Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 109: Instant Noodles

Chapter 109: Instant Noodles

ELIANA

It’s been a week.

One relatively peaceful week.

If not for the updates delivered to her by Alyssa and Lara, she would not have known about the stirrings of evil.

As expected, Alexa, who missed her calling as the best actress, tried worming her way into the work-social ladder.

Alyssa kept doubling over in laughter as she recounted how Alexa managed to wreck a perfectly good coffee machine by repeatedly pressing the wrong buttons.

"Boss, she TRIED, alright?" said Alyssa, who was still wearing her new hairdo.

"She looked constipated the entire time, but she tried making those drinks. Now, how edible those were, I wouldn’t be so sure." She shrugged, still laughing as she narrated her story.

"Alexa looked so flabbergasted that it was pitiful. And from that day onwards, she made sure to have refreshments delivered from a coffee shop. She said it was her way to atone for the coffee machine."

"But between you and me, Boss, I think it’s just her way to avoid refreshment duties."

I could just imagine. Alexa must have fumed inside when someone asked her to make drinks for other people.

The girl doesn’t even do that for herself.

"Did she integrate well?"

"As well as we allowed her to. She’s been looking for the key people, like you said. But she’s trying to maintain her middle-class image."

"How’s that even working when she’s serving expensive drinks like they’re on tap?" I snickered at the image of Alexa’s attempt at looking normal.

"She seems convinced she’s doing well. Honestly, boss, if not for that, she’s got the expressions and statements right. But thankfully, she’s just good at acting and not costume designing."

"Lara’s been chipping away at her disguise. Like when she invited everyone for that welcome dinner."

Alyssa straightened her back, ready to share about her most recent escapades.

"As April and Laura, we arrived just in time to be invited to this gathering. I guess the more, the merrier."

She animatedly described Alexa’s antics that night. Barely touching the food but graciously handing out alcohol. The girls guessed she was trying to find people with loose mouths.

"Surprisingly, she didn’t do much other than integrate into the crowd, particularly towards the women of SCC. She wasn’t even as invested in the people of BCI, something Lara made sure to question in passing."

"Julia’s ears twitched at this; we talked about it within her earshot, so I saw her interest in the topic. And Lara pointed out subtle things like her watch and phone case."

Classic accessories from elite brands tend to look clean but are made with expert care and craftsmanship. As someone who’s used to such luxury, Lara’s eyes would easily spot them.

"Lara even set the stage as a fashion fanatic who loved looking at trends during her free time. And I’d like to believe she succeeded in dishing out backhanded compliments."

Alyssa then described how they’d praise Alexandra’s resemblance to a socialite, but they made sure not to overdo it. Alexa probably had an excuse prepared. She could’ve joined as a disguised intern, but she decided to keep her name as is.

That alone shows how she intended to emerge as a "clean" Alexandra Thornhill.

"So. when do you think she’ll make her move?" I asked, curious about Alexa’s timeline. Someone like her wouldn’t want to stay there for too long.

My question was actually in response to the amount of time we’ve spent on her. Her existence just multiplied my workload, and right now, I believe it’s worse than tolerating her existence.

It increased because I borrowed Alyssa for this. With things being this tiresome, I’d rather she just come out with it already.

It’s going to be similarly problematic anyway; why bother delaying it?

__

I have a confession to make.

I think I have a crow’s mouth.

It’s that, or I need to make better wishes and maybe stop randomly buying snacks.

This wouldn’t be the first time that my craving has fucked me over. So, I shouldn’t have been too surprised when I found Nicholas casually leaning against a snack shelf.

I was so focused on the stacked instant ramen cups that I missed hearing his footsteps against the linoleum floor. But if I were being honest, it was because I did not consider the probability of finding my enemies inside convenience stores.

Of all places!

I was waiting for Lucian’s last meeting to finish when I got this intense craving for instant ramen. It was so intense that I had to run to the convenience store since my husband didn’t exactly store snacks like that in his office.

The cars we used were always stacked, but not his office since he wasn’t one to snack like me.

But I did not expect to see Nicholas down here. For a moment, I wondered how he managed to get so close when we had people monitoring the guy.

Then, as soon as one of my guards entered the store, looking worried, I realized I was the problem. My phone was apparently out of battery, so I didn’t see all the alerts about Nicholas going to the same place.

Whelp, it’s too late now.

"Eliana," he drawled, his voice dripping with charm that made me freeze for half a second.

"Hi, I didn’t realize convenience stores were part of your...aesthetic." I gave a quick, polite smile since civilized people usually don’t maul other people for ’bad vibes.’

"Aesthetic? I don’t believe I’m above snacks from a convenience store." Nicholas grinned; he looked boyish this way, but I still couldn’t let my guard down.

"I see. Sorry, I just had you more for the clean-living kind of person."

"No biggie. It’s fine. I’m used to people having preconceived notions of me." He shook his head a bit and gave a weak smile.

I’m not even going to deny that because I have so many preconceived notions, I’m practically judging. But he can’t fault me for that, especially when he keeps behaving like a creep.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?"

I debated my answer but decided to go with honesty.

"Yeah. The way you were introduced didn’t sit right with me. Sorry." I’m not apologizing for feeling this way, but just in case, he had no initial plans of looking like an asshole.

And there’s also because if I’m capable of recording things, he’s even more capable of doing the same thing.

"Ah that... I didn’t expect it to be like that, too. I didn’t mean to alarm you." Nicholas smiled sheepishly, and it would be hard to say whether he meant that or not just by looking at him.

That would be my opinion had he not allowed Alexa to work for him.

But he did.

So my heckles were up.

"Are you saying you didn’t want that engagement, too?" I asked because when else would I have this opportunity?

If it weren’t too obvious, Lucian would permanently silence this guy. So, this might just be the last time I get to ask this.

Nicholas chuckled before answering, "Me? Of course, I wanted that engagement. Nothing more would’ve made me happy."

His answer took me aback because I expected him to at least skirt around the topic.

"Why? I don’t see a reason for you to be hell-bent on that engagement?"

This was probably not a topic for a convenience store aisle, but here we are.

"Why else? It’s because I’ve liked you for so long. Nothing else would’ve made me happier than to be engaged with you."

Scratch that.

Not only were we discussing this in the middle of suspiciously cheerful candy bars and multicolored ramen. But I even got a confession.

Just what the hell was this guy thinking?