No Renewal My Contract Husband (Nella and Alfred) novel Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Mad at Me or Nella?

It quickly drew sidelong glances and hushed murmurs from passersby.
In the driver’s seat sat Archie Jordan, a childhood friend of Alfred and Zoey, wearing dark sunglasses as he stepped out of the car.
He obviously spotted Nella too, and the smile on his lips abruptly froze.
“Oh, you’re here too.”
Nella nodded at him in greeting.
“Archie’s here. Alfred, let’s go. We don’t want to block the cars behind us.”
Zoey tugged lightly at Alfred’s sleeve.
Her gaze drifted toward Nella, her lips curving into an ambiguous smile.
Alfred didn’t move. He just stared at Nella with a complicated expression, trying to read something beneath her calm and indifferent exterior.
But Nella remained detached, showing no emotion at all. This inexplicably kindled a spark of anger in Alfred’s chest.
Archie removed his sunglasses and walked over to them, his eyes landing on Nella as he spoke in an apologetic tone. “Sorry about this. I didn’t know you were coming back today too, so I brought this car. There’s really no room.”
Archie’s Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe was a four-seater, and his girlfriend was already occupying the passenger seat.
The two back seats were naturally reserved for Alfred and Zoey.
Nella knew that while Archie called her by name, he’d never really accepted her.
That comment on Zoey’s Facebook post suggesting Alfred should just marry Zoey instead had come from Archie.
Whether he genuinely couldn’t fit her in the car or had found the perfect excuse to refuse her a ride, Nella wouldn’t embarrass herself by pushing.
“It’s fine. I already called a rideshare. You guys go ahead. My ride’s here too.”
“Nella … ”
Archie was about to say something when Nella’s ride happened to arrive.
“My car’s here. I’m heading out. See you.”
She waved at everyone, pulling her suitcase toward the car, but someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.
She paused mid-step and turned back, confused, meeting Alfred’s complicated and scrutinizing gaze.
“You … ”
Alfred had just opened his mouth when Zoey urged from the side, “Alfred, let’s go. We’re blocking traffic.”
Hearing Zoey’s prompting, Alfred’s brow furrowed with clear reluctance.
His gaze fell on Nella’s impassive face. He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.
“Are you getting in or not?”
The rideshare driver was already getting impatient.
Nella smoothly withdrew her hand and waved at them all. “I’m leaving. Bye.”
Then she opened the car door and got in. “Let’s go.”
The window slowly rose, cutting off Alfred’s complicated and cold gaze.
“Alfred, let’s go. The guys are already there.”
Archie urged, noticing Alfred’s dark expression. His voice carried a hint of caution.
“Mm.”
Alfred responded with a heavy grunt, pulling his gaze from Nella’s departing rideshare and getting into Archie’s car.
Sitting in the car, Alfred kept staring at his phone in silence. The chill unconsciously emanating from him lowered the temperature throughout the vehicle.
While driving, Archie kept stealing glances at Alfred’s expression through the rearview mirror. That invisible pressure made even Archie’s voice drop a few notches.
“Alfred, should we … call her and ask her to join us?”
Alfred’s brow twitched. The next second, he coldly refused. “No need.”
Nella didn’t like those kinds of gatherings.
Zoey glanced at Alfred, then said to Archie, “She doesn’t like our crowd anyway, Archie. Don’t make things awkward for her.”
On the surface, she was speaking up for Nella, but the underlying meaning carried subtle malice.
She was implying that Nella looked down on their group of idle rich kids.
Archie clearly caught on. A flash of displeasure crossed his eyes, but with Alfred present, he didn’t show his irritation.
Still, his words came out dripping with sarcasm. “Well, yeah. After all, she’s a top graduate from Apex. How could a bunch of trust fund babies like us be worthy of hanging out with her?”
As he spoke, he laughed a couple of times, making it sound more like a joke. But it made Alfred, sitting in the back, furrow his brow and say coldly, “Grow up and quit being so passive-aggressive. Are you mad at me or mad at Nella?”
As Alfred’s words fell, both Archie and Zoey’s faces stiffened.
Zoey especially hadn’t expected that someone who’d been willing to abandon Nella for her sake would defend Nella in this situation and embarrass his childhood friend.
Archie was ultimately still afraid of Alfred. Hearing the question, he quickly tried to smooth things over with laughter. “Hey, Alfred, I’m just kidding. How would I dare to blame her? I genuinely admire her intelligence. She’s so young but already has dual PhDs from Apex and is Mr. Fred’s prized student. None of us can compare to her.”
Only then did Alfred’s displeasure fade as he responded with a low hum. “That’s true. You’re all academic failures. How could you compare?”
The pride evident in his tone made Zoey feel a sudden sense of crisis.
She stared at Alfred’s upturned lips when mentioning Nella, and her heart sank.
An intense sense of crisis instantly washed over her.
“Right, right. Only you have the brains to match her, Alfred.”
Seeing that Alfred wasn’t going to hold a grudge, Archie breathed a sigh of relief and became more talkative. “Speaking of which, you went to Apex too, Alfred. Someone as impressive as her should’ve been pretty famous on campus. Didn’t you ever run into her back then?”
Archie’s question made Alfred look up with interest. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly replied, “Maybe she just had her nose buried in books the whole time.”
Zoey beside him suddenly covered her mouth with a giggle. “Are you saying she’s just a total bookworm?”
That single sentence made Alfred’s expression momentarily tighten, a flash of displeasure crossing his brow.
But seeing Zoey’s innocent, naive look, he assumed she hadn’t meant anything by it and didn’t call her out.
Still, he countered, “What I meant was she’s someone who really loves learning.”
Though he hadn’t intended to blame Zoey, this rebuttal made her detect his admiration and protectiveness toward Nella, which deeply displeased her.
Her mood plummeted, her eyes reddening. “Yeah, I’ve always envied people like her who are so good at studying. Too bad I’m too dumb, and my health is so poor. I could never compare to her.”
As she spoke, tears began streaming down her face, her eyes full of self-pity and bitterness.