Chapter 90 Chapter 90
Caroline felt a chill run down her spine. At that moment, she felt like a rare animal on display at the zoo, being dissected by critical and curious eyes. The instinct to flee pulsed through her veins, but Nicholas's warm hand kept her anchored.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to look ahead.
Sitting directly in her line of sight, sprawled on a velvet sofa with a glass in his hand, was a man wearing a dark purple silk shirt, open at the collar. He had a diamond earring sparkling in one ear and long hair tied back in a casual bun, with a few stray strands falling over his forehead.
He was beautiful. He had delicate, almost androgynous features that surpassed the beauty of many women. But his eyes... those eyes sparkled with mischief and charm. He screamed “playboy” from every pore. That must be Hiago.
Next to the purple “peacock” was a stark contrast.
A man impeccably dressed in white—a white turtleneck, white linen pants. He looked like a fallen angel.
Despite his light-colored clothes, he exuded a dense and suffocating darkness. His eyes were bottomless pits, cold and calculating. Caroline shuddered involuntarily when she met his gaze.
A snake.
That was the only word her mind could formulate. The man in white conveyed the dangerous feeling of a poisonous snake, ready to strike, brutal and cold-blooded. That was undoubtedly Luan.
But before Caroline could further analyze Luan's silent threat, the man in purple, Hiago, jumped up from the sofa.
His eyes widened comically, almost popping out of their sockets.
“Holy shit!” Hiago exclaimed, completely forgetting his manners. “Nicholas... is that my sister-in-law?!”
Hiago's mind short-circuited.
A thousand swear words ran through his head, but “shock” was an understatement.
He knew Nicholas's wife was a student. He expected someone young.
But... that?
Hiago scanned Caroline's face. She looked like she had stepped out of a margarine commercial or a Disney movie. Fresh skin, big innocent eyes, an aura of purity...
Damn, Hiago thought. She's a child!
She looked like a college freshman who had never skipped class in her life. She looked 18, maybe younger.
Hiago's gaze shifted to Nicholas with silent judgment. The Wolf wouldn't be so depraved as to touch a minor, would he?
That was... criminal. That was immoral.
Although they were best friends and had shared all kinds of crazy experiences, Hiago felt that his friend had crossed a line. How could he corrupt something so pure with his usual darkness?
However, Hiago's scrutiny lasted too long for Nicholas's liking.
Nicholas's eyes darkened. In a fluid, territorial motion, he pulled Caroline behind him, blocking his friend's view, and wrapped his arm protectively around her waist, pulling her close to his body.
The temperature in the room dropped below freezing again.
Nicholas glared at Hiago with a look that promised physical pain.
“Have you seen enough?” Nicholas growled, his voice low and dangerous. “You haven't even greeted your sister-in-law. Where are your manners? Or will I have to beat them into you?”
Hiago blinked, snapping out of his trance, and swallowed hard.
He was speechless.
Manners?! Manners weren't the problem here!
And why the hell was Nicholas looking at him like that? He looked like a dragon guarding his treasure.
It was the look of an enemy.
Hiago raised his hands in surrender, taking a step back.
“Calm down, Wolf...” Hiago murmured, trying to dispel the murderous tension. “I was just... surprised.”
Noticing the deadly warning in Nicholas's eyes, Hiago felt a chill. He cleared his throat, quickly averting his gaze from his friend's wife's curves to her face, trying to look harmless.
“Ahem... Um, hi, sister-in-law.” Hiago flashed a charming smile, extending his hand. “I'm Hiago. A... good friend of Nicholas's.”
We grew up together on the military complex. Our grandparents served together.“
”H-Hello, my name is Caroline."
Despite the chaotic entrance, Hiago seemed genuinely friendly and approachable. The tension in Caroline's shoulders relaxed a little. He didn't seem like the type who would judge her.
Politely, she extended her hand to greet him.
However, millimeters before their skin touched, a large, firm hand intercepted the movement in midair.
Hiago froze, staring at his own empty hand.
Seriously?!
He looked at Nicholas, incredulous.
You don't have to be like this! It's just a social handshake! Are you going to forbid even that?
Nicholas acted as if Hiago's touch was toxic or as if he were a pervert trying to take advantage. His friend's possessiveness was at a pathological level.
Ignoring Hiago's look of injustice, Nicholas intertwined his fingers with Caroline's, pulling her hand back to the safety of his domain.
“Hiago is the third among us,” Nicholas explained, his voice calm but definitive. “You can just call him Hiago. He doesn't need formalities or touching.”
Nicholas then nodded to the man in white, who exuded that serpentine aura, and to the other man beside him.
“The one with the unfriendly face is the Fourth Brother, Marcus.” Nicholas made the introductions. “You can call him Marcus.”
Marcus looked up, dissatisfaction clear on his pale face.
That little girl... a student who had barely outgrown diapers... was going to call him by his first name? Without any honorifics of respect?
He frowned, about to make a snide comment, when he felt a discreet but painful jab in his ribs. It was Luan, silently warning him not to ruin the evening (and not to die at Nicholas's hands).
Marcus clenched his jaw, swallowed his pride, and looked away, remaining silent.
“Hello, Carol. I'm Sheila.”
The female voice broke the heavy atmosphere. The woman sitting next to Marcus stood up with trained elegance. She walked over to them, a perfect smile on her red lips.
“It's a pleasure to finally meet you. We are all Nick's foster ‘siblings.’” She paused, tilting her head slightly. “I heard you got married suddenly. Congratulations!”
As she spoke, Sheila's eyes scanned Caroline from head to toe with laser-like precision.
And she hated what she saw.