No Renewal: My Contract Husband (Nella and Alfred) novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Nella, We Need to Talk

76

Finished

Alfred had expected Nella to be overjoyed, but after staring at her face for quite a while, he saw not a trace of delight in her expression or eyes.

She was so calm there was barely a ripple.

His heart sank. Seeing that Nella had no intention of opening the cake, he couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going to try it?”

Nella had been about to go wash up and head to bed when Alfred asked this. She stopped.

“Oh.”

With that single acknowledgment, she reached out and opened the cake box.

Alfred silently watched Nella’s expression.

She was as docile and obedient as always, yet watching Nella before him act like a puppet on strings, doing whatever he said, Alfred felt inexplicably displeased.

Nella picked up the accompanying spoon and cut off a small piece. Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she stopped when she saw the yellow mango chunks in the filling.

She stared blankly at those perfectly uniform little cubes of mango.

Each piece was meticulously cut, the sizes so precise they looked like they’d been measured with a ruler, not off by a millimeter.

Clearly, whoever made this cake had put tremendous care into it.

Nella even felt that if she didn’t take a bite, she’d be letting down the pastry chef’s dedication.

However, at this moment, she stared unblinkingly at those mango pieces, as if even they were mocking her for never receiving an ounce of her husband’s care.

The softness of the mango seemed to have grown thorns, piercing her heart with a dull ache.

Alfred also noticed the change in her expression. He followed her gaze, and the next second, his expression shifted.

A flash of panic crossed his eyes. He opened his mouth and explained awkwardly, “Sorry, I didn’t know…”

He didn’t continue, just stared at Nella’s face with panicked eyes.

1/5

18:01 Thu, Oct 15

Chapter 10 Nella, We Need to Talk

76

Finished

Nella didn’t get angry, nor did she show the slightest disappointment. She simply put down the

spoon.

In an extremely casual tone, she said, “It’s fine. Just not meant to be, I guess.”

“Nel…”

Alfred had just started to speak when Nella cut him off. “I have the early shift tomorrow. I’m going to shower and sleep now.”

With that, she turned toward the bathroom.

But just as she turned, Alfred grabbed her wrist.

“What is it?”

Nella looked up at him questioningly.

Alfred opened his mouth, unsure what to say for a moment. He randomly found an excuse. “I drank too much tonight and don’t feel great. How come you didn’t give me a sports drink?”

After saying it, he froze.

He’d meant to find a reason to talk to her, but the words came out carrying an accusatory tone instead.

“I’m not blaming you.”

He opened his mouth and explained awkwardly, but Nella didn’t seem to care about his attitude at all:

She just nodded, her tone even. “I was too tired from the trip. Didn’t really feel like doing anything.”

She pointed toward the kitchen. “There’s honey in the fridge. If you’re still not feeling well, you can make some honey water to help with the alcohol.”

Disappointment was evident in Alfred’s eyes.

“Oh.”

He responded absently, but his gaze remained on Nella’s face.

In the past, whenever he came home from business dinners, whether he’d been drinking or not, Nella always had a sports drink ready for him.

But tonight, from the moment he walked in until now, Nella hadn’t asked about it once.

2/5

18:01 Thu, Oct 15

Chapter 10 Nella, We Need to Talk

76

Finished

Even when he brought up that he’d been drinking and felt unwell, Nella didn’t even frown.

Even for something as simple as making a cup of honey water, she made no move to do it.

Finally, he suppressed the unease in his chest, took out the honey from the fridge, and made himself a cup.

Seeing that Nella never once asked if his head hurt or if his stomach felt bad, the unease in his heart grew even more suffocating.

As if unwilling to give up, he brought up the game from tonight’s private room.

“After drinking with Mason and the guys today, they played a game.”

He drank his water, bringing it up in a casual tone.

He tried to appear like he didn’t care much, as if just mentioning it in passing.

Nella didn’t really want to listen, but out of politeness, she stayed where she was and looked at him, waiting for him to finish.

Facing her reluctant gaze, Alfred’s eyes held an inexplicable guilt.

Using the motion of drinking to cover his current guilty conscience, he cleared his throat. “They suggested everyone put their phones on the table and wait for their wives to call telling them to come home.”

As he spoke, he watched Nella.

Nella froze.

“They said I’d definitely win. Every time before, I was always the first one to get a call. But tonight, I waited until the very end and never got a call from you.”

When Alfred said this, his tone was normal and casual, just chatting.

But by the end, Nella actually detected a hint of aggrieved accusation in his voice.

After a second of stunned silence, Nella pressed her dry lips together. “Sorry I made you lose the game.”

Alfred froze too.

He’d thought that when he said this, Nella would rush to explain to him, tell him the reason why.

3/5

18:01 Thu, Oct 15

Chapter 10 Nella, We Need to Talk

And then tell him that next time she’d definitely call him first, like before.

But he was disappointed.

376

Finished

Nella did none of that.

She just offered a dry apology, one that seemed overly perfunctory, not even bothering to make up an excuse.

She had that look on her face-like even if he didn’t accept her apology, she wouldn’t care.

Alfred’s chest felt increasingly suffocated.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify