Chapter 154 Did You Miss Me?

Chapter 154 Did You Miss Me?
After a series of twists and turns, the safety measures were finally set up.
Lia climbed onto the city wall, and Zane asked her to start filming as soon as she jumped over it.
However, to better embody her character, Lia insisted on filming from the very first shot.
Riley gripped Luna tightly, preventing her from moving.
The scene was breathtaking, and thankfully, it wrapped without incident.
Before packing up, he pulled Riley close and patted his shoulder. "Riley, Lia has to star in my next project. After all these years of friendship, you owe me this favor."
Leaning closer to Riley, he lowered his voice, saying, "Don't brag about Lia's acting skills. If word gets out, I might not be able to cast her in your projects.”
Riley shot him a disdainful look. “Zane, you're pretty sly.”
"I'm just protecting talent!"
After Lia changed, Riley gave her a few brief instructions before getting into the van and leaving.
Erik had been waiting outside the studio the whole time.
Lia had asked him to keep his distance, so he had only parked across the street. Luna spotted him immediately.
Back at Stilles Haus, Lia felt uneasy, constantly thinking about how to hide it from Lukas.
The scenes she'd filmed today were all quite challenging, and Lukas likely wouldn't let her off easily.
However, when she arrived home, she learned that Lukas had left on a business trip and wouldn't be back tonight.
Unable to believe it, she called Lukas to confirm. Only then did she let out a long sigh of relief.
As dawn broke, a sedan pulled into the estate and stopped directly in front of the main house.
The rear door opened, and a man stepped out. His legs were long and straight.
Lukas was wearing the same suit he’d left in the day before, now coated with a thin layer of damp, cold mist. The chill wind slipped through his collar, puffing out the shirt beneath his suit.
“Is the lady going out to film again?”
Erik followed Lukas, answering with his head bowed. "The madam finished all her scenes yesterday. She'll likely rest for several days. Before bed, she mentioned that, with you away, she'd dare to sleep until she woke up."
The man's thin lips parted slightly. "Have I been mistreating her?"
“I don't believe so,” Erik replied uneasily.
"What did she mean by 'with me away, she dares to'?"
"The lady is always well-behaved in your presence."
“She just goes out to bully others."
Lukas' chest moved slightly. He chuckled. “Go get me the footage she shot yesterday.”
"Got it."
Although he agreed with Lia and didn't overtly protect her yesterday, many of the drones hovering over the set were dispatched by Stilles Haus.
Her safety was paramount—he couldn’t just let her run wild.
Lukas had made it clear that even when he wasn’t present, he must know her every move.
Lia never imagined that, while she was making excuses to keep Erik from guarding her, drones had been transmitting her footage to computers since the moment she stepped onto the set.
Erik had been watching from the car the whole time.
Watching the scenes Lia filmed made him increasingly anxious. Just as he couldn't resist going over, Luna suddenly appeared and caused a scene.
That little brat was Mason's most prized student. Mason had taught her everything he knew, holding nothing back.
Don't let her age, looks, or personality fool you—she's incredibly skilled.
After adopting her, Mason discovered her talent and treated her like a precious treasure.
With Luna present, Lia faced no danger.
So Erik restrained himself and stayed in the car to monitor the screen. However, he forgot that he had taken a call midway through and opened another computer to handle some work.
During that half hour, he paid little attention to the live feed and missed the scene in which Lia and the actor playing the King bathed together.
The unedited footage arrived in Lukas' study.
Lukas brewed a cup of coffee but left it untouched.
He sank into the sofa with his laptop on his lap and lit a cigarette.
After handling business all day yesterday and rushing back overnight, he had only managed a nap in the car. He was exhausted now.
His eyes gradually narrowed amidst the swirling smoke.
Lia didn't wake up until nine.
When she opened her eyes and found the bedside empty, she rolled contentedly across the large mattress several times. She hummed a tune as she shuffled in her slippers to the bathroom for her morning routine.
Without Lukas overseeing her, this place was entirely hers.
She skipped to the dining room for breakfast and asked, "Where's Erik?"
"Madam, Erik is in the vault selecting gifts, I believe."
Lia bit her spoon and asked, "For whom?"
"For a friend of Niklas'. I hear his friend's youngest grandson was born, and he's hosting a big celebration. The Müller family is on the guest list as important guests, actually. Niklas isn't mobile, so he entrusted the arrangements to Mr. Müller.”
Lia nodded, a pang of emotion stirring within her.
Niklas' friend's youngest grandson had already been born.
Yet the Müller family still had no children, and Kai didn't even have a woman who could stay by his side long term.
The contrast was stark.
After breakfast, Lia planned to go to the gym and invited Eliza to join her.
The moment she stepped outside, she spotted a car parked in the small garden and instantly recognized it as Lukas' from yesterday.
Erik approached, and Lia blurted out, "Is Lukas back?"
"Yes, Mr. Müller returned early this morning."
“He had just gone out to meet Ober to discuss some matters.”
Lia dashed toward the study, knocked, and then pushed it open, leaning half her body inside.
She saw the man seated on the sofa. Light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him fell upon his perfectly proportioned figure. Her gaze followed his hand as he pressed the enter key on the computer.
A cigarette dangled between his fingers.
"Lukas..."
Lia threw herself into his embrace, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Tilting her head up, she asked, "Didn't you say you'd be back this afternoon? Why are you back so early? Did you miss me?"
Lukas remained silent, his eyes narrowing slightly.
No matter how many times it happened, being stared at like this still made Lia feel shy. She lowered her head and said, "I missed you, you know. I missed you so much.”
As she spoke, she cupped his face with her hands and leaned in to place a light kiss on the corner of his lips.
After the kiss, she froze.
Today, Lukas seemed different.
Usually, the slightest hint of initiative from her would prompt him to hold her tightly and kiss her deeply for a long time. But today, he didn't respond.
The cigarette between his fingers hadn't been extinguished when she approached.
His free hand didn't embrace her, either. It simply rested casually on the armrest of the sofa.
The hand holding the cigarette shifted slightly and also rested on the armrest. With the movement of his hands, the collar of his dress shirt beneath the suit spread apart, exuding a powerful, unsettling aura of mature masculinity.
Lia's hand slipped into his shirt by accident.
Her palm pressed against his chest, but she felt a chill.
She froze.
"Why are you staring at me?"
His gaze was as usual—his expression revealing no emotion. Though his look was familiar, the detachment on his face felt heavier than ever.
Such a look was almost unbearable for Lia.
Her fingers, wrapped around the back of his neck, curled as if wanting to pull away.
Just then, Lukas raised his hand and brought the cigarette to his lips. He took a light drag.