"Ask what you want, but in return, you'll have to answer my questions honestly," replied Blortus, taking a sip of his drink.

What did she want to know about him?

Victoria observed the conversation between the two while Benjamin and she pretended to eat.

"I'll be frank... Have you been following me for some reason?" she asked directly, scratching her neck.

Blortus was surprised by the question but remained composed.

"No, I haven't been following you. I just came here today to eat to please the idiot you see over there," he said, pointing to his sister.

Victoria furrowed her brow, holding back her displeasure with her brother.

Sheila, witnessing the interaction between the siblings, chuckled slightly, feeling a hint of envy.

Even though she was tipsy, she remembered clearly the tone her sister used to speak to her.

"Why did you come to this city? Are you visiting any relatives?" Blortus asked.

"Well, you could say that. They're a bunch of idiots," Sheila replied with a sigh, recalling her family with bitterness.

This comment made Benjamin remember the conversation Sheila had on her phone that morning at the hotel while they were having breakfast.

Blortus pondered her response until Sheila, bluntly, asked:

"Do you have a partner?"

'How direct!'  Victoria thought as she chewed her food slowly.

Blortus chuckled softly, while Benjamin seemed affected by the question and intervened in the conversation.

"You never asked me that."

"Because it doesn't seem like you have one," Sheila retorted against Benjamin's complaint.

Victoria couldn't help but laugh out loud, mocking Benjamin.

"Don't make so much noise, kiddo. You don't have one either."

"I choose not to, if you knew all the ones..."

While Benjamin and Victoria started arguing, Blortus answered Sheila.

"No, I don't. Why do you ask?"

Sheila frowned, feeling that Blortus was teasing her. "Curiosity," Sheila grudgingly replied.

After that response, Sheila focused on eating until Blortus interrupted her.

"Don't you want to know more?" he asked with a smile.

"No," Sheila denied as she kept eating.

For some reason, the way Blortus looked at her bothered Sheila. She felt as if she had been caught in something but couldn't understand why.

Seeing Sheila's change in attitude, Blortus decided to change tactics.

"Can I have your number?"

"For what?" Sheila asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Curiosity," Blortus replied.

Curiosity?

That explanation left Sheila perplexed.

Why would someone ask for a number out of sheer curiosity?

Trying not to complicate things further, she nodded.

"Do you have a phone?" Blortus suggested. Sheila clicked her tongue but accepted the proposal.

Without hesitation, Blortus handed his phone to Sheila, and his sister watched the scene, surprised.

He never handed his phone to her so easily before! Still, despite Victoria's eagerness to learn more about that girl, she refused to abandon the argument with Benjamin, not wanting to lose.

With the phone in her hand, already unlocked, Sheila clumsily searched for the notes app.

Typing on a phone was horrible!

"Here," Sheila said, handing the phone to Blortus.

"Perfect. Could you check if you got my message?" Blortus said, finishing adding Sheila as Treit to his contacts while sending a message.

The question bothered Sheila.

She knew that by turning on her phone, she would be confronted with several pending issues she preferred to avoid.

Despite her initial resistance, catching a glimpse of Blortus, she sighed and took her phone.

"Uh... let me turn it on," she said, powering up her phone to find several accumulated messages.

There were work messages, ones from Emily, and from her sister. Among them, one stood out, a newly arrived message.

[It's me]

"Are you this message?" Sheila asked, showing the screen to BlortusPrincipio del formulario.

"Yes," Blortus replied, smiling satisfied, but his smile faded slightly as he saw certain insults in the messages on her phone.

Inexplicably, Sheila felt relieved seeing that smile. However, the moment was interrupted when Blortus received a call that made his face turn serious.

It was a call from the hospital.

"Be right back," Blortus announced, standing up and walking away, leaving Sheila alone with the two people who seemed to be in the midst of a heated argument.