The Devil's Contractual Bride-Chapter 26: The Unknown Source

Aria’s POV

The mysterious text message bugged me through the night that I couldn’t get any sleep.

By 6:47 a.m., I couldn’t take it anymore. Ethan was always up by this time so I immediately threw off the covers, grabbed my phone and hurried down the short hallway to Andre’s room.

I knocked once then pushed the door open.

Andre was still half-asleep, propped on one elbow and blinking at me like I’d risen from the dead.

"Aria? What’s wrong? You okay?"

I crossed the room and thrust the phone at him.

"Read this message. It came last night after you went to bed and I don’t know what to do with it."

He took the phone, rubbed his eyes and scrolled.

His expression shifted from sleepy to alert in less than five seconds.

"Who sent this?"

"It came from an unknown number. The person left no information beyond meeting him or her at Monty park."

Andre sat up fully now, sheets pooling around his waist and anxiety written all over his face.

"This screams trap, Aria. Ethan’s probably baiting you or one of his people is trying to get you out to hurt you."

"I know," I replied. "But then again,what if it’s real? Maybe someone actually knows Ethan’s secrets and can help me bring him to justice"

Andre stared at the message again,then at me.

"You’re really certain you want to pursue this?"

"I think so,yes. I can’t... I can’t walk away from anything that can help me out of this mess and besides. What’s the worst that could happen? Ethan is not going to kidnap or hit me in public,that would hurt his entire case against Lucian and I and he definitely knows that."

He exhaled slowly.

"Okay," he said. "If you’re going, you have to be smart. Keep your tracker on and share your location with me the whole time. I’ll be parked nearby at that time in case anything goes wrong."

I nodded.

"But I’m going to work first,Lucian said 8 a.m. sharp and if I don’t show up, he’ll definitely be more upset than he currently is."

Andre’s jaw tightened. "You don’t owe him anything Aria. You have to get that bastard off your mind and choose you first,I don’t know when you’ll get that."

"Have you forgotten I signed a contract,I don’t just owe him myself,I owe him a lot of money Andre."

Andre rubbed his face. "Fine if you insist but make sure you call me the second you leave the office and you don’t go to Monty park without me knowing exactly where you are.Are we cool on that?."

"Yes dad,it’s a deal."I teased

I went back to the spare room, showered quickly, and dressed quickly into a black gown I had left at Andre’s place during my last visit.

I left Andre’s apartment at 7:32 a.m and took a cab to Voss Enterprises.

The office security nodded when I walked and unlike I expected,he didn’t say a word.

But my expectations were about to be proven by another group of humans.

The elevator ride to the 42nd floor was speedy,when the doors opened, the open-plan office went quiet.

Conversations stopped mid-sentence,heads turned and whispers started almost immediately.

"She’s back already?"

"Did you see the news two nights ago?"

"Three months... she cheated on Voss."

I kept my head high,walked straight to my desk and sat down.

I opened my laptop and started working, ignoring the stares and the not so subtle gossip.

At 11:47 a.m., I went to the break room for water.

Two junior analysts were there.They stopped talking when I walked in.

One of them whom I remembered as Claire gave me a pitying smile.

"You okay, Aria?" she asked. "We saw the news and everything.Hope you’re okay?."

I filled my glass. "I’m fine."

The other one Mark looked uncomfortable. "Ethan’s saying the baby is his. That you... you know."

I turned to them."The baby is Lucian’s. Now can you get back to work?."

They stared while I walked out and they followed. I could feel their eyes piercing my back as I walked to my desk to continue working.

The day went by slowly,but immediately the clock signaled that it was time for work closing,I shut down my laptop, packed my bag and walked to the elevator.

The doors opened,Lucian was standing inside, looking dashing like nothing happened yesterday or as if our lives were not crumbling down

He looked straight through me as I stepped in. We rode down in silence and that made my gut turn, should I say something first? Was he ignoring me?

When we reached the lobby, he walked out first and followed a few steps behind.

He got into his waiting car while I took a cab.

The turning in my gut had not stopped as I watched him drive away but I had something more pressing to worry about. I had to get to Monty park and it was already 6:28 p.m.

Thankfully,the cab driver was fast and I got to the quiet park which was at the outskirts of the city on time. I’d already texted Andre and I noticed his car in the park driveway when I arrived.

I walked along the path clutching my purse tightly and my hair covered with a scarf. If this was a set up or even a robbery,I had to be ready to run at any time.

The third bench at the park was empty so I sat there and waited for my unknown helper.

At exactly 7pm,I heard gentle footsteps and when I looked up a woman stepped out from behind a tree in a dark coat and a face cap

She stopped a few feet away and pulled the hood back.

My breath stopped for a second when I recognized the person that stood before me.

Mia, former secretary.