Chapter 288 - Public Announcement
That night, in a nightclub in the middle of Surabaya City. The club's dance floor was filled with people dancing to the music. In a relatively quiet corner of the club, Harold was seen gathering with some of his friends. They had fun playing cards while drinking alcohol. Harold had avoided activities like this ever since he became Lilia's manager. But he accepted his friends' invitation this time because the model happened to be out of town.
A young girl was seen sitting beside him. She was wearing a snow-white overalls and had an innocent face. Her appearance was especially striking in this nightclub.
The girl deftly filled Harold's glass each time the man downed his drink. The girl named Michaela kept stealing glances at Harold's handsome face. But before she could muster up enough courage to express her feelings, Harold's cell phone rang.
Michaela shifted her gaze towards Harold's cellphone on the table. The name that appeared on the screen was Lilia's name.
The young girl glanced again at Harold, who didn't seem to have noticed that his cell phone was ringing. Michaela picked up the man's cell phone and whispered in Harold's ear, "Brother Harold, there's an incoming call."
Though they were sitting quite far from the stage, the blaring music was still enough to drown out all the other sounds. Only after Michaela repeated her words several times did Harold catch on to her words.
Harold turned to Michaela and received his cell phone. As soon as he saw the name on his screen, the man immediately picked up the call.
"Why did you suddenly decide to call me?" Harold asked in a flat voice. "Aren't you busy filming?"
Harold heard that Jean always followed wherever Lilia went to accompany her during filming. The man's dedication irritated Harold. That's why he purposely didn't visit Lilia during the shoot. If he happened to run into Jean there, he wasn't sure if he could hold back.
Michaela looked at the man beside her listening to the conversation over the phone. She strained her ears, trying to grasp what they were talking about. But the sound of pounding music and the crowd around her prevented Michaela from hearing anything.
Suddenly, Harold put his glass back on the table with a loud voice. His hand gripped the glass cup so tightly that the veins popped out.
Michaela jumped and inched backward. She didn't know what the person on the other line of the phone was saying, but it definitely wasn't good news. The call lasted short, not even a minute. But Harold seemed very disturbed by the contents of his conversation.
The young girl picked up a new bottle of wine and started pouring into Harold's empty glass. She glanced warily at the man, but Harold didn't even notice what she was doing.
"Brother Harold, thank you for helping me a few days ago." Michaela spoke, trying to get the man's attention back. "So I want to toast you, do you mind?"
After saying that, Michaela put down the wine bottle. She took her own glass and looked at Harold with expectation.
The man didn't say anything, but he picked up the glass with a dreary gaze. Harold didn't react when Michaela invited him to a toast. He was only guzzling the contents of his glass as the young girl began to take a sip of the wine.
Michaela continued to pour glass after glass for Harold. The man was too deep in thought to realize how much he had drunk. By the time Harold came to his senses, his vision had blurred and his head felt heavy. He glanced at his friends who were still playing cards. A bitter smile crossed Harold's face as he continued to watch over his comrades.
"Brother Harold?" Michaela inched closer to Harold. She gently touched the man's arm. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"
Harold turned to look at Michaela for the first time since receiving the call. He stretched out his hand and stroked the girl's pretty face. Harold could almost imagine he was touching Lilia's face. But this girl in front of him couldn't match Lilia's beauty.
Harold sighed and said in a hoarse voice, "… she has finally decided to reveal her secret."
"... reveal the secret?" Michaela tilted her head with a confused expression.
*****
Around ten that evening, Lilia posted an announcement that shook the virtual world on her social media accounts. Journalists from online mass media sites were competing to become the first to discuss this hot topic. They were all busy making articles about the shocking news.
Lilia Pangestu was married!
The news spread like wildfires. There were so many people accessing the social media application that it overwhelmed the servers. They all wondered which man had won the heart of the model nicknamed Princess Snow White.
Lilia posted two photos accompanied by a simple caption, "Happily married!". One of them was a photo of a marriage certificate. Another photo showed the figure of Lilia being hugged by a man from behind. The photo was taken by Lilia herself through a mirror reflection.
Netizens protested strongly because the photo did not show the identity of Lilia's husband. Most of Jean's body was covered by the model's body, while Jean's face was hidden when the man looked down to kiss Lilia. Netizens could only guess at Jean's identity from the man's height and blonde hair.
[User2083]: "Ahhh, my heart…! My heart is breaking into a thousand pieces! Ahh, what should I do to wake up from this nightmare ?! There's no way my goddess already belongs to another man!"
[User1728]: "@ User2083, bro, Lilia can marry anyone she likes. This is his life, let him live it alone."
[User1820]: "Oh my! Even though I can't see his face, Lilia's husband looks sexy and dangerous!"
[User8273]: "Hello, is this a police station? I would like to report a criminal act of persecution of single people in this place!"
[User6527]: "@ User8273, how about you try to find a boyfriend instead of calling the police?"
[User9228]: "@Lilia, are you willing to adopt a step sister? Please contact me please!"
[User2829]: "Hmm, I think Lilia Pangestu is the first artist to publicly announce her marital status online!"
[User2083]: "Even though my heart has been crushed into dust, I am still your number one fan! @Lilia, I'm waiting for the news of your divorce!"
There were still many similar comments that filled the comments column in Lilia's post. But she didn't care enough to read them all. Lilia also didn't know that the post caused the social media server to go awry for half an hour.
At the bottom of the comments section, there were many artists who had worked with Lilia to congratulate the woman.
[Adele]: "This is the best expression of love I've ever seen. Congratulations on your wedding, Lilia."
[Ryan]: "Congratulations on your wedding! Hopefully your marriage will last, okay!"
[Shirley]: "LOL."
[User2083]: "@Shirley, is that all you can say? I know you are jealous, but can't you at least say something cute?"
[User8123]: "Summons all the members of Shirley-hating cult! It's time for us to act again!"
Half an hour later, the social media servers were finally back to normal. But Shirley was forced to close her account again for a while because of the terrors from her haters.
At the end of all those comments and congratulations, Aphrodite Agency also congratulated them.
[Aphrodite Agency]: "Congratulations on the wedding of our best model, Lilia Pangestu! May your married life be filled with happiness!"