Bondage and Marriage - 54

It was when Noah had almost finished half of his parfait. Someone suddenly grabbed Noah’s shoulder. Surprised by the sudden contact, Noah turned around and saw Alex smiling widely.

“Alex??”

Noah was surprised to see Alex and stood up, not expecting to see him here. Alex, with a very pleased face, tried to hug Noah but flinched and awkwardly patted Noah a little before pulling away. Noah was confused when he saw Alex’s face, which seemed a bit uncomfortable or stiff, but he quickly realized why. Alex had just had a confrontation with Ian this morning, and a few days ago, he was also marked by Ian, so he was likely still drenched in Ian’s pheromones. Noah had become so accustomed to Ian’s pheromones that he only now realized it.

Perhaps Alex thought his actions were too obvious because he awkwardly smiled. If they weren’t family, an Alpha would never welcome another Alpha’s pheromones. Usually, Alpha’s pheromones made the other person uncomfortable.

“How did you know I was here?”

Noah, still curious, gestured for Alex to sit on the other side. He didn’t know when Ian would finish his business, but since Ian probably didn’t even know he was here, Noah planned to have a good chat with Alex while waiting. While Noah ordered a drink for Alex, Alex briefly looked at him with a bitter expression but soon became lively.

“I told you, Walker saw you in front of the hotel. But you weren’t in the club, and you had your car, so I looked for a place you often went around here.”

Alex shrugged, as if it was no big deal. After all, there weren’t many places near the hotel where Noah usually went—just a café or a wine bar.

“So, how have you been?”

“Me? Same as always. Since you got married, I’ve just been with Ellie, other than that, nothing’s really changed.”

Just then, the drink Noah had ordered for Alex arrived, and the conversation paused. Noah felt an awkwardness that hadn’t been there before and rolled his eyes slightly. Alex didn’t drink the coffee placed before him, instead staring at it for a while. Was it because they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, or was it because Alex liked him? If it was the former, two months wasn’t that long of a time, but if it was the latter, then it seemed like Alex liked him more than Noah thought.

“By the way, what brings you here? I thought you’d never come to the club again.”

“Ah, well… you see…”

Noah hesitated for a moment, debating whether he should tell Alex the truth. In Tear, most people who came to enjoy themselves were either already married or engaged, or if they weren’t close friends, they usually didn’t openly reveal their identities. It was considered polite. That’s why Noah didn’t know Alex’s last name, and Alex didn’t know Noah’s, either. As they got closer, they only vaguely guessed what kind of jobs the other person had.

But Alex was someone he had known for several years and had helped him multiple times, so it felt more impolite to lie. After a brief hesitation, Noah decided to answer honestly.

“Well… the Alpha I married had business at the club.”

“Does the person you married know your preferences?”

Alex asked with a surprised expression. Noah hesitated, unsure how to answer. After all, Alex had been the one to teach Noah when he first started coming to the club, guiding him when he was confused and unsure, especially when Noah tried to push himself too far or enjoyed pain too much. Alex had been his protector at the club, even before Noah realized why Alex had been so kind to him.

“Well, Alex… there’s something I need to tell you.”

Noah spoke openly to Alex, telling him that his father had arbitrarily chosen his fiancé, and that after meeting the fiancé, he accidentally learned of a plan to torment him, which led to Noah marrying him. It also turned out that the man was the owner of Tear. As expected, Alex’s mouth dropped open.

“Noah! That person truly hates you and is tormenting you on purpose! Do you even realize how dangerous that is?”

Alex had always warned Noah about something—never to let himself be mishandled. Even though Tear strictly prohibited illegal activities, abuse, and drugs, they couldn’t protect against abuse between partners.

Noah had heard stories about subs who were tortured to the point of no longer being able to recover or those who couldn’t break free due to financial issues or blackmail. When Noah thought about it, he realized that he was closer to the latter.

“You remember what I told you about Evelyn?”

Now Alex was speaking in an annoyed tone. Noah avoided his gaze and turned his head. Evelyn was an Alpha woman Noah had met when he first started seeing Alex. She was infamous in the club for her Alpha superiority complex. To someone as inexperienced as Noah at the time, she had looked like a good target. Since Noah didn’t know anything back then, he thought everything Evelyn did, no matter how harsh, was just how things were supposed to be. She had intentionally taught him to endure pain, even when she wasn’t confident.

One day, after following Evelyn’s lessons, Noah ended up in a severe situation, bleeding from being too rough, and it was Alex who came to his aid. After that, Noah left Evelyn and stayed with Alex. But Alex had always worried about Noah’s tendency to not restrain himself, a habit he picked up from his early experiences.

“But after I got married, I’ve never bled.”

Noah defensively tried to explain, feeling a little uncertain. There were times when he was with Alex in the club, but sometimes Noah played with other people as well, and Alex had given him some basic rules to follow, one of which was that if there was any bleeding, the relationship should be immediately stopped. Bleeding meant the skin, the most basic layer of protection, was damaged, making the body highly susceptible to infection.

“Really? What about the safe word? What about basic rules or restrictions? What about aftercare?”

“Well… um…”

Noah poked at his parfait awkwardly and responded hesitantly. He had received treatment a couple of times, but he hadn’t really thought about it much. It had been so long since Alex had lectured him. He used to hear these lectures every week in the club.

“Noah… you know Omegas can’t easily get a divorce without the Alpha’s consent.”

Seeing Alex so worried, Noah felt like his conscience was poking at him. Even after deciding to marry in a rush, swept up by the immediate temptation, Noah sometimes thought about it. If he had been Eve, would he have eaten the forbidden fruit without the snake’s temptation? And he would regret it just a little… Right now, he was regretting it a little in the face of Alex’s scolding.

Of course, Noah knew that marriage was important in life, but honestly, it had never seemed important to him until now. He wasn’t the eldest son like William, who had to continue the Frost family line, nor had he fallen in love at first sight like Benjamin. Therefore, Noah had thought too carelessly and easily about marrying Ian, and he was starting to admit that.

However, Ian didn’t treat Noah as harshly as Alex might have imagined. Unlike Evelyn, Ian had never openly told Noah anything, but he had his own set of rules. For example, he never struck vital areas like the face or stomach, and when doing breath control, he never exceeded one minute. He also tried to protect Noah from other people, etc. (in his own way). But judging by Alex’s face, Noah didn’t think such explanations would work, so he looked away slightly and said:

“Anyway, we’re going to divorce later, so whatever…”

Alex looked at him with a “What an idiot…” expression. It was the same face he made when he saw Noah partying hard at clubs without him, limping around afterwards.

“Yeah, I guess it’s a relief you’re getting a divorce. He didn’t marry you because he loved you in the first place, so it should be easy to divorce.”

Alex spoke with a face that seemed to find it a relief, but Noah felt something uncomfortable stirring in his chest. Maybe it was from eating too much parfait? Noah tilted his head for a moment.

“I should go now. I was with Eli before this.”

“Ah, me too. Let’s go together.”

Noah, who felt the cold creeping in after eating parfait, thought it was time to move, and stood up with Alex. Understanding that Noah avoided getting close to Tear, Alex grabbed Noah’s shoulder tightly just before parting and gave a firm warning.

“Noah, I’ve said this so many times, but please take care of yourself.”

“I’m really fine. I’m doing great. It’s not like what you’re thinking.”

But Alex, having watched Noah for a while, didn’t even listen to his words. Instead, he sighed a little.

“Honestly, I wish you’d get a divorce as soon as possible.”

“Alex…”

Actually, recently, Noah had been slowly starting to lose the desire for divorce. Would Alex get angry if he said that? He decided it was better not to mention it. It was just when he was about to part ways with Alex that he suddenly felt an eerie energy from behind and turned around to see… Ian standing there, as if it were a lie.

Ian’s face was glaring at them, looking as if he had caught them in some illicit affair. Alex, who quickly realized the situation, had a completely stiffened face, and Noah opened his mouth in shock.

Why was Ian here? This place was far from Tear, and Noah hadn’t even said he was coming to this café! Behind Ian were Daniel and the driver, looking utterly flustered. (Later, it turned out Ian had secretly assigned a guard to Noah for protection, and the guard had contacted Ian as soon as an Alpha approached.) Ian growled with a fierce expression.

“What’s going on here?”

Alex, looking at Noah and Ian alternately in disbelief, looked completely shocked. The Alpha he often saw at the hotel was someone Alex had heard rumors about, that he was connected with the mafia in Tear. And judging by the strong pheromones, it seemed like he was Noah’s Alpha. Remembering how Ian had been at the club with a couple of Omegas a month or two ago, Alex finally spoke up.

“Noah, is the person you married by any chance him?”

“Well, that’s… him…”

Noah, caught off guard by the confrontation, was shocked. Why was this happening again? First, it was with his father, now it was with Alex… And as this was happening, Ian seemed to be getting more and more upset.

“And what’s this about divorce?”

Ah, so he had been listening to the conversation… It seemed that luck wasn’t on Noah’s side this time, just like with Tanner. Noah said it wasn’t like that to Ian, but he also sent a look to Alex, hoping for help. Ian’s face darkened even more, and unexpectedly, Alex didn’t cooperate. In fact, he started picking a fight with Ian.

“Yeah, what about divorce? How could Noah marry someone like you… Does this even make sense?”

Alex confronted Ian while Noah stood there, mouth slightly open. Normally, Alex knew that in situations like this, outside the club and in an awkward spot, they should either pretend not to know or cooperate as much as possible. But seeing the person Noah was supposed to marry in front of him was a lot different than just hearing about it. Alex realized that maybe he liked Noah more than he had initially thought, and he glared at Ian.