Flash Marriage Husband is an Alpha-Chapter 28: Short of Money?

~Adrian~

By the time I stirred awake, it was already the next day. The beautiful rays of the morning sun filtered softly through the curtains, warm enough to make my eyes flutter open.

My gaze, unfocused at first, drifted around the room, tracing every familiar inch as I tried to recall how I had managed to sleep off last night. Slowly, memories trickled back.

The last thing I remembered was asking Maurice to bring over every detail of his findings and meet me in the study.

My brow furrowed at the realization that I had slept off and never went to the study. A sigh slipped from my lips.

I didn’t expect I would sleep that deep, and Maurice...why didn’t he try to wake me up when he arrived? Taking a deep breath, my hand grabbed the duvet but paused momentarily.

I was sure I hadn’t pulled the duvet over my body. I just hoped I wasn’t sleepwalking.

"You can save your grumbling this morning and get up to look for her," Karl growled.

My brain stopped for a moment. "That’s true... I had to look for her. According to Maurice, marriage had been arranged for her."

My thoughts raced with questions:

Who was the suitor that had been arranged?

Human or werewolf?

What’s her stand towards the proposal?

How was she going to handle it?

The more I thought about it, the more pressing the need to look for her became.

I’m not ready to have my mate taken away by a human, not after years of waiting.

But then, I had a pressing issue. I can’t storm the Norton’s family without finding out the state of things with her.

"Where do we find her?" I asked Karl.

"Definitely the Norton’s mansion," Karl suggested.

That was supposed to be the right place, yet I had this feeling that she wouldn’t be there.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand beside the bed; with a few clicks, I dialed her number, but surprisingly it wasn’t going through.

My brow furrowed tighter. "Maurice! Maurice!" I mind-linked with a tinge of anxiety in my voice.

"Alpha," he answered immediately.

"Where is she?"

"Alpha, she left the Nortons’ mansion this morning with her sister," he reported.

"Her sister?" I asked, both in surprise and confirmation that I had not heard him wrong.

"Yes," he answered, and my pulse spiked.

I was certain she wasn’t on good terms with her sister (adopted sister), but the thought they might be going out together left me with mixed feelings.

I couldn’t help worrying about the sort of medicine Phina might be selling in her gourds.

Recalling Stella’s flushed cheeks and aggrieved expression when I met her at the club... my heart tightened.

"Is she being plotted against again?"

"Will she be dragged to register the marriage?"

"Do you have anyone keeping an eye on her?" I asked further.

"Yes."

"They should be careful; not even a hair on her head should have any mishap," I ordered. Yet the knot in my chest didn’t loosen.

Given a choice, I might have asked her to come back and let me help her get the revenge she sought.

"I understand," he answered swiftly. "The documents are in the study."

"Why didn’t you wake me up?" I asked immediately.

"I tried to, but you were sleeping deeply, and seeing you resting for the first time... I... I had to let you rest," he stuttered. "I’m sorry."

I was now certain he was the one that had draped that duvet over me. I felt grateful he hadn’t woken me up.

Maybe I might not have gone back to sleep and would have spent the night gazing at the moon or running through the woods.

Maybe I wouldn’t have felt this rejuvenated. "It’s okay. Send her location to my phone," I clipped before cutting off the mind-link.

With the details in the study, I decided to freshen up before going over to view it. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Karl snorted.

"You don’t expect me to go looking for her without a bath... right?" I teased.

"You wait till she is married off and see how I deal with you."

"Oh! We can always wait for a second chance," I retorted.

"Second chance? After spending ages... you managed to get one... you lose it on carelessness and request a second chance?"

"Alright. Don’t get furious. She wouldn’t be married."

"Not when you are lazing around."

I sighed. I definitely couldn’t convince him.

By the time I stepped into the study, I was ready for the day and whatever effort it would cost to find her.

On the large mahogany table was a file marked confidential. I picked it up, turned it in my hand... certain it was the document Maurice dropped last night.

I sat down and tore it open; I read through the documents seriously. A soft smile curled my lips.

"Not bad," I muttered. "Maybe she wasn’t that weak as I thought."

"You still have to find her," Karl warned.

I felt my head throb. "Maybe, if you stop being troublesome."

"Adrian Carter," he growled.

"Fully present."

"..."

With his silence, I sighed with relief. By the time I was leaving the study, Maurice had her location sent over.

The Palace Hotel.

My brow furrowed. I slid into the car. Seems like I have to work from the car today.

"To the Palace Hotel," I clipped.

As the car pulled away from my estate, I couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing.

I arrived at the hotel just in time to see her chatting with the proposed suitor; I had my window rolled down and ears perked up to catch their discussion.

"Happy corporation."

"Happy corporation."

My gaze narrowed. "Corporation?"

Did she really buy him over?

And that means she just dismantled the marriage?"

What’s her bargaining chip?"

I was still thinking when Karl growled his displeasure. "Why bother about her bargaining chip? When she still has to suffer thinking of a way out when you can handle this?"

By the time she arrived at the café, I had wanted to wait for her and then leave, but an emergency call at the office made me leave.

Though I had handled every task, I still felt restless knowing she was alone.

I called Maurice, and with her last location, The Palace Hotel, my shoulder sagged with relief, and I had to drive over.

Who would have thought she was already leaving?

Watching her walk down the streets without boarding a taxi, my heart tightened.

"Was she short of money?"

"Why wouldn’t she call to have the driver sent over?"

"Pull over in front of Luna," I said.