7: Unexpected Doom

YVONNE –

"This is the contract paper; Alpha has signed it, but he also requested that you sign a contract too. Once you do this, everything has been sorted out," Mr. Thomas remarked, handing me a paper.

I took a glance at Mr. Thomas and immediately threw it away. I don't need to exhibit how irritated I felt about the offer toward him.

How could Conan do that? He's the one who needs my help, not me. What's the need for me to sign a contract, too?

"Sir, I don't think these people are serious. I mean, this contract doesn't go well with me; how could he request that I sign a contract too when he's the one who needs my help?" I replied.

"Um, Yvonne, I understand, but it's not really as you thought. He has a very good reason for that. Remember that he's a prominent person, and our reputation needs to be protected," he enunciated.

I sighed heavily, feeling weak about the new development.

"Well, let me have it then," I responded.

Mr. Thomas' countenance quickly shone brighter upon hearing my response. He was relieved that I was about to sign it.

However, after staring at it for a few minutes, I glared at him. "There are lots of clauses here; how am I going to be the one responsible if anything bad happens to him? I mean, what if something happens to him before the medication starts taking effect?" I was curious.

"Dr. Yvonne, it's not really as you're thinking; the contract said if anything bad resulted from your treatment, not if anything happens to him," he explained. "He's scared we might worsen his situation, unaware that you've handled cases worse than his," Mr. Thomas explained, letting out a slight smile.

"Alright then, let me have the pen," I responded.

A few seconds later, I had already penned down my signature.

"I hope this isn't the wrong decision because Conan is full of surprise; he's a very cunning person," I mumbled inwardly.

"Good! I'll forward it to him right away, and we will have our copy too," Thomas remarked, feeling accomplished.

I gulped hard and questioned, "So when am I leaving?"

"Right away. Arrangements have been made by him; your accommodation is settled, and other necessary things will be handled by him.

"Well, thankfully, the children are on break from school, so I'm good." 

"Yes, perfect timing," he chuckled.

"But concerning their arrangement, aside from the accommodation and security, no other thing about me and my kids should be their task," I said.

"No problem then. Anything to make you happy," he replied, slightly winking at me, making me flattered.

"Thank you, Mr. Thomas; you're such a nice person," I complimented.

"I am more grateful to have someone like you in this hospital," he responded.

"So I should leave now to get my luggage prepared; once the clock hits 12:30, we'll be leaving for the airport for Moonstone Pack," I said, standing up to leave the office.

"Alright, dear. Safe travels," Mr. Thomas responded, and I exited the office.

****

"Mommy, are we traveling to meet Daddy?" Amelia questioned.

"Yaay! I've been waiting for this day," Kiara chimed in.

"We're traveling for business purposes, which would take a few days. Daddy is still busy at work," I responded.

In honesty, it breaks my heart to lie to them. For how long am I going to lie to them?

I bit my lower lips in grief. However, I had to hide the truth from them because I knew they'd grow to thank me one day.

"But mommy, our classmates usually have their daddies come to pick them up after lessons; why is our dad always at work? Don't he even have off days from work just as you usually do?" Liam stated. He had been the one more concerned about their father than others, maybe because he bore more resemblance to him than others, the bond between them was beyond imagination.

I sighed heavily and squatted down to their level. "Sweethearts, Daddy's profession is not the same as the daddies of your classmates. He's a war god and went on a mission; possibly it might take him more than five years to return." I lied again, staring at their naive faces.

"Mommy, for how long has Daddy been on the battlefield? Is he a soldier?" Kiara chimed in.

"Yes, he's the second in command. And he had been there for four years now."

"But Mommy, we're only five years old, why don't we know him then since he left in our presence?" Liam questioned me curiously.

"Liam, there's more in this life than you know, so you just have to wish him good luck to return safe, he will certainly return someday," I responded.

"That's what you always say, but we haven't seen anybody to call Daddy." 

"Are you now more concerned about Daddy, who's working to get money for your school needs, or you'll let that slide and let's go on the business trip? Are you no longer interested in the ice cream you always ask for, which I'll buy on our way?" I questioned, diverting the topic.

"Let's go, Mommy. I love ice cream!"

"Me too, Mommy!"

"I'm included!" 

"Let's go then," I responded, letting out a sigh of relief. I finally convinced them not to talk more about their father. Honestly, whenever they brought up the topic of their Daddy, my heart would sink to my stomach, and I always felt guilty about the lies I would have to tell them.

As soon as I was done arranging the luggage, Amanda rushed in.

"I'm sorry for staying longer than expected. When I arrived at the office, it turned out my boss had visitors; I had to wait for them to conclude," she remarked.

"Well, you're fortunate that we haven't left. Let's go now. Just a few minutes and we'll miss our flight," I responded, and we sauntered out of the building.

****

Two hours later, we were already at Moonstone Pack, at the airport.

"Yvonne, for how long do we wait for the person who will pick us up? You said that was part of the arrangement, or have they forgotten we're arriving today?" Amanda questioned, as we were already exhausted from waiting; almost everyone who arrived with us on our flights had been picked up.

"Let's wait a little. I believe he'll be here in a short time," I replied, caressing Liam and Kiara, who had dozed off on my laps, while Amelia was sleeping on Amanda's lap.

Just then, a black Mercedes-Benz pulled up in front of us. "Hello, ma'am, are you Doctor Yvonne? Alpha Conan sent me to pick you up," a young man in his early thirties questioned.

"Oh, Amanda, he's here," I remarked with excitement, then turned to the young man and said, "I am actually the one, and these are my kids. That's my luggage over there," I narrated.

He then alighted from the car and started arranging our luggage in the car boot while we entered, waiting for him to be done and drive us home.

Inside the car, we were on our way to our destination. I was having a lot of doubts about the man driving us.

"Does it mean he was newly employed? I could not remember seeing him throughout my stay in the Alpha Palace those days, talk more of him coming from the pack; no, he's not from this pack."

As I lifted up my gaze, I noticed he had diverted to another route, which was not the address of the place where our apartment was rented.

"Sir, where are you taking us? This isn't the place we're going."

However, he didn't utter a word but instead matched the accelerator harder, and the car sped more.