The Strange Groom's Cursed Bride-Chapter 41: Hearing

The room smelled of old money and quiet power. The lighting was not harsh. Just enough to keep everyone aware of who was watching whom.

People were already arriving when Alice stepped in, heels echoing softly against the tiled floor. Conversations hummed in clusters—some polite, others sharp and clipped. The air was laced with tension, like everyone knew something could shift at any moment.

The room she had been led to was different from the one she had been in before during the first emergency meeting that started all this madness.

She spotted the two older women among the legal team, giving her the bombastic side eye. Like she had committed treason by agreeing to stand for Hades. To be fair, she hadn’t even submitted it to them. She received the report only after leaving Hades’ place, after he almost strangled her. How could she say otherwise to that?

Hades was not in the room. Neither was Gavin.

As for Dawin, he was almost immediately, already surrounded. People were approaching him—older men with graying hair and thin smiles, young women with law books tucked under their arms and admiration in their eyes. The brunette and the redhead from the other day were beside him.

It was like watching a star walk into orbit.

Alice tried not to stare.

"Miss?"

She turned at the sound of a man’s voice. One of the estate council members, sharply dressed in navy, smiled at her and gestured to a man approaching behind her.

"I believe you haven’t met. This is Mr. Cresswell." He gestured at the man behind him.

Alice’s gaze locked on him.

Oh.

Hardy Cresswell.

The suspicious guy. The prosecutor who worked in the office of the president.

Who knew Aurora.

And who had probably handed her the files on a platter. She could not think of anyone else. Also, she could not understand how he had known to leave it with her just then, when she had also only just found out that Hades wanted her to be his legal representative.

"And she is Ms. Malay. Recently a Mrs. Wildfire," the man continued.

"A pleasure," Hardy said smoothly, extending his hand.

Alice took it with a tight smile. "Likewise," she replied, tone level—but her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Neither of them broke character. Neither of them acknowledged that they had met before. But her suspicion was beginning to really show on her face so she withdrew her hand.

"Good luck," he said to her quietly then he moved ahead to go take his seat.

And then out of nowhere, Suzy shows up.

Alice really had no time to even settle and think.

Suzy leaned close beside her, whispering, "Curious to see you in action," she whispered. "Need to confirm whether those rumors from school about you being the legal queen were true."

She sounded excited. Alice wished she were not.

Alice could only return something that could pass for a smile—but it was thin, clipped at the edges.

"Save your husband," Suzy said before walking away.

She was just regaining her breath when it happened.

The door creaked open.

Everyone turned as one.

The Matriarch stepped in, draped in soft greys and commanding silence with nothing but her posture. The room shifted—people rising to their feet, conversations freezing mid-word.

Alice rose along with the rest, dreading this already.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a private hearing with few people? It wasn’t like this was a full blown trial. At this rate, they may as well throw a party.

The Matriarch’s face was unreadable as she was quietly ushered to a large velvet-backed chair that stood out from the rest. The kind of chair meant for someone who made decisions nobody questioned even though she wouldn’t be making any decision here.

Alice lowered her eyes. She couldn’t meet anyone’s gaze. Not with the weight of so many of them in one room and knowing she was going to be standing in front of them soon.

Her, a northern, country bumpkin. If Pauline were here, she’d yank her by the sleeve and mutter, "Insane. You’re absolutely insane. Let’s run."

The gavel cracked through the room.

Order.

Everyone returned to their seats. Alice spotted her place immediately. A slim plaque gleamed against the polished surface.

Aurora Malay – Advocate to Mr. Hades Wildfire.

She started toward it—

And the door near the front opened with a soft click.

A shadow stepped out.

The room shifted again.

Hades Wildfire emerged, calm and glacial. He moved like someone untouched by gravity, with the kind of presence that drew the eyes of even those who didn’t want to look. People stared.

That’s Hades? she could almost hear the thought ripple across the room.

The infamous Hades Wildfire.

He was supposed to be strange. Creepy. Ugly, even.

He wasn’t.

The redhead and the brunette exchanged a stunned glance which Alice noticed since they were sitting adjacent from her.

Alice felt the corners of her mouth twitch.

She was supposed to be holding her composure. Focusing.

Instead, a smugness crept into her chest, but it didn’t last because this was serious business.

He walked past the group and took his seat like he’d been born for it.

The Chairwoman cleared her throat.

"We will begin with the summary of the charges."

The room settled again.

A youngman stood and read them: that Hades was probably in cahoots with a strange figure who broke into the estate, Hades had illegally obtained CCTV footage from private properties, refused to return it when ordered, and potentially endangered community privacy—an offense that could, by the estate’s governing policy, warrant criminal charges and a ban from residency.

The room had gone silent after the reading of the accusations. All eyes were expectant.

"Does Mr. Hades Wildfire have anything to say?" the chairwoman asked pointedly.

All eyes turned toward him.

Hades didn’t shift in his seat. He was lounging like this wasn’t even about him—one leg crossed neatly over the other, fingers steepled lightly beneath his chin.

Then, with an unreadable half-smirk, he tilted his head toward the woman seated on the next table.

Alice.

Yes, they hadn’t made them sit beside each other like she saw in the movies.

His action was subtle. Elegant. A gesture that said everything.

Let her speak for me.

Alice rose slowly.

She smoothed her skirt, stepped forward, and looked directly at the members seated at the front of the hearing panel.

She could feel the room pressing in on her, eyes on her scarf, on her skin, on her name. But she didn’t let it shake her. Not now.

She cleared her throat softly.

She felt the weight of eyes—everyone of them, especially the Matriarch whose presence now loomed like a sacred verdict carved in stone.

She took a breath and then began.

"My name is Aurora Malay, legal advocate for Mr. Hades Wildfire," she said evenly, hands resting on the smooth table before her. "I’ve listened carefully to the accusations against my client—most notably, that he allegedly obtained CCTV footage without permission, and failed to return said footage, and is likely to be in cahoots with a certain ’thief’. However, I find it important—urgent, even—that we first interrogate the narrative being sold to us."

Some heads lifted. Others frowned.

"According to the initial complaint," Alice continued, "this all began because of a ’thief’ allegedly seen within the estate grounds. My first question to this board is simple: where is the evidence that this so-called thief was, in fact, a thief?"

Her words settled like a challenge in the air.

The panel members exchanged glances. One of the elder men tapped a pen nervously. The Matriarch’s gaze didn’t shift.

Alice stepped closer, her voice gaining strength.

"I took the time to visit the businesses being victimized by this. And I asked a straightforward question: have you reported any stolen items, trespassing incidents, or physical altercations within the timeframe of this alleged break-in?" freeωebnovēl.c૦m

She pulled a folder from her file and passed it to the clerk.

"In this document," she continued, "are signed statements from each one of them stating that no such incidents occurred. Nothing was stolen. No physical harm reported. No complaints filed."

A ripple of murmurs coursed through the room.

Alice’s eyes narrowed with quiet purpose.

"So I ask again—what was this thief alleged to have stolen? Who was harmed? What was broken? And if there was someone lurking about, shouldn’t that concern fall squarely on the official estate security for failing to protect residents?"

She paused, letting the words dig.

"Or—" she tilted her head slightly, a note of biting clarity in her tone, "—is it not also possible that this supposed thief was nothing more than an innocent jogger, a shy estate member who wished to take a stroll at night, or perhaps not even a real person at all? We are only taking the information being provided here by some said eyewitnesses without snybproof."

She knew she was going to be in the bad book of those women soon.

Dawin, from where he stood near the back, leaned slightly forward. Watching.

Alice didn’t let up.

"Now, to the accusation that Mr. Wildfire forcibly obtained private security footage. That is, again, false."