The Strange Groom's Cursed Bride-Chapter 43: If I must...

Her name still echoed in her mind.

Alice.

Not Aurora.

Her heart hitched, faltered, and began pounding in her chest like a traitor trying to break out.

She took a half-step back before forcing herself still. She wet her lips. Her voice didn’t come out strong.

"...H-How did you know?"

Hardy didn’t answer immediately. He tilted his head, eyes scanning her face—not cruelly, not even accusingly. Just... calmly. Like he had seen it all before, and understood more than she did.

Then he looked around at the estate steps, the crowd thinning, murmuring past them. His voice dropped.

"Is that a conversation you want to have here?"

Alice’s gaze darted. The last of the estate council members were still loitering, guards positioned by the doors, a few curious heads turning their way.

She shook her head, quick and short. "No."

He nodded once.

"My family’s holding a little gathering tomorrow evening. Nothing political. Just a dinner. You could attend."

She hesitated. "Why would I—?"

"Because," Hardy said, voice quiet but steady, "you want answers. And you don’t have anything else."

That landed with terrifying clarity.

She opened her mouth to push back, to object—but found herself silent. She hated that he was right. She had no plan. No backup. Just improv and adrenaline. And whatever this strange, dangerous man knew.

After a long moment, she gave a nod.

A slow, reluctant one.

Hardy gave her a small smile. "Good."

He stepped aside then, like that was all he had come to say. But before he turned fully, he paused and added over his shoulder:

"Your secret’s safe with me. So try to relax."

She stood rooted to the spot.

Try to relax?

Her hands were shaking, and her skin felt too tight for her bones. Her mouth was dry and her throat ached from all the words she had flung in that courtroom like they weren’t scraping her raw.

But his words clung to her.

Alice. Not Aurora.

He knew. Somehow, he knew.

And she didn’t know if she was more afraid—or relieved.

Because for the first time since this all began...

She didn’t feel entirely alone.

And somehow, that was the most dangerous feeling of all.

Even more dangerous than the fact that she wasn’t sure how to get home now.

Dawin hadn’t let her drive here, yet he had left.

She watched Hardy’s car drive off and as soon as the car was far away, she managed to breathe. Just then, another car pulled in front of her and the window by the front passenger seat rolled down slowly.

Suzy.

She was driving a very cool car, one of those kinds Alice only ever wrote about in her books, even though she didn’t even know how they worked.

"Need a ride, in-law?" She asked pushing down her shade with a finger.

Well?

***

"He is Hardy Cresswell." Milo said quietly as he drove.

Hades didn’t speak. Just leaned back into the seat, one hand adjusting the cuff of his black sleeve, the other draped lazily over the chair. His expression was unreadable as always—except for the slight downturn of his lips as his eyes followed the rearview mirror.

"From the Cresswell family in Block D." Milo continued. "His parents are both in Parliament—his father chairs the Intelligence Committee, and his mother was recently appointed as Chief Whip. His younger sister’s a celebrated fine artist. Actually, we’ve got one of her pieces in the west corridor. The oil one with the cranes and fire lilies."

Still, no response.

"He’s twenty-six," Milo continued, tone crisp, like a soldier giving a report. "Works in the Office of the President as a federal prosecutor. High-profile, apparently. Won three national legal excellence awards last year. You will always find him on one of those ’30 Under 30’ magazine covers. They invite him to speak everywhere."

Gavin raised a brow in the front seat. "Big shot."

"I mean the fact that his family reside in Block D let’s you know that."

The earlier the alphabet, the more influential you are in the estate. While the Wildfires had Block A. Block B was for the Matriarch’s brother. Block C was Hades and D, Cresswells.

Milo continued as the car made a turn. "He and Aurora went to the same high school. Same university. Graduated the same year. The same day, even. But about personal relationships, nothing public, though. So that is unknown."

Then as if he just remembered something important, he added, "Oh! He was ranked A-minus the last time estate intel profiled him—six years ago when he still resided here with his family. If we pulled his record now... I’d say A-plus. He’s an all-rounder." His tone said he was done with the biography of the strange man.

There was a pause.

Milo looked at Hades through the rearview. Hades had his head down on his digital notepad. Milo glanced briefly at Gavin beside him, who gave him a pointed look to get his eyes back on the road.

Still, Hades didn’t move. His eyes were back on the mirror. She was still talking to him.

He hummed softly, a barely-there sound. Then without looking up, he asked, "Why am I just hearing this now?"

His voice wasn’t loud. It never needed to be.

But it cut clean through the silence like a scalpel.

Milo stiffened slightly, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel. "I was going to mention it," he said quickly.

"Hardy Cresswell just officially registered his move back into Block D two days ago. There wasn’t any reason to flag it at the time. He hadn’t really interacted much with anyone in our circle—" his eyes darted nervously as he added honestly. "Except..."

Hades finally raised his head slightly, gaze cool, and met his gaze over the mirror.

"He crashed into Ms. Malay’s car when he was moving in and they chatted briefly. But that was all."

Hades raised a brow.

The car fell quiet again.

Then Hades put the notepad aside and crossed his arms.

"You didn’t think it was relevant that someone who went to school with Aurora suddenly reappeared? Or that he’s a prosecutor in the President’s office?"

Milo swallowed. "I... I didn’t know they were close, Boss."

"You knew enough to know they were classmates."

"I was going to tell you everything after fully gathering the details especially regarding him and Miss Aurora." Milo added quickly. "Also... we received an invitation, which I wanted to inform you about after the hearing today." His guilty look sought out Hades’ who was still staring at him through the rearview.

"From the Cresswells." He supplied. "A low-profile gathering tomorrow night. Just dinner. With your... partner. I was going to give you the full brief after the hearing. I swear it."

Hades leaned back again, jaw tight.

Gavin glanced between them from the front seat, then finally spoke, voice low, "Isn’t it... risky? If she’s cozying up to a prosecutor?"

Milo shot him a quick look, then nodded, backing up the implication. "That’s why I’ve been saying we need to bring her in officially. She’s gaining attention. She was close to Dawin recently, too. Now Hardy. We can’t keep her floating in limbo. If she picks a side that isn’t ours—"

"She won’t," Hades said curtly.

Milo hesitated. "How do you know that?"

The question left his lips before he realized his tone and retracted it, clamping his mouth shut..

"She’s not stupid," Hades replied.

A beat passed.

Then Hades added, quieter, with a flat edge to his voice:

"Unless we give her a reason to be."

Gavin and Milo exchanged a brief glance.

Milo cleared his throat. "Still... I’ll get you a full report on Hardy’s recent transfers, schedule, and files in the estate. I’ll keep my eyes on him and report back. Just in case."

Hades didn’t respond.

He tapped a finger against his knee slowly, rhythmically, as their apartment finally came into view.

"What is your decision about tomorrow’s dinner? Would you wish to attend with her?" Gavin asked calmly, glancing over his shoulder.

Milo gave him a subtle look of gratitude. Thank God, he mouthed internally. At least someone else dared to ask the questions that made their boss act like an unlit matchbox.

Hades didn’t answer right away.

His gaze was still fixed out the tinted window, watching shadows blur past. The silence stretched until Milo shifted uncomfortably in the driver’s seat.

Then, finally, in that cold clipped tone:

"How else do we find out what the stranger wants?"

"Through Milo," Gavin answered without thinking, too focused on logistics to read the mood shift fast enough.

Milo turned his head so fast he nearly missed a turn. "Bro."

He couldn’t facepalm—because, well, driving—but the despair on his face was audible.

Hades slowly turned his head, gaze sliding to Gavin like the sharpening of a blade.

Milo quickly interrupted, "So you’ll attend with her tomorrow? We need to pass the information across to her."

"If... I must," Hades answered casually.