Flash Marriage Husband is an Alpha-Chapter 27: Favour...

Linda chuckled softly and leaned back on her chair. "With no hot guy to date tonight... be sure that I will be there." She smirked.

With her assurance of coming over to the hotel, I left the cafe.

Stepping out of the cafe, my gaze unconsciously fell in the direction the car had left earlier.

Several emotions curled through my chest—anticipation, regret, but predominantly anger, anger at how fast he had left.

I forced a breath, shaking off the thought. Calling him to confirm it was really him? Not now.

First, I needed to accomplish what I came to do—secure my freedom, end the marriage, and keep my dignity intact.

My phone buzzed in my bag, I pulled it out, and it was Oswald Dallas. I sighed. Without a second thought I slid the answer button. "Miss Stella," he called calmly.

"Yes," I felt wary. At the moment I wouldn’t want any mishap.

"I was thinking, you might be needing the printed copies... can you share your location to have it delivered?"

I gave it just a brief thought and agreed. I gave out my location and before long... a driver pulled up before me.

The back door opened, a young dashing man stepped down. A brown envelope in his hand. "Miss Stella," he greeted.

With a curt nod of acknowledgement, he held out the brown manila envelope. I swiftly went through the documents in the envelope.

Watching me tuck the file back into the brown envelope, his lips curled softly. "Thanks for helping us."

I chuckled. "You are welcome." I smirked. I watched him return to the car and speed off.

I flagged down a taxi, slid in, and the door shut with a soft thud. "Myth Technologies Inc." I said.

Watching the scenery fade into the background, I couldn’t help but imagine how the night would be. My heart raced anxiously with anticipation.

Before long, I was standing before the towering building of Myth Technologies Inc. My heart raced with gratefulness that I had met this cold prince a few years back and had been able to keep the contact...

Otherwise what would I have done to make Oswald change his mind about the impending doom of a marriage... orchestrated for my downfall.

With a newfound determination, I moved forward... I had to finalize every detail of that contract and hand it over to Oswald Dallas tonight... in exchange for the marriage that was never meant to exist.

More refreshing and important was the chance to secure a ten percent stake of the Nortons’ family vault... a dream they never had.

With a deep breath, I stepped into the company, the lady at the front desk smiled faintly.

"Miss Norton?" She greeted me softly.

"Hello Mercy, how are you doing?" I greeted. "Is Prince around?"

"Yes... but a moment let me confirm." She answered, already dialing

"Okay." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Just then my phone buzzed with a message from him. "Come up."

"Mercy, don’t bother calling. I’m going up." I said.

She nodded and smiled.

I made my way towards the elevator. The curious gazes and soft whispers of the people in the lobby as I walked away weren’t my worry.

Besides, it wasn’t surprising especially after my failed engagement, the label of a ’cheat’ stuck to my back, and my sister and her fiancé’s unrelenting effort to have me trending on social media platforms for days.

The elevator chimed softly and the doors slid open on the twenty-fourth floor. Prince Lucas’s floor.

The air at the last floor of every corporate body had always felt different but here it was distinct—quiet, cold, trimmed with that sharp scent of filtered air and polished steel.

It was the kind of atmosphere that reminded you you were stepping into the den of a man who didn’t tolerate failure.

I approached his office door. Before I could knock, his voice floated out from inside.

"Come in, Stella."

I wasn’t surprised... as a tech-savvy company what good thing would they not have.

I pushed the door open and stepped in. Prince Lucas sat confidently behind his expansive desk, his sleeves rolled up and fingers flying over his keyboard with the kind of controlled intensity I believed was just unique to him.

His dark eyes flicked up briefly, assessing me from head to toe before he returned to his screen.

"You took long enough," he said flatly.

"I came as fast as I could," I replied, shutting the door behind me. "Traffic was awful."

A faint grunt escaped him—neither belief nor disbelief, just Lucas being Lucas.

I approached the desk and placed the thick brown file I’d been clutching onto its surface. He paused his typing and steepled his fingers, gaze finally anchoring on me.

"You have it?" he asked.

"Yes." I exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of the day pressing down on my shoulders. "You should check your mail for the soft copies and here" I pushed the brown file towards him.

"Every detail you asked for has been met up. I just need your approval before I hand it over and they now come over to complete the signing process."

His expression didn’t change, but his eyes sharpened with interest.

"Sit," he said.

I lowered myself into the chair opposite him, trying not to let my exhaustion show.

Lucas scanned through the documents with unnerving speed, the silence stretching between us like a drawn bowstring.

After a moment, he closed the file gently and leaned back.

"You want me to sign off on this," he said, "so you can take it to Oswald Dallas tonight."

"Yes."

"And in return..." His gaze pinned me like a needle. "You expect him to agree to dissolve the marriage arrangement and give you a ten percent stake of your family’s vault."

My jaw tensed. "That was the agreement."

Lucas’s lips curved—not into a smile, but something sharp, a little cynical.

"Stella, you do realize Oswald Dallas doesn’t give away anything without calculating a gain."

"I know," I said quietly. "But this contract benefits him. Myth Groups is the only corporation capable of giving Dallas Corporation leverage in the tech security sector. He wants this deal more than he wants a wife."

Lucas’s brow lifted slightly, as though amused. "And here I thought you’d be more sentimental about the marriage."

I chuckled. "Your choice of words is quite amazing. What should I be sentimental about?"

"Maybe..." he shrugged.

I leaned forward, my voice firm. "Lucas, I don’t have time for jokes now. My father is already circling like a hungry vulture. If Oswald backs out, Phina wins. And if Phina wins..."

"You lose everything," he finished.

A quiet yes formed at the back of my throat as I nodded.

Silence hung for a beat.

Lucas drummed his fingers once on the table before he minuted the documents and signed under them and then pushed it toward me.

"You’ll have his attention with this," he said. "Dallas trusts my signature more than his own team sometimes. But Stella..." His gaze pinned me again. "You owe me a favor."

My chest tightened briefly, I had always understood this rule... nothing goes for nothing. My lips curled up softly.

"Do you still think with the mess in my life I can still do you any favor?"

He chuckled. "It’s just the Norton family who was blind to see who you are."

I stared at him briefly and sighed. I still had so many things to do and I shouldn’t really be here arguing.

"What kind of favor?" I asked, trying not to sound wary even though my pulse spiked.

Lucas stood up and walked around the desk, stopping beside me. He leaned down slightly, voice dropping to a low murmur.

"When the board convenes next month, I need a vote."

I swallowed. "Your uncle again?"

His jaw flexed. "He’s planning another takeover attempt. I won’t let him, but I need your influence on the shareholders as one of the shareholders and those who still think you’re the ’Norton princess.’"

A humorless smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. "You do realize most of them barely tolerate me?"

"They don’t have to like you," Lucas said, eyes darkening. "They only need to listen to you."

I inhaled deeply. "Fine. You’ll get your vote."

Lucas straightened. "That’s great."

He paused, studying my face as though searching for something.

"You look tired," he said quietly.

"I’m fine."

"You’re not." His tone softened. "But you will be, if you pull this off."

I stood, gathering the file and tucking it under my arm. "I will."

I started for the door, heart beating hard with both fear and steely resolve.

Just as my hand closed around the knob, Lucas’s voice stopped me.

"Stella."

I turned.

"Oswald Dallas isn’t a fool. Don’t underestimate him." His gaze held mine. "And don’t let him underestimate you."

My lips parted, a mixture of gratitude and warning threading through my chest.

"I won’t," I said softly.

And with that, I walked out.

Even though I had this contract, I still felt wary of tonight because with one wrong step everything could be destroyed.