Sorry I'm Mated To The Commander novel Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Chapter 51

With only one day left in the holiday, students living on Alpha Prime started heading back to school

But Layla tagged along with Annie and Alex, ditched their uniforms for casual clothes, and slipped out of the school to hop on an aero-vehicle headed for the Understreet.

Annie couldn’t help but ask Alex, “Why isn’t Wallace coming?”

“He’s still asleep,” Alex replied.

‘Seriously? It’s already this late, and he’s still in bed?’ Annie thought.

Wallace really had it good. He could eat, sleep, and never stress about anything.

Annie turned and noticed Layla yawning too.

“Layla, what did you do last night? Did you stay up late, too?” Annie asked.

“Just spent a bit more time online,” Layla replied.

Layla was actually pretty tired. She’d been using her Hades alias to chat with Shayla until past three in the morning. By the time she was ready to crash, Shayla still wanted to keep talking.

But honestly, it was a blast. Layla knew Shayla was really passionate about mech suits.

Just then, her optical computer chimed. Layla glanced down, and her eyes narrowed sharply in surprise. It was a lot.

Annie leaned over, curious. “What kind of message made you jump like that? Did you hit the jackpot or something?”

Layla quickly turned off her optical computer’s screen, making sure Annie couldn’t see.

She forced herself to sound calm. “It’s nothing, just an ad.”

“Seriously, what kind of ad freaked you out like that?” Annie teased.

“Just one of those scam prize ads,” Layla said, trying to play it cool.

Annie shrugged. She’d never had to worry about money, so stuff like that didn’t faze her. She was already distracted by something else.

She turned to Alex, curious. “What perfume are you wearing today?”

Alex’s fishy ears twitched in irritation. “I didn’t put on any perfume.”

“So that’s just your natural scent? I’m jealous.” Annie teased.

“Jealous my ass. I’m a guy,” Alex shot back.

While they were still bantering, Layla glanced down again and opened her optical computer, only to spot an insanely huge transfer of starcoin sitting in her account.

[Your Highness, did you get hacked or something?] Layla typed, half joking, half genuinely confused.

After Atlas sent the money, Layla stayed quiet for so long he almost wondered if he’d sent it to the wrong person.

‘Seriously? After waiting all this time, this is all I get?’ Atlas thought, more than a little annoyed.

19:46 Fri, Jan

Chapter 51

40

Atlas narrowed his eyes, irritability written all over his face. The adjutants working nearby froze in place, nobody daring to make a sound.

Atlas lowered his gaze and typed out a reply.

Atlas: [No.]

But the next moment, a transfer notification pinged his screen. Layla had just sent all the starcoin straight back to his

account.

The temperature in the office seemed to drop several degrees. Roger and the other adjutants shot each other uneasy looks.

They immediately started coming up with lame excuses to bail.

“Roger,” Atlas called out.

Roger, the last one trying to make a break for it, froze in place. He looked like a kicked puppy as he watched everyone else escape the office.

He turned back to Atlas, plastering on a fawning smile. “Your Highness, is there anything else you need me to add to the report?”

“When you give your girlfriend a gift, and she refuses it, why do you think that is?” Atlas asked.

‘Of course, it’s about that again,’ Roger thought, feeling a fresh wave of regret.

He should’ve kept his mouth shut and never volunteered to deal with the school stuff when Atlas’s rut kicked in.

Now, as the only one who knew about Atlas’s secret rut marriage, he’d gotten himself totally tangled up in this whole mess.

Maybe Roger had been silent for a bit too long; Atlas’s annoyance was getting worse by the second. “Are you mute now?”

“No, Your Highness, I was just racking my brain, thinking about the times Reyna refused my gifts. Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly did you give her that she sent back?” Roger asked.

“Ten million starcoins,” Atlas replied.

Roger almost choked.

He tried to hold it in, but nope, he’d already snorted. With Atlas shooting him a look that could kill, Roger frantically tried to come up with an excuse.

“I-I mean, Your Highness, that’s just way too much.” Roger stammered, still in shock.

He’d never make ten million starcoins in his whole career, not even if he worked till retirement.

And Atlas was just giving it to his partner for spending money.

Atlas didn’t say anything, so Roger scrambled to explain. “I think Layla’s the cautious type. Dropping that much on her all at once probably scared her.

“Maybe she thought it was breakup money, so she got freaked out and sent it all back immediately?”

Atlas narrowed his eyes. “If you gave your partner ten million starcoin, would she think it was breakup money?”

“No way, I couldn’t even dream of giving her that much. If I actually sent her that kind of money, she’d probably think I was some kind of scammer,” Roger said.

Atlas thought to himself, ‘Layla really is cautious. I’ve got so much money that I’ve lost track of what’s a lot. Maybe I really

Chapter 51

did freak her out.’

‘Breakup money?’ Atlas wondered. ‘Nah. She’s always trying to divorce me anyway. She’d probably jump at the chance to get some breakup cash.”

A few minutes later, Layla’s optical computer buzzed with another transfer notification; this time, it was five hundred thousand starcoins.

Along with the money, there was a message from Atlas.

Atlas: [Just some pocket money for you.]

Someone who obviously didn’t care about her, but needed her for the marriage, was suddenly acting all nice, opening up his home systems to her and dropping a massive amount of pocket money into her account.

Layla couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Could there be another reason behind all this?’

Zaa ran an analysis and said, “Layla, maybe this is Atlas trying to make it up to you. In romance novels, guys always try to buy your forgiveness with cash when they feel guilty.”

Layla couldn’t help but twitch her lips. “You’re an AI. What are you doing reading romance novels?”

Zaa replied, “Weston put them in my database.”

Layla was even more speechless. ‘Weston’s a scruffy old guy, what’s he doing reading romance novels? Is he planning to hook up with an old lady for a late-life fling or something?’

Probably worried she’d just send it back again, Atlas shot her another message.

Atlas: [Don’t you dare send it back.]

‘Same old Atlas, always acting like he’s the boss and I just have to go along with whatever he says, she wondered.

Layla was seriously ticked off.

But just then, their aero-vehicle came to a stop. Annie called out from up ahead, “We’re here.”

Layla stepped out of the aero-vehicle and glanced around. This neighborhood looked just like any other, gray, towering apartment blocks everywhere, and the occasional small shop with signs caked in dust.

Above their heads, aero-vehicle lanes crisscrossed like a messy grid, and honestly, everything here just felt so normal and unremarkable.

“There’s a secret entrance around here. Oh, and heads up, this place has all sorts of shady characters and oddballs. Since we’re all good-looking, let’s stay sharp and watch our backs,” Annie warned.

Alex absolutely hated being called pretty, so he shot Annie a death glare. ‘Why does she always have to say that? Alex thought, annoyed.

Alex, looking all smug and feline, lifted his chin, then turned and/strutted into a nondescript little grocery store. Without hesitation, he pushed open the basement door.

The moment the door swung open, a wave of noise and excitement burst out, making it feel completely separate from the dull world outside.

It was like stepping into another world.