Alaric was used to traveling far distances and jetlag no longer affected him. He arrived in England when it was still morning. He had time to rest in the cabin of his private plane and so he had enough energy to start his day as if it was just another regular workday.
It was still afternoon in Singapore. He did not want to be too busy with his work and forget to contact Aleksis as he had promised, so before landing he decided to send an SMS to the girl.
[Will land in London soon. I miss you.]
The message was brief, but he was very happy to write it. It felt strange, because for the first time in his life, he openly expressed his longing for someone.
He usually traveled all over the world without missing anyone, nor feeling that he was traveling away from home. Usually, his home was wherever he was. Most often, that home was his private plane or car.
But now, he felt like he was on an actual business trip. That he was actually going somewhere, leaving his home in Singapore.
Hmm ... even though he really liked his mansion in Bukit Timah, previously he had no attachment to that place. But now that he was leaving Singapore, he felt as if he was leaving home ...
Was this what people meant with the words, "A home is not a place, but a person?"
A home is not the house, but the people in it.
This thought made Alaric smile thinly. In Aleksis he felt that he found his home.
The reply he was waiting for soon arrived, and that subconsciously made him smile.
[I miss you, too. Take care of yourself.] was Aleksis' reply.
They had only been separated for less than one day, but he was already missing her.
Hmm ... he hoped that his business with Meier Group could be settled quickly so that he could quickly go back home.
***
Alaric lived in the penthouse that his staff had prepared for his stay in London. He stayed there with Pavel and a few other staff who were responsible in taking care of the house during his time in London.
Alaric really liked working, because it kept him busy. He also spent very little time thinking about things that weren't important, especially now that his life-goal project had matured and would soon to be materialized. He was very eager to finish it.
"You want to immediately meet with the owner of Meier Group ?!" Pavel asked in surprise when they just entered the penthouse. They didn't even have time to rest yet. "Sir, aren't you tired?"
Alaric shook his head. "I want our business in England to be over quickly. I want to return to Singapore."
Pavel looked at Alaric with an understanding look. He knew his boss was truly in love. Usually Alaric was never in a hurry, so he never wanted to go home from somewhere soon. But for the past few days his attitude did seem different from usual.
Could this be because of that girl? Thought Pavel.
He didn't like Aleksis at first, because their first meeting didn't go well, but he was starting to accept that his master was having a relationship with the girl.
Could he begin to respect Aleksis as his master's future wife ... or were they already married? He heard rumors from one of Alaric's bodyguards that his master got married last night.
As an assistant who had faithfully followed Alaric for almost half of his life, he only wanted to see Alaric happy.
"Very well, Sir. I will immediately contact their headquarters and rearrange the schedule for as soon as possible."
Alaric just wanted to get things done with the Meier Group, so he could return to Singapore and into Aleksis' arms.
He took off his mask and washed his face with clean water; it felt very fresh. He closed his eyes to enjoy the water on his skin and thought about the right time for him to open his identity to Aleksis.
Maybe the sooner the better.
He could not wait to show his face to the girl.
Alaric opened his eyes and stared at his face in the bathroom mirror. He was a little surprised to see that his purplish-blue eyes now looked so brilliant. He couldn't remember the color of his eyes being so purple ever before.
He had lived for almost 100 years, and during that time, he often experienced oddities with his hair - it always grew too fast and sometimes it even changed colors. However, the color of his eyes never looked this brilliant before. He did have an unusual eye color, purplish-blue, but in the past it didn't attract much attention.
What was happening right now?
He was now staring at a face he barely knew. The lines on his face and hair were still the same, but his eyes looked very different. It gave him the impression of being completely purple this morning, though it still had a shade of blue
He squinted, trying to observe the pair of brilliant purple eyes that looked back at him in the mirror, as if he were a stranger to himself.
Who am I? Am I a mutant? Why don't I recognize my own body??? He thought fretfully.
He could only sigh. Over the past dozen years, he had made himself the research material for his group of scientists, so he could get answers.
What had happened to him? Why wasn't he aging? Why did he have such a perfect body and cells? Why did he have to live a different life compared to other humans?
Were there others like him? Or was he really alone in this world?
Pavel knocked on the door of Alaric's room and when he was invited in, he immediately told Alaric his report.
"Such a coincidence, the Meier Group owner is having dinner at a restaurant near this hotel. She would love to stop by and get acquainted informally before meeting you at her office tomorrow morning."
"Hmm ..." Alaric had never met the current Meier Group owner. 21 years ago the Rhionen Assasins was hired by the young CEO of the Meier Group, Alexei Meier, but at that time Alaric had not yet founded Rhionen Industries.
He and his team were contracted to kill someone. The contract was canceled a year later, and he never heard from Alexei again. He knew that the Meier Group was a family business, so it was likely that the new owner was Alexei's younger sibling or daughter.
Hmm ... the owner of the Meier Group was arguably as mysterious as himself. She led her family's business from behind the scenes and almost never showed herself to the public.
The opportunity to meet her in person was something that may not happen again in the future. Alaric had a strong feeling that he really had to meet this person.
After all, they were on the same side.
"All right, I'll have dinner here first," Alaric said. "Later we can meet them to chat over some drinks."
"Okay, Sir."
Alaric then finished his dinner and rested a little bit while waiting for his guest to arrive. At a little past nine, he decided to call Aleksis. He missed listening to the girl's voice.
RING
RING
RING
Until a dozen rings, she didn't pick up his calls.
Ah, he patted his own forehead, realizing his mistake. It must be almost morning in Singapore now. Because he longed to hear Aleksis' voice, he forgot that England was 8 hours behind Singapore.
OK. He would call Aleksis again tomorrow morning, when it was already noon in Singapore.
"Sir, Miss Sophia Meier has arrived," said Pavel, who entered his study, moved Alaric from his reverie.
Alaric nodded and waved, "Please let her in."
Two minutes later the door opened and a very beautiful girl entered. She had a very beautiful body, as if it was carved by the gods, and she was almost as beautiful as Aleksis.
Alaric was stunned to see the Meier Group owner.
He didn't expect the owner to be such a young girl. What surprised him the most was not Sophia's beauty ... but her pair of beautiful and brilliant purple eyes.
They reminded him of the pair of purples eyes that had stared back at him back from the mirror in the bathroom earlier.
He did not see his phone vibrate and the name Aleksis appear on the screen. Apparently, his wife woke up and called him back.
Alaric's body was rooted to the spot when Sophia came over to him with a big smile and reached out to shake hands.
"Good evening, Mr. Rhionen," the girl said in a voice as soft as the rain.