Chapter 159 Treadmill Handsome Guy
No one would fail to recognize their own wedding ring, and Leopold's hands in the photo were way too distinctive.
Caroline firmly believed Leopold was simply celebrating Allegra's birthday. She replied to Erica: [They're business partners, there's nothing wrong with celebrating a birthday together.]
Reading between the lines, even with photos of Leopold celebrating Allegra's birthday, Caroline didn't have the slightest suspicion.
[You're way too trusting,] Erica couldn't help but sigh. [If they were just business partners, celebrating a birthday would be fine, but have you forgotten that Allegra and Leopold dated before? Reuniting after so long, in a foreign country, doesn't that make you think of the phrase 'rekindling old flames'?]
Caroline laughed. She thought it was absolutely impossible.
If something was going to happen, it would have happened the day Allegra came back to the country and called Leopold.
Seeing Caroline not responding for a while, Erica asked: [Are you upset?]
Soon, a message popped up in the chat box: [No.]
Erica typed: [Why don't you check, or have Maddox help feel him out?]
Caroline smiled. With Maddox's brain, having him feel things out would be the same as telling Leopold she was checking up on him.
Unable to wait, Erica directly called Caroline's phone. Once connected, she got straight to the point, "You should at least ask, right? Are you that comfortable with the two of them together? Not even a little worried they might do something to betray you?"
Caroline said, "They won't."
Erica felt Caroline trusted Leopold too much. It was both good and not good. She was pretty hung up on Leopold - if she got fooled again, she'd be the only one hurt.
"Human nature can't stand the test. You're so far apart - if he wants to do something, how would you know?"
"If he really did something, what could I find out today about what happened last night? Can I crawl through my phone to do a surprise inspection, or drill through the phone line to beat him up?" Caroline knew Erica meant well.
"My husband celebrated his ex-girlfriend's birthday, and my best friend is furious about it. It has to be you - who else would worry about me like this? You're getting anxious because of me. Trust me, he won't do anything to betray me."
"Don't be so sure. Checking up is also a way to keep him clear-headed, so he doesn't impulsively do something he shouldn't." Erica felt it necessary to warn her. "If there's nothing, great. But if there is, you'll definitely sense it."
Caroline laughed, "Okay, okay, I got it."
From her tone, she clearly wasn't taking her words seriously. Erica started analyzing, "Look at the photo - fancy restaurant, cooking personally, handsome ex-boyfriend, plus a bottle of wine. Perfect recipe for romance. And one important thing - the current partner is not around. After drinking together, having deep conversations, then something happens - you can imagine it, right?"
Caroline fell silent. Some things you shouldn't overthink - once you do, it's easy to think the worst.
Erica said, "I'm not hoping things go bad for you two. I just want to remind you - a man like Leopold out there is like throwing a sheep into a pack of wolves. And that wolf has already tasted sheep before. You need to be more careful."
Caroline also noticed the angle of Allegra's photo, you could see the entire bottle of wine was empty.
Drinking that much, they must have had a great conversation.
Her resolve was already wavering. "It should be fine."
Erica also felt she'd said too much. "Being so far apart, it's normal to check in on him."
It wasn't that Erica thought too badly of people - the timing was just too perfect. Fate was really giving Leopold opportunities.
"Put it another way, Leopold isn't that kind of person, but what about Allegra? You and I are both women. Posting this kind of atmospheric photo on Facebook with an ambiguous birthday message," Erica clenched her fist in the air, gritting her teeth, "I really want to kill that two-faced bitch."
Caroline remembered that birthday caption.
[Thank you for your company, I'm so happy on this birthday!]
With a cute emoji at the end.
Erica said, "Who stays in touch with their ex years after breaking up? Don't forget, she contacted Leopold the first day she came back. You think she'd reach out to him if she wasn't after something? Be careful. Some men can act - they can fake being devoted. Women should always put themselves first and only trust themselves. That way, even if something happens, it won't hurt as much."
"Take Allegra's birthday - did Leopold mention celebrating it with her? He didn't say anything. Maybe he didn't think it was a big deal, or maybe he was afraid you'd be jealous. If it's the former, that's better - he doesn't care about Allegra. But if it's the latter, he's playing dumb."
"If Maddox hadn't shown me his phone today, who would know about the birthday thing?"
The other end of the line went quiet. Erica said, "Love can't overcome everything. Since you're married, you need to protect what's yours. Whether you ask him or not is up to you. I'm just reminding you - don't let anyone take advantage."
Caroline was swayed by Erica. "I'll find time to ask him."
Erica said, "Everything should be based on facts. You are my best friend. No matter what happens, I will definitely stand by your side. If nothing happens, that's good for everyone. If something happens, I will be the first to dump Maddox."
Caroline, who had just been caught up in suspicious emotions, laughed. "Let's leave it at that. I'm hanging up."
That evening, after dinner, Caroline calculated the time and prepared to send Leopold a video call request. According to the time difference, it would be just past 6 AM there, and he'd definitely still be in bed sleeping.
Caroline's mind was at war over whether to send the video request.
Reason told her not to - she should trust him. But emotion was stirring up her intense curiosity, even making her imagine scenes of Leopold cheating. The more she thought about it, the more upset she got.
Caroline sat on the sofa spacing out for a while, wrapped up in negative emotions. The best way to deal with this was to work up a sweat!
She suddenly stood up, changed into workout clothes, and headed out.
She parked in front of the gym across from her workplace. The front desk greeted her warmly when they saw her come in.
Caroline had just reached the second floor when she ran into a familiar face.
That's right, it was that treadmill cutie who made Leopold jealous, Caspian Sforza.
They passed each other. Caroline carried her gym bag into the changing room. When she came out in a cream-colored yoga outfit, Caspian had just come out from the equipment area.
Meeting for the second time, he was friendly first, smiling and nodding at her. Caroline curved her lips in response.
She first did fifty minutes on the Pilates reformer, then ran on the treadmill for half an hour, and finally went to the equipment area to work on her back.
After finishing everything, she sat on a bench to rest, covered in sweat.
Caroline unscrewed her water bottle and took small sips. In her peripheral vision, someone walked over and stopped beside her. Caroline tilted her chin up, bottle still raised halfway, and looked over. It was Caspian.
He had a cute smile and said, "I saw you doing back exercises earlier. Your point of force is wrong, it's making your trapezius muscles take the load. Over time, this area will bulge out."
Caroline saw him point to the side of his neck with his hand. "Right here."
She smiled. "Really? I didn't really notice. But you seem to know your stuff. Are you a personal trainer here? Trying to sell me sessions?"