Chapter 75 Dandara... are you hiding something from me?
During the last class of the afternoon, while studying English individually, Katherine was exchanging quick messages. Her friend, under the code name \[Mirror\], sent a photo from the airport: “I'm here.” Katherine replied with an emoji, but soon another notification took over her screen.
\[João Pedro: I already spoke to your teacher. Leave now.\]
She sat up straight in her chair, her eyes darkening in thought. He was taking complete control of the situation. Eight minutes later, she walked through the school gate at a leisurely pace.
The afternoon was lazy, bathed in golden light filtering through the trees lining the street. The heat of the Indian summer still lingered, and Katherine felt her throat dry. She looked at her usual milk tea shop, determined to buy something, when she saw João Pedro's tall, upright figure waiting for her.
Noticing her desire, João raised his hand, revealing a paper bag. Before she could get close, he had already taken out an iced lemon tea, inserted a straw, and held it out to her.
Katherine didn't take the cup right away. She stared at him with analytical coldness for two long seconds. “Are you... aware of what you're doing?” she asked, challenging the intensity of his attention.
A slight smile played in his eyes. Without saying a word, he took her hand and closed her fingers around the iced cup. “I'm very lucid,” he replied, his voice firm.
The coolness of the tea ran through Katherine's body, calming the heat of the afternoon and, for a brief moment, the agitation of her own thoughts. João let go of her hand and began to take some snacks out of the bag. “Eat something. The banquet will be long, and you need to line your stomach.”
“Brother!”
Dandara Arbex's shrill voice cut through the moment, causing João Pedro to frown. She ran out of the school gate with a bitter expression, followed by a visibly exhausted and helpless Cauan Laser (Anders).
Dandara ignored Cauan and stood directly between Katherine and João, as if trying to reestablish a barrier that no longer existed.
“What are you doing here?” she snapped at João. “Did Grandpa ask you to come pick her up?” Cauan approached, trying to catch his breath. Dandara, however, grabbed João Pedro's arm tightly and turned to her friend with contempt: "Second Brother, look how absurd this is!
He spent days assuring me that he would bring the great Primordial master to Grandpa's birthday. I already announced it to the whole family, and now he tells me that the master isn't coming. How can someone be so unreliable?“
”Dandara, listen to me!“ Cauan gestured, agitated. ”I didn't know that the teacher was going to suddenly fall ill. It would be an offense to bring him in this state!
“Sick? What a coincidence!” Dandara snorted. “I don't think your master is even the real Primordial!”
Cauan, offended, turned his frustration to Katherine, who watched everything with silent disdain. “It was you, wasn't it? You were the one who spread these rumors to Dandara?”
Katherine raised her eyes lazily. A short, soft laugh escaped her throat, laden with cutting irony: “As expected... a fool.”
Cauan felt the blood rush to his face. “What did you say?” He took half a step toward Katherine, his body tense with rage.
In the next second, João Pedro's tall figure blocked his path like a wall of ice. “What do you think you're doing?” João's voice was low, but laden with a threat that made the hairs on the back of Cauan's neck stand on end.
Cauan swallowed hard and immediately backed away. “I... I was just going to ask a question.”
“She already answered,” João declared, his voice drawn out and dangerously calm. “Are you deaf, or are you just pretending to be stupid?”
The silence that followed was humiliating. Dandara, realizing that her brother was out of her reach, tried to change tactics. "Second brother, the banquet is about to begin. Let's get back soon.“ She shot a look of pure resentment at Katherine.
Katherine, indifferent, took the last sip of her lemon tea while checking something on her cell phone, exuding an aura that screamed ”don't bother me." She walked toward the car without waiting for anyone.
“Second brother, I want to ride in your car too!” Dandara asked, trying to follow them.
“It's full,” João Pedro replied curtly before getting into the vehicle.
Dandara stood still on the sidewalk, stamping her foot in anger as she watched the car drive away. “Full? That's a blatant excuse!”
Cauan, standing next to her, asked tensely, “What is their relationship, anyway?”
“What kind of relationship could there be?” Dandara pouted. “My grandfather forced João to take her in because he feels sorry for her. Katherine lost her mother, and Grandpa is sentimental, that's all.”
Cauan wasn't convinced, but then his cell phone vibrated. As he read the message, his face lit up. “Dandara! The master is better! He said the medicine worked and he'll be here in time for the party!”
Dandara looked at the screen and noticed the record of a generous bank transfer. “Did you bribe him with a fat envelope? That master is pretty greedy, huh?”
“Greedy people are easy to deal with,” Cauan shrugged. “If it makes Grandpa happy and gives me prestige, the money doesn't matter.”
Dandara felt a strange discomfort, but chose to ignore it. Cauan watched her for a moment, his gaze deep and calculating. “Dandara... are you hiding something from me?”