Buried in the Avalanche Our Love Expired novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Need a Married Man to Keep Her Company?

Chapter 7 Need a Married Man to Keep Her Company?

The moment Archie saw Zoey’s tears, he immediately panicked.

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“Zoey, don’t cry. Everyone has their own strengths. You’re so kind and sweet. We all love you. There’s no need to compare yourself to others.”

Their whole group knew Zoey had depression and were terrified of accidentally saying something that might upset her and trigger an episode.

“Right, Alfred? Come on, help me out here.”

Archie glanced at Alfred through the rearview mirror.

Alfred was also afraid of Zoey having another episode, so he quickly spoke up. “Alright, stop crying. Nella’s good at academics, and you’re good at dance. Nella definitely doesn’t have your talent for dancing. Don’t put yourself down like that.”

“Yeah, Zoey, you’re our group’s princess. With us around, even if you couldn’t do anything, you’d still be treated like royalty your whole life.”

After being comforted by both of them, Zoey immediately broke into a smile through her tears. “Alfred, Archie, thank you so much. Even though I’m not that smart, I’m so lucky to have you guys doting on me. I’m really happy.”

The girl sitting in the passenger seat, who’d been too lazy to join the conversation, finally couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

What an act!

Did she escape from a chicken coop or something?

Cluck, cluck, clucking away like that.

Always crying at the drop of a hat and playing the depression card. What kind of normal person constantly hangs around someone else’s husband?

People like her were giving depression a bad name.

Good thing she wasn’t that stupid. She was only in it for Archie’s money. If she actually fell for this idiot emotionally, she’d end up as miserable as Alfred’s wife for sure.

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Chapter 7 Need a Married Man to Keep Her Company?

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On the other side, Nella took a cab back to the penthouse at Emerald Vista Bay Estates, the home they’d shared since their wedding.

Opening the door, the place was spotless. They had a cleaning service come by daily.

Alfred didn’t like having strangers living in his home, so the several-thousand-square-foot penthouse was occupied only by the two of them. The housekeeper was only responsible for three meals a day and cleaning and didn’t live there.

Right now, the place was cold and empty, quiet without a trace of life.

Nella took a shower, changed into loungewear, and felt utterly exhausted both mentally and physically.

She sat on the couch and turned on the TV, clicking on a comedy variety show. As she watched, her exhaustion overcame her, and she fell asleep without realizing it.

At the Griffin Club, in a luxurious VIP room, several of Alfred’s childhood friends were all

present.

Some were singing karaoke, some drinking, and some playing cards. It was quite lively, yet Alfred sat alone in the corner of the couch, playing with his phone, occasionally turning on the screen to glance at it.

Several hours had already passed. Nella should be home by now.

Usually when he was out at business dinners, she’d thoughtfully text him reminders to drink less, or if he had to drink, to at least eat something to protect his stomach.

Normally by this time, Nella’s messages would have already arrived, but now, aside from that “Sorry” from this morning, not a single message had popped up.

Alfred’s brow furrowed. His chest felt inexplicably tight and uncomfortable.

“You’ve been staring at your phone all evening. Waiting for Nella to reach out?”

The couch cushion beside him sank as a man’s casual, teasing voice sounded next to him.

It was his childhood friend, Mason Hart, eldest son of the Harts in Apex.

Hearing Mason’s voice, Alfred nonchalantly turned off his phone screen and instinctively

denied it. “No.”

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Chapter 7 Need a Married Man to Keep Her Company?

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Mason laughed softly. Whether he believed Alfred’s answer or not was unclear, but he kept talking. “What you did this time really was out of line. Even if Zoey really had been kidnapped, she has her parents, the Macks, and even the Keywoods. Why would she need you to abandon your wife in a foreign country and rush back here?”

Mason’s words made Alfred’s brow furrow. A strange unease flickered through his heart, though he said, “I explained it to her. She didn’t mind.”

“If she had minded, would you have stayed with her?”

Mason’s question hit the nail on the head, leaving Alfred instantly speechless.

He suddenly recalled his emotions that day when he’d rushed out of the hotel and Nella had called out to him, and what he’d said to her.

She’d only called out to him. She wanted to hand him a pair of goggles. She hadn’t even gotten a word of protest out before he’d impatiently snapped at her, implying she was being jealous and petty.

Remembering the stunned look on Nella’s face at that moment, Alfred’s heart sank.

He knew the truth deep down. Forget about Nella not minding. Even if she had actually tried to stop him, he would have abandoned her and rushed back anyway.

He always habitually chose Zoey, putting everyone and everything else behind her.

Faced with Mason’s question, he opened his mouth. After a long moment, he couldn’t come up with a single word of rebuttal.

“Nella’s got a good temper. She seems like she doesn’t care about anything, but she’s still human. She’s bound to care about something. The more someone doesn’t seem to care about anything, when they finally do care, there’s no way to fix it.”

Mason kept talking while Alfred remained silent the whole time.

He wanted to say that Nella didn’t care because theirs was just a contract marriage to begin

with.

A marriage maintained by a piece of paper allowed him to do as he pleased without having to worry about anything extra.

When the three years were up, they could divorce on schedule,

But now, thinking back to that contract they’d signed, the calm he’d felt when signing it was now mixed with panic and resistance.

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