After spending 17 hours on the plane, Lilia and Merry arrived in Milan at three in the afternoon local time.
They collected their baggage and completed the checking process before finally exiting the pick-up area. There, Harold was waiting for them. The man looked like a tourist on vacation in his casual t-shirt and sunglasses.
Merry pushed the carriage containing their luggage towards Harold. They didn't bring a lot of luggage because the clothes for the fashion show were already arranged by the brand owner company that employed Lilia.
"Welcome to Milan!" Harold grinned as he took off his sunglasses, "You must be tired after a long journey. I've booked a hotel for all of us, so you guys can rest there before going to see the show location." Harold took the luggage cart from Merry as he explained.
Lilia's manager arrived in Milan two days ago. As this was Lilia's first international fashion week, Harold arranged everything carefully to make the event run as smoothly as possible.
When she heard that, Lilia let out a sigh of relief as she rolled her shoulders, "I need to rest. I didn't sleep well on the plane at all!"
Harold nodded, "Our hotel is not far from the show location, so you can relax a little."
As the two of them continued to talk while exiting the airport, Merry looked around curiously. Her eyes were wide wide as if she was seeing something truly amazing.
They got into the car Harold had prepared and immediately drove away. Lilia stared out the window, taking in the busy streets of Milan. The car had no coolant, so they had to roll down its windows. The weather in Milan in early September was cool and comfortable even though the sun was still shining.
Satisfied by looking around, Lilia finally remembered her promise to Jean. She turned on her cell phone and found new messages in the Other app. The message arrived ten minutes ago.
[Jean]: "Not there yet?"
Lilia smiled because of her fiancé's impatience, "Just arrived." She replied.
Only a few seconds after that, Jean already replied. He sent Lilia a picture. When the woman opened the picture, it turned out that it contained the forecast for the next week in Milan.
"This guy really…" Lilia muttered. Thinking of Jean made her miss his deep voice, even though they had just met last night.
[Jean]: "Don't get cold. The difference between daytime and nighttime temperature is pretty extreme there."
[Lilia]: "Jean, stop worrying. I will be fine!"
After Lilia sent the message, Jean stopped replying. Lilia thought that the man was busy and hung up.
About an hour later, they arrived at the Townhouse Hotel which was located near the Cathedral of Milan. Harold had purposely booked a room facing the cathedral for Lilia.
The room was quite spacious. It was divided into several different rooms, such as a living room, bedroom and bathroom. The furniture inside was mostly monochrome, giving a simple but modern impression. When Lilia came out onto the balcony of her room, she could immediately see the Milan Cathedral. She rested her hands on the carved balcony rail and looked out over the city. Lilia saw many pedestrians in the cathedral front square.
Milan was filled with medieval style buildings and had a warm atmosphere. Combined with the clear blue sky, the sight of this beautiful foreign city washed away all of Lilia's fatigue.
She returned to the room to get her cell phone and take a selfie with the cathedral as the background. After taking a few snaps of photos, Lilia returned to the living room and started selecting the best photos to post on her social media accounts.
Lilia added the caption "Hello, Milan!" before posting that photo.
After hesitating for a moment, Lilia also sent the photo to Jean. She was waiting for Jean's reply with a pounding heart, but ten minutes passed and the man had not yet replied.
Lilia frowned suspiciously. Where was the man who always replied in just a few seconds? Wasn't it nearly ten at night there? Was Jean so busy that he couldn't check his phone?
Lilia waited patiently for an hour to pass, but Jean didn't reply to her message.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door to her room.
"Lilia, this is Harold. Are you awake?" The man's voice echoed through the door.
"Yeah. Hold on, let me open the door. " Lilia got up from her chair and headed for the door.
When Lilia opened the door, she saw Harold and Merry fully clothed. Harold was wearing a neat shirt and trousers, with his hair gelled and combed. Beside him, Merry looked like an assistant with a plain white T-shirt, jeans and a backpack on her back.
"Um ... where do you want to go?" Lilia was surprised at their appearance, especially Harold who was well dressed.
The manager frowned, "Didn't I say that we were going to see the location of the show after resting? Do you forget?"
"Ah… sorry, I was too excited to see the view from my room. Wait a minute, I'll get changed soon." Lilia hurriedly closed her bedroom door and changed into clothes. She was wearing a white knit dress and a long, bohemian skirt that gave her a casual look.
Lilia joined Harold and Merry, then they walked towards the Milan Cathedral. The light of the evening sun made the whole city look like it was covered in gold.
Lilia saw that there were many tourists taking pictures in the square in front of the cathedral. Lilia's gaze shifted towards the Milan Cathedral and she let out a sigh of admiration. Even someone who was ignorant of architecture seemed to feel the majesty of this historic building. Its high roofs and stained glass windows made the building look majestic.
Suddenly Lilia felt her arm being pulled and she almost got hit by a rushed passerby, "Hey, watch where you are walking!" Harold scolded while releasing Lilia's arm.
"S-Sorry." Lilia stopped admiring the cathedral and turned to Harold, "Where is the location for this year's fashion week?"
Harold nodded his head towards the building beside the cathedral that was no less magnificent, "At the Arengario Palace. One of the best places in Milan to hold a fashion show!"
Merry who was trailing behind the two exclaimed in amazement, "That place looks amazing! I want to take a closer look, let's hurry over there! " The young woman looked very excited, like a country girl who was coming to a big city for the first time.
The three of them headed towards the Arengario Palace, which consisted of two separate but completely symmetrical buildings. The walls looked as if they were made of gold in the late afternoon sun. The entrance was in between the two buildings.
While Merry was busy praising and commenting on the beauty of the historic building, Harold gave Lilia a worried glance. The model paid no attention to the location of the show and instead checked her cell phone repeatedly.
Before Harold could warn Lilia, the woman bumped into a male tourist for being too focused on her cell phone.
"Ah…!" Lilia lost her balance and almost fell.
"Are you okay?!" The man who hit her immediately grabbed Lilia's shoulder so she didn't fall, "I'm really sorry, I was so focused on looking around that I bumped into you." He said in fluent English.
Lilia felt like she had heard this man's voice before, but she didn't really think about it, "I am fine. I should be the one apologizing for not paying attention… "
When Lilia looked up, her eyes widened and she forgot what she was going to say.
"B-Brother Alfred?" Lilia asked in disbelief.
"Eh, Lilia?" Alfred, Daniel's trustee lecturer, looked just as surprised.
"Lilia, is she an acquaintance of yours?" Harold approached them, staring closely at Alfred.
"Yes, this is Alfred, my brother's guardian lecturer. Brother Alfred, this is Harold, my manager. The woman behind him is Merry, my assistant." Lilia immediately introduced them.
"I'm Alfred, nice to meet you." Alfred smiled and shook hands with the two people.
"Brother Alfred, what are you doing in Milan?" Lilia asked curiously.
The man was dressed casually in a long-sleeved plaid shirt and jeans. Coupled with the backpack on his back, he looked like an ordinary tourist.
"I'm accompanying my family on vacation here." Alfred replied kindly, "It's been a while since I had a vacation, so I took time off to spend time with my family. How about you, Lilia? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here for work." Lilia explained, "I was invited to attend Milan Fashion Week in three days as a model, so I'm here to check out the location first."
Alfred's eyes widened, "Milan Fashion Week?! Wow, that's amazing! I will come to watch you, Lilia! You…"
Before Alfred could finish his sentence, the man's cell phone rang. He checked the screen and his expression turned grim.
"Ah, I have to come back soon. Lilia, can you tell me the details of the event via SMS? I promise I'll be there!" Asked Alfred.
Lilia nodded, "Y-Yes, of course. I'll call you later, Brother Alfred."
Alfred said goodbye to them before hurrying away.
Harold looked at the man with suspicion. Alfred looked like an educated, polite and friendly man, but Harold felt that he was not that simple in appearance.
"Let's continue to have a look at this place." Lilia led them. She felt more focused after meeting Alfred.
They walked around the building and only returned to the hotel when the sun had completely set. Harold reminded Lilia that she had to take part in a photo shoot scheduled by the organizers of the fashion week tomorrow before they returned to their respective rooms.
Lilia sat on the bed. Her anxiety returned when she checked her phone and there was no message from Jean. Lilia kept waiting for Jean's reply, but she was too tired and gave in to her sleepiness. She slept so soundly that she didn't notice her phone vibrated around three in the morning.
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