Chapter 123 - Starts On Fire
Leon, who had just returned from checking his new office, looked busy with his cell phone on the back seat, while Alex, his personal driver, seemed to focus on driving Leon's luxury car back to Leon's residence on Compton Avenue. Because the main road was very congested, Alex finally looked for an alternative route. Leon, who already fully believed in Alex, didn't say anything because he knew Alex was a true Londoner who knew the ins and outs of London.
While passing the alternative route, the car that Alex brought went through a busy shopping complex. Leon, who was still busy with his work, looked down while playing with his fingers on his smart phone. But suddenly he lifted his face and turned to his left. At first, Leon didn't care with what he saw just now. However, when he managed to recognize the figures he saw, his blood boiled. It was clear that they were Marianne, his ex-wife, and a businessman, whom he had known when he met at the UAL campus event.
"Marianne, how dare you ..." Leon hissed emotionally when he saw his ex-wife standing with Aaron Connery.
"What is it, Sir?" asked Alex quickly.
"Stop the car, Alex. I have to get down to check something," Leon replied coldly.
"We are on a narrow and busy road, Sir, we can't stop carelessly. Behind us there are already many cars that also want to get out of this area. If you want, I can turn around and then come back into this place, Sir," said Alex politely, trying to explain the situation to Leon.
"Okay," Leon replied again without taking his eyes off Anne, who was still standing on the side of the road with Aaron.
Due to the congestion of the road, Alex was only able to get out of the shopping complex after ten minutes. After successfully exiting, he took a left turn to return to the entrance of the shopping complex again as instructed by Leon before. Leon himself looked uneasy in the back seat. He was eager to get out of the car and approach Anne. However, considering the busy road due to office hours, finally he could only wait patiently in the car for Alex to get back into the street of the shopping complex. When he was on the same street, Leon looked carefully on the roadside. He tried to find the figure he had seen before.
Realizing that his master was looking for something, Alex slowed down the speed of the car when he entered the shopping complex again. The road he had passed before looked quieter than before. Even the people walking on the sidewalk in front of the shop had decreased even though it was only fifteen minutes away. Leon, who was sure that he had seen Anne and Aaron, looked frustrated when he couldn't find them anymore. Because the place where he saw the two people was now empty, no one was there.
"How many shops are there in the complex, Alex?" Leon asked quietly.
"There are about a hundred shops, sir, this area is a very crowded area on weekends like this. Many young people come to dine, shop, or just take a walk in this area as it s known for great affordable shops and delicious food, sir," replied Alex honestly.
"The area is crowded ..."
"Yes sir, as you have seen before. How crowded this place is with visitors who come and go," said Alex excitedly interrupting Leon's words trying to explain the area he was currently visiting.
Leon only heard Alex's words, he was still focused on finding Anne's whereabouts who could not be seen anymore. The number of people in that place really made him unable to find the figure he had seen clearly.
"How long did it take to get into all the shops here, Alex?" asked Leon again.
"If we just walk past all the shops along this road, it might take us more than an hour and a half, Sir, especially if it's on a busy day like this, but suppose there are no visitors coming and we just walk from the end of the shop to the other end of them, it would probably only take about forty-five minutes," said Alex again tried to explain to Leon.
"I see," Leon replied softly.
"Do you intend to get off and take a walk in this area, sir?" asked Alex curiously.
"No, I'm just wondering why this area is so crowded like this. It turns out that there are a lot of shops in this area," Leon replied lying.
"Yes sir, if you are interested I am willing to accompany you on a walk in this area, sir," said Alex again, offering to help Leon.
"No Alex, I'm very tired today, we better just go home," Leon said, quickly rejecting the offer from Alex.
Alex nodded his head slowly in response to Leon's words. He then accelerated his car trying to get out of the shopping area because the road was not as congested as fifteen minutes ago. Not long after that, the car that was driven by Alex managed to arrive at a highway that was still busy. Alex carefully drove Leon's car to Compton Avenue according to Leon's previous orders.
In the car, Leon did not open his mouth at all. He was very sure that what he had seen were Anne and Aaron. In his mind, hundreds of questions suddenly arose after he saw Anne and Aaron on the side of the road earlier. From the rearview mirror, Alex could see that Leon was thinking seriously so he didn't dare to open his mouth. All he did was drive the car as smoothly as possible so that Leon would still feel comfortable sitting in the car. Working as a VIP guest driver at a hotel for nearly five years made him skillful in serving his new master.
* * *
< Anne's Flower Shop >
Meanwhile, Anne, who had invited Aaron into the shop, was sitting at the table with Linda enjoying the cake that Aaron had brought earlier, while Aaron himself was getting acquainted with Paul, who had disturbed him while he was trying to seduce Anne in front of the shop.
"This is so good, Anne, the taste of rich people is different," Linda said softly and half whispered with a mouth full of cake, praising the cake Aaron had brought them.
"Don't talk too much, just eat the cake, Linda," said Anne curtly.
"Yeah, yeah. But seriously, Anne, this is the most delicious cake I've ever ea ... hmmmmpp,"
Linda couldn't finish her words, because Anne suddenly put a large spoonful of cake into her mouth. Seeing Linda's mouth full of cake made Anne laugh. Meanwhile, Linda used both hands to hold the cake in her mouth so that it didn't come out while staring intently at Anne, who had shoved the cake when her mouth was still full of cake.
"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to surprise you earlier," Paul said softly, apologizing to Aaron for making Aaron startled in front of the shop.
To be Continued
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺