Chapter 165 - Just What I Need

Having just finished the first external meeting, Katherine and Damien were in the backseat of the Aston Martin and were on their way to a lunch meeting. She fished out her phone from her purse and checked a text message. From the other end in the backseat, Damien shifted his glance from his tablet to Katherine who was smiling as she tapped away on her phone.

"Who are you texting?" he asked.

"It's Ali…" she responded without looking at him. She quickly finished her text reply before passing her phone to Damien.

He received her phone and skimmed through the messages.

[Alianna: Hey, I'm at the airport and I will be boarding soon. It was really nice getting to know you, Katherine. Take care of D, and of course, cuddles to Bear xx.]

[Katherine: Me too, Ali. Looking forward to seeing you again. Have a safe flight! Do let us know when you land.]

After reading their texts, he was just about to give Katherine her phone back when Alianna sent another message:

[Alianna: Will do. Oh, don't forget to text me your address. I'll send over some stuff for you. Which one do you like? Corsets, thongs, teddies, baby dolls, negligee? Let me know!]

His lips curled into a wicked grin as he hastily tapped the phone screen to respond.

[Katherine: Send them all! Address: xxx Pearl Gardens]

Noticing the expression on his face, Katherine raised her brow and asked, "What are you smiling like that for?" She snatched her phone from him and her eyes widened in shock, her ears reddening as she read the recent message and Damien's reply.

"Hey!" Her head snapped towards him and she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes when he winked at her as though he just silently said 'You're welcome'. 

She shoved her phone back in her bag, wondering what kinds of sexy wear Ali would send her. Compared to the first time, she was now willing to wear anything that would make her look sexy for Damien. There was just this strange vibe that made her feel more confident as she spent more time with him. And for the first time in five years, she was finally feeling happy despite having the lingering feeling of being incomplete.

…

Meanwhile…

At the airport, Alianna was standing in line to board. For the past hour that she had been in the airport, she contemplated if she should send Caleb a text message. They never really talked about what they were going to do after they shared their night together. It was as though having a conversation would only make things hurt more – it was scary.

Previously, whenever she comes home for a couple of weeks to visit Nana, she and Caleb would only have casual greetings and conversations but it was always with a group. And over the years, she was either dating someone or he was. Never did it happen when the two of them were single at the same time… except now, what with what happened to Craig and all.

Which was why it hadn't been a problem to leave and go back to Italy after her visits in the past. However, this time was different. They had spent a lot of time together in two weeks – more than they ever did over the past years. And then last night happened… Which shouldn't have happened but it did. 

Though she didn't regret what happened between them, she didn't know what to do after that. They weren't a couple to call it a break-up sex… and they weren't strangers either to call it a one-night stand. Heck—even fuckbuddies wouldn't be appropriate as they weren't going to do it again because she was leaving... And she was definitely going to miss him this time. 

Despite the countless sighs, Alianna put on a brave face, typed a message on her phone and sent it to Caleb.

[Alianna: Hey, Cay… Just wanted to let you know that I'm boarding soon. Thank you for everything.]

There were a lot of things that she wanted to say but she decided to keep it short. Staring at her phone for a couple of minutes while waiting for his reply, she began to feel anxious and regretted that she texted him. She was about to leave, what good was it to text him?

Alianna closed her phone and boarded the plane. When she got settled in the business class, she checked her phone again and her eyes lit up upon seeing a notification.

[Caleb: That's great. It's a long flight so make sure to rest on the plane. I'm happy that I got to spend time with you before you left. You know you can always call me whenever. It doesn't matter if there's a time difference. So text me when you arrive, okay? Take care, Li.]

Her heart fluttered reading his text. She was tempted to answer but the plane was about to take off and she had to turn off her phone. Breathing in deeply, she fastened her seatbelt and ordered a shot of whiskey from the flight attendant.

Shortly after that, some shuffling noises from the seat next to hers caught her attention and when she looked up, she saw the model/actor Matthew Jeong trying to settle in. "Mr. Jeong…" she called, a small smile flashed across her face.

There was a retractable partition between their large and comfy seats in the business class as they were in the center row. Matthew tilted his head and was surprised to see Alianna next to his seat. "Ms. Alianna, what a coincidence," he offered his hand to shake in which Ali received gladly.

"Will you be joining Autumn Fashion Week?" she asked.

"Yeah… I've just finished a movie project and I'm taking a break from it. Getting out of the country seems like a great idea this time of the year."

Alianna raised a brow and teased, "Really? You're not just running away from something, are you?"

Catching the hint from the tone of her voice, Matthew chuckled as he settled in his seat and buckled his seatbelt. "Whatever new scandals you have heard about, I'm saying they're all lies."

She laughed at his remark. Just that morning on the way to the airport, she read an article about Matthew hooking up with an actress from his recent project. But the man in question denied it right away without her coming forward and stating any specifics. "Okay… Whatever you say." She raised her hands up as though in surrender and he shook his head and grinned. "How long are you staying in Italy?" she asked.

Matthew stared straight ahead as if he was considering certain things and without much thought, he answered, "Probably a month or so… It's been a while since I've been there. I kinda wish I would never have to come back here."

"Well, I don't know if you'll enjoy Milan, it's still quite hot and it's Ferragosto on Wednesday. So, it's pretty much a ghost town this week…"

"It's just what I needed. I've seen too many people recently and I'm ready to just live in peace and quiet. As long as the restaurants are still open, then I'm good."

"Heh— That depends… Most shops and establishments will be closed but you can ask a local or the hotel where you're staying, they should know some places that are open." Alianna casually scrolled through her playlist of songs that she wanted to listen to during the flight.

Matthew quirked a brow. "Aren't you a local?"

She softly chuckled. "Right… Are you subtly asking me to be your tour guide, Mr. Jeong?"

"Ugh. You make me sound so old. Just call me Matt, please. And no, I couldn't possibly ask too much of you. I can go around by myself but you could tell me where to go?" 

Alianna shifted her stare to look at him in the eye and the corners of her mouth lifted up as she thought of all the best places that she could suggest for him to visit. "How's your Italian?"

"Are you talking about the language? Or a woman?" A smirk formed on his face.

"Do you have a woman in every country?" Ali snickered and the two of them started conversing about how Matt could survive in a foreign country without much knowledge in the language.