the table when a deep voice whispered in her ear, "Is Mrs. Lilia waiting for me?"

The deep, hypnotic voice made Lilia's body tremble. She slowly turned her head with an expression of disbelief on her face. She saw Jean standing behind her, smiling mischievously. The man was wearing a gray shirt with one hand tucked in the pocket of black trousers. The look on his face was satisfied because he managed to surprise Lilia.

"Jean! When did you come home?" Lilia asked as she rushed into her husband's arms.

The man stroked Lilia's head while answering, "I can't pick you up from the hospital, so I'll accompany you to lunch instead."

Lilia buried her face in the man's chest while listening to the sound of Jean's strong and steady heartbeat. Her longing for him vanished, replaced by joy at this pleasant surprise.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lilia protested while raising her face and looking at the man, "I thought you were busy!"

This man always moved her heart with his unique expression of love.

*****

A few minutes later, Lilia finished changing clothes. She was now wearing a comfortable white knit dress and a matching cotton skirt. Lilia studied her appearance in the mirror one more time before exiting the wardrobe. She saw Jean waiting for her outside the bedroom door. With a smile, Lilia took the man's hand and the two of them went down to the dining room.

As they descended the stairs, Lilia heard Jean ask, "Has Sasha been calling you recently?"

Lilia turned towards Jean, her eyebrows raised high. She never got along with her nor gave her her number. Why did Jean ask that?

"No. What's with Sasha?" Lilia asked anxiously.

Hearing that, Jean took out his cellphone. He opened the Other application before handing it to Lilia, "She invited you to her birthday party. You can decide whether to come or not." Jean explained.

Lilia received the cellphone and read the message from Sasha.. A smile graced Lilia's lips.