The Strange Groom's Cursed Bride-Chapter 48: "EAT"

"We have met before, haven’t we?" Leonard asked, eyes narrowing slightly, like he was flipping through mental files.

No. No. No.

Alice’s heart beat a violent tattoo against her ribs. Think, think, think. Her face must’ve paled. Her fingers clenched the handkerchief tightly.

What was she supposed to do?

Did he know Aurora?

Worse—she had told him her name was Alice.

And the handkerchief was now damning evidence.

"Uh—I don’t think so," she said, forcing a laugh that sounded way too high-pitched. "You must get that a lot though, right? You know, people thinking they’ve met you just because they’ve seen you in so many films."

A flash of confusion crossed his face.

Yes. She wasn’t making any sense right now.

"I don’t usually forget faces," he said as he continued to look at her with interest.

"Really? That’s impressive." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, fingers shaking slightly. "I forget my own sometimes. Ha-ha-ha," the awkward laughter came again.

He gave a soft chuckle, but his gaze lingered. Too sharp. Too curious.

Alice dropped her eyes, trying not to squirm. "Maybe I just have one of those regular faces," she said quickly. "The kind you see everywhere—"

"You’re quite a beauty," he said, cutting her off. Her lips clamped shut immediately.

She wasn’t one who received a lot of compliments when she lived in the North. Because well, she looked awful. The outfit, the hair, her messy freckles, glasses, her... existence.

Now, she was here, in front of her idol and getting told she was beautiful. Her cheeks burned immediately. It was so against her will. This was unlike her.

"Aurora."

The voice was so calm, so casual, it should’ve been harmless. But it wasn’t.

And yes, it was from beside them. Up ahead in the direction she was supposed to be taking right back to the man who had brought her here!

Alice turned and froze.

Hades stood behind her, hands in his pockets, outfit perfect, face unreadable. But the look in his eyes—

those glacial eyes—

was anything but indifferent.

He looked at Leonard like the actor was some wallpaper trying too hard.

It wasn’t jealousy. It was colder than that.

It was displeasure. Disdain.

Leonard straightened, catching the shift instantly. His easy confidence thinned with caution.

That was what Hades was capable of doing.

"Friend of yours?" Leonard asked, still glancing between them.

Alice laughed, strained. And then the laughter disappeared at once and she cleared her throat. "Hus...band. He’s—my husband." Her voice was so quiet, anyone could have missed that.

Leonard’s eyes flicked between them and then it fell on Alice’s fingers, the left one still gripping the handkerchief, his actor’s intuition clearly sensing something charged.

"You don’t have a ring."

Well, yes. Because which Northerner in their right mind would wear a ring that she could swear was made of pure diamond? It had been casually handed to her on her wedding day, and she only wore it when she had to leave the apartment. Because she had a good plan: when she was done with this whole charade and got paid, she would run away with the ring and sell it.

She’d left her ring in the bedroom drawer like always—because tonight had been unplanned.

But his gaze on her hand made her also remember the handkerchief and swiftly but secretly put it in her pant pocket, hoping Hades wouldn’t notice.

Hades was walking toward them now, slow, predatory steps like someone descending from a throne.

His gaze was all over Leonard—dissecting him, weighing the usefulness of his survival. The look on his eyes was... familiar. She had seen it that night at the steak place right before he stabbed Vik.

Alice panicked. She would die first before she allowed Hades harm her idol. Also, she didn’t want any legal issues anymore.

She took two fast steps forward and—insane as it was—grabbed Hades’ hand.

The man stilled. Slowly, he looked down at her hand on his.

Then up at her face.

His expression didn’t change. But somehow, she knew he was thinking:

Have you lost your damn mind?

She believed he wouldn’t at least hurt her in public.

"I mean," she blurted out, "who wears a ring everywhere these days, right? Ha—ha!"

To Leonard, she added quickly, "It was really nice meeting you. But we should be going."

Still holding Hades’ hand (because she was not risking him using it), she began dragging him gently backward.

Leonard’s eyes lingered on her. And then—he smiled.

Something curious, like a puzzle piece had just clicked into place.

"You too. Stay bright, Alice," he said with a wink before turning and striding away.

ALICE!

He had called her Alice.

Her stomach dropped.

"It’s Aurora," she said to his retreating figure but voice low enough for Hades to hear and assume she was trying to correct Leonard for calling her the wrong name.

For one slow beat, he said nothing. He just stood there, letting the silence breathe around them, towering without effort.

Then he moved.

He tugged his hand out of hers and turned back, heading back to the restaurant without a word, expecting her to follow. Like a king who’d granted mercy.

She stood there for a second, confused. Why had they he said anything? No threats? Nothing to give away just how much he had heard? No... nothing?

Why?

It was crazy that it bothered her. She should be glad, shouldn’t he?

But rather, it made her... uncomfortable.

Was he bored of her now? Then why had he brought her here?

She scurried after him, heart still racing, eyes wide with confusion as she tried to keep pace.

When she finally caught up, he didn’t stop walking. He didn’t even glance at her as he headed straight for their table, where a bottle of wine was already waiting.

His voice came—cool, low, and laced with something unreadable:

"You will die first before I accept a polyandrous relationship."

Alice nearly tripped.

"What?" she blinked. "That’s not—! Wait, what?!"

He didn’t answer. Didn’t even spare her a look.

Instead, he reached the table and, to her utter shock, pulled out the chair for her.

Alice stared at it.

Now this was weird. Murderous threats followed by gentlemanly gestures? Did this man run on chaos?

She sat slowly, eyeing him as if the seat might explode. He took the seat opposite her with all the calm detachment of a king bored with his own court.

"Okay... I’m just—putting it out there—but I am innocent of whatever you’re accusing me of—" she began, trying to reclaim some ground.

But her words died when a server approached their table, awkwardness practically dripping from him.

He was wheeling a small cart with two plates—both topped with the same meat dish. Richly glazed, aromatic, and undeniably non-vegetarian.

Alice blinked.

The server placed one of the plates in front of her and said, "Your order, ma’am."

Her eyes snapped down to the plate.

"I—I didn’t order this."

The server paused, hesitating. His eyes darted to Hades as he placed Hades’s plate on front of him, then back to her.

"Ah, I must’ve... made a mistake with the orders." He offered a bow and a sheepish smile. "Apologies, ma’am. That plate will be on the house."

That doesn’t make sense, does it?

He slowly poured their wines, all the while giving Hades a look of subtle nervous expectation.

Alice was too busy staring at the meat like it was a dream with grill marks.

After nearly a lifetime of nothing but vegetables and tofu she didn’t know how to pronounce, this—this plate—was everything.

But she couldn’t eat it. Aurora was a vegetarian. She was Aurora. And Hades was watching.

The server hovered.

Hades gave the man a single, lazy wave of dismissal. "That will be all."

"Yes, sir."

Once the server left, Hades leaned back, eyes fixed on her. His voice was soft, but commanding.

"Eat."

Alice finally looked up, stunned. "What?"

He tilted his head slightly. "You’re not going to let it go cold, are you? Or are you planning to protest meat in my presence?"

"I—" she glanced at the food. Her mouth watered. She could practically hear the meat singing to her. "I am... vegetarian," her voice was low. Almost like she was trying to convince herself more than someone else. More than him.

"Eat, Aurora."

The way he said it wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command.

Why?

Was this a test?

She had never wanted to fail a test this much.

She looked at him, hoping to see whatever he was thinking right on his face, but of course, that was impossible.

She could not hold it anymore.

Her hand moved on its own, picking up the cutlery. She slowly began to cut it like it was a holy piece. With so much care, and then when she was done cutting a piece, she picked it up with her fork.

She hesitated only for a second before directing the piece into her mouth.

He didn’t blink. Didn’t smirk. He just watched.

The flavor hit her tongue like salvation. She barely suppressed a moan. Her eyes closed briefly in bliss.

Then, a crazy thing happened.

A tear slid down her cheek.