The Strange Groom's Cursed Bride-Chapter 106: ’Not-a-date’ Date in a Flash

Hades had pulled into the grand entrance of a luxurious shopping center that screamed money from a mile away. Alice cocked a brow at him as they stepped out of the car, her eyes scanning the building. This wasn’t what she had said. She had explicitly given him the address of a movie theater.

"This isn’t the cinema," she stated, her voice flat.

He cut the engine, turning to face her, his expression as unreadable as ever. "You’re here to shop."

Shop?

SHOP!?!

"I don’t... need anything."

He shrugged, a dismissive gesture that spoke volumes. "Your room is empty. You need to fill it up." His tone implied it was less a suggestion and more an order.

They were here to spend money, and the black card he had in hand was a reminder of that.

All her life, she had never met a woman who didn’t like shopping. Hell, even men.

But then, she knew her roots. And shopping here...

She trailed after him reluctantly, silently convincing herself she was doing this for Aurora.

Aurora, apparently, needed a wardrobe that didn’t consist of borrowed clothes and the single dress she’d arrived in.

Time passed in a blur of luxurious fabrics, gleaming displays, and a growing sense of disbelief. They moved from one high-end boutique to another. Hades, in his sporty vest, joggers, and sneakers, looked utterly out of place yet undeniably compelling.

His relaxed attire somehow accentuated his powerful build, making him stand out even more amongst the polished shoppers.

Also, it seemed like Hades had no concept of money, or perhaps, simply didn’t care. Whenever she hesitated to pick something up, her eyes widening at a price tag, he would simply point at the entire line of garments or accessories for the staff to pack them and send them to "their home address." She had to snap to her senses, fighting the urge to let him simply buy everything, which meant she had to pick something – anything – just to avoid the overwhelming excess.

The prices she saw almost gave her shockwaves. He had even caught her once, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips, when her eyes had bulged out as soon as she saw the price of a lipstick. A single lipstick.

It was insane.

Dresses, suits, shoes... he insisted on everything. At one point, he told her, with blunt disinterest, to get rid of the heels she was wearing. "They look hideous," he stated, completely unconcerned with her feelings.

Again, she wanted to protest, but he simply picked out a pair of crisp white sneakers from a nearby display and handed them to her. "Wear these."

Alice opened her mouth to argue, but the sales associate was already kneeling at her feet with the sneakers, and oh god, they were heaven. Soft. Cushioned. Perfect.

She hesitated

A small part of her wondered if he must have noticed her heels were tight, and how difficult it was for her to keep walking in them, which was why he did this.

But she shook her head, immediately dismissing the thought.

’Don’t think about it, Alice. Don’t be that girl.’ She was supposed to have the upper hand today, to be the one subtly manipulating the situation, but this whole thing was distracting her, throwing her off balance.

He was controlling her.

Another interesting thing happening was the looks they were getting. He, mostly. Women openly gawked, their eyes trailing after his entire figure, his casual attire doing nothing to diminish his raw, dark appeal. Even some men stared, a mix of curiosity and perhaps, grudging admiration, or maybe they even wanted him too. Haha.

His presence was a stark, almost magnetic in the polished environment.

As for her, some men surprisingly looked interested, their gazes lingering. This was new for her; she didn’t get this kind of overt attention back in the North.

One man even winked at her, making her recoil so hard she nearly knocked over a display of handbags.

Hades looked at her, then at the man, and for some weird reason, he seemed amused.

She caught the faint tint of a smirk playing on his lips, the slight lift of one corner. What the hell? she mouthed at him, defiance flashing in her eyes. He simply mouthed "What?" right back, leaving her speechless.

At some point, a sales assistant approached even said with a beaming smile plastered on her face. "Your boyfriend has excellent taste, ma’am! He picked out some truly exquisite pieces for you."

Alice’s brain flatlined. "Uh... yeah. Sure," she replied awkwardly, nodding a little too hard.

She didn’t correct her to say, ’husband’. No point in that. Since she noticed Hades did not wear their ring, she also hadn’t bothered to wear hers.

But the word, "boyfriend" kept replaying in her head.

An experience she didn’t get to have before all this mess.

Their shopping was messy.

Several times, Hades’s arm subtly brushed against hers as he reached for a nearby display, an unplanned, fleeting touch that made her very much aware of him.

Whenever it happened, she usually turned quickly to observe a product.

One accidental touch. Another. Her hand brushing his when they reached for the same catalog. Her shoulder bumping into his as they passed a mirror. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t tense. He seemed pretty calm.

It was unnerving.

The only good thing about all this was that she didn’t have to play "pretty woman" and test out all the outfits herself. One look at her, and the attentive staff, and even Hades himself, seemed to know exactly what was best for her. Only she was oblivious to her own appeal, apparently.

It got to a point, her head swimming with prices and fabrics, that she impulsively grabbed his wrist, her fingers closing around the warm, firm skin just before he could enter a glittering jewelry store.

Ah!

A jewelry store. Ha! She didn’t want to imagine how much those pieces would cost. The thought alone was enough to make her current headache throb.

"I want to stop now," she said, her voice strained with fatigue. "I’m tired."

She immediately realized what she had done. Her fingers were pressed against his pulse, a strangely intimate contact. She quickly let go. That had been unplanned and unstrategic.

But then, it also occurred to her that he hadn’t reacted the way he usually would—with heightened alertness, a subtle tensing of his muscles, a flash of warning in his eyes, whenever she touched him. This time, nothing. He simply stood there, his gaze calm, almost as if he expected it.

"You’re not having fun?" he asked, his voice betraying a hint of something that might have been surprise, or perhaps, genuine confusion. "Isn’t this what you wanted?"

She looked at him suspiciously. "Fun? And what, pray tell, would be the bill for all this ’fun’? Are you going to ask me one day to pay up for all these things?"

"No," he stated, unequivocally.

A faint line appeared between her brows. Hmm. This was a new development.

Then he added, his voice flat, "I’m not charging you for anything more than the 20 million."

Alice cringed. The mention of the astronomical sum, one of the very reasons for her current predicament, was like a splash of cold water. She glared at him, a flash of genuine anger in her eyes, before she turned sharply and walked ahead, making a beeline for the food court. What had she been expecting?

A tiny spark of amusement touched his lips, a fleeting, almost imperceptible smirk, as he watched her walk away, then leisurely followed.

She found a small, unassuming pastry shop in the bustling food court. This time, she was quick to pay for a couple of flaky, sugar-dusted pastries with some of the small amount of money she had. They were expensive, even for simple pastries, but worth it if it meant regaining some semblance of control.

She turned to Hades, handing him one. He looked down at the pastry in her hand like it was something truly disgusting, his expression one of faint revulsion.

"I don’t eat dirty outdoor snacks," he stated, his voice laced with disdain.

Alice almost rolled her eyes. The sheer audacity.

She tried again, peeling one of the pastries open, holding it out to him. "Come on, live a little. You might surprise yourself."

He said nothing, merely staring at the pastry.

So she tried harder. Ridiculously harder. She batted her lashes with all the subtlety of a high school drama audition and lifted the pastry closer, her lips pursed in what she hoped looked sultry and not like she was about to sneeze.

It felt cringey as hell. She was already regretting it when she noticed the way he was staring.

He simply stared at her, utterly unimpressed, "Did a bug get into your eyes?" he asked, his tone genuinely, infuriatingly innocent.

She was embarrassed. Completely embarrassed, but at the same time, a laugh escaped her lips. A genuine, almost helpless laugh.

He was a lost cause.

She had laughed several times around him before.

When he got F.

When he said things that didn’t make much sense.

But this one felt different. For some odd reason.

He looked at her.

She stared back.

And this time, he broke eye contact first, taking the pastry from her.