Chapter 155 Caught Off Guard
Allegra was jolted awake by a strong air current. The moment her consciousness returned, she looked at Leopold in panic. His face was tense. "It's okay, just turbulence."
Before she could react, another violent jolt hit.
The cabin erupted in panic. The flight attendants stayed calm and immediately tried to reassure everyone over the intercom, but the turbulence was so severe—it felt like everyone was being thrown violently through the air. The extreme physical discomfort triggered more fear. Some people screamed, others cried out, and items fell from the overhead compartments.
The flight attendants loudly reminded everyone over the intercom to stay low and cover their heads. Allegra froze there until Leopold's large hand pressed down on the back of her head.
"What are you waiting for? Get down!"
The plane pitched up and down. Her stomach churned. Allegra didn't even dare imagine what might happen next. Her heart pounded violently. She wished time would stop, wished she could go back—she definitely wouldn't have taken this flight.
She reached out and grabbed Leopold's arm. If something really happened, at least having him there would bring some comfort.
After more than ten minutes of turbulence, the plane finally passed through the rough air. Having survived the ordeal, relief showed on everyone's faces, but Allegra slumped back in her seat in exhausted silence.
Leopold thought she was frightened. "It's over now, don't worry."
Only then did Allegra's gaze shift. She turned to look at Leopold. "Weren't you scared?"
Leopold said, "I was."
Allegra straightened her hair and asked, "What were you thinking about just now?"
Without hesitation, Leopold replied, "Thinking about my wife."
Allegra laughed. "That really caught me off guard."
Leopold took out her lunch. "Here's yours."
After that heart-stopping episode, Allegra had no appetite. She took it and said, "Thanks."
She asked the flight attendant for water to take her medicine. Leopold said, "You're going to take medicine without eating anything?"
"I have no appetite."
She thought Leopold would show some concern and try to persuade her again, but instead he said, "Okay then."
Allegra fell silent.
Seeing Leopold take out his noise-canceling earplugs to rest, Allegra said, "We just went through an ordeal together. Aren't you going to try to persuade me a bit more?"
Leopold looked at her calmly, his eyes sincere. "You said you had no appetite."
So what right do I have to interfere with you?
His response really stung.
"Any other questions? I want to rest."
Allegra shook her head. "No."
Leopold put in his earplugs and adjusted his seat angle. Beside him, Allegra finally understood how all those girls he'd ignored in the past must have felt.
The plane landed at Vesperia Airport. After collecting his luggage, Leopold walked toward the terminal exit and saw Allegra standing by the curb waiting for a car, with two huge suitcases beside her.
Leopold walked over. "How are you getting back?"
Allegra said, "Taking a taxi."
"Don't bother. The company sent a car for me. I can give you a ride."
He picked up one of the suitcases and headed toward the pickup area. Allegra followed closely behind, thanking him as they walked. "Thank you."
After loading the luggage in the trunk, Leopold got in the passenger seat.
Allegra currently lived in downtown Willowbrook in Vesperia, about a fifteen-minute walk from the office. Leopold told the driver to drop her off first.
The car stopped in front of her apartment building. Leopold lifted both suitcases out of the car. Allegra said, "You must be tired too. I won't invite you up for coffee today, but when there's time later, I'll treat you to dinner."
It was just polite talk. Leopold didn't take it to heart. "Okay, see you."
Allegra watched the car drive away before dragging her luggage inside.
After leaving her job in her previous city, she'd been living in Willowbrook for two years. In those two years, aside from work-related socializing, she had almost no friends. When she was sick, there wasn't even anyone she could call to bring her medicine. Her current assistant, Noah had only been on the job for less than three months. At work, they were well-coordinated colleagues, but privately, they rarely bothered each other.
So today, when Leopold offered to take her home, Allegra was truly grateful.
As for her family, they didn't understand how hard it was for a woman living abroad alone. They only knew her job was decent and her salary wasn't bad. But in a city like Willowbrook, high income meant high cost of living too—various taxes to pay. Life wasn't easy for Allegra.
The hotel Leopold was going to wasn't far from Allegra's apartment, about a block away. He arrived at the hotel at 9 PM, which was after 10 AM back home.
After showering, he leaned on the sofa and sent Caroline a message.
Leopold: [I'm here.]
After waiting about five minutes, he received Caroline's reply.
Caroline: [You must be exhausted.]
Leopold: [Not too bad, I'm used to it. Are you busy?]
Caroline: [Not busy, just finished checking on work.]
The next second, Leopold's video call request came through. Caroline accepted.
In the video, Caroline was wearing work clothes and a hat, looking dusty and worn. In the background, the rumble of machinery could be faintly heard.
Leopold looked at the person in the video and smiled. Caroline asked, "What are you smiling about?"
He pointed at his cheek. "You've got something here."
"Really?" Caroline wiped with the back of her hand, but ended up smearing the dirt across half her face. "Wait a second."
Caroline pulled out a wet wipe from her pocket and carefully cleaned her face while looking at the camera. Leopold just quietly watched her face. The more he looked, the more he missed her.
"Honey."
"What?"
Caroline's attention was all on cleaning her face. She didn't notice the longing in Leopold's eyes at all.
She even asked, "Can you check for me? Is it clean?"
Leopold's fingertip rubbed against the screen. "It's clean."
Caroline's eyes curved into a smile as she said to the person on the other end of the video, "You sat on that plane for so long, aren't you going to rest a bit?"
Leopold felt frustrated. "The first thing I did after landing and getting to the hotel was video call you, and you're telling me to go to sleep. You really don't miss me at all."
"I'm just worried about you being tired." Caroline finally picked up on the sour tone. "You're tired, and it breaks my heart."
"That's more like it." Leopold's mouth curved up on one side in a smile, feeling quite pleased. "You must be lonely at home by yourself, right? Without my company, you must feel so empty and cold. Especially at night when it's quiet, you're lying in bed all alone with no one to talk to. Then you remember my warm embrace, my broad shoulders, and you can't sleep all night."
"Don't make me sound so fragile." Caroline laughed.
Leopold narrowed his eyes, his long eyes curving into an attractive arc. Having just showered, his long lashes held droplets of moisture, making his gaze especially deep and alluring.
Leopold asked, "Isn't that how it is?"
Knowing what he wanted to hear, Caroline played along. "Yes, you're absolutely right."
Leopold raised an eyebrow. "What's with that tone? Don't you mean it? I just left and you already don't miss me. Caroline, don't forget—I'm abroad, and there's a whole flock of birds waiting to land in this forest."