Arranged to Love

Chapter Five

The next day was a day of cleaning for the staff of the estate. Amelia was far too busy delegating duties to drive over to the next town. She even told Ash it could wait until later as she had better things to do than preoccupy her time with stupid quests. She may be a supportive friend in the mansion, but that didn't mean she would be there for him whenever he needed her. She had her own life to lead, as he discovered from another omega that Amelia had a family with small children she sent her paychecks. Ash didn't have kids and wasn't sure he wanted them, but he did think it would be sad not being able to see them,

Having no one else to drive the car over to the next town, Ash spent the earlier morning reading in the library. It helped that Beau slept until noon or so. This meant he didn't have anyone to bother him for a couple of hours. When the familiar alpha did find him in the library, he sighed and walked over to Ash.

"You won't find love in there," Beau commented as he pulled out a chair and sat down at the same table.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ash was confused enough these days, why add more confusion into the mix?

"I know why you read all those romance novels. Life isn't found in a book, Ash."

This statement felt accusatory. Ash wasn't sure how well he liked the implication of living in a fantasy world. He understood perfectly that life wasn't in these books. It was why he was working so hard to get out of his arrangement. If this were a book, he'd have a solution already and it wouldn't have to make complete sense as it would be fiction.

"I know that. But it seems idyllic to escape when my future looks so forcefully bleak." He admitted with a small sigh. Ash glanced over to Beau and saw the frown deepen on his expression. Had he said something wrong?

"You know you don't need to marry him. Just because you made a deal to be someone's debt tool, it doesn't mean you have to. I could totally object for you!"

Ash laughed and shook his head playfully.

"Thank you, but there's more to the story than you know. And I'm not sure putting off the marriage for no reason is a good idea." His tone was shy and quiet. Ash wasn't going to tell Beau all the secrets he knew about Tristan's personal history. Just letting his best friend know that there was more to it should have been enough.

"It isn't a bad reason. And you'd rather keep that guy's secret than tell your best friend?" This question made Ash feel guilty. He knew he shouldn't. It was incredibly rude to gossip about the deceased and Tristan's awful love life track record. All he could do was hope that nothing would happen to him. If Tristan really were cursed, it would be good to discuss with the alpha options to keep Ash safe. He didn't doubt the authenticity of the history as he didn't believe Tristan had anything to gain by lying to him. He didn't think that Tristan was the lying type either. Everything they'd talked about sounded real. Even if their combined tempers did aggravate the situation at times.

"It isn't an either-or kind of situation, Beau. I don't think you need to know his secrets. It's not like they can help me get my freedom back." Ash felt this was an adequate explanation as to why he wouldn't tell the other. Beau, on the other hand, didn't think so.

"I don't think you're taking this seriously. Once you're mated, the only way out is to kill the guy. And I don't think I want to be the one to get my hands dirty because you'd be a lovesick, mated omega."

The open-mouthed shock on Ash's face made Beau turn away with a gruff grunt. Did Beau really suggest killing Tristan in cold blood? If he did marry and mate the alpha, it would kill Ash too. To lose a mate would be the end of his life essentially. Even if they weren't mated for long, it was a strong process of emotions to share with a mate. And Ash knew of omegas who withered away after losing their alpha. For Beau to suggest such a thing was cruel to everyone.