No Renewal My Contract Husband (Nella and Alfred) novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

“Alfred, are you thinking about your wife?”
She tilted her head to look at Alfred with an innocent expression.
“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been so weak and had a depression episode that made you come back, she wouldn’t be mad at you and ignoring you like this.”
Zoey’s expression dimmed as she looked up at Alfred and said, “Alfred, she must be really mad at you right now. Why don’t you reach out first and apologize to her?”
Zoey knew Alfred well. Cold, arrogant, always the one being courted by others. He would never humble himself and apologize to anyone first.
The more she pushed, the more he’d resist.
The next second, Alfred’s expression turned cold as he said in a low voice, “When someone’s life is on the line, if she’s going to get mad about that, then let her stay mad.”
He shoved his phone into his pocket, took the camera from Zoey’s hands, and said, “Go on. I’ll take your photos.”
“Okay!”
Zoey’s lips curved up happily as she skipped over.
But Alfred’s expression remained sour. Thinking of that conversation on Facebook Messenger that had been silent for so long, his brow furrowed even deeper.
He thought about how Zoey had only faked being kidnapped because of a depression episode. It wasn’t intentional.
Severe depression could be life-threatening. Taking her to see the northern lights to lift her spirits was good for her condition. Nella shouldn’t be throwing these unreasonable tantrums at him.
He’d saved someone. He wasn’t wrong.
Alfred told himself this over and over.
But if he was so confident he was right, why did he feel this inexplicable unease in his heart?
Even after watching the northern lights and returning to the hotel, the unease in Alfred’s chest didn’t diminish. Instead, it grew stronger, transforming into a silent panic.
He stared at his phone screen and clicked on Nella’s Facebook Messenger profile. Their last conversation had been two weeks ago, the night before they were supposed to leave, when she’d told him about having to work late at the hospital.
After that, nothing.
Fine. She’d always been the one to reach out first. This time, he’d do it.
With that thought, he started typing, but after a few words, it didn’t feel right. He deleted it and started over.
After several attempts, he finally made up his mind and sent a few words.
“Did you see the northern lights? How come you didn’t send me any photos?”
After sending it, an unfamiliar nervousness rose in his chest.
This nervousness was strange. It was an alien feeling he’d never experienced, even while sitting at the negotiation table.
But he stared at his phone screen for ages without seeing Nella reply. The unconscious anticipation and tension in Alfred’s heart began mixing with anger.
…
On the plane, Nella had just unfollowed Alfred when a flight attendant came over to remind her to turn off her phone.
“Miss, excuse me. The plane is about to take off. Please turn off your phone or switch it to airplane mode.”
“Okay.”
After switching her phone to airplane mode, she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes to rest.
After waiting all night without receiving a message from Nella, the silent anger in Alfred’s heart, mixed with panic he didn’t even recognize, reached its peak.
He tossed his phone aside and got up to head to the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, he came out of the bathroom. The phone he’d thrown on the nightstand suddenly lit up.
His steps halted. The next second, he strode quickly toward the bed, not even taking time to wipe the water droplets falling from his hair.
Even the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved up.
When he picked up the phone, the smile that had just been in his eyes vanished abruptly. The chat with Nella remained empty as before.
The phone that had just lit up displayed a message from Zoey with photos from their northern lights trip.
“Alfred, you’re such a great photographer. Every single shot makes me look perfect. I don’t even need to edit them before posting on Facebook.”
Below was a string of photos of Zoey under the northern lights.
He had no interest in looking at them. He exited Facebook Messenger.
“Nella, you’re really something.”
Tossing his phone aside, Alfred gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.
…
At that moment, on the plane headed for Craystan, Nella was experiencing an unforgettable nightmare.
Darkness, cold, fear, despair …
It was like a devil from hell, its enormous mouth stretching endlessly, trying to swallow her whole.
She gripped the armrests tightly. “Help … help me, help … ”
She felt someone pulling at her hand, gently shaking her, trying to pull her out of the abyss.
“Are you okay? Miss, are you okay?”
A gentle female voice kept calling to her, quickly pulling her away from that terrifying abyss.
Her eyes flew open, the terror still in them. Her breathing was heavy and labored, her face and forehead already covered in cold sweat.
“Are you okay?”
It was the familiar female voice from her dream.
Nella turned to look. Sitting beside her was a round-faced girl wearing black-framed glasses, currently looking at her with concern.
“Were you having a nightmare? I heard you calling for help.”
The round-faced girl, Lyra Moore, asked with genuine concern.
Nella apologized with an embarrassed expression. “I’m so sorry. Did I disturb you?”
“Not at all. You just look really pale. Did you have some kind of terrible nightmare?”
A nightmare?
Yes, it really was a terrible nightmare.
Nella felt dazed, the bitterness in her heart desperately needing an outlet.
She looked at Lyra beside her and said hoarsely, “Yeah. Surviving an avalanche by the skin of my teeth. I guess you could say I’ve had the complete life experience now.”
She said it in a light tone, but the girl gasped in shock, covering her mouth as she stared at her in disbelief.
“Was it the avalanche at Glimmering Isles?”
Nella nodded.
“Oh my god, so many people died in that avalanche.”
Her eyes reddened as she reached out and grasped Nella’s hand. “You must have been so scared.”
Scared?
Nella’s mind went blank. Thinking back to being buried under the snow, she couldn’t even remember the fear she’d felt at the time.
But Alfred’s response to her kept replaying vividly in her memory.
Before, she’d naively thought that even if Alfred didn’t love her at first, love could grow over time.
As his legitimate wife, she had the advantage of proximity. She could slowly work her way into his heart.
But the cruel truth showed her that when a man doesn’t love you, he really doesn’t love you. Even when you’re facing death, he’ll firmly believe you’re lying.
A complete stranger hearing about her avalanche experience would feel sorry enough to tear up and ask if she was scared.
But Alfred?
Nella gave a self-mocking laugh. “It’s fine now. Every cloud has a silver lining, right?”
“Yeah, you’ve got tons of good luck coming your way.”
Lyra comforted her.
20 hours later, the plane landed at Craystan Airport.
After saying goodbye to Lyra, she pulled her suitcase out of the airport.
As soon as she turned on her phone, a message from Alfred popped up.
“Did you see the northern lights? How come you didn’t send me any photos?”