[Everything okay?] was the message Emily sent to Sheila.

[Yes, everything's fine], Sheila replied.

[And the handsome guys?]

Sheila chuckled before replying to the message. Without a doubt, her friend had quite the imagination.

[Which ones?]

[You know, the ones you left for your trip! You left me here stranded with work, you know? I've barely had time to breathe...]

Emily started using many angry emojis in the chat with Sheila.

"Hold on. I'll be back in a few days."

"You better... It hasn't been that long, but I need you..."

Emily used several crying emojis.

Sheila was about to respond to those messages when suddenly she felt someone in front of her. Raising her gaze, she saw a familiar face.

"Blortus...?"

Her heart inexplicably raced. 

Why? This hadn't happened before!

"I see you're busy. Am I interrupting anything?" Blortus asked with a smile.

Sheila put away her phone and straightened her back. 

She hadn't expected to encounter him in this place!

Sheila recalled asking Benjamin about his relationship with Blortus before, but she had completely forgotten about it. 

The issue of her family and getting a new computer had completely occupied Sheila's mind.

"What are you doing here? It's... amazing that we've met again," Sheila explained, somewhat impressed by the great coincidence.

"Yes, I admit this is a big coincidence. You know? This already feels like a joke from..."

"Hi! What's your name?" asked a girl who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere beside Blortus. She was energetic and didn't hesitate to extend her hand to greet Sheila.

"Shei... Treit, nice to meet you," said Sheila, confused by the sudden introduction.

What was happening? 

Why was Blortus with that girl?

Sheila felt a pang in her heart.

"I'm Victoria. I'm the sister of this idiot here. A pleasure to meet you, Treit," said Victoria, teasingly, as she sat down.

A great relief swept over Sheila. 

Those words excited her, but something didn't add up. Why was she reacting like this?

Sheila took Victoria's hand, and they introduced themselves.

"Victoria..." Sheila said, unbelievingly.

Blortus had been talking about her for weeks? 

Something strange was happening here!

"Yes! My brother wouldn't stop talking about you. He loves how cute you are, loves the color of your hair, your eyes, and above all, he says you have a great..." 

Before Victoria could finish, Blortus interrupted, pulling her back.

"Sister, the psychiatric hospital is over there. Could you spout your nonsense elsewhere? Treit and I met just yesterday," explained Blortus calmly, while Sheila covered her face in embarrassment.

This was suspicious, yet at the same time, a part of Sheila felt excited. 

Why? 

That was the question repeating in her mind.

Blortus was becoming increasingly suspicious! But for some reason, she couldn't think rationally as Victoria's comment about her appearance kept echoing in her mind: 

Blortus thought she was cute.

"Brother, you talk about her so much that for a moment, I thought all that time had passed! Let me go," Victoria complained, trying to free herself from Blortus's grip.

Sheila was trying to formulate a question when suddenly another person appeared.

"Hi, guys. Here comes the one you were crying for," said Benjamin, bringing glasses and drinks on a tray.

"How did they let you bring that? Isn't that the staff's job?" Blortus asked, curious about what his friend had done.

"Well, I won't lie to you. There was a little argument, but thanks to my negotiation skills, I got us a VIP room. So let's move there," Benjamin explained in detail.

Without waiting for responses, he added, "So come on, we're being too noisy."

Several people were staring at them—some with judgment, others with annoyance.

The group headed towards the VIP area of the restaurant, Blortus and his sister in front, Benjamin behind with Sheila.

"Are you okay?" Benjamin asked.

"Huh? Why do you ask that?"

"You seem a bit tense. Did those idiots over there say something to you? Although it might not seem like it, I'm good at throwing punches," Benjamin said, throwing a few punches in the air with his free hand while holding the drinks and glasses on the tray.

It was incredible how he could move like that while balancing the drinks and glasses on the tray.

Sheila chuckled softly. 

"I'm fine, it's just... strange."

"Strange? What's strange?"

"My encounters with Blortus..."

"You find it weird? Yesterday, you guys were joking about it," explained Benjamin, surprised.

"We were joking?"

"Yes. You said it was too convenient but still were glad to have met. You should've seen Lily's face at that moment! It was hilarious."

"Lily?"

"Yes, you're definitely a 9.5. Are you sure you want to drink?"

"Of course. I'm good at drinking," replied Sheila, furrowing her brow.

They all sat at the table—Sheila next to Benjamin and Blortus alongside Victoria, looking at each other.

Benjamin started the conversation, Blortus and Victoria followed his lead, and Sheila joined in with brief responses.

It was then that the food arrived. Blortus and Victoria served themselves, and Benjamin took the opportunity to tease them a bit.

"What? Are you both still eating? You're really big eaters," Benjamin said.

"Unlike you, I'll do actual exercise," Blortus replied, taking a bite.

"Actual exercise, you say? Lifting weights doesn't make you anything special. Try doing a flagpole pose on a bar," teased Benjamin.

"I'm not a flag to pose like one," joked Blortus.

"Haha! You've been silenced, Benjamin. Don't answer," Victoria quickly intervened.

"By the way, Treit... Are you okay? You seem a bit tense," Blortus noticed.

"No... everything's fine."

Sheila held her phone, which kept vibrating. Messages from unknown numbers filled her screen.

[Aren't you going to respond?]

[Answer]

[Answer]

[Sheila Barker, where are you? This isn't funny]

[Is this Sheila Barker's number? I'd like to confirm your commitment with...]

Blortus, concerned for her, tried to console her: "If something's wrong, you can leave without any problems. We..."

Sheila let out a heavy sigh.

She had come to this country almost by her family's orders. 

She had lost her computer. 

She had been in an elevator accident. 

She had managed reasonably well with how her family treated her, but... To be disturbed over and over again every time she tried to eat?

"No, everything's fine," Sheila replied, taking a big sip of her drink.

Sheila had come to resolve the issue with her wedding and set things straight with her family. 

She would do all this at her own pace and in her own way.

While the people in front of her were not people she had known for a long time, for some reason, she was starting to feel somewhat comfortable with them.

However, she had to find out something very important. 

She had to find out exactly who Blortus was to understand his intentions. 

She wanted to get to know him better.

She had to be careful with someone as suspicious as him!

Everyone was surprised to see Sheila, who had barely touched her drink, suddenly downing it in one gulp. 

While her phone continued to buzz incessantly, Sheila placed her glass on the table and picked up her phone. Awkwardly fumbling to find the power button, she turned it off and placed it on the table, smiling.

"Blortus, could you answer some of my questions?"

And that's it for this week's chapter! The chapters of this novel will be published every Wednesday. Soon on Patreon there will be advance chapters of this novel.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-chapter-93134241?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link