Chapter 56 Chapter 56
Seeing the two leave, Tania couldn't contain herself:
“I didn't expect Fernanda to be so brazen. I never imagined she was like that. And Ianca... she has such a dark heart.”
She paused, still incredulous. “Three years in the same classroom with them. It seems I didn't really know them.”
“Me neither.” Caroline smiled bitterly and laughed at herself. “I thought that even if we weren't great friends, we could still be cordial. It seems I was very naive.”
She sighed quietly. Deep down, she knew she should be grateful to Nicholas.
After all, it was that dinner—his idea—that opened her eyes to see who those people really were.
“Carol, don't be sad, okay?” said Tania, more softly. “You should be glad you realized their intentions in time. That way, you don't have to waste your energy on people like that anymore.”
“Yes, I know,” Caroline replied calmly. She wasn't upset; just... slightly disappointed.
Tania looked at the table full of dishes and sighed with a distressed look.
“Now... what are we going to do with all this food? How are the two of us going to eat all this?”
Caroline also frowned, feeling the same discomfort. Deep down, it hurt her more—after all, she was the one who would pay for it all.
The table was overflowing. Even if they ate until they couldn't eat anymore, there would still be enough food left over to feed an army.
In the end, Caroline called the waiter and asked him to wrap up the dishes that had not yet been touched. She felt a little embarrassed when she made the request—it wasn't common for someone to ask for something like that in such a sophisticated place.
The waiter, taken by surprise, froze for a moment.
But he quickly recovered and replied with the same politeness as before:
“Of course, Miss Ford. Please wait a moment.”
Shortly thereafter, with the packages ready, they proceeded to the cashier.
The attendant smiled warmly.
“Miss Ford, your bill has already been paid.”
Caroline blinked, confused.
“It's already... been paid?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
She was silent for a second — and then, of course, she figured it out. It could only have been Nicholas.
He had said he would “take care of everything tonight.”
Still, to confirm, Caroline sent a message:
\[Did you pay the bill?\]
The reply came almost immediately:
\[Yes.\]
It was him.
She started typing another message—she wanted to ask if he had eaten dinner yet—when the phone rang.
“Have you guys finished eating?” His deep, magnetic voice echoed through the speaker.
Caroline didn't know where he was, but she could hear the muffled sound of laughter and conversation in the background — clearly, he wasn't alone.
“Yes, I just finished,” she replied, smiling. “Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet,” said Nicholas, with a slight touch of irony in his voice. “I've been busy playing with some crazy bunnies... when would I have time to eat dinner? I think I'll eat now.”
Caroline blinked, confused.
“Huh? Bunnies?”
“Yes,” he replied, chuckling softly. “The few bunnies that have been playing with me since we were little.”
As soon as he finished his sentence, Caroline heard another male voice on the other end of the line:
“Brother, who's calling you? That soft voice is giving me the creeps. Is it a woman?”
Nicholas replied without hesitation:
“Um.”
“Is it really a woman?!” The man sounded surprised. “Do we know her?”
Nicholas replied calmly:
“Your sister-in-law.”
A violent cough echoed on the other end of the line—the man who had been laughing seemed to have choked. He coughed for a few seconds before he could speak again:
“Sister-in-law?! Nick, are you kidding me?!” You've been single for years and still act like a monk around women. Since when do I have a sister-in-law?!
He paused and added incredulously:
“Are you sure this ‘sister-in-law’ really exists? She's a real woman — someone you can see and touch — and not one you made up in your head?”
Nicholas laughed softly, mockingly. “I have a wife. You're the single one here.”
“Damn it!” exclaimed the man, still surprised.
“Go away,” Nicholas replied, visibly irritated. “Don't swear around me. Carol is still young. Don't spoil her with your vocabulary.”
“What the hell!” muttered the man, laughing and coughing at the same time. “Even my brother has a wife! I'll never doubt anything again!”
Caroline heard every word clearly—including the swear words.
That man who keeps swearing... could he be Nicholas's younger brother?
Then she heard footsteps, the sound of a door opening, and the background noise fading. Nicholas had probably left the room he was in—perhaps a karaoke bar, judging by the laughter and music she had heard earlier.
A moment later, his voice sounded again, clearer and calmer:
“That idiot from earlier is the eldest son of the Roque family, Hiago Roque. He's always been vulgar. Just ignore him.”
“Hmm...” Caroline frowned, surprised.
Did he just talk about a friend like that?
Nicholas changed the subject.
“I asked them to prepare some gifts for your friends. Did they like them?”
Caroline was silent for a moment—then lied in a soft voice:
“Yes, they liked them. They asked me to thank you.”
Nicholas seemed satisfied.
“That's good. Do you have other plans for tonight?”
Caroline looked at Tania, who was watching her curiously.
“No, we're going home.”
“So soon?” There was a brief pause on the other end. Then Nicholas said:
“Why don't you bring your friends and come to where I am?”
“Huh?” Caroline froze. “Go... with you?”
“I'm near the banquet hall now. I'll pick you up.”
And before she could say anything, the call ended.
Caroline stood there holding her phone, paralyzed.
She... hadn't even agreed yet.
Tania, intrigued, asked:
“What's wrong?”
Caroline hesitated before answering:
“Your ‘Male God’ said he's near the hall and wants us to meet them. Do you... want to go?”
“The call you just got was from him?!” Tania's eyes lit up.
“Hmm.”
“And he wants us to go there with them?”
“Hmm.”
“So the Male God is with his friends now?”
“Hmm.”
“Let's go!” said Tania, excited, practically jumping out of her chair. “Good things come in pairs! If my Male God is so amazing, his friends must be a bunch of super handsome guys too, right? Oh, just thinking about it makes me feel like I'm walking on air!”