Chapter 34 Chapter 34
There was a heavy silence on the other end of the line.
Nicholas spoke again, his voice sharp as steel:
“Didn't you tell her that her ‘husband’ is a hundred times more powerful than Edward Collins? That if she offends you, her life won't be easy?”
Caroline felt a chill. She hadn't thought about that—and, in fact, she didn't want to flaunt her union. She was only twenty-five; getting married so early had never been part of her plans. She had always imagined the ceremony at thirty, when everything had been planned and announced with pomp and circumstance. Besides, she knew that if she said something like that to Soraya, the girl would take it as arrogance—if she wasn't skeptical, she would laugh at it as bragging.
On the other side, Nicholas murmured, and authority gave way to softness.
“Don't worry. I'm here. No one will hurt you.” — Those words, low and direct, touched her like a string tuned against her chest.
It was a simple sound — and yet, transformative. Caroline felt something rare: a shelter. Someone to trust. A safe haven where the wind would not knock her down. For the first time in a long time, a feeling of peace and stability invaded her gut.
After hanging up, she put her phone away and went to get her things from her room, picking up one by one the clothes and books that Soraya had scattered on the floor. When she entered, her colleagues exchanged glances and the question came quickly, full of concern:
“Caroline, are you really not going to hide?”
Tania, more incisive, pulled her aside:
“Carol, you should go now. Seriously,” she insisted. “Soraya's brother is dangerous.”
Caroline crouched down calmly and began to put everything back on the bed, without rushing. She looked at Tania and said, in a firm voice:
“Tania, when have you ever seen me lose my temper?”
Tania hesitated. She knew the sweet image Caroline projected—cute, delicate, easily intimidated. But she also knew that beneath that appearance, there was more strength than many imagined. After all, this was the same girl who had just made Soraya and Kate cry.
“Carol,” Tania whispered, still concerned, "Soraya's brother is involved with dangerous people.
Don't get involved.
Caroline raised her head, and determination filled her eyes:
“If I shouldn't provoke him, then he shouldn't mess with me either.”
There was a simple, cutting conviction in her words—it wasn't bravado. It was a line drawn: no one had the right to intimidate her just because they believed she was “unprotected.”
Tania sighed, torn between fear and admiration. The other girls watched, and something in the room had changed forever: the boundaries were now clear.
Caroline finished packing her things with the calmness of someone who knows that, no matter what happens, she will not run away from those who confront her.
At that moment, the girl who once cowered in the face of humiliation had disappeared. In her place was a woman who would not give up her space—and who, no matter the cost, had learned to defend herself.
The contrast between the calm world of college and the cold universe of Wolf Company was brutal.
Caroline, with the phone still warm between her fingers, felt calm for the first time—the simple sound of Nicholas's voice had been enough to transform her anxiety into security.
“Just stay calm, Tania,” she said confidently. “I'm not stupid. I asked for help too. Soraya won't take advantage of me.”
Tania blinked, confused. “You asked for help? From whom? Is it reliable?”
Caroline smiled, a mysterious gleam in her eyes. “Very. More than anyone else.”
Tania wanted to ask more — maybe if she had called Edward Collins? But it didn't make sense. After what he had done, Caroline would never ask him for help. So... who could it be?
At that very moment, a few miles away, tension at Wolf Company was running high.
The board meeting resembled a battlefield. No one dared breathe loudly. Thirty-year-old President Nicholas Wolf was known for his icy stare and ruthless decisions—and on this day, he was especially impatient.
A project that had taken a whole month of work was rejected in less than sixty seconds.
“This is what you came up with after thirty days of overtime?” he asked, his voice cold and sharp as a blade. “Work that any college intern could do?”
The silence was heavy. Someone tried to justify themselves, but Nicholas cut them off.
“It seems we have too many slackers. It's time for a mass layoff.”
Sweat dripped from the executives' temples. No one dared even look up.
It was at that moment that Nicholas' cell phone vibrated on the table.
Normally, he would ignore it. But this time, his eyes narrowed—and without hesitation, he picked up the phone and answered it in two seconds.
A murmur of astonishment ran through the room.
No one had ever seen him interrupt a meeting.
Nicholas said nothing. He listened for a moment—and then, without explanation, stood up, straightened his jacket, and left.
The sound of his footsteps echoed until it faded away.
As soon as he left the room, the directors began to whisper.
— “Who could have called him?”
— “Did you see the way he answered? As if it were... urgent.”
— “And he left smiling. President Wolf smiling.” “Could he be... dating someone?”
A nervous silence hung in the air, followed by incredulous laughter.
“Dating? President Wolf? The man who rejects even secretaries who breathe near him?”
“Maybe that's why the atmosphere has been different. He's been... distracted.”
But while the veterans speculated, Nicholas was already descending in the private elevator, cell phone still in hand.
Her voice echoed in his head—soft, hesitant, but trusting him.
The anger he had felt before had evaporated. In its place was something new—a primitive instinct to protect.
He opened another app and called the head of security directly. “I want five men on the Film Academy campus. Now. Protect Ms. Wolf.”
On the other end of the line, the response was immediate:
“Yes, sir.”
Nicholas put his phone away, and for a brief moment, an imperceptible smile curved his lips.
“Very reliable,” she said.
Yes. He would be more than that.