Arranged Marriage

Vol 1: Week 4 (3)

As it's main dishes' turn to be served, Natalie's husband, Clark comes home. He just returned from the hospital. Clark is taller than the average height of Omega. He's a shy handsome man with scarlet hair and a little freckles.

He welcomes Karlyle with a smile then sits down. Natalie prepares a non-alcoholic cocktail for him. They all cheer to congratulate his pregnancy, then start enjoying the dishes.

Natalie serves smoked eel with beetroot and horseradish sauce, Clark's favorite soup with cranberry beans, tomatoes, and carrots, and duck and lamb as main dishes. And that's not all.

Ash sits next to him throughout the meal. Karlyle knows that Ash is being considerate, pretending to be an affectionate fiance though they won't get married, but he's too kind. To the point that this party feels like it's to celebrate both Clark's pregnancy and their engagement.

Everytime a dish is served, Ash will serve it to him first so that it'd be easier for him to eat. When the meat dish comes up, Ash tries to cut it into small pieces for him, but Karlyle quickly stops him in embarrassment. And Ash is always the one to pour wine for him.

If that was all Ash did, Karlyle would be able to shake off all the distracting thoughts. But Ash keeps reaching out to him with no hesitation, like how he acted towards him a few days ago. The way Ash lightly brushes his hand against his, and the way he smiles and touches his shoulders whenever he answers Claude and Yvonne's questions about them.

Every time the backs of their hands brush under the table, they both flinch and withdraw their hands. But as the drinking session gets longer, Ash no longer avoids their hand touches. When Ash intertwines his fingers with his, Karlyle takes a deep breath and pulls his hand back.

As Ash said, Natalie is quite a good drinker. Yvonne's face is red, but she isn't severely drunk. Natalie must have inherited this from her. Claude has already declared his defeat from the beginning so now he's drinking tea. For Karlyle, he has never been drunk, so this much is nothing to him.

"Everyone, it's already 6 o'clock, you know?"

Clark says in surprise. He looks a little tired. It's a time when anyone would get tired no matter what they do, so it's understandable. At his words, Natalie snaps back to her senses.

"Honey, are you tired!? Oh, my god, I was so excited that I forgot the time. You should go in and rest now, okay?"

"Oh no, I'm fine."

"How can you be fine?? Hurry, go inside to rest."

Yvonne immediately urges Clark to go rest. Clark probably gets shy easily, he looks at Karlyle with red cheeks and makes an apologetic face. He must be thinking that the mood withers because of him. Well, it's time to end the party anyway.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Karlyle. I should stay until the end, but today my body doesn't listen to me."

"It's fine. It's time for me to leave now. You'd better get some rest. I will send you something that is good for your health."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

Yvonne leads Clark, who is waving goodbye, meanwhile, Claude smiles broadly.

"I feel so reassured thanks to you, Karlyle."

"That's right. Meeting someone who drinks better than me for the first time is truly something else. Are you not drunk at all, Karlyle?"

Natalie hugs Claude's shoulders from behind and asks him. Although Karlyle doesn't have a great body like a dominant Alpha, he's born with high tolerance against alcohol. He doesn't remember getting drunk. Probably never in his memory.