Chapter 80: Episode 80: Dr. Aris

Nicole. No one called her that.

In the irradiated, dusty slums of Sector 4, she had always just been Nikki. But the way the silver-haired architect spoke her full name, laced with terrifyingly familiar warmth, sent a violent jolt straight down her spine.

The newly acquired [Truth Seeker] perk in her mind gave a low, rhythmic thrum, warning her that the man standing before them was the key to the massive, locked vault in her memory.

But how?

This was same man she saw at the ball.

Before Nikki could even draw a breath to reply, Adonis stepped smoothly in front of her, his massive frame deliberately shielding her from the older man’s line of sight.

A heavy arm snaked around Nikki’s waist. Adonis pulled her flush against his side, his grip branding her hip with an unyielding, possessive heat.

The sheer, immovable weight of him grounded her instantly, keeping her knees from buckling under the sudden wave of vertigo.

“State your purpose, Doctor,” Adonis commanded. His voice was no longer the soft, rumbling purr he had used while eating cotton candy. “This grid was secured for my exclusive use. You are trespassing on an active operational zone.”

Dr. Aris did not flinch at the threat of imminent pacification. He merely looked up at Adonis with a soft, incredibly weary smile touching his lined face.

“Peace, A-01,” Dr. Aris said, his voice mild and completely devoid of fear. He casually slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I am not here to override your command protocols or disrupt your… recreational activities. I merely took a detour on my evening walk. I am here with someone.”

Right on cue, a second figure emerged from the pavilion, stepping into the vibrant wash of the neon lights.

Nikki blinked, leaning slightly around Adonis’s massive bicep to get a better look.

It was a woman, dressed in an impeccably tailored, deep plum evening gown, her silver hair styled in an elegant updo.

Nikki recognized her instantly. It was the same older woman who had enthusiastically greeted her at the Sector 1 Gala.

The woman’s face lit up with delight the moment she spotted them. She gracefully linked her arm through Dr. Aris’s.

“Oh, goodness!” the woman beamed, her eyes crinkling with genuine joy. “If it isn’t the lovely Director of Human Relations! And the General, of course.”

She stepped a fraction closer, completely ignoring the terrifying, red-eyed glare of the warlord currently crushing Nikki to his side. She waved a perfectly manicured hand at them. “You know, my dear, I must say it out loud. The more our paths cross, the more you look exactly like the General’s wife. You two are simply a vision together!”

The violent crimson in Adonis’s eyes flickered, stuttering for a microsecond before completely washing out into a stunned, glowing gold.

His processor had just been violently derailed by the introduction of the matrimonial variable. His grip on Nikki’s waist involuntarily tightened, his thumb pressing a firm, heavy caress into her hip.

Nikki felt her own face burst into flames. The suffocating tension of Dr. Aris’s presence was momentarily shattered by the sheer, domestic absurdity of the older woman’s compliment.

“Oh! No, no, we aren’t—” Nikki stammered, brushing the comment off with a nervous, breathless laugh. “I’m just his Director, ma’am. That’s all. We’re just… inspecting the park.”

“Of course you are, dear,” the woman winked, patting Dr. Aris’s arm. “Well, we won’t keep you from your very important inspections. Have a beautiful evening, you two.”

Dr. Aris offered a polite, deeply calculated nod. His eyes lingered on Nikki for one microsecond longer than necessary, before he turned and escorted the elegant woman away, their silhouettes disappearing down the neon-lit promenade.

Nikki let out a massive, shaky exhale, slumping heavily against Adonis’s side the moment they were out of earshot.

Adonis’s eyes slowly returned to their calm, baseline blue, though his posture remained rigid. He did not let go of her waist.

Desperate to change the subject and outrun the phantom ache in her skull, Nikki immediately pivoted to her natural slum-survivor defense mechanism: gossip.

“Okay, wait,” Nikki said, pointing a finger down the empty path. She looked up at Adonis, her eyes wide with exaggerated shock. “What exactly is going on between Dr. Aris and that sweet lady from the Gala?”

Adonis looked down at her, his expression returning to its mask of stoic, robotic literalism.

“They are a biological couple,” Adonis answered blankly. “They are currently engaged in a late-stage courtship protocol that involves cohabitation and shared resource management.”

Nikki gasped, her hands flying to her cheeks. “They’re dating?! Oh my god, that is actually adorable. As old as they were they were still dating…”

I mean, they don’t forbid relationship in old people, and they barely look old, if not for the grey hair and the wrinkles here and there.

Nikki laughed, but the sound was slightly hollow. She didn’t want to linger on the topic. She didn’t want to think about Dr. Aris’s romantic life, because thinking about Aris meant thinking about what he could be hiding.

Every time he looked at her, he looked at her with the familiarity of a ghost. She firmly suppressed the thought, shoving it deep down into the locked vault of her mind.

She wasn’t ready to face it. Not tonight.

“My internal chronometer indicates it is time for your secondary caloric intake,” Adonis suddenly announced, his thermal sensors picking up the slight, nervous drop in her core temperature. “You expended significant kinetic energy on the rides. We will eat.”

He didn’t give her a chance to argue. He gently but firmly guided her away from the Ferris wheel and toward the park’s luxury dining sector.

They arrived at a high-end, fully automated hotpot restaurant that Adonis had commandeered. The interior was sleek and atmospheric, filled with dark wood and the rich, mouth-watering scent of simmering spices. They were seated in a private, sunken booth, a massive, bubbling copper pot built directly into the center of the table.

As they sat down, a sleek silver utility drone glided over to their table, balancing a silver tray.

“Good evening, General.” the drone chirped politely. “May I pour the vintage Sector 1 wine to accompany your meal?”

Nikki recoiled as if the drone had just offered her a glass of battery acid.

“No!” Nikki practically shouted, her hands flying up to cover the crystal glass in front of her. The memory of her drunken confession echoing in her mind. “Water. Just water, please. I am never touching alcohol again.”

The drone beeped in compliance, seamlessly swapping the wine bottle for a carafe of chilled, purified water, and glided away.

Adonis sat across from her, his massive shoulders taking up the entire width of the booth.

He did not touch the plates of thinly sliced beef or the vegetables. He simply rested his hands on the table and watched her.

Nikki aggressively began dumping food into the boiling, spicy broth, refusing to look up. She threw in an extra handful of red peppers, desperate for the heat to distract her from the heavy, calculating weight of his gaze.

The meal wound down in relative silence, the thick, spicy steam from the hotpot curling lazily between them. Nikki nervously chewed on her bottom lip, swirling the ice in her water glass.

Adonis leaned forward. The ambient light of the restaurant caught the sharp, flawless angles of his jawline. The blue in his eyes was completely calm, yet impossibly deep.

He didn’t raise his voice, but the low rumble cut through the quiet room sharply.

“Kitty,” Adonis asked softly. “Do you know Dr. Aris from somewhere?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep