NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: "Not Aurora smart,"
"YOU ARE CRAZY!"
Paula's voice thundered through the room, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Alice winced. This was exactly why she had hesitated to tell Paula. But how could she not? Priscilla had made her swear secrecy, yet Alice knew she couldn't take such a life-altering step without telling her best friend first.
Paula's outburst came after Alice laid everything bare—why she hadn't returned home for two days after claiming she was going for a jog. The mysterious trip she'd taken without explanation. And then there was her return: short, neatly styled hair, a smoother complexion, freckles that seemed to have faded overnight, and different contact lenses. Paula had thought the worst or maybe best bombshell was that she had been kidnapped to the West. But a wedding...?
"How… how could you agree to something so insane?" Paula's voice cracked, a mix of disbelief and desperation.
"Shh!" Alice waved her hands frantically. "Why don't you just climb up to the roof and shout it out to the entire neighbourhood?"
"Don't you be sarcastic with me, Alice!" Paula snapped. "I thought you were back to doing shady things, and I was worried sick! But now I wish you were doing shady things because this—this is madness! If you're caught, you could die!" Her voice softened, but the fear was palpable. "We are talking about the WildFire heir, Alice."
"They… can't be that bad," Alice mumbled, trying to convince herself as much as Paula.
She remembered the slip-up she had already made. How she had approached Hades. Her heart still beat fast whenever she remembered that. That was already a mess. But she didn't dare tell Priscilla. She had lied that it all went smoothly, and she left as soon as she was told. She couldn't even bring herself to tell Paula about it. Judging by how she was already reacting now, if she told her what had happened, as well as the fact that he was the man she believed appeared in her dreams, she didn't want to think about how Paula would react.
"There is no bad news about the Wildfires online. I checked," she said, trying to convince herself again.
"Can't be that bad?" Paula stared at her, aghast. "There's no bad news about the WildFires because there's no useful news about them at all. People aren't that clean unless they're hiding something!"
Paula grabbed Alice's hand, her grip tight and urgent. "You usually think things through. Why aren't you doing that this time? If you're caught, Alice, you'll die!"
"I can do it," Alice said quietly.
She only had my life to lose. She didn't care anymore at this point. It was a temptation she couldn't help not falling into.
"And how exactly are you going to survive it?" Paula asked, her voice trembling with barely contained frustration. "Aurora studied law. She was the best in her class! You said so yourself just an hour ago. She's smart!"
Alice thought of the awards she'd seen in Aurora's space, the medals and plaques that screamed perfection. It didn't surprise her; Aurora had always been the golden child. As for herself, she wasn't even bronze.
Wait…
"Are you saying I'm not smart?" Alice asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Of course!" Paula blurted, the words escaping before she could stop them, and then she froze, realizing her slip.
The room went silent.
Alice's lips tightened into a straight line. Paula's eyes widened in horror.
And then, as if on cue, both of them burst into laughter, the tension shattering like glass.
"I'm sorry," Paula gasped, choking on her laughter. "I think you're smart, but—"
"Not Aurora smart," Alice finished with a rueful grin. "I know."
It didn't sting. Not anymore. She had grown used to that reality a long time ago.
Alice took a deep breath, returning to a serious tone, "Paula, I know you're worried. But I'm doing this. We have so much to gain. It's just one year. Vivian will get the care she needs. My records will be cleared! Do you even know how I feel just imagining that? I can go anywhere! And if we're lucky, we'll walk away with millions. We'll be rich! We will travel the world with Vivian. We will even visit the Princely Gallery you've been dreaming about since you were a kid. Maybe we'll get a chance to submit your paintings, and you'll be the next big artist—"
Paula's eyes softened as Alice's words painted a dreamy picture. For a moment, they both allowed themselves to imagine a better life.
But Paula was the first to snap out of it.
"You'll give your body to a man you don't love," she said softly, her voice breaking. "A man you don't even know."
Alice's throat tightened, but she forced herself to hold Paula's gaze.
She didn't want to think about that. She had willed herself not to.
"This isn't how I imagined it," Paula whispered. "I won't even be there at your wedding. Neither will Vivian. We were supposed to be your bridesmaids!" Her voice cracked. "It feels like 15 years ago all over again. Like that devil of a woman is trying to separate us again—"
"Paula—"
"You'll never be happy. And I won't be happy if you're not happy, Alice."
"Paula!"
Paula broke down, tears spilling freely as she shook her head.
Alice pulled her into a hug, her own emotions threatening to overwhelm her.
To be honest, she was terrified too.
Everything felt uncertain.
Especially after him.
The memory of her encounter with Hades still sent a chill through her.
"We will meet again, little girl."
They would. But what would she do?
Paula's sobs brought her back to the present.
"We're going to die," Paula whispered, her voice trembling with despair. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help us."
Alice hugged her tighter, forcing confidence into her voice. "We won't die. I won't let that happen. We're going to be okay."
She wasn't going to die—not before she got what she needed from this deal. The risks didn't matter. She would see this through to the end.
And as for Hades...
She would kill him if he dared try to get in her way.
She just had to go through this wedding.
In two days.