Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 444

He prayed desperately in his head—Artie, please hurry up! I seriously can't last long!

...

Meanwhile, two doors down, Nora was rudely awakened by a series of sharp knocks. She blinked groggily, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling and the crystal chandelier catching the morning light. It took her a few seconds for the memories of the previous night to come flooding back.

Panic struck. She bolted upright, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. The screen lit up—7:45 AM.

Ahhhhh! What happened?! How did she fall asleep?!

Frustrated with herself, she quickly scrambled out of bed, pulling a coat tightly around her shoulders. She peeked through the peephole, and seeing Arthur standing there, she finally opened the door.

"We have a problem," 'Archer' said. His voice was unusually deep and grounded, making him look far more mature than usual.

Nora stared at him blankly for a second, almost thinking it was Arthur. "What's wrong?"

"I swapped rooms with Archer last night. This morning, the Boss caught him in my room and dragged him away, thinking it was me..."

"..."

Nora blinked, utterly bewildered. Wait, so this really was Arthur.

Her sleep-addled brain took a moment to process the information. "So right now... Archer is pretending to be you?"

Arthur nodded. "The Boss told him to follow him to the Research Institute. I don't think he'll last long. They might look identical, but their habits and vibes are completely different. The Boss is going to notice."

Nora frowned. She had just wanted to surprise Hudson, not orchestrate a catastrophic mix-up. "How long can Archer hold him off?"

Arthur thought for a moment. "Half a day, tops."

"That's enough," Nora nodded decisively. "Give me a minute to change. We're heading to the Research Institute!"

"Understood."

...

Terrified he might say something even more seductive, Nora quickly changed the subject. "I have to go, I need to get out of bed..."

"Alright."

"Wait, hold on..." Nora suddenly piped up.

"What is it?"

"I actually... prepared a surprise for you today."

"What kind of surprise?"

"You'll see later."

Hudson chuckled again, deciding not to press her. His little wife occasionally had these adorable, childlike whims, and he found it incredibly endearing. "Alright, I'll be waiting."