novelraw Chapter 660: THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERED
Chapter 660: THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERED
AFTER almost 48 exhausting hours of travel, they finally arrived at the capital star. Their first stop, as before, was the private spaceport owned by the Fenris Squad. But now, unlike their departure, they couldn’t all leave together.
Nicol clung to Astrid. “Brother Aster, can you visit us over the weekend?” Then, as if only just remembering, he glanced over at Reas. “You can come too, Brother Reas, if you want.”
Reas rolled his eyes and replied dryly, “Wow, thanks for the heartfelt invitation.”
Astrid chuckled at their playful exchange, then reached over to ruffle Nicol’s hair. “Sorry, Nikki, I can’t make it this weekend—I’ve already got something lined up. But as soon as my schedule clears, Reas and I will come visit, promise.”
Nicol pouted, looking up at Astrid with hopeful eyes. “Can’t you just reschedule it?”
Astrid smiled. “I’m afraid I can’t.”
The audition for [The Shadow Within] was scheduled for the weekend. Ellis had mentioned that the public audition notice went up two days ago, and the response had been overwhelmingly positive. She anticipated a large number of rookie actors would show up. Astrid had already committed to watching the auditions, and he couldn’t just go back on his word now.
“Nicol, don’t crowd your brother,” Thomas said, gently pulling his son back before Nicol decided he wanted to stay glued to Astrid. Then he gave his nephew an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s all right, Uncle,” Astrid replied, bending down to meet Nicol’s gaze. “I’ll see you soon, okay, Nikki?”
Nicol reluctantly nodded. “Okay.”
Casey gave both Astrid and Reas a quick hug.
“I’ll see you at the launch of the new collection,” he said to Astrid. “I’ll contact you if there are any important changes to be made.”
“Uncle Casey, you don’t have to handle that yourself. Just have your assistant take care of it,” Astrid said with a smile.
Casey spoke with a warm smile, his tone steady. “How can I do that? This is your debut on the runway. There’s no way I’d leave it to anyone else—I need to make sure everything’s perfect.”
Next month marked not only the release of EMMA’s new collection but also the annual fashion week, where various designers and brands would showcase their work on the runway. Naturally, EMMA would be one of the featured names, strategically timing their collection launch to coincide with the event. As the ambassador for the new line, Astrid would be walking the runway—a commitment he had already agreed to.
A helpless smile crossed his lips and could only say, “Okay.”
Thomas and Nicol were the first to leave, with Casey following shortly after. Just as Astrid and Reas were about to depart in the same flying car Wulfric had used to bring them here five days earlier, Wulfric called out to Astrid, stopping him just as he was about to step into the vehicle.
Wulfric glanced at the car behind Aster, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He’d hoped to take them back to the apartment himself. But he knew all too well that if he did, he’d likely linger another day—a luxury he couldn’t afford. He and the others needed to return to Alluna as quickly as possible, not only to avoid drawing attention to their absence, but also to prevent Leland from tracking them down here in the capital and dragging them back himself.
Wulfric turned to Aster, his gaze lingering on his beautiful features, and he was suddenly pulled back to a few hours earlier—to that moment before their spaceship had even entered the capital star’s atmosphere.
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Wulfric wandered through the spaceship,