The Alarm

The next day, Halia arrived nice and early at the airport and caught a morning flight to Hong Kong with Sean.

Sean was secretly excited during the entire flight because he knew he was about to spend an entire week with Halia...alone...

He hadn't felt this excited about a woman since Sara.

Halia took a quick glance at the man next to her and a flash of memory suddenly came to her mind. Sara and Sean had caught a flight together before and they practically spent the entire flight kissing. Halia quickly turned away and looked out the window. She wasn't about to let that happen.

Remembering what the doctor said, she quickly put an alarm on her phone. The flight between Beijing and Hong Kong was just under 4 hours, so she set her alarm to go off every half hour and remained wary of Sean.

Of course, Sean wasn't stupid. After the first hour of their flight, he began to notice that Halia was ignoring him and she was quite cold towards him. What had happened? She was always friendly and warm; she had bought him chestnuts and coffee in the past and they even kissed twice. Was she mad that he wasn't taking responsibility and making things official between them?

Sean smiled to himself. This woman was adorable when she was mad. With this thought, he suddenly grabbed Halia's hand.

Halia turned her head, looked at the man in surprise and quickly tried to pull her hand away.

"Halia, I know you're upset. I think you know how I feel about you and I know you feel the same. I know we haven't known each other for long, but for some reason, I feel a sense of familiarity from you, like I've known you for years. Everytime I see you, I feel myself being drawn to you and I can't control it."

Sean placed Halia's hand on his chest so she could feel his heart; it was almost thumping right out of his chest. Unfortunately for him, Halia's heart remained calm.

"This might feel too soon, but I really want to clarify things between us. I've been thinking about you every night and I really want to make you mine," the man said seductively.

Halia quickly pinched her leg in case she lost control again and freed her hand from his grip.

"Sean, I already have a boyfriend," she said straightforwardly. "Please don't do things like this again. It's highly inappropriate and it makes me uncomfortable."

Sean's heart sank. A boyfriend? He had looked at Halia's background and it never mentioned anything about a boyfriend. When did this happen? Moreover, he was sure Halia had feelings for him.

"You're lying, how come it wasn't written in your portfolio?" he asked.

"It's a secret," Halia replied as the thought of Jackson came to her mind. Jackson had just been arrested recently and he was currently on trial in France. He was a criminal and she was an SPU agent; they were polar opposites. Star crossed lovers destined for tragedy. Yet, she couldn't control her feelings for him. Perhaps, they were the modern day Romeo and Juliet. But, he was her secret and she was going to hold onto this secret for as long as she could. She didn't know if she'd ever see him again, perhaps she would even forget him eventually, but for now, she remained hopeful.

At that moment, she noticed the bracelet that Jackson gave her. It was dangling at the end of her wrist. It made her a little teary and Sean noticed. Why was her boyfriend a secret? And why was she getting teary at the thought of him? Was it because their relationship was unstable?

"Did he give that to you?" Sean asked curiously.

Halia nodded her head.

"Then why did you kiss me?" the man asked in confusion. He was certain that she enjoyed kissing him. Wasn't she obviously attracted to him? Or was he just a substitute for her loneliness?

"It was a mistake," Halia said as she tried to look away.

At that moment, Sean grabbed onto Halia's chin and turned her to face him again. Halia looked into the man's eyes. He looked angry, but there was also a trace of fiery passion.

"Was it?" Sean asked as he forcefully pressed his lips against hers in a domineering manner.

Halia felt her heart race and her breath fall short. As usual, her mind told her it wasn't right, but her body fell into sync with the man's actions. Her eyes closed and she grabbed the man's cheeks, drawing him closer with every kiss.

Sean smiled. This woman was lying to herself. She obviously had feelings for him.

But, just as Halia began to respond, a beeping sound suddenly came from her pocket. Halia's eyes immediately flew open. With one strong shove, she quickly pushed the man away. She then threw her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

The alarm worked.

Sean glanced at the phone in curiosity. Why did she have an alarm?