ALPHA'S MATE

CHAPTER-20

EMILY'S POV,

Though last night’s camping didn’t go as planned, it was much better than that.

Alex dropped me off at home. I wish I could stay one more day with him.

Now that I am home and looking at my apartment, I can’t stop thinking about Alex.

Maybe I like him…!

I mean, who wouldn’t? He is a 6'4" man with pretty green eyes and a well-built physique, a pure treat to the eyes.

But for me to feel this attracted to someone is new. It's like someone’s always whispering in my ears that HE IS THE ONE. THE ONE YOU WERE WAITING FOR.

Anyway, I rushed back because my mom would be visiting this evening, so I had to come home; I couldn’t leave her all alone when she came to meet me.

And she can’t know about my super handsome, hot, and probably single neighbor. She will start matchmaking then and there.

She is driving me crazy, trying to find someone after my cheater ex.

“You will find an even better man. You are young, beautiful, and successful in your work. You need to keep your eyes open. Maybe this time you will find your soul mate.” Something like that.

Now is it for every parent like this or just mine? She is after my marriage like there is no tomorrow.

In my case, for some reason, mom believes in the soulmate thing.

Maybe she has her reasons to believe because of my father. He loved us till his last breath, and because of this, my mom never remarried. I tried to convince my mom to remarry. She said, “I am happy with the memories I have with your father. They are enough for me to be alive for a long time; maybe I’ll even see the grandchildren or your children.”

Because of her, I want to believe in a soulmate and a fairytale ending with a happily ever after.

But for now, I have a problem that I need to solve before Mom comes, or else I’ll get a lecture for at least two hours.

I need to clean my room and do my laundry. I have been too busy to take care of my apartment. Clothes are all over the apartment, and takeout boxes are piled up in my kitchen bin. Snack packets are all over the place. I can even see dust in a few places. So, I need to take care of all these before she comes.

If she were to see these, she would definitely kill me. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.

I started to clean; soon it was evening, and I cleaned the apartment, clothes, and myself as well.

Cleaning everything, I was going to throw the trash. I met Alex; he came out of his apartment well dressed in gray formals. Probably going to the meeting, he said about earlier in the morning.

“Hey, Emily. Throwing the trash? They seem heavy; let me help carry them.”

“No, it’s not that heavy; it’s just some takeout boxes.”

“So, it’s your weekly cleaning; that was urgent?” Alex asked with curiosity.

“Ah… no, it’s my mom. She will be visiting today. So I had to rush home and clean up; otherwise, she would t*****e me with her lengthy scolding. Don’t laugh at me thinking I am still afraid of my mom at this age.” I said with a laugh without breaking the sentence.

“No. Absolutely not.” He replied with a small laugh.

“God…! This man is so handsome when he laughs. Every time he laughs, it feels like his eyes are sparkling.” I thought to myself.

He kept insisting on carrying the trash bags for me because it looked heavy. But he doesn't know I can carry even heavier things if needed.

We reached downstairs while talking, and he went to his car after bidding me goodbye for his meeting. I went to throw the trash.

After an hour or so, my bell rang, and I welcomed my mom.

She hugged me the moment she entered with her huge luggage. Though seeing her luggage, it felt like she was here for a year, but no, she is here just for a night or two. She doesn’t like spending much time out of our home. The bag is filled with dried food, fruits, or snacks. I have said multiple times that she doesn’t need to drag them all the way here, but she says she feels satisfaction bringing them with her. So yes, she brings it all every time she visits.

“Welcome, Mom. How was your journey?” I asked, hugging her.

“It was a pleasant one. Without a hitch. A comfortable one,” she said.

“Good to know, Mom,” I replied.

She entered and scanned the living room and went towards the kitchen.

“Not bad, Emily. This time it’s not a mess. I thought it would be a pigsty this time now that you are busy with your clinic.” She said with sarcasm.

I have always been a lazy kid from the beginning, and I hate to do housework; my mom's sarcasm came from there.

She poured a glass of water, and while drinking it, she went towards the fridge.

She opened it and choked on water, then I remembered: I cleaned everything but the fridge. And of course, forgot to refill it.

The last time I went to the grocery was maybe after I opened my clinic and wanted to cook a feast.

I don’t usually cook because of my laziness, so I survive on instant ramen and takeout and bread and eggs in the morning.

I face-palmed myself and waited for my mom to start her judgment. She can ignore anything but me not eating proper healthy food.

She looked at me and sighed, “When will you start taking care of your food, sweetheart? You can't go on with instant ramen or frozen or takeout. Anyway, I am going to do some grocery shopping while you clean up the mess.” And she left with her purse.

I breathed in relief and said, “I am saved this time.”

Mom came back after two hours or so. She rang the bell, and I went to answer the door.

“Mom, what took…” Before I could complete the sentence, there Alex was standing with my mom in front of my door, shopping bags in hand.

“Emily, I didn’t know you had such a handsome and well-mannered guy as your neighbor,” Mom said while showing Alex the way to the kitchen.

Who thought a person with billions of net worth would be helping my mom to carry her groceries?

I ignored Mom and said to Alex, “Thank you, Alex, for helping my mom, and sorry for the trouble.” With an awkward smile because of my mom’s constant commentary.

“No problem. I saw her coming with so much stuff, so I had to help,” Alex said with a smile.

“I should be on my way, Mrs. Carter. It was nice meeting you.” Alex said and was about to leave, then my mother said, “Alex, would you be free for dinner tonight? I’ll be cooking a feast, and I am inviting you to eat with us.”

“I don’t want to bother your time together, Mrs. Carter. You two enjoy your dinner.” Alex said.

“It’s never a bother to invite a friend; you also carried so much heavy stuff for me. And please call me Roxan.”

“Thanks for inviting me, Roxan. I’ll go home and freshen up and come back to help you with cooking then.” Alex said with a smile.

“I’ll wait for your help then.” Mom said, laughing.

Alex went to his apartment, and we went inside ours.

“He is such a handsome and nice guy. Helped me carry so many things. And you never even told me about this kind of guy being your neighbor. I could say, meeting him just once, that this guy is a hundred, no thousand times better than your ex. I like him. Do you know if he is single?” Mom said all this in a breath.

I replied with a sigh, “Yes! Yes… I know, I know. But what I don’t know is if he is single, married, or divorced. So stop asking me this and start with your cooking; I am dying from hunger.”

Mom and I spoke for a while, then she went to cook the feast she was talking about.

.

.

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After a while, the bell rang, and Alex was standing there in his casual clothes with a bottle of red wine in hand.