On that day, the names Lilia Pangestu and Sara Hartanto once again became a viral topic in cyberspace. Lilia's social media accounts were filled with support from people who sympathized with her. On the other hand, Sara's account was filled with blasphemy and accusations from those who believed the contents of the tape.
When the virtual world was in an uproar, Lilia sat casually inside Harold's car. The car drove away from the hospital's parking lot.
"Have you recorded everything?" Lilia asked the agent.
Harold snorted, "The internet is in an uproar because of your recording as we speak. Thank me for keeping William out of there! The man was constantly worried about Sara and wanted to get back to her side soon. I'm sure she won't come near you again after this incident." Lilia had told Harold that William thought his ex-lover still loved him.
Hearing that, Lilia just smiled faintly. William might be blind about love, but he was not stupid. With this, she was sure that the man would stop bothering her.
"I have to admit, your idea this time is brilliant." Harold yawned, "But next time give me more time to prepare. I didn't sleep all night designing all this!"
This whole plan was Lilia's idea. She gave the details over the phone last night and asked Harold to prepare everything. The agent then arranged for reporters acquainted with the agency to come to Sara's room and record their conversation.
When Harold went out with William, he deliberately left the door open for a moment. As planned, the reporters immediately spread the footage they got on the internet.
"Sorry, Sorry." Lilia laughed, "I'll treat you as a thank you."
Lilia looked down and looked at her cell phone's screen, which Harold had returned. Because of that, she missed seeing the joy on the man's face.
Harold cleared his throat and immediately changed the subject to hide his excitement, "Ah, I have something to ask you. Do you really have a photo of Sara Hartanto having dinner with the culprit who hit her? How about a video showing that the woman's leg isn't cracked? Where did you get all that?"
He had a guess about Lilia's information source, but he wanted to hear the answer straight from the woman's mouth.
Lilia looked away and gave a small cough, "Jean Widjaya gave it to me."
This morning, while Lilia was waiting for Harold to pick her up, she discovered that Jean had sent the video and photos to her iPed. Lilia was surprised, but she decided not to ask Jean about it. Compared to Jean's last night's 'help', Lilia felt that this was a form of compromise she could accept.
Obtaining such information was only a fraction of what the Widjaya Family could do as one of the largest conglomerates in Indonesia.
"What has that guy to do with you?" Harold asked, though he didn't really want to hear the answer.
"Um… we… well… he and I…" Lilia was confused while explaining.
She didn't know whether she should tell Harold about this contract marriage or not. She didn't want Harold to look at her with pity when he found out she was sold into this contract marriage by her own parents.
"...You could say he's... my fiancé." Finally, Lilia decided to say what she had said to Harold.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the car was silent.
Harold let out a deep breath. His joy at being able to have lunch together with Lilia vanished.
He wondered if this felt like losing before going to war.
"…You are engaged to a scary man." He commented in a dry tone.
Lilia didn't notice Harold's change in mood. She returned to monitoring the situation on the internet, "Can you remove my name from the list of topics that are currently viral?" She asked.
"I'll do it after this commotion subsides. If your name is removed now, people will become suspicious." Harold replied.
*****
Inside Jean's office at a company owned by the Widjaya Family, the Genesis Company, the president had just finished a meeting with his staff when he got a call from James Widjaya, his eldest brother and head of the Widjaya Family.
"Hello?"
James hardly ever called unless something important happened.
"Have you read the news on the internet lately?" James didn't bother to return the greeting and immediately asked in a firm voice.
Jean loosened his tie and threw the document he was reading on to the table, "So what?"
He could hear his elder brother sighing, "Jean, think about it carefully once again. Are you sure you want to marry that daughter of the Pangestu Family?"
"I'm very sure, so you don't have to worry." Jean replied coldly.
In the sitting room of the Widjaya family house, James massaged his forehead. Of all the members of the Widjaya Family, only Jean dared to be insolent to him like this.
"How about we postpone the meeting of the two families tonight until the commotion on the internet subsided?" James proposed, only to be balked at by his brother.
"I will not change the meeting time. If you don't want to come, I can make my own decision."
The sound of the phone being cut off followed afterward.
Before James could respond, Jean had hung up on him. James gripped the phone tightly and resisted the temptation to throw it against the wall.
"This kid is getting more and more absurd! How can he be attracted to that woman from the entertainment world who gets into scandals every day?!" James grumbled.
Irene Widjaya, James's wife who was sitting beside him, smiled at James's grumbling, "When Jean is not interested in finding a partner to marry, you encourage him every day. Now that he has painstakingly found a woman he likes, you grumble. No wonder your brother doesn't want you to interfere."
"Why are you taking the boy's side too?" James muttered to himself.
However, he saw his wife's smile grow colder and he hurriedly turned his gaze to the document containing full information about Lilia.
"Not that I object to the woman he chooses. But the Pangestu Family was ambitious enough to force their daughter to marry for money. I'm worried…" James didn't finish his sentence, but Irene caught his point.
"James, do you think a competent person like Jean will allow himself to be taken advantage of by the Pangestu Family?" Irene asked softly.
James stared at his wife for a moment, then he threw the document on the table, "You are right. He wanted this, so he should be able to handle it."
Meanwhile, after Jean hung up the phone, he went on the internet and found a tape of the fight. He listened to Lilia's words with a satisfied smile. After it ended, he saw a chat coming from Tom Wibowo in the chat group in the Other application.
[Tom]: "[My fiancé is much more handsome and richer than William. He is the greatest man in the world!] Hmm, I know someone who would love to hear these words!"