Chapter 9 I'm Tobias Wilton
"I'm Tobias Wilton," said the voice on the phone.
Alicia's hand trembled as she lifted the phone to her ear. Was this a dream, or some kind of fraud? "I'm sorry, who did you say you are?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"It's Tobias, your husband. Ellis gave me your number," the voice replied calmly.
Alicia's heart skipped a beat. Her husband? Could this really be him? "Are you... are you really him?" she stammered.
"I understand your suspicion, Alicia. We've never met before, and it makes sense that you would suspect me of being a fake or a fraud. \[COUGHING\]" Tobias replied, his voice tinged with a cough. "I just heard Ellis mention you, so \[COUGHING\] I suddenly wanted to talk to you and wonder about you."
Alicia couldn't believe it. Her husband was calling her out of the blue. "Are you okay? Are you sick?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice as she heard Tobias coughing.
"I'm fine, don't worry. It's an old problem," Tobias replied. "So, how are things with you? How's life in the pack? Anyone in the pack picking on you?"
Alicia hesitated. She didn't want to burden Tobias with her problems, not when they had been practically strangers before. "Everything's... fine. The pack members are very nice to me. My co-workers are good too." she said, her voice faltering slightly.
Tobias seemed to sense her unease. "Is there something you're not telling me?" he asked gently.
Alicia bit her lip. Vivian bullied her; her leader was extra mean to her; she met her mate, Damian Howard, and she was starting to have some feelings for him. But she was afraid to tell Tobias about any of this. Because she didn't want to risk putting herself or the Scarlet Pack in danger.
"No, everything's really okay," she lied.
"That's good. I just heard you mention Mr. Howard when you answered the phone. What happened between you two?" Tobias asked.
Alicia's heart lurched at the mention of Damian's name. But considering what she'd just said, it was even stranger that Tobias had no questions.
"Mr. Damian Howard is my... first client who appointed me to design the courtyard of his villa. He just called to check on the progress of my work." The word \[mate\] reached her throat and was swallowed back by Alicia.
\[COUGHING\]
Tobias chuckled after he coughed. "Damian Howard, I know who he is, Alicia. He's a famous Alpha. Is he trying to woo you?"
Alicia felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. "No. I didn't wear a ring at work, so he might have misunderstood that I was single. But I told him clearly I got married," Alicia explained.
"Don't be nervous. I won't suspect you. And I won't interfere if you tell others you're married, as long as you don't betray me." Tobias reminded Alicia in his husky voice.
The word "betray" sent a shiver down Alicia's spine. Fear quickly seeped into every pore, causing the hairs on her body to stand up.
"I won't betray you, Tobias. I promise," she said, clutching her phone tightly.
"You're afraid of me?" Tobias asked.
Alicia didn't know how to respond. She was scared of Tobias but she also longed for meeting him. "I... I don't know," she said.
Tobias added, "I know you're upset about our marriage. \[COUGHING\] I'm sorry for everything that's happened.."
Despite the coughs that punctuated Tobias's words, his tone remained unchanged. Nevertheless, Alicia's wildly beating heart seemed to magically calm down.
"Mr. Wilton, are you alright? " Alicia asked.
"I'm good. You can call me Tobias if you'd like," Tobias replied.
He didn't seem like a difficult person, so Alicia carefully asked, "Tobias, can you tell me what happened? Where are you? Why are you--"
"Alicia!" Tobias interrupted Alicia's barrage of questions. "You should put your curiosity about me on hold for now. I promise I'll answer all your questions sometime in the future. But not now. Well, that's enough chatting for today!"
"Wait, Tobias. Will I see you again in the future?" Alicia asked.
"Yes, you will. Even though we can't meet for the time being, I will keep in touch with you often from now on. If you encounter any trouble, just let me know. Good night," Tobias said.
"Good night."
As Tobias ended the call, tears welled up in Alicia's eyes. For the first time since her marriage, Alicia felt a glimmer of hope that things could get better. She and Tobias had been married for over a year, but she had never seen his face. She had agreed to the marriage to save her family's business, but she had never imagined it would turn out like this.
But just a minute ago, Tobias had called to check on her and ask how she was doing. This could be the real beginning of her new life after the marriage, if she could forget what had happened between her and Damian.
Unfortunately, she couldn't forget it, especially when she noticed the messages Damian had sent while she was talking to Tobias.
\[Are you alright?\]
\[Sorry for overdoing my joke.\]
\[You're my mate. I can't help thinking about you.\]
\[Please, will you get back to me?\]
\[Let me know you're okay.\]
Damian asked her if she was okay since she suddenly ended the call. He was worried about her.
Despite her attempts to resist her growing feelings for Damian, Alicia couldn't help but feel a flutter in her chest at the thought of him. But as quickly as it came, the feeling was replaced by guilt. How could she entertain the idea of being with Damian when she was already married to Tobias, who was currently unwell?
Alicia typed out her response with tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. "I'm fine," she wrote, her fingers shaking slightly. She knew it was a lie. She was far from fine - she was torn between her duty to her husband and her growing feelings for her mate.
Tobias' words echoed through her head like a spell. "As long as you don't betray me!"
The thought of causing Tobias pain if he ever found out about her conflicting emotions made her heart ache. And yet, Damian's messages continued to tempt her, reminding her of the passion and excitement she had been missing in her life.
Tears dripped onto her phone screen as Alicia clutched her hair in anguish. "What the hell did I do?" she asked herself, her conscience suffering.
If there was a way for her to pursue her feelings for Damian without betraying Tobias or causing a scandal in the Wilton family and the whole pack...
No, no, no... No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Alicia shook her head and dismissed it.
She was already Tobias' wife! Her poor husband was sick. How could she throw away her morals and duty to develop feelings for her mate? It was wrong!
Alicia took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. She couldn't let her emotions get the best of her. She had to stay true to her morals, no matter how difficult it may be.
Meanwhile, in one of the villas in Los Angeles, Damian stood in a dim position. His fingers nimbly typed on the screen, "Sweet dreams, my brilliant designer." And then sent it to his lovely mate.
"I've never seen you have such a good laugh when talking to a girl," remarked Ellis, who was sitting on the couch.
"This voice changer is giving me a sore throat," Damian replied as he removed the small device from his neck and tossed it to Beta Lyon, who was sitting at his computer desk.
"This is just a test piece. I never thought my new voice changer would be used to flirt with a girl." Beta Lyon scratched his tousled brown curls after pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.
"Damian, are you sure this is okay?" Ellis asked, his blue eyes showing his skepticism.
"What do you mean?" Damian asked, walking back into the parlor and sitting down.