When I Flash-Married a Billionaire, My Ex Went on a Hunger Strike novel Chapter 52

But the more Adora thought about it, the more irritated she felt.

Every time she wasn’t home, Ruby found some excuse to barge into her room like she owned the place.

There was no stopping it.

After a moment of consideration, a wicked little idea sparked to life.

"Laura, is there a pet and garden supply store anywhere downtown?" Adora asked suddenly.

Laura gave her a curious look. "What do you need from a place like that?"

"I want to pick something up."

Laura had always been the kind of friend who didn’t ask too many questions.

She dropped a message in her alumni group chat, and sure enough, a reply came in within minutes.

"Here, it’s the biggest one in the city. It supposedly has everything, and they close at nine."

"Perfect. Let’s go!"

Adora grabbed her friend and practically dragged her to the car.

They wandered the market for a while, and sure enough, Adora found exactly the kind of “pet” she had in mind.

Laura, on the other hand, was practically trembling.

"Adora, are you sure you want to bring that thing home? Aren’t you… even a little scared?" Her voice shook with disbelief.

Adora gave a dry, bitter laugh, her tone laced with mockery. "I spent three years living in a hellhole—what I slept next to was way scarier than this. At least this one doesn’t bite."

"Okay, if you say so... I support you," Laura said, though she climbed into the car acting like it might bite her.

By the time Adora returned to the house, it was already past ten.

The first floor was quiet.

Everyone had gone upstairs to their rooms to wind down for the night.

There was finally peace and quiet.

She had just stepped into the living room when a sharp voice rang out from the second floor.

"Did you go see Eugene again today?"

Adora looked up without hesitation. "Yup. He gave me more money."

"What?" Ruby’s voice shot up like a firecracker.

"He didn’t tell you?" Adora blinked innocently, genuinely curious.

Ruby gritted her teeth, said nothing, and whipped out her phone to make a call.

Adora just smiled, arms full of shopping bags, and headed to her room without a care in the world.

Eventually, they agreed on a Friday night dinner.

Elliot and Mason reminded everyone again to take pictures for the group.

Adora scrolled through the chat, lounging in bed, and noticed that White-Coat Deity hadn’t shown up all evening.

He was probably working another overnight shift.

Oddly enough, she found herself genuinely curious about Friday.

She wanted to see the faces of those in the group chat and curious about who this so-called “White-Coat Deity” really was.

…

The next morning, Adora got up for her usual run.

When she came back, sweat-dampened and fresh from the morning air, she noticed the entire Matthews family gathered outside, huddled around her car.

She cleared her throat. “Ahem.”

None of them saw her coming.

At her voice, all four of them straightened up in unison, faces flushed with embarrassment as they turned to face her.

Lilian gave her a sidelong glance and asked stiffly, “Adora, this car… is it yours?”