The Collector's Curse

【10】Takeoff

Of course, I ended up accepting to join him on his impromptu trip to Oslo. Not only was I eager to visit the city, but I was also looking forward to seeing my old professor, who would be meeting with us. Also, Ulrik had spent a portion of the night showing me exactly why I needed to come along with him, displaying an insatiable amount of persuasion and stamina.

My main issue was Yuko, whom I felt terrible for abandoning so early after her return. "No, don't worry for me, Miss Mila," she insisted when I brought it up to her. "I like to be alone here. I don't mind you going."

"Are you sure? Maybe you could come along with us."

She shook her head without an ounce of hesitation. "I only come to Oslo when Mr. Ulrik stay more than a week. I don't like long trip, and I like my home here more."

Because she sounded so genuine, I decided to believe she truly meant it and wasn't being polite or making sure she stayed out of our way. I insisted that I had no issue staying here if she would rather, though. But again, she maintained she was perfectly fine with solitude—especially since she would have Reginald for company.

After an intense morning of working separately, Ulrik and I shared a quick lunch with her before going on our way. We had a five-hour drive ahead of us, and despite Ulrik's car being so luxuriously comfortable, I wasn't really looking forward to that.

"Do you go to Oslo often?" I asked him as we passed the gates of the estate and joined the main road.

"Two, three times a month."

"Adding to all the trips you take around the world?"

He winced. "Yeah, I don't spend much time at the estate. I have entire months where I barely spend four or five days there. In fact, I can't remember when was the last time I stayed there for as long as I did since you got here."

"Really?"

His hand came to rest over my thigh as he nodded. "For some reason, I didn't want to leave."

I smiled, touched by his admission, and held his hand over my thigh. "So, Yuko is used to being alone there."

"She is. I offered that we relocate my main residence to Oslo instead so she'd have more activities and social life. But she prefers nature and the fjord's beauty."

"I kinda get her," I said, looking around at the landscape. Even from the road, this place was stunning. "Did she ever...fall in love and marry?"

Ulrik gravely shook his head. "She fell in love with the wrong boy when she was a young teen. From what I know, he promised her the world but never delivered any of it. She had an ectopic pregnancy as a result, and lost her ability to bear a child."

"Oh, no..."

"Everyone abandoned her—not only that boy but her family too. I think she never recovered from the betrayal, so she didn't allow herself to fall in love again."

"That's horrible... Poor Yuko."

This was heartbreaking to hear. The information left me silent for a while, as I pondered on its implications. This bond between Ulrik and her made even more sense now, because she'd known him since he was a child and had been the one constant variable in his life. He'd called her the only family he had left, and I now realized that Yuko felt the same.

At some point, Ulrik took an unexpected turn, so I twisted around to confirm that the Oslo sign we'd just passed showed a different direction.

"Isn't Oslo the other way?" I asked.

"It is. But the airfield is that way."

Now I was properly confused because the airport also wasn't in that direction. "We're taking a plane?"