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 The Gibraltar of the North – Part ll

"Come on, I'll drop you off at the hotel." With a warm smile, he softly suggested.

"Who are you? What did you do to the Arrogant Reighs?" She asked with a surprised voice and Onyx chuckled.

"He is still there somewhere buried I guess." He said going around the car and opening the door for her. "If you would please madam." He said with a smile and a bow of his head. She scoffed with a smile and strolled up to the open car door, and she slipped inside. Onyx gently closed the door and walked around to take the wheel.

They began gliding down the road in silence. Onyx drove with one hand on the steering wheel, looking straight ahead and occasionally glancing at the female sitting beside him. Ophelia closed her eyes and sighed as she massaged her forehead with her delicate fingertips. She caught Onyx's gaze as she passed by.

"How did a pilot end up in the jungle instead of the sky?" He asked, glancing away from her and ahead.

"Hahaha!" She huffed and rolled her eyes. "We went trekking and exploring." She responded.

"We?" He asked

"Dallas, Sarah, Sky, Nishat, the whole crew basically." When Ophelia mentioned Dallas's name, his grip on the steering wheel tightened.

"If they were with you, then why are you alone?" He inquired.

"Good question, that is a very good question." She nodded but did not take the initiative to respond to his question. As a moment passed, Onyx glanced at her waiting for her to answer.

"Well?" He said, and she averted her gaze. Her cheeks are flushing slightly.

"We were walking to Esch-sur-Sûre Lake, as we felt it would be a genuine adventure if we didn't take the vehicle all the way to the campsite, but instead walked through the forest. We started hiking down the mountain through the forest, and I stumbled on a log and noticed my shoelaces were untied. As I stood up after I had tied my shoelaces, I felt discomfort in my left knee, and after sitting down and relaxing with the others for a while, I informed them I was heading back as we were not far from the car we had taken. They agreed; Dallas offered to escort me to the car, but I declined and began walking back. I slipped on the slope and I-I ended up losing the trail I was headed to and got l-lost."

"I hope you aren't hurt to bad?"

"I'll live." She said and he chuckled,

"Guess the captain isn't that great at navigating on the ground." He said this while looking straight ahead. She anticipated him to mock her, but she was astonished he didn't. She gave him a sidelong glance before looking out the window.

"Do you have any water?" she inquired after a while. He gave her a sidelong glance and gestured to the water bottle. She took it and drank the entire bottle. He asked, looking at her with concern. "How thirsty were you?"

"Quite a bit!"

"How long have you been walking?" he inquired once more, and she sighed.

"Two days," she said nonchalantly, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Two days!" he exclaimed. "How did you survive there? And what in the world are those guys doing? "Didn't they notice you were missing?" He growled.

"We were meant to camp there for three days, so I believe they haven't returned yet; they don't even know I couldn't return to the hotel."

"Are you sure you're okay?" He inquired once more, his voice tinged with concern.

"I'm fine; and besides, this was nothing compared to Air Force training and all those days spent in the wilderness." She said this while yawning and looking out the window. She felt Onyx's gaze bore a hole through the side of her skull and she turned to face him. "What?" She inquired.

"You were in the Air Force?" He inquired

"Yeah, I served in the United States Air Force for six years." She responded while leaning against the car seat.

"Did things get tough over there?" He asked, "Not really," she replied, "I loved tearing through the sky in one of those F-15s."

"So, why did you decide to join a commercial airline?"

"They are well compensated." She replied with a cheeky grin and Onyx chuckled.

As they drove through the small road surrounded by lush green forest, she closed her eyes again, leaning her head against the car seat. As Onyx turned on the radio and the soft music slowly filled the silent car with its melody, Ophelia kept stealing glances of the man driving. Ever since that night she saw him in the garden, she couldn't seem to take him out of her head. She felt a pull towards him, and after catching a glimpse of his kindness hidden behind his arrogant façade, it became more difficult for her not to think about him. Even though in full consciousness she would never admit it, she was drawn to him subconsciously.

As Ophelia awoke from her slumber, she noticed that the car had stopped at a gas station. She sat up straight and discovered a jacket draped over her body. She was initially perplexed by the jacket, but soon realized who it belonged to.

"You are awake!" Onyx exclaimed as he slipped into the car. "Here, have this," he said as he handed her a box. She opened the box and stared at him, baffled.

"What exactly are these?" she inquired.

"Those are Gromperekichelcher," he explained as he buckled up his seat belt. "Potato Pancakes, try them with that apple sauce, trust me, you'll love them!" He suggested enthusiastically.

"Thank you," Ophelia thanked him as she picked up one with the plastic fork and bit into it. Her eyes widen as the flavors of the savory pancake dipped in apple sauce burst in her mouth.

"This is incredible! Thank you very much!" He smiled broadly as she moaned.

"It's my pleasure." He said with a slight bow of his head. "You should try Bouchée à la Reine; you'll for sure fall in love with those."

"I would love to fall in love with whatever fancy dish you mentioned just now." She said with a stuffed mouth full of potato pancakes, and Onyx chuckled as he took the road again heading to Luxembourg City.

They talked, mocked each other, and the rich sound of their laughter filled the car as the roaring sound of the car engine filled the silent road. It was the very first time they were conversing like civilized humans rather than quarrelling.

"And Sage literally said she would kill me; worse she would destroy my Xbox. So I said you should really fix your priorities." She laughed. "So yeah, he lied about falling sick." She finished telling her story and he smiled staring at her.

"I'm glad he did." She shifted her gaze away from him as she saw something in his eyes that made her heart flutter. She looked straight ahead and her face mortified with horror.

"Look out!"

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