Chapter 27
Since returning from the restaurant until now, Alex hasn’t dared to say anything. Yet, his mind feels full. His breath is also labored, and his heart has been irregular since earlier.
Occasionally, Alex curses silently. What kind of dream did he have yesterday to meet Nicole while he was having dinner with Aurora?
Is God deliberately giving him shock therapy?
For God’s sake, Alex is afraid that his affair will be exposed again this time. He’s not ready. He hasn’t even thought about the answers and reasons in case his wife bombards him with many questions. Especially when at the restaurant earlier, Aurora often hinted with sarcastic remarks.
However, ever since they arrived home and were in the bedroom, Aurora’s demeanor has been normal. She hasn’t mentioned or hinted at the meeting with Nicole at the restaurant earlier at all.
Could it be that his wife doesn’t suspect him at all?
“Aurora…”
Alex dares to call out. He just wants to make sure his fear isn’t confirmed.
“Are you okay?”
Aurora, who just finished washing her face, then walks over to the bed. Since it’s already eleven at night and she’s feeling tired, she immediately lies down to get ready for bed.
“What’s wrong with me?”
Alex, feeling nervous, wonders what he should respond to Aurora’s question.
“T-this…”
“What is it?”
“About our accidental encounter with Nicole earlier.”
“And then?”
A soft sigh escapes Alex’s nose. Trying to calm himself, he answers very carefully. If he says the wrong thing here, it will surely lead to a huge fight.
“I’m just afraid you might misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand?” Aurora pursues. She looks puzzled and doesn’t seem to understand what Alex means. For Aurora, if Alex is good at acting, she can do the same. “Misunderstand what?”
“Seriously, I have no connection with Nicole anymore. I don’t even know why she was at the restaurant.”
“Am I accusing you?”
Alex immediately swallows his saliva. He takes a breath, trying to control his emotions.
“I’m just afraid that you might think-”
Aurora sighs. She groans.
“I’m sleepy. I have a morning shift at the hospital tomorrow. Let’s talk about this some other time. Besides, I’m not interested in discussing Nicole in my bed.”
Aurora then pulls the blanket. Closing her eyes, she leaves Alex to sleep first. She’s already said she’s not keen on engaging in small talk with her husband.
The next day, as agreed upon and because they have to visit her in-laws in the evening, Aurora agrees to let Alex drive her to work. After spending a few hours doing all her tasks and duties, Aurora decides to take a leave as she has to go to Rayyen’s office.
“Aurora, where are you going? You seem to be in a hurry.”
Velia, noticing that Aurora has been busy lately, immediately questions her. Besides, she wants to know where her friend and colleague is going during working hours like this.
“I have an appointment and some matters to attend to outside.”
“An appointment? With whom?”
“With Rayyen. I’m going to his office for a bit.”
Velia furrows her brow. For what reason is Aurora visiting her cousin’s law firm? Suddenly, she feels worried that something might be happening to her friend.
“Are you not in trouble, are you?”
Aurora just smiles, neither confirming nor denying Velia’s question.
From the start, since she found out about Alex’s affair, she deliberately didn’t tell Velia about it. Aurora just doesn’t want to hear the lectures or long-winded nagging that she believes will happen every day from her friend. Especially since Velia had warned her repeatedly from the beginning.
“Tell me later. I’m seriously in a rush. Plus, I haven’t ordered an online taxi yet.”
“Where are you headed anyway?”
Now, Alden suddenly asks. Why does this guy always show up when she needs help?
“Aurora is going to her cousin’s law firm, Doc.”
As usual, without needing any prompting or invitation, Velia chimes in. She even provokes Alden as usual.
“She’s been struggling to order an online taxi since earlier. If you’re not busy, Doctor Alden, why don’t you just take her? It’ll be safer for Aurora.”
Aurora turns around to glare at Velia. Damn her friend. Why does she always embarrass her like this?
“No. Velia, stop it, Doc,” Aurora defends herself. “I am going, but it’s not as complicated as Velia just said.”
“But, if you want, I can take you. Besides, my schedule is empty today anyway. So, it’s no problem to drop you off and wait.”
“Well then, just accept Doctor Alden’s offer. It’s better than the hassle of ordering a taxi back and forth. Plus, its safety isn’t guaranteed. What if you get kidnapped?”
“Don’t be reckless.”
Velia glares. “Seriously. There are so many cases of online taxi drivers kidnapping and sexually harassing their customers. Aren’t you scared?”
Velia speaks like a convincing salesperson. She won’t stop until her bait is accepted.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“Besides…” she continues her endless chatter. “Consider it a cost-saving measure too. Even though you’re rich and your money won’t run out just for taxi fares, waiting for someone who used to be special surely feels different.”
Velia keeps provoking. She won’t stop until Aurora accepts Alden’s offer.
“Come on,” Alden invites again. Although not explicitly, from the gleam in his eyes, he feels glad to have Velia’s support. “I’ll take you. It’s free anyway.”
“The problem is, I won’t be quick. If you wait, you’ll get bored because it’ll take a while.”
Aurora is sure there will be a lot of time she’ll spend with Rayyen considering they have important matters to discuss. Aurora doesn’t want Alden to get bored waiting for her to finish her business.
“It’s no problem. I’d wait for hours, even years, for you.”
“So sweet.”
Velia cheers happily. She’s the one who’s emotional hearing Alden’s words directed at Aurora.
“Enough. Just accept Doctor Alden’s offer. He might change his mind.”
Because she’s tired of Velia’s teasing, Aurora eventually agrees. She lets Alden take her to Rayyen’s office.
“I’ll wait here. Just let me know when you’re done.”
When they arrive at Rayyen’s law firm, Alden chooses to sit in the waiting area. Meanwhile, Aurora hurriedly heads to Rayyen’s office and finds her cousin already waiting for her.
“So, Ray, any news?”
“I’ve got all the answers you need.”
Aurora sits down immediately. She reads through the documents Rayyen gave her. Soon enough, her eyes widen.
“So, Alex really used company money for personal expenses?”
Rayyen nods. He laughs.
“You can see the lists of inappropriate expenditures and the absurd amounts. I’ve also synchronized them with Alex’s debit and credit card expenses. For the debit card, there are even transactions that are consistently directed to the same place, almost every few days.”
“I’m sure it’s going to Nicole’s account.”
Rayyen nods again and laughs once more.
“Exactly. As we suspected earlier, Alex is indeed spoiling his mistress.”
Aurora sighs irritably. She gathers and crumples the papers she’s been holding onto.
“Watch out for both of them. I’ll make sure Alex and Nicole pay dearly for their actions.”