章 293: Surprise
London was ablaze with colors under the night sky, and the late winter breeze was still chilly. Aldrich rarely drove his flashy Lamborghini out, but tonight was special. As the city lights flickered on, he cruised smoothly to a roadside parking spot near the airport. Clad in a casual coat, he stepped out of the car and lit a cigarette, waiting quietly.
The streetlights were somewhat distant, casting a dim glow; passersby wouldn't be able to make out his face unless they got within a meter of him.
About twenty minutes later, a woman walked over quickly. Aldridge knew it was her by the sound of her high heels.
The woman, dragging a luggage bag, reached the Lamborghini, quickened her pace, dropped the bag, and leaped into Aldrich's arms, kissing him passionately without a word.
In that moment, Melanie clung to Aldrich like a little girl. After their heated kiss, she wrapped her arms around him and whispered sweet nothings in his ear, expressing her longing during their time apart.
Aldrich opened the car door for her to slide into the passenger seat before taking his own place behind the wheel, and soon, the Lamborghini vanished into the streets.
"Haha, this suits you."
Melanie sat in the passenger seat, rummaging through her bag and pulling out one quirky decoration after another—gifts she had bought abroad for Aldrich. Among them was a necklace woven from special stones, designed to hang around his neck, which was quite offbeat.
She told Aldrich it was a lucky stone that would bring good fortune when placed in the home.
There was also a cowboy hat that she placed on his head, giving him an extra dose of cowboy charm. In the luggage she had previously mailed back, there were even cowboy boots, specifically for Aldrich.
She kept piling the gifts she bought on Aldridge, making him look rather comical.
With a cowboy hat on his head, a vintage pocket watch hanging from his chest, various trinkets on his wrist, and a tie loosely around his neck...
Since getting in the car, Aldrich had worn a stoic expression. When Melanie noticed he hadn't spoken, she nervously asked, "Are you feeling down?"
Aldrich shook his head.
Melanie looked down, feeling guilty as she reflected on her absence.
"I'm sorry. I got so busy with work during Christmas and couldn't come back. Even though I thought of you every day, it doesn't make up for my absence."
Aldrich pulled the car over to the side of the road, turned to her, and pulled out a long handkerchief from his pocket, his expression unreadable as he said, "Cover your eyes and don't take it off, okay?"
Melanie eyed the pristine white handkerchief suspiciously, "What kind of game are you playing?"
Without explanation, Aldrich folded the handkerchief into a strip, covered her eyes, tied it at the back of her head, and warned, "No peeking. If you do, I'll be mad."
Earlier, Melanie felt guilty about being so busy at work and not often in London, fearing it might affect her relationship with Aldrich.
But now, she smiled, guessing what Aldrich was planning.
"Alright, alright, I'll play along. Do all men have this kind of fetish? Let's go all the way with it tonight."
She said this, but deep down, she felt a flutter of excitement.
He must have prepared a surprise for me.
A cake? A party? A new car? Or maybe a romantic dinner?
She considered many possibilities, but none were correct.
When the car came to a stop, Melanie listened carefully to her surroundings; everything was eerily quiet, as if they had entered a tranquil countryside.
Aldrich got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, and lifted her out. He held her tightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, teasingly licking his earlobe before softly asking, "Can I take it off now?"
Aldrich paused, saying, "You can."
Melanie quickly pulled the handkerchief from her eyes, and in Aldrich's embrace, she gazed in disbelief at the scene before her.
This was definitely not the bustling center of London but rather the countryside, where a grand manor stood under the dark sky.
Aldrich held her as they stood in front of the main building of the estate, bright lights shining down from the entrance. A red carpet extended from the doorsteps to where Aldrich stood, surrounded by beautiful flowers arranged in a heart shape made of red roses, with the grand entrance waiting for the owner to push it open.
Melanie stepped down, stunned by the sight, and Aldrich placed a set of keys in her palm. When she turned to look at him, he smiled and said, "These are for you."
This mansion was a gift from Barnett to Aldrich. He preferred his cozy apartment, thinking a countryside mansion would be more suitable for Melanie, especially since she needed to avoid the public during her breaks. Aldrich, on the other hand, spent nearly all year dealing with the media, unable to escape, and this place was too far from the club to be convenient for him to live in. A long vacation here for ten days or two weeks could work.
Melanie reflexively exclaimed, "This is too extravagant!"
Aldrich stared at her, exasperated. Once she realized it, she took his hand excitedly and said, "Aldrich, I'm so touched! But I'm sorry!"
"Sorry? For what? Are you breaking up with me?"
Melanie looked guilty. "This moment should be more touching, but seeing how you look right now, I just want to laugh!"
Aldrich still wore the cowboy hat, a tie that hung awkwardly around his neck, and a necklace made of strange stones... If he could see himself in a mirror, he would probably want to laugh too.
He shrugged it off and took Melanie's hand, leading her forward. "It's fine. If you want to laugh, go ahead. I like seeing you smile."
They reached the door, standing under the heart-shaped arrangement of red roses, and Aldrich let her open the door.
Melanie playfully nudged his chest with her head, looking blissfully happy.
She tried to unlock the door with the key, but it wouldn't budge.
"What terrible luck, this key isn't the right one."
Aldrich mocked her awkwardness shamelessly.
Melanie tried the second key, then the third...
When all the keys failed to open the door, Melanie couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, saying, "Aldrich, am I dreaming, or is this one of your pranks?"
Aldrich looked taken aback and quickly replied, "Let me give it a try."
As he held the keyring in his hand, he suddenly realized he'd made a mistake. Chuckling awkwardly, he pointed to the sky behind her and shouted, "A shooting star!"
Melanie immediately turned to look, but when she saw nothing, she turned back to Aldrich, who handed the keyring back to her and said, "You should try again; the keys are fine."
Melanie was puzzled, but when she took the keys, she realized what the man beside her had been up to.
Fuming yet amused, she retorted, "Those are definitely not the keys you just gave me! The first set you handed me was wrong, right? And you said I had bad luck!"
Thick-skinned Aldrich pretended not to hear her and took off his cowboy hat, brushing it off.
With a satisfying click, the door swung open.
Melanie pulled out the key and triumphantly waved it in the air, laughing, "Success at last! This is a sign of the owner!"
"Madam, please enter."
Aldrich gestured like a butler, bending down to open the door for her.
Melanie grabbed Aldrich's hand and sprinted up the stairs like a gust of wind, exploring every room as if she wanted to inspect every corner.
After taking a tour of the entire house, they returned to the hallway.
Aldrich, standing downstairs, already felt a bit tired.
But Melanie stood on the upstairs landing, looking down at Aldrich with a commanding presence. She called out again, "This is the home of Aldrich Hall and Melanie Chisholm!"
Aldrich couldn't bear to look at her excitement and lowered his head, though he couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
"Hey, Aldrich."
She suddenly turned to the side and said softly.
Aldrich looked up, and she posed like a model, wrapped in a soft cashmere coat.
"This is our home, so we should declare ownership here."
Aldrich stepped slowly toward the stairs, nonchalantly saying, "So how do we do that?"
"What do the man and woman of the house do?"
Melanie bit her lip playfully, shedding her cashmere coat to reveal her curves that Aldrich adored.
"Cook?"
"That's the chef's job, right?"
"Clean the house?"
"Some couples never clean."
They had closed the distance between them, with Aldrich caressing her face, their foreheads touching as he asked softly, "Maybe it's not about the house."
"It's you; nothing else matters."
As soon as Melanie finished speaking, they abandoned their earlier playful pace and roughly began to strip each other's clothes off, seemingly forgetting about gentleness, wanting only to feel the warmth of each other's bodies.
Heavy breaths filled every corner of the room, the intensity of their actions was overwhelming. They tirelessly repeated the acts of possession, continuously changing locations: the hallway, study, bathroom, balcony, indoor garden...
The newly reunited couple spent the entire night awake. As the dawn light began to peek over the horizon, they lay on the gym floor, with Melanie resting her head on Aldrich's chest, both of them covered by a thin sheet.
"If we keep this up, are we going to starve here? There's no food in the kitchen, right?"
Melanie playfully hooked her fingers around Aldrich's neck, her fingertips brushing over his ears.
Aldrich gazed out at the sunrise through the floor-to-ceiling windows and said, "Yeah, there's nothing. But we can push our limits."
"No way, I'm falling apart. Hey, how should we decorate this place? The lawn outside is ours too, right?"
"Of course, you can build a new garden outside and play a nobleman and enjoy afternoon tea there."
"Hehe, that sounds so tacky."
Melanie closed her eyes against Aldrich, dreaming up ideas for renovations, like adding a new swimming pool or getting some pets...
During her time off, Aldrich would spend every moment outside of work with her. For Melanie, the upcoming global tour would be exhausting, while Aldrich faced a critical second half of the season that he couldn't afford to overlook.
It was his only chance to relax before things got tough. Over the next four months, Millwall will face their biggest challenge yet, fighting on four fronts at once like they have never faced before!
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