Jean didn't let Lilia go until the woman was out of breath.

  She leaned her head against Jean's broad chest while catching her breath with difficulty. This was the first time that the man had kissed her with such uncontrollable desire.

  "Do you want to try smoking?"

  Jean's breath in Lilia's ear made her body tremble. His deep voice was tinged with disapproval. Lilia slowly shook her head without really trying to understand Jean's question. Her brain had turned into a mush after that fierce kiss and her cheeks flushed like they had been drinking wine.

  For a few moments, the two of them didn't say anything. Jean's arms tightly hugged Lilia's body and protected her from the biting night wind. Lilia buried her face in the man's chest, then took a deep breath. Jean's familiar scent gave Lilia a feeling of peace.

  It wasn't like she wanted to try smoking, but she just wanted to get closer to Jean and understand his feelings.

  At that moment, an idea suddenly flashed through Lilia's mind. She hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Jean… we've been married for a month, haven't we?"

  Jean cocked his head in confusion, "Yes, more than a month to be exact." He replied. He didn't know what Lilia really wanted to say to him.

  Hearing that, Lilia raised her face and looked at Jean. The woman's black eyes seemed to glow with the moonlight, yet her face was filled with doubt. Lilia repeatedly opened and closed her mouth, as if having a hard time finding the right words.

  "What's wrong? Lilia, you know that you can say whatever you want to tell me, right?" Jean tried to persuade her.

  Hearing that, Lilia finally made up her mind. But if Jean knew what Lilia was going to say, maybe he wouldn't push her like that.

  "Jean …… you …… do you have a hidden disease?!" Lilia asked with a serious face. Her expression showed that the question had been haunting her mind all this time.

  "…Huh?" Jean had no idea why his wife suddenly said that. As far as he could tell, he always looked healthy in front of Lilia.

  "We…… we've been married for a month …… but you never …… tried to touch me……" Lilia's voice grew smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared in the wind.

  Hearing that, Jean finally understood what Lilia meant. He smiled faintly while desperately holding back laughter. So his wife was suspicious of his abilities as a man because he never asked her to have sex even though they were married?

  But Lilia actually interpreted Jean's silence as an answer to her question. She was starting to feel guilty about asking Jean something sensitive. If Lilia had known that that man was indeed suffering from a hidden illness, she wouldn't have asked him directly like this!

  In her mind, Lilia began to imagine a love drama where a man was suffering from a disease, but his wife was still loyal to him. Lilia vowed to never leave Jean or tell anyone about this.

  Jean looked at Lilia's serious face and swallowed his laugh again. If Lilia had known how hard Jean had been holding back from touching her all this time, that woman would definitely be shocked. Yet he had his own reasons for holding back. Jean didn't mind letting Lilia misunderstand his condition.

  "It's too cold in here for you. Let's go back to the room." Jean pulled Lilia back into their room.

  *****

  That night, Lilia couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about their conversation on the balcony earlier. She turned around and stole a glance at the man sleeping beside her. Even with the dim light, Lilia could still see the outline of Jean's face, his sharp nose, and his full lips.

  Lilia leaned toward Jean and kissed him gently on the cheek. She held her breath while waiting for the man to react, but luckily Jean was still fast asleep. Lilia smiled a little and kissed his cheek again before turning back.

  Then Lilia took out her cell phone from under the pillow and opened an internet search page. She typed the sentence, "What should I do if my husband has a hidden illness?"

  Lilia glanced over the answers from netizens.

  "Just divorce your husband!"

  "Help him with treatment."

  "What disease?"

  Lilia silently sighed while reading the final answer. She herself did not know what illness her husband had!

  Without realizing it, Jean opened his eyes lightly. The corner of his mouth twitched against laughter as he watched Lilia constantly searching the internet for answers. Maybe he should visit his old friend as soon as possible.

  *****

  The next morning, Lilia came down to the dining room at eight in the morning. There were dark circles under her eyes. Her sleep's quality had decreased due to busy filming lately, and she couldn't sleep at all last night.

  Claire, who was already sitting at the dining table with Andrew, greeted Lilia with a smile, "Lilia, come here and have breakfast. Where's Jean?"

  "Jean's still showering." Lilia answered while sitting on one of the empty chairs. She could not hold back the yawn slipping from her mouth.

  Claire handed Lilia a glass of milk while observing the model closely. Lilia looked like she hadn't slept all night and she immediately suspected the cause.

  "Didn't you sleep well last night? My little brother really can't help himself, even though you are already tired from shooting recently!" Claire said with a chuckle.

  "Cough …… cough …… cough ……!" Lilia immediately choked on the milk she was drinking. Her mind turned back to Jean's hidden illness. Could it be that Claire didn't know about her brother's condition?

  Andrew, who was sitting next to Claire, turned his gaze at Lilia's sleep-deprived appearance. Then he turned to look at the excited Claire. Andrew began to question his abilities as a man. Was his stamina less strong? Or was Jean's stamina too high?

  Meanwhile, Jean had just finished taking a shower. He was getting dressed when his cell phone rang. The man picked up his cell phone and saw Chris's name on the screen. Jean refused the call without hesitation. He could already guess why Chris had called him, but it was still too early to deal with his best friend.

  Jean was about to put down his cell phone when Chris called back. After several times rejecting Chris's calls, the man finally gave up to his best friend's prevailing stubbornness.

  Just as Jean picked up the phone, the man immediately asked, "Jean, what university is Merry at now?"

  "What are you going to do with that information?" Jean replied, glancing at the clock on the wall. He wanted to finish this conversation immediately and catch up with Lilia for breakfast.

  On the other end of the phone, Chris was leaning back in his chair, raising his feet on the table. The man looked like an arrogant big boss.

  "Anyway, tell me where she is now. Do you care what I do?" Chris replied fiercely. If Jean was his best friend, he would know why Chris wanted this information.

  Merry's father, Samuel, had blocked all information about Merry. Even though Chris used the entire Hartanto Family's information network to find out, he still couldn't find anything. It's been a week since Chris last heard from Merry.

  If Samuel continued to insist on hiding Merry's whereabouts, Chris was willing to take the extreme way! He had prepared himself to kidnap Samuel and interrogate him about Merry's current location!

  At this point, Samuel's fate depended entirely on Jean's answer. If that man refused to answer Chris's question, then he would go straight to the Hiroshi Family's house with a knife!

  Fortunately, Jean decided to be kind to this friend, "She's at university in Los Angeles. The address will be sent to you." He replied dryly.

  Hearing that, Chris's face suddenly brightened.

  Then Jean added, "Merry is still young, so you better refrain…… Don't give Brother Samuel a reason to kill you because you touched his little girl."