Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 67 Derek Again!
“You almost bought the entire store. That’s too much!” I exited the store following Soren, who had insisted on buying anything and everything that I looked at for more than three seconds.
“This is just the right amount.” Soren smiled. “I feel good about myself today. Very wise choice.”
“I’m sorry?” I said, honestly not understanding.
“The best thing I did today was making these purchases. First of all, you are happy. Secondly, the old lady behind the counter made enough to call it a day early, so she is happy. I made two ladies happy in one day- nothing beats that!” He thought for a moment before happily continuing, “Even the baby will thank me when it gets the new things created by its mother.”
I chuckled at his words, and my hand gently moved to my belly. I shook my head with a smile.
“Thank you, Mr. Wiseman Soren. I promise I’ll pay you back once I find a job. “
He slowed down to look at me, ignoring half of what I said. “You’re welcome.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s still early. Ro, do you still have energy to check out the rest of the marketplace?”
It was the first time in a long while that I had a chance to enjoy crowds and shops like this, and there was still a lot to see. I nodded. “Yes, that would be lovely.”
The marketplace stretched from the cobbled stone streets near the port all the way down to the bakery on the corner. Stalls were lined
up in the streets with farmers selling their fresh produce out in the open fresh air. The cheerful shops on either side attracted customers with food jewelry, and apparel.
Exciting scents and sounds surrounded me- the sweet earthy smells of roasting chestnuts and mouth-watering baked goods; the chatter of adults and laughing shrieks of children amidst the loud calls and haggling of the vendors. Somewhere down an alley, a fiddler was playing a cheerful folk tune.
It was almost like I had been dropped into another universe. The clothes, the accents, the atmosphere- everything was so different from what I was used to on the mainland.
“So, are you enjoying the shops here?” Soren asked with a smile.
Caught up in the bliss of beauty that was Avondale, I found it hard to take my eyes off everything around me. “Yes, I can’t get over how lively this place is. It’s so different from what I’m used to.”
His chuckle was light. “It is spectacular, in its own way. Avondale is the biggest port of trade in the Denali Isles. I suppose I don’t notice the beauty of it much anymore since I’ve been here for a while.”
I watched the interactions of the people around me, and the children who laughed and played in the street. I could picture myself and my child walking along these streets, enjoying a carefree afternoon walk in the warm sun.
“Hey Ro, I want to check out something over there,” Soren said beside me. “Do you mind checking out the next couple stalls by yourself?”
“Of course. Please go ahead.”
“Alright, be a good girl and don’t cause any trouble, okay?” he joked. “I’ll be right back.”
“I promise I’ll be here when you’re back.” I smiled as he took off to go to the other side of the street.
I was standing in front of a clothing store. My belly was growing bigger every day, and I was in need of more comfortable items to wear. I felt a strong urge to see what the store had to offer, and ventured closer in hopes of finding something. The beautiful array of fabric and the variety of colors were eye-catching, making it difficult to pick out what I might need the most.
As I was checking out a set of clothes on the rack just outside the shop door, I suddenly froze.
On the other side of the street, I caught a glimpse of someone from my nightmares of long ago- a dark shadow of my past I thought I had escaped from.
He wasn’t facing the store, and I could only see his profile, but I couldn’t mistake him.
“That isn’t possible…” The whisper barely left my lips. “Derek…”
I wasn’t sure if he had seen me, but that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.
I headed into the shop as quickly as I could without drawing attention to myself, and pushing past a few people in order to meander toward the back. Luckily, with the bright sunshine outside, it would be hard for anyone to see into the store. I moved behind racks of clothing and prayed that Derek wouldn’t see me.
My heart was beating fast. What should I do?
I thought of Soren. He hadn’t returned yet, and even if he did, how would he know I was here?
As I was trying to figure out my next move, someone blocked the store s entrance.
“Ro,” Soren’s voice called out, causing me to jump.
I let out a breath. I had never been so happy that he was around.
As soon as he saw me, his look of happiness quickly turned into one of concern. “You’re here! Is everything okay?”
I found myself speechless for a moment, and forced a smile onto my face.
“Uh- yes. Sorry, I should’ve waited outside. How did you find me?”
“Not a problem at all. I would be able to find you anywhere,” he replied jokingly. “In all honesty, you, my lady, have definitely made some good impressions, so it wasn’t too difficult for the stall owners to tell me which way you went. So, did you find anything?” Flattered by his compliment, I shyly said. “You are far too kind.” Then I cleared my throat quickly, trying to pretend nothing had happened, and answered, “Yes, but I was having difficulties deciding which one of these two dresses I should buy.”
“That’s easy.” He smiled, and I had a feeling that he would say-
“Both of them, of course. One moment- let me check them out.”
I sighed. Just as expected. However, I didn’t argue with him.
I glanced outside again. Thank the Moon Goddess, Derek was gone. Soren returned with yet another bag in hand.
“Thank you so much,” I said with a smile- but my happy expression faltered quickly as my eyes instinctively darted around. My mind was drifting back to Derek. Would he also be able to track me down easily if he saw me?
Soren, observant as he was, didn’t miss my nervousness. “You seem uncomfortable. Would you like to head back?” Nodding my head, I gave a weak smile. “I’m sorry, just a bit tired now. I’m looking forward to sitting down once we get back.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Ro. Growing a child can’t be an easy thing to do.”
I followed him back to his limousine. His Beta, Thomas, was already waiting for us. Fortunately, Derek was still nowhere to be seen. Once we got in the car, I let out a breath and tried to calm myself down.
Noticing Soren was looking at me, I cleared my throat. “So did you find what you were looking for earlier?”
“It’s a secret.” He blinked twice at me, and successfully lightened my mood.
But before I replied, he said, “gosh, I’m just so bad at keeping secrets! So…I got something for you-” I watched him reaching into a large white bag, “well something for your baby, to be accurate.”
My eyes widened at the sight of an elegant black toy ship that Soren had presented in his hand. It was about the length of my forearm, fairly large compared to most of the toy ships, but was sophisticatedly decorated in the most realistic way.
On its body, there were engraved letters reading “Avondale”.
“Soren, it’s beautiful,” I whispered as he placed it in my hands. “You didn’t-”
“I know, I know. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I figured that, since you are living on the island, a ship named after it would be a great representation of where your child will be growing up.”
I forced a smile and thanked him. “You are too generous. Thank you!”
Soren’s gift was heartwarming.
However, knowing Derek was also here made Avondale no longer an option for me to settle down long term.
I was the reason he’d lost his hand. If he ever found me, I couldn’t imagine what he would do to me and my child for revenge. An overwhelming fear flooded me at the thought.
Soren asked all of a sudden, “Ro, something happened back at the market, didn’t it?”
I sighed. I was a little taken aback by his question, but then I wasn’t too surprised that he came to that conclusion- he was extremely good at reading people.
However, I didn’t want to burden Soren with my troubles. And I couldn’t let him find out who I was.
“Soren… no, nothing. You have been amazing with everything, but now that I am fully healed, I think it’s time for me to find a place to settle down.”
It took Soren a moment, but he said in an even tone, “I actually was thinking about that these couple days. I promised you we’ll figure out a solid plan for you. Let’s get inside, and we can talk it through.”
As we spoke, the limousine pulled up to the house. Soren opened the car door for me and led me to the living room. After pouring me a coup of warm water, he sat down next to me to explain his proposal in detail.
“I have a property on a different island within the Isles of Denali. As you know, I go on business trips a lot, so I’m not there most of the time. I’m looking for someone to look after it. Someone I could trust.”
He gave me a minute to digest the information.
“It’s a small island, not as busy as Avondale, so I wasn’t sure whether you’d like it there. But I figured I’d I at least ask you and see if you had any interest.”
To make the offer even more appealing, he added with a smile and a wink, “Also, I pay well. You can be a*s*sured of that.”
My eyes widened. It seemed like a perfect solution to my problem.
“If you accept, it would be a huge favor to me.” Soren gave me a sincere look.
I didn’t want to jump on the opportunity just yet. Even though everything had seemed to work out really well so far, I just had an uneasy feeling.
“Thank you so much for the offer. May I think about it?”
“Absolutely!” Soren seemed to be happy that I didn’t turn him down immediately.
I realized I forgot to ask for a piece of important information. “What’s the name of the island?”
“It’s Papeno.”