Season for choices: Bound by duty, Freed by love

Fake date

"Just call him already," Mira said for the umpteenth time. Audrey had told her about the fake dating proposal she made to the guy she kissed last night. Mira found it hard to believe the guy could accept, after what her friend did to him, that could be considered s****l harassment.

She didn't even expect Audrey could be so bold as to kiss a stranger after what her ex did.

Despite that, Audrey couldn't make the phone call to the stranger who was willing to help her. "What if he's busy?" She didn't like the idea of asking a stranger for help. It just dawned on her. She didn't know what his intentions for accepting were.

"You do know you should have left the house by now. It will soon get dark in a few hours, and remember, your parent's house is like a two-hour drive. Just call him already."

"Fine," Audrey said in a low voice. She took her phone and searched for his number. She took a deep breath before dialling it.

She stared at her friend as they both listened to the tone indicating it was ringing. Finally, she heard his deep, cool voice that sent shivers down her spine. "Hello."

"Hi. This is Audrey. You gave me your number last night..." She couldn't finish her words when she heard him chuckle. "Of course, I remember giving you my number. How could I forget?"

Audrey suddenly became quiet, and neither was the guy saying anything anymore. She looked at her friend, who was hinting for her to talk. Without thinking, she blurted. "Are you busy?"

She immediately regretted asking that. Even Mira held her laughter in as she shook her head at her.

"No, I'm not... I've been expecting your call. I thought you'd gotten another option."

"I didn't... I just didn't want to disturb you."

"Trust me, you're not." Hearing this, Audrey felt relaxed, and she smiled. "Thank you. Well, my parent's house is like a two-hour drive. And if we can take your car. I don't have a car, but I'll fuel your car. You don't need to worry."

She could swear she heard him chuckle again after her words. She tried to think over her words. Maybe it sounded rude.

"Just send me your address. I'll pick you up, and we can leave from there. Or anywhere you want to meet up." She heard. She also didn't fight it. She felt she might be talking too much. "OK, thank you."

"My pleasure." She heard before she hung up.

"That was bad, wasn't it?" Audrey asked, looking at Mira, who was just smiling. "Not really." She wanted to tease Audrey that the guy likes her, but she just let it go. Her friend was still trying to get over her recent breakup.

"I'll go get ready. I've sent him my address, and he might not take long before he gets here." She hurried into her room to wear her clothes.

She finally got ready. She wore a chiffon shirt tucked into black pants and a thick jacket worn over the outfit. She stood on her porch with a black bag, in which she packed some clothes and gifts. "Do you think this will go well?"

"It will. Stop worrying. I wish I could follow you. Mira said. She had always followed Audrey every Christmas holiday to her family's house, but that year it was different. She decided to spend her holiday with her family too, after a lot of complaints.

"I also wish, but you're becoming responsible now. I'm glad you finally decided to spend the holiday with your family." They were both having this conversation when they noticed a BMW car pull up in front of the house, and a guy wearing a white shirt and pants got out of the car.

"Don't tell me that's the guy," Mira said as they both looked at the guy, who also looked towards the house.

"He is," Audrey said, still looking at where he was. She was surprised. She wasn't expecting him to show up and left her speechless.

"Oh my goodness! I didn't know he was this handsome... and hot," Mira said, but that wasn't what got Audrey surprised. His car. She couldn't believe she had told him she would fuel his car. His BMW.

"Is that the car you'd fuel?" Mira asked, smiling, but Audrey did not say a word. Instead, she left the porch and walked up to him. As he got closer, she noticed the intense gaze he gave her. It sent a shiver down her spine, a mix of fear and excitement.

***

He sat in his study room. He wasn't going to work that day because there was a two-week holiday for Christmas and New Year.

His focus was on his laptop as he typed, but his mind was somewhere else. He had been thinking about her since last night.

It was around noon, and he was still wondering if the girl would call him. "Maybe she got another person to help her?" He thought, looking at the screen of his phone. He wished he had her number instead, but even so, he still wouldn't call her. He kept trying to get her off his mind, but it kept getting worse.

It continued like that for hours until he got a call. Immediately, he grabbed his phone. Strangely, he was happy it was a strange number, and he knew it was her. He doesn't give people his number except people close to him. "Hello," he said.

"Hi. This is Audrey. You gave me your number last night... he didn't let me finish when he chuckled. He found her words amusing. "Of course, I remember giving you my number. How could I forget?"

He couldn't forget her, especially when he had been thinking of her since last night. He noticed she suddenly got silent. He thought maybe he said something wrong or his words sounded harsh. He was thinking of what to say to her when he heard. "Are you busy?"

Hearing that, he knew she might be hesitant to tell him again to be her fake date to her parents's house. "No, I'm not... I've been expecting your call. I thought you'd gotten another option." And he was right when he heard her say she didn't want to disturb him.

Even though it was strange, he was doing something like that for someone he just met. He didn't find it as a burden. Instead, he loved that he could help her.

He made her know she wasn't disturbing him. And as if that wasn't enough, she suggested he fuel his car. He couldn't hold himself back from chucking. What made her think he'd allow her to do that?

"Just send me your address. I'll pick you up, and we can leave from there. Or anywhere you want to meet up." He said, to which she also thanked him before they ended the conversation.

He looked at his phone and smiled lightly. She suggested fueling his car after assuring her he had no problem helping her.

He stood up to go get dressed when he remembered the party scheduled for the night at the pack's house. As the next-to-be alpha, he had to attend. He had never missed any of it since he was born.

He kept looking at his phone. He had promised to help her, and he couldn't allow anything to stop it. He dialled a number. It rang a few times before the receiver finally picked up.

"Good afternoon, Father." He said.

"Good afternoon." His father replied sternly.

"I want to tell you I won't attend the party at the pack's house tonight." Immediately he said this, it was as if the man was awoken from sleep, and his voice increased. "What do you mean by that?"

"I have a meeting with some investors, and I have to leave the city in like an hour or two."

"You know the party is not something for you to miss. Can't you ask your assistant to attend to it?" The man asked.

"I'm sorry. It's an important investment, and it'll only be good if I attend." He said. It was his first time lying to his father, and instead of feeling bad, he wasn't even remorseful.

"OK. I guess missing it once won't hurt. I'll explain it to the Walker family." The man said before hanging up.

Of course, the Walker family has to know why he won't come to the party. Elvis sighed before dropping his phone. He went to his room and got dressed.

By the time he was done, he realized Audrey had sent her address. He took his car key and left the house.

It didn't take time for him to get her address. He pulled over in the streets. He saw her standing on her porch with another lady. He got out of the car and walked towards the house.