Never Forgive Never Forget (Celeste and Philip) novel Chapter 138

To avoid rumors tomorrow about Mr. Alfred beating up his assistant, Celeste decided to take him home with her, settling him into the guest room.

The weight of the man landed heavily on the soft bed. Even then, his hand was still hooked around Celeste's shoulder, refusing to let go.

"Hey—!" she yelped, stumbling forward and falling straight onto his chest.

Startled, Mack—who had followed them in—immediately took a step back and hurried out, muttering something about seeing nothing inappropriate.

Celeste's nose throbbed painfully. Lifting her head from Alfred's chest, she saw the very culprit fast asleep, his face peaceful and unbothered.

"Seriously..."

She muttered her complaint under her breath but still braced herself against Alfred's torso to sit up. She didn't notice the sudden tension that rippled through his body.

Celeste wiped his face, took off his jacket, and tucked him under the covers before finally turning to leave. As she went, she kneaded her aching shoulder, sore from half-carrying him all the way.

"Big guy, goodnight."

The lights clicked off. The door stayed slightly ajar.

In the darkness, Alfred's eyes snapped open, clear and alert—nothing like the drunken stupor from moments before. He could still feel the lingering warmth of Celeste's body against his. Exhaling slowly, he thought, That was close. Almost gave myself away.

...

It was the middle of the night.

Celeste was fast asleep. She'd deliberately left her bedroom and Alfred's door slightly open, just in case the drunk man had any trouble during the night.

She hadn't expected to be the first one startled awake by the shrill ring of her phone in the living room.

"Did I wake you? Sorry," she said automatically, just as her phone buzzed in her hand—not a call, but a notification.

Alfred was leaning against the doorframe, his hair tousled, shirt askew. He watched her standing by the kitchen counter in her silk nightdress, his eyes darkening as he lowered his head, letting his hair shadow the heat in his gaze.

"Yeah, I heard," he said quietly. "Your sister's missing. I had someone pull the security footage. I just sent it to your account."

"So that notification was from you. Thank you," she said, a hint of surprise and gratitude in her voice. Even drunk, he was helping her deal with family messes.

Celeste's heart warmed a little. She opened the message to see a security video.

In the footage, Beverly could be seen taking a hotel keycard from a middle-aged man and heading straight to the suite after leaving.

Alfred added, "From the video, it looks like she went willingly."