Chapter 108 Chapter 108
Without waiting for a reply, she slid the paper back onto his desk and returned to her reading, completely immune to the tension emanating from the young man. Bruno felt a lump in his throat. He checked question C, which he was sure was correct, but when he redid the calculation from Katherine's perspective, his eyes widened.
He crossed out the letter C forcefully and marked A. Exactly. He glanced at her, feeling a weight in his chest. How? How could she achieve that level of precision while devouring comic books? Her success did not bring him joy, only a feeling of suffocation, as if he were running a marathon while she was just walking, always arriving first.
The lunch bell rang and the room quickly emptied. Jessica had already left to deal with family issues, leaving Katherine in peaceful silence. She intended to finish the comic book chapter before thinking about food, but a delicately decorated lunchbox slid onto her desk.
Katherine looked up and found the round, sweet face of Cristiane Pedrozo.
“Katherine... thank you for defending me that day. I made this lunchbox as a small gesture of gratitude. Please accept it.”
She left another lunchbox on Jessica's desk with a thank-you note, and before Katherine could refuse, Cristiane withdrew with a shy smile.
“Thank you.”
Katherine's voice, though soft, stopped Cristiane at the door for a second. The girl smiled radiantly and left. Katherine looked at the lunchbox, feeling that there was something genuine and special about that girl, something she couldn't quite figure out yet.
She was about to open the container when a figure jumped over the tables.
“Wait!” Octavio shouted, landing hastily.
Before Katherine could react, he confiscated Cristiane's lunchbox and placed a luxury bag in its place.
“You eat this one. I'll take that one.”
Katherine stared at him with icy calm. “You're acting very strange today, Octavio.”
He looked away, trying to maintain his composure as he opened the replacement lunchbox. “Strange? Me? It's your imagination. The food is getting cold, Kath. My brother... I mean, João... he prepared this himself in the company cafeteria and had his assistant rush it over here.”
Katherine raised an eyebrow, the name João Arbex sparking a flicker in her eyes.
“Do you have any idea how stubborn he is?” Octavio continued, his voice mixing admiration and shock. “He never cooks for anyone. Not even when my mother begged him. But today... he stopped everything to prepare a meal for you. Wow, I'm so jealous!”
“If you want it so badly, you can have it,” said Katherine, pushing the bag back.
Octavio recoiled as if he had seen a ghost. “God forbid! If I touch that food, he'll kill me. He made it for you. Let me eat this one from Cristiane.”
He sat down and opened the lunch box gratefully, sighing with relief at having intercepted someone else's “gift.” Katherine smiled coldly and ironically, realizing João's game of protecting his brother.
“That's not yours either, Octavio.”
He turned to her with a mischievous smile, his eyes sparkling with a bold idea. If he could bring his brother and Katherine together, the car of his dreams would be guaranteed.
"Leave it to me, sister-in-law. Since it's for the good of the family, I'll sacrifice myself and eat this one.
He cleared his throat, assuming a falsely solemn air. “Sister-in-law, please, begin your royal feast. I'll take care of the rest.”
As soon as the word “sister-in-law” left his lips for the second time, Octavio felt a sudden, sharp pain, as if an invisible whip had cracked against his mouth.
“Ouch!” he exclaimed, covering his lips with his hand. On the floor, a small rubber band was still vibrating. It was the fastener from his brother's disposable lunch box.
He looked at Katherine in disbelief. He hadn't even seen her move. She was sitting there with impeccable posture, but her eyes conveyed a silent and dangerous warning.
“Don't talk nonsense,” she said, her icy tone cutting off any attempt at joking.
“But that's absurd... Sister-in-law?” Octavio insisted, half out of stubbornness, half out of shock.
Zas! Another snap. Another sharp pain in the same place.
This time, he saw it. Katherine's fingers moved with superhuman speed, an almost imperceptible masterful movement. Octavio's eyes widened in fascination.
“Have you practiced this?” he whispered, admiration overcoming pain. “It's just like my brother. He's been training in ancient martial arts since he was a child, he's unbeatable in sparring. You two... you really are made for each other.”
“Eat your food,” Katherine cut him off, finally opening the lunch box João had sent.
Octavio pouted and wisely decided to focus on Cristiane Pedrozo's food to avoid further rubber band attacks. When he bit into a chicken wing, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“Wow! This is incredible! Who made this? Gabriel?” He had dined at the best restaurants in the world, but this perfect, home-cooked flavor hit him right in the heart.
“It was Cristiane Pedrozo,” Katherine replied, without looking up.
Cristiane, who had just entered the room, froze when she heard her name. Octavio turned to her and gave her a thumbs up, with a genuine, radiant smile.
“Your culinary skills are out of this world!” he praised her, with such pure sincerity that there was no room for ulterior motives.
Cristiane stood still for a few seconds, her face instantly flushing. Unable to process the compliment from the most popular boy in the room, she ran to her seat, hiding behind a notebook. Her fingers, however, trembled slightly as she held the pen.
Meanwhile, Katherine took a sip of her cold lemonade. The juice was refreshing, but her attention was focused on the elaborate feast in front of her. There were four dishes and a soup, arranged with the obsessive precision that only a man like João Arbex possessed.
In the center, the stuffed pork glistened with a succulent appearance. It was her favorite dish.
She casually took a bite, but the moment the flavor touched her palate, her face paled. The world around her seemed to disappear.
Suddenly, she was no longer in that noisy classroom. The scent of magnolia flowers invaded her senses, transporting her to a distant summer, enveloped in warm breezes and sacred secrets.