Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 207

A moment passes. "Remember yourself," Aiden says.

Ethel hands over the binder. "Let's get those highways properly lit."

I nod approvingly.

"Traitor," the men cry, but the second the pages are in my hands, I get a round of applause from the ladies.

I smile, readying the pen. "This day goes to the women. And Ethel." I scratch potential gas off of the budget, but before I can get to highway lighting, Aiden snatches the binder from me.

My mouth falls open. "Hey."

He holds it above my head, far out of my reach. "Nice to know who my real allies are." He glares at Ethel.

Ethel scratches the back of his neck.

"Oh please. Give it back." I reach for the binder on my tippy-toes. "You're supposed to be my ally, remember. We need to be a united front for the people."

"Oh now we need to be a united front?" He stares down at me smugly. "Now that you've lost."

Lost? What is this lost he speaks of? I furrow my brow.

He leans down towards me, slowly, painstakingly slowly until his lips are right beside my ear. He whispers, sending a shiver down my spine, but it's clear that he doesn't care who hears it. "You're fired, Mia."

"What?" I cock my head back, turning so that I'm staring into his eyes. "You can't fire me. I've been democratically elected."

I end up on the front steps with Ethel, binderless.

Yeah... Not the longest term a president has served, I have to admit. But hey, I tried my best.

Ethel stretches his legs out in front of us, leaning back on the steps. "Hey, at least they said they'd be waiting for us for the next uprising. That was kind of fun."

I smile, leaning against my knees. "Yeah, it was... I kind of felt like a real luna for a second." I chuckle.

"Yeah?" he asks.

I nod. "...Is that stupid?"

He shakes his head.

I smile again, staring at the parking lot ahead of us. I watch the cars moving this way and that.

"I've never seen Aiden like that before," he says.

"Really?" I ask. "Like what?"

He shrugs. I expect him to say something profound, give me some kind of clear explanation, but he just shrugs again. "He was just different. I don't know"

"Took you long enough." Ethel holds the passenger door open for me. Then he jumps in the back. "I was beginning to think you forgot about us."

Onai ignores him, whipping out of the parking lot. I brace myself. I hold onto my seat like it's my lifeline.

Ethel gives me a sympathetic look, chuckling. "Yeah. I forgot to tell you. Better hold on."

Onai raises an eyebrow. "What?" Does he really not know?

"Nothing," Ethel says quickly.

Onai shrugs. He speeds into oncoming traffic to merge like a madman with the straightest face ever.

By the end of the ride, Ethel and I are holding onto each other for dear life, begging to be released from the death trap. I never thought someone could drive worse than Michael.

Onai nods when he sees my queasy face. "I hate cars too."

How do I tell him that's not the problem?

Ethel's the first out of the car. Then me. Then Onai. Suddenly we're all standing in somebody's driveway. The first thing I notice isn't that the house is unfamiliar. It's that I can see the brothers' house very clearly from it. It's right there.

"Where are we?" I ask Onai.

He shakes his head and follows Ethel to the front door. I don't like the sound of that.