AFTER I WAS LEFT ON THE ALTAR

CHAPTER 16: LOST IN TOKYO

(ALEXANDER'S POV)

The meeting had taken exactly four hours of my time, even though it was clearly scheduled for two. Apparently, there were more loopholes in the project than we had imagined.

The elevator doors opened, and I walked out into the hallway. I already had it in mind to go through some paperwork from the meeting that had ended an hour ago. I would also have to go through the documents attached to the PDF Julian had sent last night.

I meant to walk right back to the suite, but instead my steps slowed, and I found myself staring openly at Thalia, who sat a few feet away.

Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, this time without a hint of nervousness or tension.

She sat with her legs crossed, a book resting on her lap and a pencil in her hand. Her hands moved like someone who wasn't new to this. She held the pencil delicately, and it glided gracefully across the paper.

I took a few steps closer, and the feeling of staring lingered longer than it should have.

My eyes caught sight of Luna, who had passed out in the most uncomfortable position I had ever seen.

Her right hand was resting on the couch while her left hand dangled over the edge. Her legs looked even more ridiculous as one was crossed over the other and rested awkwardly at the side of the couch.

The peaceful smile she had on her face completely contradicted her sleeping position.

My gaze shifted back to Thalia, who was still seated, completely oblivious to what was happening around her, almost like she had entered a world of her own.

I took slow, calculated steps toward her, wanting to see what she was drawing that made her so immersed in her own world. Not wanting to steal a peek, I stopped a few feet away from her.

"What are you drawing?" I asked, causing her to jump in her seat. Her book immediately slammed shut. I blinked my eyes at her.

"Nothing," she said, playing with her fingers. My eyes narrowed on them, and I immediately became more curious.

"Really? It doesn't look like anything." I stepped closer, causing her to shrink in her seat and let out an awkward laugh.

Just when I wanted to press further, an overly excited and loud voice came from behind me.

"Adventure time!"

I turned to see Luna wide awake, hands thrown in the air. Her voice echoed through the entire lobby, causing people to turn and stare in our direction.

Luna didn't feel a bit bothered. If anything, she continued.

"Smiley!" She ran up to me. "We need to go on an adventure."

"Absolutely not." I had no interest in being amongst a crowd of people.

"But we need to take Shiro on a walk." She tried making a point.

"Do that tomorrow."

"Why?" she whined, stomping her feet on the floor.

"Because it's getting late, Luna," I said, energy slowly leaving my body. I didn't know how long I could keep up this argument.

"But we're in Japan." I felt a headache forming instantly, one that had nothing to do with the time.

"It doesn't change the time,” I replied.

"It changes everything." She folded her arms and let out a huff.

I heard a chuckle and turned to see Thalia looking away while biting her lower lip to stop a smile from escaping, but failing miserably. I narrowed my eyes at her, which caused her to cover her mouth, trying not to let the laugh slip.

Well, she had better hang on tight.

"See! Momma agrees with me." Luna ran up to Thalia, tugging on the hem of her blouse.

"Huh? I never said that." Thalia looked away.

"But you laughed!" Luna pointed her index finger at Thalia.

"It's not the same thing as laughing," Thalia responded, trying to imitate Luna's voice.

Luna's mouth fell open. "That's not how I sound." She furrowed her brows.

My head moved back and forth between them as the argument ran its course for the next ten minutes. Their argument finally died down, and both their heads snapped toward me.

"Please, Smiley?" Her lower lip trembled as she stared up at me.

"No." I turned my face away from her as I felt my restraint slowly slipping.

"Pleaseeee?"

"No."

"Pretty pleaseeeeee? I promise not to go anywhere without you." She walked closer to me and grabbed my suit.

"Just for an hour," I said, and immediately regretted it.

"YES! ADVENTURE TIME!" Luna screamed even louder than before, causing everyone in the hall to stop and stare, which led to Thalia and me mouthing apologies in two directions simultaneously.

A few minutes later, I found myself walking through the streets of Japan with Luna's hand in mine while Thalia carried Shiro against her chest.

Luna couldn't stop pointing at everything she could lay her eyes on.

"Smiley! Look!"

"Smiley, there's a plane."

"Smiley, there are dancers."

The last one caught my attention as I heard the sound of music coming from across the street. My eyes landed on a small crowd of people gathering, some with their phones recording, others clapping their hands to the rhythm.

Women dressed in different colors of kimonos moved gracefully to the rhythm of what I assumed was a Japanese traditional guitar.

Their steps were slow but completely organized. It was almost as if one was trapped in a trance. The long sleeves of their kimonos moved at different timings in slow motion, which looked like waves.

Suddenly, the lights turned on from above where they danced. A soft glow spilled out of the lanterns hanging above, creating the perfect lighting for the entire performance.

My eyes finally scanned the environment, and I realized we were in some kind of festival celebration we hadn't been aware of.

I realized I hadn't heard a childish squeal in several minutes and looked down to see Luna silent for the first time since we had left the hotel. That was how I knew she was genuinely moved rather than just excited. Her mouth was open, and only her eyes gave a reaction to every movement.

Thalia stood slightly apart from us, her arms wrapped around Shiro, watching with an expression I had come to recognize but couldn't find the right word for. She always wore that expression when she saw something too beautiful to react to.

When the dancers finished their performance, they bowed, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers all around. Luna screamed so loud it drowned out most of the crowd's voices.

One of the dancers turned her head in the direction of the scream and waved at her. Luna looked around, making sure it was directed at her, before waving back so fast I almost lost sight of her hand.

After a few minutes, we continued walking down the path and stopped abruptly the moment we realized the road was filled with stalls on both sides.

"Wooow!" Luna said. She took steps forward, her head slowly turning from one side to the other.

"This is so cool!" She ran off into the crowd before either of us could reach for her.