The interior of the private jet resembled a luxurious parlor, exuding its owner’s exquisite taste from every detail.
Leah Sinclair had just taken her seat when her phone rang. It was Kian Hawthorne. She tapped the screen to reject the call.
Nearby, Josh Sterling was looking down at his phone, messaging Zoe on WhatsApp.
[Miss Hale?]
Zoe quickly replied: [Boss, is it an issue with my gender? I can change that.]
"Josh, have you been on this plane before?" Leah asked.
Josh placed his phone face-down on the armrest and looked at her. "No."
"Oh." Leah felt a little nervous. "This is my first time on a private jet. Are there any rules?"
"Just make yourself at home."
"Huh?" Leah couldn’t help but feel that he was acting a bit too much like the owner of the jet.
Not long after takeoff, she began to feel dizzy. Josh called the purser over for some motion sickness medicine. After taking the pill, Leah felt drowsy.
"There’s a lounge inside. Go in and get some sleep," Josh said. "We’ll be there by the time you wake up."
Leah felt it was inappropriate to use someone else’s private lounge. She was just about to decline when he supported her with one hand and pushed open a concealed door with the other.
Inside was an elegant lounge, completely insulated from the engine noise.
He helped her lie down. He was just about to leave when Leah suddenly spoke up.
"Josh, I’m afraid of the dark. Could you leave a nightlight on?"
Josh walked over to the bedside, tapped a specific button, and accurately turned on a soft nightlight.
Leah gave him a meaningful look. Realizing his slip-up, he met her gaze calmly, a hint of amusement coloring his eyes.
"Josh, is this really your first time on this jet?" Leah pulled the edge of the blanket up to hide her smirk.
He sat on the edge of the bed and reached out, lightly tapping her forehead with his fingertip. "What are you thinking? I’m an honest businessman."
"And what does a dishonest businessman look like?" Leah’s eyes curved into smiling crescents.
His gaze lingered on her face for a long moment. "Let me ask you instead. What kind of indecent people have you met?"
Leah stuck out her tongue playfully. "Well, you’re so handsome. It must be hard for those wealthy female clients not to get the wrong idea, right?"
"I don’t have any partners beyond professional relationships." He frowned in fond exasperation. "Now, can you lie down and get some proper sleep?"
"Hehe, okay."
Leah slid down further under the covers, resting her head on the soft pillow and closing her eyes. The scent in the room was just like the woody fragrance lingering in his home. She made a mental note to ask him where he collected all those scents next time. She soon fell asleep.
Josh didn’t leave. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching her sleeping face. Before they boarded the plane, Ash Sinclair had sent him a message:
[Leah survived a shipwreck and suffers from PTSD.]
[She doesn’t remember what happened that day, but she still retains the memory of falling into the sea. She’s terrified of water and the dark.]
[Bro, please take good care of my sister.]
Of course, he knew. Because on that very day, they had both lost their parents. If he hadn’t been afraid that remembering him would trigger her trauma of that day, he would have revealed his identity to her long ago.
***
Leah fell into a deep sleep.
In her daze, the world in her dream shook violently, and the howling wind roared in her ears—WHOOSH.
Someone was calling out to her by her ear. "Leah, wake up."
The voice was incredibly familiar. She reached out to grab onto something and was caught by a warm hand.
"We’re here. Time to get up."
Leah was still in a trance. This voice felt both strange and familiar. Who would call her Leah? It wasn’t her brother. It was... "Hubby?"
The hand holding hers seemed to turn cold for a brief second. "It’s me," a deep voice replied.
Leah jolted awake. She remembered she was on a private jet to Indrah, and the person with her was Josh Sterling. She slowly opened her eyes.
The warm, yellowish light plated his striking silhouette with a golden rim. Gentle and handsome, he looked like a man straight out of a young woman’s dream.
She raised a hand to rub her eyes. "Are we there?"
"We’ve already landed." He paused. "If you haven’t slept enough, you can rest a little longer."
Leah sat up. "I’m fully rested. Let’s get off."
The two of them disembarked and exited through the VIP channel. Their chartered car was already waiting at the exit. A girl with a sharp, short haircut stood by the car, looking exceptionally clever.
"Hello, you two. I’m your local guide for this trip. My name is Zoe Holloway."
The girl proactively reached out to Leah. The moment Leah’s fingertips brushed hers, the girl grasped her hand firmly. Holding the luggage, Josh stood off to the side, glaring coldly at the girl with his lips pressed into a thin line.
Once in the car, Zoe sat in the passenger seat, enthusiastically introducing the local customs of Indrah.
She was incredibly talkative, firing off one sentence after another and frequently pausing to prompt a response. Leah was forced to listen attentively, constantly ready to reply.
Josh sat beside Leah with his legs crossed, not saying a single word. After a long silence, he spoke up indifferently, "She’s tired."
Zoe paused in surprise, gave Leah an innocent look, and stuck out her tongue. "Oh, I’ll stop talking then."
Leah was about to smooth things over when Josh pressed down on her hand and pointed out the window. "Look, that’s the cathedral."
Outside the window in the twilight, an ancient cathedral stood quietly. Its structure was dyed golden by the setting sun, and the overlapping, tiered eaves tapered upward, resembling an inverted lotus flower. The spire faded into the darkening sky, with doves circling among the eaves.
"After inspecting the pharmaceutical factory tomorrow, we can come here to pray for your uncle," Josh said.
Leah looked at the cathedral and remained silent. He added from beside her, "I heard the cathedral here is very effective for prayers."
Zoe turned around from the passenger seat, her eyes shining. "This is the oldest cathedral in Rajpur. Many locals come here to walk around it and pray for blessings. I can arrange it for you."
Leah nodded. "Alright."
Josh withdrew his gaze and leaned back against his seat. "If you’re still sleepy, you can rest a bit more," he said. "I’ll wake you when we arrive."
Leah glanced at him. His profile was intermittently illuminated by the passing streetlights outside. With his eyelashes lowered, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. She didn’t speak, nor did she close her eyes. The exotic street scenes outside the window fell behind frame by frame, unfamiliar and serene.
***
Early the next morning, Zoe was waiting in the lobby.
When Leah came downstairs, Josh was already at the front desk checking out. He wore a thin, dark gray sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing his wrists. Without any superfluous adornments, he looked like a painting just standing there.
"Morning," he said, glancing back at her.
"Morning, Josh," Leah replied with a smile.
"I’ve already contacted the pharmaceutical factory. We can head straight there."
"Great, thanks."
Leah had barely responded when she suddenly received a text message from an unknown number. It included an attached image.
In the photo, Kian Hawthorne was dressed in a full black suit, looking solemn as he held a memorial tablet in his arms. Selene Shaw stood by his side, dressed entirely in plain white mourning clothes.
The unknown number texted: [Don’t you think you should bow out on your own initiative?]
Leah stared at the number. After a few seconds, she dialed it back. The other party didn’t answer. She hung up and sent a text message in reply.
[Theodore Jennings, please pass a message to Miss Shaw. If she wants the title of Mrs. Hawthorne so badly, she might want to try a little harder. Kian Hawthorne chases after me every day, begging me to bear his heir.]
After sending the text, she cast a sidelong glance at Josh beside her. He was looking elsewhere, seemingly completely unaware that she had just been texting. "Josh, let’s go."
"Alright." He helped her open the car door.