The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 566

It was an unknown local number. Nathan stared at the screen for a few seconds before answering.

"Nathan, my boy. Are you busy?"

Arthur Peyton's voice crackled through the speaker.

"Do you need something?" Nathan's tone was ice-cold.

He ignored the overly familiar greeting, his brow furrowing. His thumb hovered over the end-call button, fully prepared to hang up.

Oblivious to Nathan's hostility, Arthur let out a hearty laugh. "Can't I just call to check in? I am your family, after all!"

Nathan remained silent.

Sensing that their relationship didn't quite warrant that level of warmth, Arthur cleared his throat. "Here's the thing. I attended a gathering tonight and had a bit too much to drink. Could you send someone to pick me up?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "You can't call an Uber?"

They weren't exactly close.

Sure, they were technically blood, but having not seen each other in years, they were worse than strangers.

Asking for a favor this abruptly set off alarm bells in Nathan's mind.

"Uh..."

Arthur clearly hadn't anticipated the blunt refusal.

A solid ten seconds of silence stretched before he finally let out a strained chuckle. "Look at me, completely forgetting how things work around here."

"My apologies, Nathan. I'm still readjusting to being back in the country. Let me leave you to it, then."

The line clicked dead.

The abrupt hang-up was masterfully executed to make Nathan look like the unreasonable one.

Anyone else might have felt a twinge of guilt and called back offering to help.

But Nathan wasn't anyone else.

Even those exhausted from the night's drinking weren't about to pass up a chance to keep the party going.

Noticing how desperately Leonard was trying to curate favor, Arthur smiled and asked, "Mr. Hayes, you're quite the success story in Luminport City. Why aren't you enjoying an early retirement? Surely your son wouldn't want you working this hard."

Leonard's smile tightened, a mix of embarrassment and frustration flashing across his face.

"You flatter me, Arthur, but I don't have a son. If I don't handle the business myself, who will?"

A glimmer of calculated surprise flashed in Arthur's eyes before he nodded in mock understanding. "Ah, I see."

"No kids at all, then?"

"No, I have one, well, two daughters."

Arthur's interest seemed to pique. "Are you sure you haven't had too much to drink, Leonard? You're losing track of your own children."

Leonard let out a heavy sigh. "It's not that. It's just... my relationship with my eldest daughter is... complicated. It's a long story."